Old English
(Englisc, Ænglisc), also called
Anglo-Saxon,The term Anglo-Saxon came to
refer to all things of the early English period by the 16th
century, including language, culture, and people. While this is
still the preferred term for the latter two aspects, the language
starting from the 19th century began to be called Old English. This
is because the language itself began to be studied in detail, and
scholars recognised the continued development of the English
language from the Anglo-Saxon period to
Middle English and through to the
present day. However many authors still use the term Anglo-Saxon to
refer to the language.
is an early form of the English
language that was spoken and written in parts of what are now
England
and south-eastern Scotland
between at
least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century. What
survives through writing represents primarily the literary register
of Anglo-Saxon. It is a
West
Germanic language and is closely related to
Old Frisian. It also experienced heavy influence
from
Old Norse, a member of the
related
North Germanic
group of
languages.
Development
Old English was not static, and its usage covered a period of
approximately 700 years – from the
Anglo-Saxon migrations that created England in
the 5th century to some time after the
Norman Conquest of 1066 when the language
underwent a dramatic transition.
During this early period it assimilated
some aspects of the languages with which it came in contact, such
as the Celtic languages and the two
dialects of Old Norse from the invading Vikings, who occupied and controlled large tracts of
land in northern and eastern England, which came to be known as the
Danelaw
.
Germanic origins
The most important force in shaping Old English was its Germanic
heritage in its vocabulary, sentence structure and grammar, which
it shared with its related languages in
continental Europe. Some of these
features are shared with the other
West Germanic languages with which
Old English is grouped, while some other features are traceable to
the reconstructed
Proto-Germanic
language from which all
Germanic
languages are believed to have derived.
Like other Germanic languages of the period, Old English was fully
inflected with five
grammatical cases (
nominative,
accusative,
genitive,
dative, and
instrumental, though the instrumental was
very rare), which had
dual
plural forms for referring to groups of two objects (but only
in the personal pronouns) in addition to the usual singular and
plural forms. It also assigned
gender to all
nouns,
including those that describe inanimate objects: for example,
sēo sunne (the
Sun) was feminine, while
se mōna (the
Moon) was masculine (cf. modern German
die
Sonne and
der Mond).
Latin influence
A large percentage of the educated and literate population of the
time were competent in
Latin, which was the
scholarly and diplomatic
lingua
franca of Europe at the time. It is sometimes possible to
give approximate dates for the entry of individual Latin words into
Old English based on which patterns of linguistic change they have
undergone. There were at least three notable periods of Latin
influence. The first occurred before the ancestral
Saxons left continental Europe for Britain. The
second began when the Anglo-Saxons were converted to
Christianity and Latin-speaking priests became
widespread. The third and largest single transfer of Latin-based
words happened after the Norman Conquest of 1066, when an enormous
number of
Norman words began to
influence the language. Most of these
Oïl language words were themselves
derived from
Old French and ultimately
from
classical Latin, although a
notable stock of Norse words were introduced or re-introduced in
Norman form. The Norman Conquest
approximately marks the end of Old English and the advent of
Middle English.
One of the ways the influence of Latin can be seen is that many
Latin words for activities came to also be used to refer to the
people engaged in those activities, an idiom carried over from
Anglo-Saxon but using Latin words. This can be seen in words like
militia,
assembly,
movement, and
service.
The language was further altered by the transition away from the
runic alphabet (also known as
futhorc or fuþorc) to
the
Latin alphabet, which was also a
significant factor in the developmental pressures brought to bear
on the language. Old English words were spelt as they were
pronounced. The "silent" letters in many Modern English words were
pronounced in Old English: for example, the
c in
cniht, the Old English ancestor
of the modern
knight, was pronounced. Another side-effect
of spelling words phonetically was that spelling was extremely
variable – the spelling of a word would reflect differences in the
phonetics of the writer's regional dialect, and also idiosyncratic
spelling choices which varied from author to author, and even from
work to work by the same author. Thus, for example, the word
and could be spelt either
and or
ond.
Norse influence
The second major source of loanwords to Old English was the
Scandinavian words introduced during the Viking invasions of the
9th and
10th
centuries.
