This volume contains 25 articles covering a wide array of subjects, reflecting the breadth of scholarship of one of today’s leading experts in the field of Frisian Studies. The articles, written mostly in English and German, encompass a temporal range from Old Frisian to Modern Frisian and a geographical range from West Frisian in the Netherlands to Sater and North Frisian in Germany, and include Low German. Some articles initiate new fields of enquiry, e.g. uncharted areas of dialectology, others give comprehensive reviews of certain domains, e.g. the provenance of Old Frisian law texts, while a third category focusses on specific topics ranging from phonology, grammar and etymology to aspects of Frisian literature and a medieval Frisian ballad.

This volume reflects the breadth of scholarship of one of today's leading experts in the field of Frisian Studies. The articles, written mostly in English and German, encompass a temporal range from Old to Modern Frisian and a geographical range from West Frisian in the Netherlands to Sater and North Frisian in Germany, and include Low German.

Multi-disciplinary approaches shed fresh light on the Frisian people and their changing cultures.

It is a feature of the twenty-first century that world languages are displacing local languages at an alarming rate, transforming social relations and complicating cultural transmission in the process. This language shift—the gradual abandonment of minority languages in favor of national or international languages—is often in response to inequalities in power, signaling a pressure to conform to the political and economic structures represented by the newly dominant languages. In its most extreme form, language shift can result in language death and thus the permanent loss of traditional knowledge and lifeways. To combat this, indigenous and scholarly communities around the world have undertaken various efforts, from archiving and lexicography to the creation of educational and cultural programs. What works in one community, however, may not work in another. Indeed, while the causes of language endangerment may be familiar, the responses to it depend on “highly specific local conditions and opportunities.” In keeping with this premise, the editors of this volume insist that to understand language endangerment, “researchers and communities must come to understand what is happening to the speakers, not just what is happening to the language.” The eleven case studies assembled here strive to fill a gap in the study of endangered languages by providing much-needed sociohistorical and ethnographic context and thus connecting specific language phenomena to larger national and international issues. The goal is to provide theoretical and methodological tools for researchers and organizers to best address the specific needs of communities facing language endangerment. The case studies here span regions as diverse as Kenya, Siberia, Papua New Guinea, Mexico, Venezuela, the United States, and Germany. The volume includes a foreword by linguistic anthropologist Jane Hill and an afterword by poet and linguist Ofelia Zepeda.

This is the first text book to offer a comprehensive approach to Old Frisian. Part One begins with a succinct survey of the history of the Frisians during the Middle Ages, their society and literary culture. Next follow chapters on the phonology, morphology, word formation and syntax of Old Frisian. This part is concluded by a chapter on the Old Frisian dialects and one on problems regarding the periodization of Frisian and the close relationship between (Old) Frisian and (Old) English. Part Two consists of a reader with a representative selection of twenty-one texts with explanatory notes and a full glossary. A bibliography and a select index complete the book. Written by an experienced teacher and researcher in the field, An Introduction to Old Frisian is an essential resource for students and researchers of Frisian, Old English and other ‘Old’ Germanic languages and cultures, and for medievalists working in this area. The second unrevised 2011 reprint of the original edition contains several corrections.