E-raamat: Runes and Germanic Linguistics [De Gruyter e-raamatud]

Antonsen here synthesizes 40 years of study into the earliest inscribed record of any Germanic language, disagreeing with previous linguistics scholars at many points. He uses a modified American structuralist approach to language analysis as the most readily applicable to studying written language. He assumes readers to be familiar with the basic runological works, and does not provide detailed descriptions of the archaeological finds or photographs of the individual inscriptions, though he indicates where a good photographic reproduction of each inscription can be found. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

The series publishes state-of-the-art work on core areas of linguistics across theoretical frameworks as well as studies that provide new insights by building bridges to neighbouring fields such as neuroscience and cognitive science. The series considers itself a forum for cutting-edge research based on solid empirical data on language in its various manifestations, including sign languages. It regards linguistic variation in its synchronic and diachronic dimensions as well as in its social contexts as important sources of insight for a better understanding of the design of linguistic systems and the ecology and evolution of language.

The older runic inscriptions (ca. AD 150 - 450) represent the earliest attestation of any Germanic language. The close relationship of these inscriptions to the archaic Mediterranean writing traditions is demonstrated through the linguistic and orthographic analysis presented here. The extraordinary importance of these inscriptions for a proper understanding of the prehistory and early history of the present-day Germanic languages, including English, becomes abundantly clear once the accu-mulation of unfounded claims of older mythological and cultic studies is cleared away.