In addition to a great many place names, these consist mainly of items of basic
vocabulary, and words concerned with particular administrative
aspects of the Danelaw (that is,
the area of land under Viking control, which included extensive
holdings all along the eastern coast of England and Scotland). The
Vikings spoke
Old Norse, a language
related to Old English in that both derived from the same ancestral
Proto-Germanic language. It is very common for the intermixing of
speakers of different dialects, such as those that occur during
times of political unrest, to result in a
mixed language, and one theory holds that
exactly such a mixture of Old Norse and Old English helped
accelerate the decline of case endings in Old English. Apparent
confirmation of this is the fact that simplification of the case
endings occurred earliest in the north and latest in the southwest,
the area farthest away from Viking influence. Regardless of the
truth of this theory, the influence of Old Norse on the English
language has been profound: responsible for such basic vocabulary
items as
sky,
leg, the
pronoun
they, the verb form
are, and hundreds of other words.
Celtic influence
Traditionally, many maintain that the influence of Celtic on
English has been small, citing the small number of Celtic loanwords
taken into the language. The number of Celtic
loanwords is of a lower order than either Latin or
Scandinavian. However, a
minority view is that distinctive Celtic traits can be discerned in
syntax from the post-Old English period.
Dialects
Old English should not be regarded as a single monolithic entity
just as
Modern English is also not
monolithic. Within Old English, there was language variation. Thus,
it is misleading, for example, to consider Old English as having a
single sound system. Rather, there were multiple Old English sound
systems. Old English has variation along regional lines as well as
variation across different times.
For example, the language attested in
Wessex
during the time of Æthelwold of Winchester, which
is named Late West Saxon (or Æthelwoldian
Saxon), is considerably different from the language attested in
Wessex during the time of Alfred the
Great's court, which is named Early West Saxon (or Classical
West Saxon or Alfredian Saxon). Furthermore, the difference
between Early West Saxon and Late West Saxon is of such a nature
that Late West Saxon is not directly descended from Early West
Saxon (despite what the similarity in name implies).
The four main
dialectal forms of Old
English were
Mercian,
Northumbrian,
Kentish, and
West Saxon. Each of those dialects
was associated with an independent kingdom on the island.
Of these,
all of Northumbria
and most of Mercia
were overrun
by the Vikings during the 9th century. The portion of Mercia
and all of
Kent that were
successfully defended were then integrated into Wessex.
After the process of unification of the diverse Anglo-Saxon
kingdoms in 878 by Alfred the Great, there is a marked decline in
the importance of regional dialects. This is not because they
stopped existing; regional dialects continued even after that time
to this day, as evidenced both by the existence of Middle and
Modern English dialects later on, and by common sense–-people do
not spontaneously adopt another dialect when there is a sudden
change of political power.
However, the bulk of the surviving documents from the Anglo-Saxon
period are written in the dialect of Wessex, Alfred's kingdom. It
seems likely that with consolidation of power, it became necessary
to standardise the language of government to reduce the difficulty
of administering the more remote areas of the kingdom. As a result,
documents were written in the West Saxon dialect. Not only this,
but Alfred was passionate about the spread of the
vernacular and brought many scribes to his region
from Mercia in order that previously unwritten texts be
recorded.
The
Church was affected likewise,
especially since Alfred initiated an ambitious programme to
translate religious materials into English. In order to retain his
patronage and ensure the widest circulation of the translated
materials, the monks and
priests engaged in
the programme worked in his dialect. Alfred himself seems to have
translated books out of Latin and into English, notably
Pope Gregory I's treatise on administration,
Pastoral Care
Because of the centralisation of power and the Viking invasions,
there is little or no written evidence for the development of
non-Wessex dialects after Alfred's unification.
Modern-day
Received
Pronunciation is not a direct descendant of the best-attested
dialect, Late West Saxon. It is rather a descendant of a Mercian
dialect-—either East Mercian or South-East Mercian. Thus, Late West
Saxon had little influence on the development of Modern English (by
which is meant RP or some similar dialect, e.g.
General American) and the developments
occurring in its antecedent, Middle English. Late West Saxon was
still used after the Norman Conquest but Latin and Norman French
then became the languages of the nobility and administration.
Grammar
Phonology
The inventory of classical Old English (i.e. Late West Saxon)
surface
phones, as usually
reconstructed, is as follows.
The sounds marked in
parentheses in the chart above
are
allophones:
- is an allophone of occurring after and when geminated
- is an allophone of occurring before and
- are allophones of respectively, occurring between vowels or voiced
consonants
- are allophones of occurring in coda position after front and back vowels
respectively
- is an allophone of occurring after a vowel, and, at an earlier
stage of the language, in the syllable onset.
The
front mid
rounded vowels occur in some
dialects of Old English, but not in the best
attested
Late West Saxon
dialect.
| Diphthongs |
Short (monomoraic) |
Long (bimoraic) |
| First element is close |
|
|
| Both elements are mid |
|
|
| Both elements are open |
|
|
Morphology
Unlike modern English, Old English is a
language rich with
morphological diversity and is
spelled essentially as it is pronounced. It maintains several
distinct cases: the
nominative,
accusative,
genitive,
dative
and (vestigially)
instrumental,
remnants of which survive only in a few pronouns in modern
English.
Syntax
Word order
The word order of Old English is widely believed to be
subject-verb-object (
SVO) as in
modern English and most
Germanic
languages. The word order of Old English, however, was not
overly important because of the aforementioned morphology of the
language. As long as declension was correct, it did not matter
whether you said, "My name is..." as "Mīn nama is..." or "Nama mīn
is..."
Questions
Because of its similarity with
Old
Norse, it is believed that the word order of Old English
changed when asking a question, from SVO to
VSO; i.e. swapping the verb and the
subject.
- "I am..." becomes "Am I...?"
- "Ic eom..." becomes "Eom ic...?"
Orthography
Old English was first written in
runes (
futhorc) but shifted to a
(minuscule)
half-uncial
script of the
Latin alphabet
introduced by Irish Christian missionaries. This was replaced by
insular script, a cursive and pointed
version of the half-uncial script. This was used until the end of
the 12th century when continental
Carolingian minuscule (also known as
Caroline) replaced the insular.
The letter
yogh was adapted from Irish
ecclesiastical forms of Latin <&NBSP; =""> ; the
letter ðæt <&NBSP; ="">
(called eth or edh in modern English) was an
alteration of Latin <&NBSP; ="">, and the runic
letters thorn and wynn are borrowings from
futhorc.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">Also used was a symbol for
the
conjunction
and, a character similar to the number seven
(<&NBSP; ="">, called a
Tironian note), and a symbol for the
relative pronoun þæt, a thorn with
a crossbar through the ascender (<&NBSP;
="">).</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">
Macrons <&NBSP; =""> over vowels were
rarely used to indicate long
vowels.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
="">Also used occasionally were abbreviations for
following
m’s or
n’s.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
="">All of the sound descriptions below are given using
symbols.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
Conventions of modern editions
A number of changes are traditionally made in published modern
editions of the original Old English manuscripts. Some of these
conventions include the introduction of punctuation and the
substitutions of symbols. The symbols <&NBSP; ="">
are used in modern editions, although their shapes in the insular
script are considerably different.</&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; ="">The insular symbols <&NBSP;
=""> and <&NBSP; =""> are substituted by
their modern counterpart <&NBSP;
="">.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
="">Insular <&NBSP; ="">Insular
<&NBSP; =""> is not equivalent to Middle English
yogh <&NBSP; ="">. is usually substituted
with its modern counterpart <&NBSP; =""> (which is
ultimately a Carolingian
symbol).</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">Additionally, modern
manuscripts often distinguish between a
velar and
palatal <&NBSP; =""> and
<&NBSP; =""> with diacritic dots above the putative
palatals: <&NBSP; ="">, <&NBSP;
="">.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">The
wynn symbol
<&NBSP; =""> is usually substituted with
<&NBSP;
="">.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">
Kentish <&NBSP; ="">
is sometimes substituted with modern <&NBSP;
="">.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">Macrons are usually found
in modern editions to indicate putative long vowels, while they are
usually lacking in the
originals.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">The decision to add
macrons is usually etymologically based as they are printed even
when these vowels are in unstressed positions where they would most
probably be
short.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">In older printed editions
of Old English works, an
acute accent
mark was used to maintain cohesion between Old English and Old
Norse
printing.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
The alphabetical symbols found in Old English writings and their
substitute symbols found in modern editions are listed below:
| Symbol |
Description and notes |
|
Short . Spelling variations like <&NBSP; ~=""
=""> "land" suggest it may have had a rounded allophone before in some
cases)</&NBSP;> |
|
Long . Rarely found in manuscripts, but usually distinguished
from short <&NBSP; =""> in modern
editions.</&NBSP;> |
|
Short . Before 800 the digraph <&NBSP; =""> is
often found instead of <&NBSP;
="">.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;> <&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">During the 8th century
<&NBSP; =""> began to be used more frequently was
standard after
800.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">In 9th century Kentish
manuscripts, a form of <&NBSP; =""> that was
missing the upper hook of the <&NBSP; =""> part was
used.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">Kentish <&NBSP;
=""> may be either or although this is difficult to
determine.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;> |
|
Long . Rarely found in manuscripts, but usually distinguished
from short <&NBSP; =""> in modern
editions.</&NBSP;> |
|
Represented . Also represented in early texts before 800. For
example, the word "sheaves" is spelled <&NBSP; ="">
in an early text but later (and more commonly) as <&NBSP;
="">.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;> |
|
Except in the digraphs
<&NBSP; ="">, either or .</&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; ="">The pronunciation is sometimes written
with a diacritic by modern editors: most
commonly <&NBSP; ="">, sometimes <&NBSP;
=""> or <&NBSP;
="">.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
="">Before a consonant letter the pronunciation is always
; word-finally after <&NBSP; =""> it is always
.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">Otherwise a knowledge of
the historical linguistics of
the word in question is needed to predict which pronunciation is
needed.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">(See The
distribution of velars and palatals in Old English for
details.)</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;> |
|
(the surface pronunciation of geminate
); occasionally also for |
|
Represented . In the earliest texts, it also represented but
was soon replaced by <&NBSP; =""> and
<&NBSP; ="">.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP; ="">For
example, the word meaning "thought" (lit. mood-i-think, with -i- as
in "handiwork") was written <&NBSP; =""> in a
Northumbrian text dated 737, but later as <&NBSP;
=""> in a 10th century West Saxon
text.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;> |
|
Represented and its allophone . Called in Old English (now
called eth in Modern English),
<&NBSP; =""> is found in alternation with the
thorn <&NBSP; =""> symbol (both
representing the same sound) although it is more common in texts
dating before Alfred.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP; ="">Replaced
earlier <&NBSP; =""> and <&NBSP;
=""> (along with <&NBSP;
="">).</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">First attested (in
definitely dated materials) in the 7th
century.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">After the beginning of
Alfred's time, <&NBSP; =""> was used more
frequently for medial and final positions while <&NBSP;
=""> became increasingly used in initial positions
(although both still
varied).</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">Some modern editions
attempt to regularise the variation between <&NBSP;
=""> by using only <&NBSP;
="">.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;> |
|
Short . |
|
Either Kentish or although this is difficult to determine. A
modern editorial substitution for a form of <&NBSP;
=""> missing the upper hook of the <&NBSP;
=""> found in 9th century
texts.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;> |
|
Long . Rarely found in manuscripts, but usually distinguished
from short <&NBSP; =""> in modern
editions.</&NBSP;> |
|
Short ; after <&NBSP; ="">, sometimes or
.</&NBSP;> |
|
Long . Rarely found in manuscripts, but usually distinguished
from short <&NBSP; =""> in modern
editions.</&NBSP;> <&NBSP; ="">After
<&NBSP; ="">, sometimes
.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;> |
|
Short ; after <&NBSP; ="">,
sometimes</&NBSP;> |
|
Long . Rarely found in manuscripts, but usually distinguished
from short <&NBSP; =""> in modern
editions.</&NBSP;> |
|
and its allophone |
|
Mostly absent in Old English works, but used as a substitute
for <&NBSP; =""> in modern
editions.</&NBSP;> |
|
and its allophone ; and its allophone (when after
<&NBSP; ="">).</&NBSP;> <&NBSP;
="">In modern printed editions of Old English works, the
symbol <&NBSP; =""> is used instead of the more
common <&NBSP;
="">.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">The and pronunciations are
sometimes written <&NBSP; =""> or <&NBSP;
=""> by modern
editors.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">Before a consonant letter
the pronunciation is always (word-initially) or (after a
vowel).</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">Word-finally after
<&NBSP; =""> it is always
.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
="">Otherwise a knowledge of the historical linguistics of the word in
question is needed to predict which pronunciation is
needed.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
="">(See The
distribution of velars and palatals in Old English for
details.)</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;> |
|
and its allophones . In the combinations <&NBSP;
="">, the second consonant was certainly
voiceless.</&NBSP;> |
|
Short . |
|
Long . Rarely found in manuscripts, but usually distinguished
from short <&NBSP; =""> in modern
editions.</&NBSP;> |
|
Short ; after <&NBSP; ="">, sometimes
.</&NBSP;> |
|
Long . Rarely found in manuscripts, but usually distinguished
from short <&NBSP; =""> in modern
editions.</&NBSP;> <&NBSP; ="">After
<&NBSP; ="">, sometimes
.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;> |
|
(rarely used) |
|
; probably velarised (as in Modern
English) when in coda position. |
|
|
|
and its allophone |
|
Short . |
|
Long . Rarely found in manuscripts, but usually distinguished
from short <&NBSP; =""> in modern
editions.</&NBSP;> |
|
Short (in dialects with this sound). |
|
Long (in dialects with this sound). Rarely found in
manuscripts, but usually distinguished from short <&NBSP;
=""> in modern editions.</&NBSP;> |
