
The Wordhord
Daily Life in Old English
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Narrated by:
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Sara Powell
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By:
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Hana Videen
This audiobook narrated by Sara Powell takes listeners on an entertaining and illuminating tour of weird, wonderful, and downright baffling words from the origins of English
Old English is the language you think you know until you actually hear or see it. Unlike Shakespearean English or even Chaucer's Middle English, Old English—the language of Beowulf—defies comprehension by untrained modern readers. Used throughout much of Britain more than a thousand years ago, it is rich with words that haven't changed (like word), others that are unrecognizable (such as neorxnawang, or paradise), and some that are mystifying even in translation ( gafol-fisc, or tax-fish). In this delightful book, Hana Videen gathers a glorious trove of these gems and uses them to illuminate the lives of the earliest English speakers. We discover a world where choking on a bit of bread might prove your guilt, where fiend-ship was as likely as friendship, and where you might grow up to be a laughter-smith.
The Wordhord takes listeners on a journey through Old English words and customs related to practical daily activities (eating, drinking, learning, working); relationships and entertainment; health and the body, mind, and soul; the natural world (animals, plants, and weather); locations and travel (the source of some of the most evocative words in Old English); mortality, religion, and fate; and the imagination and storytelling. Each chapter ends with its own "wordhord"—a list of its Old English terms, with definitions and pronunciations.
Entertaining and enlightening, The Wordhord reveals the magical roots of the language you're reading right now: you'll never look at—or speak—English in the same way again.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2022 Hana Videen (P)2022 Princeton University PressListeners also enjoyed...




















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Brilliant!
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The reason I took off a star for the overall rating is that the recording is somewhat bafflingly poor in quality. It's not beyond the pale, but it's bad enough that it made me wonder what kind of quality control they had for the sound. It sounds like it was recorded with a cheap microphone. Very often, "s" sounds are somewhat distorted so that they sound more like "th" sounds. When listening to a book with new and interesting words, this can be a problem. There also just seemed to be a high level of noise that was dealt with by a filter, which is probably related to the problem. It was enough of an issue that it occasionally distracted me from enjoying an otherwise superb book and performance.
Still, as I said, the bad sound is not severe enough to dissuade me from recommending the book to anyone interested in the topic.
Great book, great performance, poorly recorded
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So Great! More please.
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enjoyable and enlightening
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Wonderful to hear the Old English words spoken so clearly
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Captivating
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I don’t usually write reviews but wanted to give a shout-out to Susan Powell, who did phenomenal work narrating and nailing the prononciations.
wundrung!
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excellent book!
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Unique information
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Love it!!!
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