...I want to learn to read the stories from the Eddas and Sagas; I don't
think I'll be going to Iceland too soon. I therefore assume from the
following text that the course is designed for my needs. I am very thankful
for this opportunity - your course is very enjoyable!

This also reminds me of a comparison between the Society of Creative
Anachronism's attempts (...) at older English versus the professional
linguistists' evaluation of the incredible diversity of sub-dialects in
English across time and geography. Say, you don't suppose there were
probably "Noweigan/Swedish/Danish/Icelandic-North/South/East/West dialects
(by the dozen) across all those ages while "Old Norse" was transforming into
separate Scandinavian languages? I don't think that the nation of Denmark
woke up one morning to find they couldn't understand their Swedish
neighbours...

Do you know where I can find texts in the origional "Old Norse" from the
Eddas? Especially the Prose Eddas. I feel it would be easier to learn
about the poetic meters used in the origional language (though Lee M.
Hollander's version is colourful!)

Thanks!

Steve

>From: Haukur Thorgeirsson <haukurth@...>
>Reply-To: norse_course@yahoogroups.com
>To: norse_course@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [norse_course] Learning Old Norse v. Learning Modern Icelandic
>Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 19:04:40 +0000 (GMT)
>
>A few points on the difference between learning Old Norse and learning
>Icelandic.
>
>I have recently been made aware of a view
>to this course that goes somewhat like this:
>
>"Why are you trying to teach Old Norse?
>Why not just teach modern Icelandic?
>They're basically the same and trying to
>put the former up as a separate language
>is just misleading and silly."
>
>Yet I claim to be teaching Old Norse and not
>Modern Icelandic. I'd better try and explain
>myself :-)
>
>While Old Norse, in the widest sense of the word,
>is not the same as Modern Icelandic it is true that
>the particular version of Old Norse taught in this
>course is quite similar.
>
>When I started writing the course I decided that
>the point of reference should be the language of
>Snorri Sturluson. It was my impression then, and
>still is, that most people seeking to learn Old
>Norse were interested in such works as Snorri's
>Edda and Heimskringla. Another policy making
>decision was to use the spelling used in the
>publications of Hi� �slenzka fornritaf�lag.
>
>So while Old Norse in the sense of the language
>of 9th century Swedish runestones has some important
>differences (as regards grammatical forms and syntax)
>from Modern Icelandic it is true that the language
>of Snorri Sturluson (especially when represented with
>standardized spelling) has few.
>
>Whether you spell a word as "heimr" or "heimur"
>or whether you say "ek kalla�a" or "eg kalla�i"
>is not enough of a difference to make a sharp
>distinction between modern and old Icelandic,
>on the order of Modern English and Anglo-Saxon.
>
>I still maintain that the course I am writing
>is a course in Old Norse and NOT a course in
>Modern Icelandic. Furthermore I will say that even
>if I changed "konungr" to "konungur" every time
>it occurs and made the few other necessary
>grammatical "updates" this would STILL be a course
>in Old Norse - and not in Modern Icelandic.
>
>What do I mean by this? That the vocabulary
>is more important than the grammar? Partly,
>but that's not the whole story. The major
>difference is simply that of perspective
>and priorities. The subject of this course
>is (drums, please):
>
>_Icelandic as a Classical Language_
>
>rather than:
>
>_Icelandic as a Modern Language_
>
>So what is the difference between teaching a
>modern language and a classical language?
>
>Well, when you study a modern language you
>will learn how to say things like these:
>
>* Hello, my name is Haukur.
>* Could you please tell me what time it is?
>* It is half-past three.
>* How much does this cost?
>* Six hundred crowns.
>* When does the bus leave?
>* Good night.
>
>I can say all of these things in German;
>I can say none of them in Latin - even
>though I've studied those two languages
>about as much.
>
>Furthermore, when I say those things in
>German I will (usually) be understood.
>If I were to read similar Latin sentences
>to a resurrected Catullus that probably
>wouldn't get me very far. I don't have
>much of a clue as to how the Romans pronounced
>their language (�skar knows, though ;-).
>I do know some of the latin poetic metres
>and the major Roman poets. I know next to
>nothing about German poetic tradition.
>
>To sum up here are some typical modern language learning emphases:
>
>* Correct (or at least understandable) pronunciation
>* Practical colloquial dialogue
>* Understanding newspaper extracts on current affairs
>
>And some typical classical language learning emphases:
>
>* Formal grammar
>* Reading of classical texts
>* Metric poetry
>* Etymology
>
>Extract:
>
>"Learning Modern Icelandic and learning Old Icelandic are two
>different approaches to what is basically the same language."
>
>Kve�ja,
>Haukur

_________________________________________________________________
MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:
http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx