Palaeography

I bogen ”Sprogets udvikling og opståen”, der blev udgivet første gang i 1926, kaster den danske sprogforsker Otto Jespersen et blik på de store linjer i sprogenes forandringer og ser nærmere på spørgsmålet om, hvorvidt man kan sige noget om sprogets oprindelse.Otto Jespersen, Jens Otto Harry Jespersen, (1860-1943) var en dansk sprogforsker. I perioden 1893-1925 var han professor i engelsk sprog og litteratur ved Københavns Universitet, og hans bøger om engelsk sprog og grammatik blev anvendt i undervisningen både ved de danske og de britiske universiteter. Otto Jespersen er desuden kendt for sin forskning i sprogets lydside, og hans bog ”Fonetik” betragtes som banebrydende inden for europæisk sprogforskning.

I løbet af en sommers rundrejser i Finland fik den danske sprogforsker Vilhelm Thomsen indsamlet det resterende materiale til det, der skulle blive hans doktorafhandling "Den gotiske sprogklasses indflydelse på den finske", hvori han belyser de mange mærkelige ordligheder mellem finsk og de ældre germanske sprog. Afhandlingen fik banebrydende betydning for både finsk sproghistorie og for senere studier af låneord. Den udkom første gang i 1869.Vilhelm Thomsen (1842-1927) var en dansk sprogforsker og professor i sammenlignende sprogvidenskab ved Københavns Universitet 1887-1913. Han modtog Elefantordenen i 1913 og var præsident for Videnskabernes Selskab fra 1909 og frem til sin død i 1927.

'The New-England Primer Improved' is an educational work by the Westminster Assembly that showcases how children were taught reading, religion and morals in the 17th Century.'The New England Primer' was the very first reading primer for the American Colonies, and it remained extremely popular until the end of the 18th century. A humble little book that provides a strong example of the way the Founding Fathers taught lessons of morality, upbringings, and religion, and how they also passed their values to the next generations.It's very interesting to see that the methods from centuries ago are not all that different from the ones we still use today.The Westminster Assembly was an English council of theologians and other educational ministers that gathered in order to restructure the Church of England. Among their many contributions were the publication of instructional and educational materials that dealt with religion, children's upbringing, and the English language.

The English language that is spoken by one billion people around the world is a linguistic mongrel, its vocabulary a diverse mix resulting from centuries of borrowing from other tongues.From the Celtic languages of pre-Roman Britain to Norman French; from the Vikings' Old Scandinavian to Persian, Sanskrit, Algonquian, Cantonese and Hawaiian – amongst a host of others – we have enriched our modern language with such words as tulip, slogan, doolally, avocado, moccasin, ketchup and ukulele.May We Borrow Your Language? explores the intriguing and unfamiliar stories behind scores of familiar words that the English language has filched from abroad; in so doing, it also sheds fascinating light on the wider history of the development of the English we speak today.Full of etymological nuggets to intrigue and delight the reader, this is a gift book for word buffs to cherish – as cerebrally stimulating as it is more-ishly entertaining.Philip Gooden writes books about language as well as historical crime novels. The former include "Who's Whose? A No-Nonsense Guide to Easily-Confused Words", "The Story of English", and (as co-author) "Idiomantics" and "The Word at War".