|
|
|
A rare spelling of , which was usually written as > (=
> in modern editions).The spelling <&NBSP;
=""> is much more common in later Middle English. |
|
; the exact nature of r is not known. It may have been
an alveolar approximant , as in
most Modern English accents, an alveolar
flap , or an alveolar trill
. |
|
A substitution for an insular symbol resembling <&NBSP;
=""> that is used in modern printed editions of Old
English works.</&NBSP;> <&NBSP; ="">It
represents and its allophone .</&NBSP;> |
|
or occasionally . |
|
|
|
Represented in the earliest texts but was soon replaced by
<&NBSP; =""> and <&NBSP;
="">.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;> <&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">For example, the word
meaning "thought" (lit. mood-i-think, with -i- as in "handiwork")
was written <&NBSP; =""> in a 6th century
Northumbrian text, but later as <&NBSP; =""> in a
10th century West Saxon
text.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;> |
|
An alternate symbol called thorn
used instead of <&NBSP; ="">.</&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; ="">Represents and its allophone
.</&NBSP;> <&NBSP; ="">Replaced earlier
<&NBSP; =""> and <&NBSP; ="">
(along with <&NBSP;
="">).</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
="">First attested (in definitely dated materials) in the
8th
century.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
="">Less common than <&NBSP; =""> before
the Alfred's
time.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">From the beginning of
Alfred's time and onward, <&NBSP; =""> was used
increasingly more frequently than <&NBSP; =""> at
the beginning of words while its occurrence at the end and in the
middle of words was
rare.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;>
<&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; =""><&NBSP;
=""><&NBSP; ="">Some modern editions
attempt to regularise the variation between <&NBSP;
=""> by using only <&NBSP;
="">.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;> |
|
and in early texts of continental scribes. The <&NBSP;
=""> was eventually replaced by <&NBSP;
=""> outside of the north of the
island.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;> |
|
Short in early texts of continental scribes. Outside of the
north, it was generally replaced by <&NBSP;
="">.</&NBSP;> |
|
Long . Rarely found in manuscripts, but usually distinguished
from short <&NBSP; =""> in modern
editions.</&NBSP;> |
|
. A modern substitution for <&NBSP;
="">.</&NBSP;> |
|
Runic wynn. Represents , replaced
in modern print by <&NBSP; =""> to prevent
confusion with <&NBSP;
="">.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;> |
|
(but according to some authors, ) |
|
Short . |
|
Long . Rarely found in manuscripts, but usually distinguished
from short <&NBSP; =""> in modern
editions.</&NBSP;> |
|
. A rare spelling for <&NBSP;
="">.</&NBSP;> <&NBSP;
="">Example: "best" is rarely spelled <&NBSP;
=""> for more common <&NBSP;
="">.</&NBSP;></&NBSP;></&NBSP;> |
Doubled consonants are
geminated;
the geminate fricatives
ðð/
þþ,
ff and
ss cannot be voiced.
Literature
Old English literature, though more abundant than literature of the
continent before
AD 1000, is nonetheless
scanty. In his supplementary article to the 1935 posthumous edition
of Bright's
Anglo-Saxon Reader, Dr. James Hulbert
writes:
In such historical conditions, an incalculable amount
of the writings of the Anglo-Saxon period perished.
What they contained, how important they were for an
understanding of literature before the Conquest, we have no means
of knowing: the scant catalogs of monastic libraries do not help
us, and there are no references in extant works to other
compositions....How incomplete our materials are can be illustrated
by the well-known fact that, with few and relatively unimportant
exceptions, all extant Anglo-Saxon poetry is preserved in four
manuscripts.
Old English was one of the first
vernacular languages to be written down. Some of
the most important surviving works of Old English literature are
Beowulf, an
epic
poem; the
Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle, a record of early English history; and
Caedmon's Hymn, a Christian religious poem.
There are also a number of extant prose works, such as sermons and
saints' lives, biblical translations, and translated Latin works of
the early Church Fathers, legal documents, such as laws and wills,
and practical works on grammar, medicine, and geography. Still,
poetry is considered the heart of Old English literature. Nearly
all Anglo-Saxon authors are anonymous, with a few exceptions, such
as
Bede and
Caedmon.
Comparison with other historical forms of English
Old English is often erroneously used to refer to any form
of English other than
Modern English.
The term
Old English does not refer to varieties of
Early Modern English such as
are found in
Shakespeare or the
King James Bible, nor does it refer
to
Middle English, the language of
Chaucer and his contemporaries. The
following timeline helps place the
history of the English
language in context. The dates used are approximate dates.
Language change is gradual, and
cannot be as easily demarcated as are historical or political
events.
