Essentials of Early English (review)

Jeremy J. Smith, the author of An historical study of English (London & New York: Routledge, 1996), has now written a primer for Old to Early Modern English in which he seeks to offer beginning students a descriptive account of the history of English that will serve as a stepping stone to more advanced study. The book consists of three parts: ‘Descriptive material’ (1–156) subdivided into five chapters; ‘Illustrative texts’ (157–220) organized in three sections; and bibliography, glossary and index (221–51).

Part I begins with a general introduction and an overview of linguistic description. Since no previous knowledge of linguistics is presumed, the reader is introduced to grammar, lexis, and, perhaps in too much detail, phonetics. The basics of Old, Middle, and Early Modern English are surveyed in subsequent chapters, with the most attention paid to Old English, the least familiar and most complex stage of the language. In addition to spelling, pronunciation, and syntax, S discusses paradigms—the facet of Early English that undergraduates probably find least appealing. This part is nevertheless unlikely to seem particularly intimidating: Instead of exhaustive lists of paradigms, S gives generalized noun declensions and verb conjugations but also admits that there are exceptions to these. Vocabulary and dialects are mentioned only briefly.

Part II contains text samples illustrating the three language states: eight passages extracted from Old English texts, nine from Middle English, and eleven from Early Modern English. Within each section, the texts are arranged pedagogically rather than chronologically. While most of the Old English texts have been normalized to an early West Saxon form, some samples have been even further modified for the benefit of beginning students. The range is considerable, from a simplified Biblical passage to an unmodified extract from Beowulf, and it is therefore perplexing that only the less advanced texts are accompanied by translations. Either glosses or translations are supplied in the Middle English section while much less assistance is provided for Early Modern English. In Parts I and II, S emphasizes the prototypical usages of Alfred, Chaucer, and Shakespeare.

Most of Part III is taken up by the Old English glossary. The annotated bibliography contains 31 titles, and the book concludes with a short index of linguistic terms.

The volume is characterized by clarity and accessibility: What it offers is ideal for learners. However, teachers may be looking for more extensive accounts of the language-external cultural background and the development of English vocabulary, and greater diversity in the illustrative material. Moreover, more advanced readers may find the repetitions and heavy cross-referencing in Part I tedious and the normalization of older texts in Part II artificial. Nevertheless, if its purpose is acknowledged, the book is worthy of praise: It has been S’s commendable objective to compose a beginner’s handbook, and in that enterprise he has undeniably succeeded.