Bored?

[highlyeccentric]

Anyone bored out of their brain this (southern) summer? goblinpaladin and I are going to be working through Peter Baker's Electronic Introduction To Old English if you want to join us. B is doing it for the first time, because he is a NERD and doesn't fancy waiting the twelve months or so before he can take the course at uni. I'm doing it for the grammar review.
Baker's online anthology and Old English Aerobics provide their own answers, so you can pick up a feel for the language even if you lack anglo-saxonists in your vicinity. There will be both translation and grammar involved. We won't badger you, unless you ask us to, about how much you have or haven't done. Plan is, we all help each other out according to our various skill levels, and if everyone learns something then we consider it a success.

So, if you've always wanted to learn some AS but never had the time, or if in fact you never wanted to learn it but you are so bored you'll try anything right now, or you've learnt it before and are bored enough to want to review it, come and join us in a nerdy adventure.

ed: i just noticed the number of times I used the word "bored" in this entry. Rest assured Anglo-Saxon is not boring. It is in fact the BEST possible cure for boredom.

Comments

On lines?

[pathawi.livejournal.com]

Are y'all planning on working on it Nettily, or only in-person? I could use the grammar review (& I really need to actually learn the strong verb classes), & my old Old English study buddy might be interested, too. However, we are an equator & a meridian away.

Re: On lines?

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

Nettily. (Goblinpaladin and I will probably go over things by phone, because he did specifically request that i 'teach' him. Snort. Given how good my pronunciation is *not*, that will be interesting.)

The group offer, though, is basically for an online Old English Reading Group/ Grammar Review group, with each participant doing as much as he/she can cope with. I figure I, or someone (we might share it around the group) gets to put up a post each week summarising what they (mis)understood from the grammar chapter, and someone does an introduction to each text as we start it, and we use that post to discuss/correct/assist each other.

P.S: does ANYONE actually learn the strong verb classes?
I've learnt to read OE without being able to tell the difference between a weak and a strong verb... i couldn't write out the conjugations myself, but i can read them quite happily most of time time.
However, I'm told that's Not Good Enough for a wannabe anglo-saxonist. I'm hoping Goblinpaladin's Latinate background will enforce some structure on me!

[goblinpaladin.livejournal.com]

*insert bad historical joke about the Latin oppression of the English language here*

Mind, my 'Latinate background' is pretty poor as well. Heh. I intend to heavily revise my Latins.

Re: On lines?

[pathawi.livejournal.com]

Me & my dictionary can mostly read jest fine with a tenuous grasp of OE grammar. Harrevah, I feel like I won't be able to really appreciate Old English poetry as art until I kind of internalise the constraints of the language.

My latest effort at really learning the strong verb classes was to try to get them historically. I have not yet, however, made it thru Winfred Lehmann's A Grammar of Proto-Germanic (http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/books/pgmc00.html) (which grammar I certainly don't want to learn in full, but which I thought would help me on that particular OE topic). Most Anglo-Saxonists must just memorise the paradigms, eh wot?

When you say 'put up', are you thinking via E-mail, LJ, listserv…? If you're using e-mail, my e-mail address is: Bob at myLJUsername dot net.

Re: On lines?

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

i was thinking of blogging it- probably behind a cut, to save the rest of the readers the PAIN ;)

Re: On lines?

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

What that all boils down to is: SQUEE! Someone liked my nerdy idea!

if you and your study buddy were to join us we would be most delighted.

Old English and Blog

[putalis2.livejournal.com]

Pathawi's study buddy here -- Count me in as well. It's definitely time to start a blog about our studies and whether it's connected to this or not, I'll be setting one up and posting to it this week!

Re: Old English and Blog

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

EXCELLENT :D

the Goblin and I have got distractified- and i'm procrastinating by Not Writing Scholarship Applications. But I definitely will start the ball rolling after christmas...

let me know the link for your new blog, sounds like much fun :D

Re: Old English and Blog

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

aaargh. I've turned into a waitressing zombie. Clearly i NEED people to MAKE me study Anglo-Saxon this summer, or i'll never get anything done.

Re: Old English and Blog

[putalis2.livejournal.com]

so i've come up with an intention for studying languages for myself, one that is more recognizable than before. a goal perhaps. i'm going to write poems to transcend the knowledge of language by the normal one citizen who speaks one or two languages. poems where words or lines change language and yet are very pleasing the ear and to the spirit- in meter, rhyme, symmetry, perhaps lots of word play. it taps into my love of code as well. yay! i figure this is the "project inspiration" that i've been desiring around languages. i've been doing so many websites for others that i've found the last thing (and unfortunately so) that i have allowed myself time for is blog creation not for another. so i will definitely pass the link once i set it up. i've been focusing on pronunciation with bob. i will ad reviewing chap 3 in the e-intro for this week!

Re: Old English and Blog

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

brilliant! you put me to shame...