Examples
Beowulf
The first example is taken from the opening lines of the epic poem
Beowulf. This passage describes how
Hrothgar's legendary ancestor
Scyld was found as a baby, washed up on the shore, and
adopted by a noble family. The translation is quite literal and
represents the original poetic word order. As such, it is not
typical of Old English prose. The modern cognates of original words
have been used whenever practical to give a close approximation of
the feel of the original poem. The words in brackets are implied in
the Old English by noun case and the bold words in parentheses are
explanations of words that have slightly different meanings in a
modern context. Notice how
what is used by the poet where
a word like
lo or
behold would be expected. This
usage is similar to
what-ho!, both an expression of
surprise and a call to attention.
| Line |
Original |
Translation |
| [1] |
Hwæt! wē Gār-Dena in geār-dagum, |
What! We [of] Gar-Danes (lit. spear-danes) in
yore-days, |
| [2] |
þeod-cyninga, þrym gefrunon, |
[of] people-kings, trim (glory) afrained
(have learned of by asking), |
| [3] |
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon. |
how those athelings (princes) arm-strong feats
framed (made/performed). |
| [4] |
Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum, |
Oft Scyld Scefing, [from] scathers (enemies)
[in] threats (armed bands), |
| [5] |
monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah, |
[from] many magths (clans, groups of sons, cf.
Irish cognate Mac-), mead-settles took, |
| [6] |
egsode eorlas. Syððan ærest wearð |
awed earls (leaders of men). Sith
(since) erst (first) [he] worth
(came to be) |
| [7] |
feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad, |
fewshiped (helpless, in "fewship") founden, he
[in a state of] loving care abode (lived), |
| [8] |
weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah, |
wex (waxed) under welkin (the
clouds), [in] mind's-worth (honour)
thrived, |
| [9] |
oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra |
oth that (until that) [to] him each [of] those
[who were] by-sitting ("sitting" or dwelling
roundabout) |
| [10] |
ofer hronrade hyran scolde, |
over whale-road (kenning for sea) hear
(obedience) should (owed), |
| [11] |
gomban gyldan. Þæt wæs god cyning! |
gifts [to] yield. That was [a] good king! |
A semi-fluent translation in Modern English would be:
Listen! We have heard of the glory of the Spear-Danes, of the kings
of the people, in the days of yore, [and] how those princes did
deeds of glory. Often Scyld Scefing deprived armed bands of foes,
many clans of mead-benches, [and] terrified warriors. Since he
first was found helpless, he grew under the heavens, [and] thrived
with honours, until each of the nearby peoples over the sea were
obliged to pay him tribute. That was a good king!
The Lord's Prayer
This text of
The Lord's Prayer is
presented in the standardised West Saxon literary dialect
| Line |
Original |
Translation |
| [1] |
Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum, |
Father ours, thou that art in heaven, |
| [2] |
Si þin nama gehalgod. |
Be thy name hallowed. |
| [3] |
To becume þin rice, |
Come thy rich (kingdom), |
| [4] |
gewurþe ðin willa, on eorðan swa swa on heofonum. |
Worth (manifest) thy will, on earth also as in
heaven. |
| [5] |
Urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg, |
Our daily loaf sell (give) us today, |
| [6] |
and forgyf us ure gyltas, swa swa we forgyfað urum
gyltendum. |
And forgive us our guilts as also we forgive our guilty |
| [7] |
And ne gelæd þu us on costnunge, ac alys us of yfele. |
And lead thou us not in temptation, but loose
(release) us of evil. |
| [8] |
Soþlice. |
Soothly. |
Charter of Cnut
This is a proclamation from King
Canute
the Great to his
earl Thorkell the Tall and the English people
written in AD 1020. Unlike the previous two examples, this text is
prose rather than poetry. For ease of reading, the passage has been
divided into sentences while the
pilcrows
represent the original division.
