Middle High German Verbs [Paperback]

Scott Shay (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1411679326 | ISBN-13: 978-1411679320 | Publication Date: April 17, 2006

Middle High German Verbs presents an in-depth look at Middle High German (MHG) verbs, with tables of the most common verbs, fully conjugated. MHG was the language of the great literary works of the Middle Ages in the German speaking world, including Iwein, Parzival, Tristan, Minnelieder, Nibelungenlied, and Gudrun. The reader using only a dictionary will have a difficult task figuring out what the proper infinitive form of a given verb instance might be. This book provides a comprehensive reference for MHG verbs to help you read and translate the great works of the period. The book presents an in-depth look at the makeup of MHG verbs, including grammatical concepts, in easy to understand language. It presents 340 of the most common verbs that exhibit some type of irregularity; each verb has its own page with translations, principle parts, and full conjugation for all appropriate numbers, persons, tenses, and moods. This book will be an important addition to your German linguistic and literature references.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...Shay's comprehensive presentation of MHG verbs in all their conjugated forms proves to be a welcome addition to our reference library." --Dr. Albrecht Classen, Die Unterrichtspraxis / Teaching German Vol. 39, No. 1/2 (Fall, 2006), p 130

From the Author

As a student of Middle High German in graduate school, struggling through such classic works as Hartmann von Aue's Iwein, and the Nibelungenlied, I realized that a book showing the various conjugations for a verb in all its detail would be quite helpful. I searched through bibliographies and scoured the Internet, and could find no such reference. Thus began this project. I believe that this book, along with a good dictionary, will be an invaluable aid and reference to all students of Middle High German language and literature.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 436 pages
• Publisher: Lulu.com (April 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1411679326
• ISBN-13: 978-1411679320
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #248,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Scott Shay is a linguist and author of books on Germanic linguistics. Growing up in the Pennsylvania Dutch country sparked his interest in language and linguistics, especially of the Germanic languages. After spending several year studying in Germany, he received a Master of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley in Germanic linguistics. He is currently working on his PhD in the field. He is the author of two books, Middle High German Verbs (2006) and The History of English: A Linguistic Introduction (2008), and the iRef Quick Reference Guide: German Grammar for Kindle (2011).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable for students, February 11, 2007

By 

Bill M. (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Middle High German Verbs (Paperback)

For any student who has struggled through Iwein or the Nibelungenlied, this is an essential reference. It is the perfect supplement to Lexer's Taschenwoerterbuch, and greatly extends the brief synopses available in Wright or Asher. Moreover, the warm and engaging style manages to bring the most obscure Ablautreihe to life. It should also be noted that this is not simply a verb list: there is a guide to MHG pronunciation, a grammatical precis, and an extensive index (so you don't already have to know that 'geseit' is a variant of 'sagen' in order to look it up and find the corresponding paradigm).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great reference work for those who study Middle High German, May 16, 2006

By 

Richard Whitt (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Middle High German Verbs (Paperback)

This book is an excellent reference book for anyone who studies history of the German language, especially the Middle High German period. Not only does Shay provide conjugation tables for 340 of the most frequently used verbs, he also provides a thorough overview of the verbal system, as well as a list of all the weak verbs. This text is very similar to books in the "501 Verbs" series (like "501 French Verbs," "501 Italian Verbs," etc.), except this is an historical language. It would be nice to see more books like this written about other historical languages simply because they would be so useful and handy.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best in class!, October 7, 2006

By 

do-not-ask-me "do-not-ask-me" (VA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Middle High German Verbs (Paperback)

Scott Shay has done an excellent job in producing this book. While not a novel on a "day in the life" or a time travel fantasy escape, it does what it is suppose to do, present Middle High German Verbs. It has done so in a simple, easy to understand and well researched way. Given this level of attention by Scott Shay, I would love to see other novels flow from his [pen] computer.