Prelude: Introducing the ‘Course’.
Komiði sæl og blessuð, vinir, (Come happy and blessed, friends,)
Perhaps it is unwise to begin a ‘course’ on a language that I am still in the process of learning. Yet, there is never truly a time in which we stop learning, no matter what the subject may be. Since such a process never truly ends, why not share my knowledge and experiences? Why not join me on my journey into the Old Norse language?
Disclaimer and Materials:
Now, I must say this before continuing: I am not an ideal source to learn from. I do my best, but I am not exactly qualified to teach any of this material.
My ‘Qualifications’: About Fjorn; CV.
Read the Full Disclaimer.
Nonetheless, thanks to the power of the internet, I can still do things like this. I offer these lessons to share my knowledge and experiences, but also to provide opportunities for free educational material that is actually more credible than most information on the internet. After all, although I myself am not the ideal source, I use quite a few reliable sources to produce these lessons. Here are a few sources regarding Old Norse that will form the foundation for the information presented in these lessons:
Jesse L. Byock, Viking Language 1: Learn Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas.
Jesse L. Byock, Viking Language 2: The Old Norse Reader.
Geir T. Zoëga, A concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic.
Viking Society of Northern Research’s Old Norse Materials (FREE Online):
The Study of Old Icelandic: An Introduction to the Sources
Grammar
Reader
Facsimiles
Glossary and Index of Names
If you are serious about learning Old Norse, I strongly recommend getting some of the materials listed above instead of relying on my lessons. My lessons are designed for those without suitable access to certain materials, or even for those casual learners who do not need intensive academic exposure to the language. Regardless, though, my lessons may be helpful working alongside the books mentioned above. My approach and format for these lessons may make work better for certain learners.
The following digital resources will be used to enhance this course’s experience (of course, the digital resources will not be limited to these alone):
Videos from Dr. Jackson Crawford’s YouTube channel.
Text from Snerpa: Fornrit (Modified to the spelling and grammar of Old Norse).
Manuscript Images from Handrit.is.
As always, all information used in each post will be cited, and the sources used will be appropriately displayed with links included. Furthermore, if you have any questions about this course before it begins, please send them to me and I will happily address them.
The Focus and Aim of the Course:
As I have already stated, this course is not designed for those seeking ‘formal’ education in Old Norse. The aim of the course is to provide anyone interested in the language with a free, online, and carefully constructed resource. It is designed for any level of learner, though it is mostly aimed at those who have a more casual interest in the language. For those seeking a more formal education, refer to the books I have listed above, but do feel free to use these lessons for extra practice and study.
This course focuses on the ability to read, and perhaps even translate, standardized Old Norse. With that being said, there will not be heavy emphasis placed on the reading of runes nor of actual manuscripts (although some of each will be included for exposure purposes). Most of the examples and exercises will be based on sources of Old Norse prose, with standardized text coming from works such as Sagas of Icelanders and the Prose Edda.
The expectations of the course are quite lax. There will be assignments and exercises, but there is no pressure nor harsh grading, of course. This is meant to be a fun experience, so don’t make it stressful!
Current Lesson Plan:
The lesson plan provided below is subject to change, and it is also not a complete lesson plan by any means. So far, I have loosely planned the first four lessons, which together should consist of roughly 34 posts.
Prelude: Introducing the ‘Course’
Lesson I: An Introduction.
1.1 - Introducing the Language.
1.1.1 - A Brief Historical Linguistic Telling.
1.2 - Alphabets: From Runes to Latin Script.
1.2.1 - Special Characters Explained: 'þ’ and 'ð’.
1.2.2 - Special Characters Explained: 'ö’ versus 'ǫ’.
1.3 - Methods for Pronunciation.
Lesson II: Njáll hét maðr.
2.1 - Sagas and the Art of Writing in Old Norse.
2.2 - An Introduction to Nouns.
2.2.1 - Noun Apposition.
2.2.2 - Strong versus Weak Nouns.
2.3 - An Introduction to Adjectives.
2.4 - An Introduction to Personal Pronouns.
2.5 - An Introduction to Verbs.
2.5.1 - Strong versus Weak Verbs.
2.5.2 - The Verb ’Vera’ (To be): Present and Past Tenses.
2.5.3 - Common Verbs and Their Most Common Past Tense Forms.
2.6 - Saga Exercise: Brennu-Njáls saga, chapter 20.
2.7 - (Review) Vocabulary List 1.
Lesson III: Unnr in djúpúðga.
3.1 - The Characters of the Sagas and their Nicknames.
3.2 - Proper Nouns.
3.3 - The Definite Article.
3.4 - More on Personal Pronouns.
3.5 - The Reflexive Pronoun ‘Sinn’.
3.6 - Saga Exercise: Laxdæla saga, chapter 1.
3.7 - (Review) Vocabulary List 2.
Lesson IV: Hver er æðstr eða elstr allra goða?
4.1 - The Prose Edda.
4.2 - U-umlaut.
4.3 - Weak Verbs in the Present Tense.
4.3.1 - Frequent Weak Verbs.
4.3.2 - The Verb ‘Hafa’ (To have): Present Tense.
4.4 - Interrogatives: Hverr, Hvar, ok Hvat?
4.5 - Common Words Used for Speech.
4.6 - Mythology Exercise: Gylfaginning, chapter 3.
4.7 - (Review) Vocabulary List 3.
Patience will be required if you truly want to prosper from this course. Lessons will likely not be posted consistently due to my busy schedule. Also, it will take a bit before we actually get to properly learning Old Norse. Nonetheless, the introductory material in lesson 1 is vital to truly understanding the language, and, believe it or not, it will make learning the language much easier moving forward.
Help and Guidance:
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns or questions, whether through the many methods Tumblr has to offer (ask, message, reblog, reply, etc.) or via email ([email protected]). I am always available to lend a hand. If you are interested in this course, I truly hope that you will find it helpful, as well as enjoyable.
Með vinsemd og virðingu, (With friendliness and respect,) Fjörn
DISCLAIMER