| Original |
Translation |
| ¶ Cnut cyning gret his arcebiscopas and his leod-biscopas and
Þurcyl eorl and ealle his eorlas and ealne his þeodscype,
twelfhynde and twyhynde, gehadode and læwede, on Englalande
freondlice. |
¶ Cnut, king, greets his archbishops and his
people's-bishops and Thorkell, earl, and
all his earls and all his peopleship,
greater (having a 1200 shilling weregild)
and lesser (200 shilling
weregild), hooded(ordained to priesthood)
and lewd(lay), in England friendly. |
| And ic cyðe eow, þæt ic wylle beon hold hlaford and unswicende
to godes gerihtum and to rihtre woroldlage. |
And I kithe(make known/couth to) you, that I
will be [a] hold(civilised) lord and
unswiking(uncheating) to God's
rights(laws) and to [the]
rights(laws) worldly. |
| ¶ Ic nam me to gemynde þa gewritu and þa word, þe se arcebiscop
Lyfing me fram þam papan brohte of Rome, þæt ic scolde æghwær godes
lof upp aræran and unriht alecgan and full frið wyrcean be ðære
mihte, þe me god syllan wolde. |
¶ I nam(took) me to mind the writs and the
word that the Archbishop Lyfing me
from the Pope brought of Rome, that I should
ayewhere(everywhere) God's
love(praise) uprear(promote), and
unright(outlaw) lies, and full
frith(peace) work(bring about) by
the might that me God would(wished) [to]
sell(give). |
| ¶ Nu ne wandode ic na minum sceattum, þa hwile þe eow unfrið on
handa stod: nu ic mid godes fultume þæt totwæmde mid minum
scattum. |
¶ Now, ne went(withdrew/changed) I not my
shot(financial contribution, cf. Norse
cognate in scot-free) the while that you
stood(endured) unfrith(turmoil)
on-hand: now I, mid(with) God's
support, that [unfrith]
totwemed(separated/dispelled)
mid(with) my shot(financial
contribution). |
| Þa cydde man me, þæt us mara hearm to fundode, þonne us wel
licode: and þa for ic me sylf mid þam mannum þe me mid foron into
Denmearcon, þe eow mæst hearm of com: and þæt hæbbe mid godes
fultume forene forfangen, þæt eow næfre heonon forð þanon nan
unfrið to ne cymð, þa hwile þe ge me rihtlice healdað and min lif
byð. |
Tho(then) [a] man kithed(made
known/couth to) me that us more harm
had found(come upon)
than us well liked(equalled): and
tho(then) fore(travelled) I,
meself, mid(with) those men that
mid(with) me fore(travelled),
into Denmark that [to] you most harm came
of(from): and that[harm] have [I],
mid(with) God's support,
afore(previously)
forefangen(forestalled) that to you never
henceforth thence none unfrith(breach of peace) ne
come the while that ye me rightly hold(behold as
king) and my life beeth. |
See also
Notes
Bibliography
Sources
- Whitelock, Dorothy (ed.) (1955) English Historical
Documents; vol. I: c. 500–1042. London: Eyre
& Spottiswoode
General
- Baugh, Albert C.; & Cable, Thomas. (1993). A History of
the English Language (4th ed.). London: Routledge.
- (Reissue of one of 4 eds. 1877–1902)
- Hogg, Richard M. (ed.). (1992). The Cambridge History of
the English Language: (Vol 1): the Beginnings to 1066.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Hogg, Richard; & Denison, David (eds.) (2006) A History
of the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
- Jespersen, Otto (1909–1949) A
Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles. 7 vols.
Heidelberg: C. Winter & Copenhagen: Ejnar Munksgaard
- Lass, Roger (1987) The Shape of English: structure and
history. London: J. M. Dent & Sons
- Quirk, Randolph; & Wrenn, C. L. (1957). An Old English
Grammar (2nd ed.) London: Methuen.
- Strang, Barbara M. H. (1970) A History of English.
London: Methuen.
External history
- Bremmer Jr, Rolf H. (2009). An Introduction to Old
Frisian. History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary.
Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
- Stenton, F. M. (1971). Anglo-Saxon England (3rd ed.).
Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Orthography/Palaeography
- Bourcier, Georges. (1978). L'orthographie de l'anglais:
Histoire et situation actuelle. Paris: Presses Universitaires
de France.
- Campbell, A. (1959). Old
English Grammar. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Elliott, Ralph W. V. (1959). Runes: An introduction.
Manchester: Manchester University Press.
- Keller, Wolfgang. (1906). Angelsächsische Paleographie, I:
Einleitung. Berlin: Mayer & Müller.
- Ker, N. R. (1957). A Catalogue of Manuscripts Containing
Anglo-Saxon. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Ker, N. R. (1957: 1990). A Catalogue of Manuscripts
Containing Anglo-Saxon; with supplement prepared by Neil Ker
originally published in Anglo-Saxon England; 5, 1957.
Oxford: Clarendon Press ISBN 0198112513
- Page, R. I. (1973). An Introduction to English Runes. London:
Methuen.
- Scragg, Donald G. (1974). A History of English
Spelling. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Phonology
- Anderson, John M; & Jones, Charles. (1977).
Phonological structure and the history of English.
North-Holland linguistics series (No. 33). Amsterdam:
North-Holland.
