Old English
The Old English language, often called Anglo-Saxon, was spoken in Anglo-Saxon England from 450 AD to 1100 AD. It was spoken by the Anglo-Saxons, who came to Great Britain from what is now Germany and Denmark. Different Anglo-Saxon kingdoms spoke different dialects, but a western dialect became the main literary version. Both modern languages of England and Scotland (English and Scots) came from the language of the Anglo-Saxons.
Old English | ||||
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Anglo-Saxon Ænglisc, Englisc, Anglisc | ||||
Pronunciation | [ˈæŋliʃ] | |||
Region | England (except the extreme south-west and north-west), southern and eastern Scotland, and the eastern fringes of modern Wales. | |||
Ethnicity | Anglo Saxons | |||
Era | mostly developed into Middle English and Early Scots by the 13th century | |||
Language family | ||||
Dialects | ||||
Writing system | Runic, later Latin (Old English alphabet). | |||
Language codes | ||||
ISO 639-2 | ang | |||
ISO 639-3 | ang | |||
ISO 639-6 | ango | |||
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Old English is very different from Modern English and has many more Germanic words. In early centuries, it was rarely written down and even then was in runes. After the 9th century, the Latin alphabet was used more often. Old English grammar is difficult, with complex inflections, and close to Old German. Latin was used by churchmen like the venerable Bede. Old English gradually turned into Middle English after the Norman Conquest of 1066.
Beowulf is written in Old English in an alphabetic script.
language | wordlist | |||||||
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English | apple | path | eat | tide | make | child | give | day |
Old English | æppel | pæþ | etan | tid | macian | cild | giefan | dæg |
German | Apfel | Pfad | essen | Zeit | machen | Kind | geben | Tag |
Old English Media
Alfred the Great statue in Winchester, Hampshire. The 9th-century English King proposed that primary education be taught in English, with those wishing to advance to holy orders to continue their studies in Latin.
Her sƿutelað seo gecƿydrædnes ðe ('Here the Word is revealed to thee'). Old English inscription over the arch of the south porticus in the 10th century St Mary's parish church, Breamore, Hampshire
The runic alphabet used to write Old English before the introduction of the Latin alphabet
The first page of the Beowulf manuscript with its openingHƿæt ƿē Gārde/na ingēar dagum þēod cyninga / þrym ge frunon..."Listen! We of the Spear-Danes from days of yore have heard of the glory of the folk-kings..."
A recording of how the Lord's Prayer probably sounded in Old English, pronounced slowly
Other websites
- Old English -Citizendium
This language has its own Wikipedia project. See the Old English edition. |