LSGL 28: A Graphic Overview of Old Icelandic Morphology

A Graphic Overview of Old Icelandic Morphology

Alan Bower

The Old Icelandic language (also known as Old Norse) is considered the parent language of the present Scandinavian languages. It was a branch of the Germanic language family, and it was used in Norway, Iceland, Sweden, and Denmark up until the 16th century. Today it is perhaps best known as the language of the medieval sagas.

The complex relationship between the Old Icelandic language itself and its orthographical representation leads to many problems for both students and teachers. In this analysis of the grammar and orthography of Old Icelandic a new approach is seen, with the classic presentation of "paradigms, rules, and exceptions to rules" now including an expanded presentation of structure to show various aspects of the language. Here extensive use of graphic representation has been drawn in, making more clear the features that lie behind the grammar and the orthography. In this way deeper and systematic aspects of the language can be examined in greater detail, with the hope that students and teachers will now have new tools for approaching the extensive literature written in the Old Icelandic language.

ISBN 9783862885831. LINCOM Studies in Germanic Linguistics 28. 85pp. 2014.