Sengoidelc: Old Irish for Beginners (Irish Studies) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A welcome and friendly guide to those who would like to know more about the language and literature of early medieval Ireland." - Joseph Nagy, author of Conversing with Angels and Ancients: Literary Myths of Medieval Ireland"

Product Description

An introductory text to the Irish language as spoken around the eighth-century c.e., covering all aspects of the grammar in a clear and intuitive format.

David Stifter's Sengoídelc (SHAN-goy-delth) provides a comprehensive introduction to Old Irish grammar and metrics. Ideally suited for use as a course text and as a guide for the independent learner, this exhaustive handbook is also an invaluable reference work for students of Indo-European philology and historical linguistics. The author’s step-by-step presentation in an engaging styles lead the novice through the idiosyncracies of the language, such as initial mutations and the double inflection of verbs. Filled with translation exercises based on selections from Old Irish texts, the book provides a practical introduction to the language and its rich history. Sengoídelc opens the door to the fascinating world of Old Irish literature, famous not only for such gems as the Táin Bó Cúailgne (The Cattle Raid of Cúailgne) or lyrical nature poetry but also as a major source for the political and legal history of Ireland.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 391 pages
• Publisher: Syracuse University Press; Bilingual edition (June 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815630727
• ISBN-13: 978-0815630722
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #297,239 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A pleasure!, August 13, 2006

By	Richard A. Weaver (lawrenceville, GA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First, a couple of admissions:
1. I'm not an academic; I have no professional qualifications to judge this book. But I enjoy learning languages, and I know what works for me.
2. I'm only up to lesson 9.

Several years ago, I took a stab at learning Old Irish, using a combination of Lehmann, Quin, and Strachan. I didn't get too far. It's an extremely difficult language, and it has an exotic, almost non-IndoEuropean look to it. But with this book, the dedicated learner should be able to reach what looks like a fairly sophisticated reading proficiency in Old Irish.

After a couple of introductory chapters, the author gets down to business with Chapter 3 (phonology and orthography) and Chapter 4 (overview of the initial mutations). Don't rush pass these chapters in your haste to get into the meat of the grammar; unless you have a sound basis in the phonology, spelling, and sound changes, you'll have trouble down the road.

There are a total of 58 lessons - each lesson introduces several grammatical points. Most lessons have extensive exercises, and translation work from English to Old Irish, and vice-versa. Best of all, the answers to the exercises and translation sentences are provided in the rear of the book.

If you enjoy the intellectual challenge of learning an ancient language, you'll love this book. And it will probably give you that enjoyment for the better part of a year - there's that much material packed into this book. Just a great, great book. It won't make the learning of Old Irish easy (nothing can do that). But it makes it accessible and do-able, if you've got the patience and perseverence.

A nice touch - there are dozens of whimsical little drawings of sheep scattered throughout the book. I don't know what prompted the author to put them in, put I'm glad he did. And you will be, too.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended, August 24, 2007

By	Mara Grey "Mara" (Langley, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been studying Old Irish, with varying degrees of diligence, for over two years and I find this textbook to be the most helpful of all. Not only does David Stifter present the material in a logical manner, building gradually and explaining each step thorough, but he explains each of the rather esoteric grammatical terms commonly used for this complex language, a great help for someone not an accomplished scholar of linguistics.

A few things that I particularly appreciate: early introduction of a few bits of poetry to give a sense of the rewards of studying this beautiful language, the easy to read layout of the book, and the bits of humor contained in the small drawings of sheep, especially the one with a grimace subtitled "A sheep after having tried to master Old Irish orthography."

Old Irish is never going to be an easy subject and taking it one piece at a time, learning each one thoroughly before going on to the next, is the best method I've come up with. "Sengoidelc" is of great help on the journey.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The new gold standard, December 2, 2007

By	Jezykoznawca (Wroclaw, Poland) - See all my reviews

This is THE book for learning Old Irish, period. Old Irish is a notoriously forbidding language, probably the most difficult of all the older Indo-European languages. Stifter makes it come alive, through his mix of detailed yet clear grammatical explanations, translation exercises, and quirky humor (gotta love those sheep cartoons!) As an Indo-Europeanist, I wish I had had such a textbook when I first studied Old Irish, instead of having to slog my way through Quin's workbook like the last three generations of students ("The hero hit the two birds in the two trees with his sword"...)
Perfect for those interested in Celtic and Indo-European languages or medieval Irish literature!