Old English

Old English, also called Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest form of the English language. It was spoken in England and parts of Scotland during the Early Middle Ages. This language came from the tongues brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th century. The first pieces of Old English writing date to the mid-7th century.

After the Norman Conquest in 1066, English was replaced for a time by Anglo-Norman, a kind of French. This event ended the Old English period, and the language began changing into what we now call Middle English.

Old English came from dialects spoken by Germanic tribes like the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. As these groups settled in England, their language replaced the older Celtic language and Latin spoken there. Old English had four main dialects: Kentish, Mercian, Northumbrian, and West Saxon. West Saxon became the basis for much of Old English literature.

Unlike today’s English, Old English had many ending changes in words and more flexible word order. At first, people used a runic system to write it, but later switched to a version of the Latin alphabet. Though hard for us to understand now, Old English is a vital part of our language’s history.

Etymology

The word "English" comes from Englisċ, which means "pertaining to the Angles". The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Britain during the 5th century. By the 9th century, people speaking Old English were called Englisċ.

The name Englisċ might have come from an old Proto-Germanic word. Another idea is that it came from a word meaning curve or hook, perhaps because the Angles lived on curved land shaped like a fishhook.

History

Further information: History of English

Old English was the first form of the English language. People spoke it from the 5th century until the late 11th century. It came from the languages that Anglo-Saxon settlers brought to Britain. Many Old English words are not used today, but some are still part of our language.

Old English was a West Germanic language, like dialects spoken near the North Sea. People used it in most of what is now England and parts of southeastern Scotland. After the Norman Conquest in 1066, Anglo-Norman French became the language of the upper classes for many years. The oldest surviving work of Old English literature is Cædmon's Hymn, written in the late 7th century.

Dialects

Old English, like Modern English, had different forms depending on where you lived. The main dialects were Mercian, Northumbrian, Kentish, and West Saxon. Each was linked to a different kingdom in England.

Northumbrian was spoken north of the Humber River, Mercian between the Humber and the Thames, West Saxon south and southwest of the Thames, and Kentish in a small area southeast of the Thames. Over time, Viking invasions changed these areas, and West Saxon became the standard language for government and literature. The other dialects influenced later forms of English, including Scots.

Influence of other languages

Further information: Celtic influence in English, Latin influence in English, and Scandinavian influence in English

Old English was influenced by many languages. The native British Celtic languages did not change Old English much, but a few words from Celtic remain, mostly in western areas. Latin added many words, especially after Christian missionaries brought the Latin alphabet for writing Old English.

Old Norse, the language of Scandinavian rulers and settlers, also had a big influence on Old English. Many common English words come from Old Norse. This influence helped make English grammar simpler.

Phonology

Old English had many sounds, some of which are similar to sounds in modern English but with important differences. For example, some sounds we no longer use, like certain soft consonants, disappeared as English changed over time. The way vowels and consonants changed helped shape the English we speak today.

Key changes included shifts in vowel sounds, the merging of diphthongs (combinations of vowel sounds), and the influence of nearby letters on pronunciation. These changes make Old English interesting to study, showing how language slowly evolves.

The sounds in Old English were influenced by the position of letters in a word and the letters around them, leading to many different pronunciations. These have since simplified in modern English.

Grammar

Old English used special word endings to show how words were related in a sentence. Nouns changed endings to show ownership or who was acting. Verbs changed endings to show if an action happened in the past or present and who was doing it.

The word order in Old English was more flexible than today because of these endings. Sentences often put the verb as the second important word. Questions were formed by switching word order, not using "do" like we do now.

Orthography

Old English was first written using runes, called the futhorc. These came from a German set of symbols. By the 8th century, writers started using a form of the Latin alphabet brought by Irish Christian teachers. This changed to a special cursive style called Insular script and later to Carolingian minuscule.

The Old English alphabet did not have the letters ⟨j⟩, ⟨w⟩, or ⟨v⟩. It added special symbols like ⟨æ⟩ and ⟨ð⟩, taken from old runes. Writers also used pairs of letters for single sounds and special signs for short words. Today, when we print old books, we use modern letters but keep some old symbols like ⟨æ⟩, ⟨ð⟩, and ⟨þ⟩. Old English spelling followed sound rules closely, without silent letters like in modern English.

Literature

Old English literature has about 400 surviving manuscripts. It mixes ideas from old pagan beliefs and Christianity, making it a rich collection from early Germanic peoples. Key works include Beowulf, an epic poem about a hero; the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a record of history; the Franks Casket, a decorated whalebone box; and Cædmon's Hymn, a religious poem. Most Old English writers are unknown, except for a few like Bede and Cædmon.

Beowulf begins with the story of Hrothgar's ancestor, Scyld, who was found as a baby and raised by a noble family. Old English poetry uses stress and alliteration, where words start with the same consonant sound. The Lord's Prayer and a charter from King Cnut in 1019 are also important examples of Old English writing.

Dictionaries

Old English lexicography started in the Anglo-Saxon period. Scholars made English glosses to explain Latin words. At first, these glosses were written in the edges or between the lines of Latin books. Later, they were collected into word-lists like the Épinal-Erfurt, Leiden, and Corpus Glossaries. These lists grew and were organized into bigger glossaries, such as the Cleopatra, Harley, and Brussels Glossaries.

In later times, Old English lexicography became popular again in the early modern period. Important books include William Somner's Dictionarium Saxonico-Latino-Anglicum and Joseph Bosworth's Anglo-Saxon Dictionary from 1838. Today, important dictionaries are the Dictionary of Old English, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary by Bosworth and Toller, and A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary by Clark Hall. These books help scholars learn about Old English words and what they mean.

Main articles: Dictionary of Old English, An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Roget's Thesaurus

Modern legacy

Old English still inspires writers and people who love languages today. Famous authors like J. R. R. Tolkien used Old English in their books. Some websites about Modern Paganism and historical reenactment encourage people to learn and use Old English. There is even an Old English version of Wikipedia.

But many online texts that try to look like Old English have mistakes and do not show the real language. Some people look back to Old English for new words or to bring back old ones.