- Brunner, Karl. (1965). Altenglische Grammatik (nach der
angelsächsischen Grammatik von Eduard Sievers neubearbeitet)
(3rd ed.). Tübingen: Max Niemeyer.
- Campbell, A. (1959). Old English Grammar. Oxford:
Clarendon Press.
- Girvan, Ritchie. (1931). Angelsaksisch Handboek; E. L.
Deuschle (transl.). (Oudgermaansche Handboeken; No. 4). Haarlem:
Tjeenk Willink.
- Halle, Morris; & Keyser, Samuel J. (1971). English
Stress: its form, its growth, and its role in verse. New York:
Harper & Row.
- Hockett, Charles F. (1959). "The stressed syllabics of Old
English". Language, 35 (4), 575–597.
- Hogg, Richard M. (1992). A Grammar of Old English, I:
Phonology. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
- Kuhn, Sherman M. (1961). "On the Syllabic Phonemes of Old
English". Language, 37 (4), 522–538.
- Kuhn, Sherman M. (1970). "On the consonantal phonemes of Old
English". In: J. L. Rosier (ed.) Philological Essays: studies
in Old and Middle English language and literature in honour of
Herbert Dean Merritt (pp. 16–49). The Hague: Mouton.
- Lass, Roger; & Anderson, John M. (1975). Old English
Phonology. (Cambridge studies in linguistics; No. 14).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Luick, Karl. (1914–1940). Historische Grammatik der
englischen Sprache. Stuttgart: Bernhard Tauchnitz.
- Maling, J. (1971). "Sentence stress in Old English".
Linguistic Inquiry, 2, 379–400.
- McCully, C. B.; & Hogg, Richard M. (1990). "An account of
Old English stress". Journal of Linguistics,
26, 315–339.
- Moulton, W. G. (1972). "The Proto-Germanic non-syllabics
(consonants)". In: F. van Coetsem & H. L. Kurfner (Eds.),
Toward a Grammar of Proto-Germanic (pp. 141–173).
Tübingen: Max Niemeyer.
- Sievers, Eduard (1893). Altgermanische Metrik. Halle:
Max Niemeyer.
- Wagner, Karl Heinz (1969). Generative Grammatical Studies
in the Old English language. Heidelberg: Julius Groos.
Morphology
- Brunner, Karl. (1965). Altenglische Grammatik (nach der
angelsächsischen Grammatik von Eduard Sievers neubearbeitet)
(3rd ed.). Tübingen: Max Niemeyer.
- Campbell, A. (1959). Old English grammar. Oxford:
Clarendon Press.
- Wagner, Karl Heinz. (1969). Generative grammatical studies
in the Old English language. Heidelberg: Julius Groos.
Syntax
- Brunner, Karl. (1962). Die englische Sprache: ihre
geschichtliche Entwicklung (Vol. II). Tübingen: Max
Niemeyer.
- Kemenade, Ans van. (1982). Syntactic Case and Morphological
Case in the History of English. Dordrecht: Foris.
- MacLaughlin, John C. (1983). Old English Syntax: a
handbook. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer.
- Mitchell, Bruce. (1985). Old English Syntax (Vols.
1–2). Oxford: Clarendon Press (no more published)
- Vol.1: Concord, the parts of speech and the sentence
- Vol.2: Subordination, independent elements, and element
order
- Mitchell, Bruce. (1990) A Critical Bibliography of Old
English Syntax to the end of 1984, including addenda and corrigenda
to "Old English Syntax" . Oxford: Blackwell
- Traugott, Elizabeth Closs. (1972). A History of English
Syntax: a transformational approach to the history of English
sentence structure. New York: Holt, Rinehart &
Winston.
- Visser, F. Th. (1963–1973). An Historical Syntax of the
English Language (Vols. 1–3). Leiden: E. J. Brill.
Lexicons
- Bosworth-Toller
- Bosworth, J.; & Toller, T. Northcote. (1898). An
Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press. (Based on
Bosworth's 1838 dictionary, his papers & additions by
Toller)
- Toller, T. Northcote. (1921). An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary:
Supplement. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Campbell, A. (1972). An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary: Enlarged
addenda and corrigenda. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Clark Hall-Merritt
- Clark Hall, J. R.; & Merritt, H. D. (1969). A Concise
Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (4th ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
- Toronto
- Cameron, Angus, et al. (ed.) (1983) Dictionary of Old English.
Toronto: Published for the Dictionary of Old English Project,
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto by the
Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, 1983/1994. (Issued on
microfiche and subsequently as a CD-ROM and on the World Wide Web.)
External links
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