View source for Old English

'''Old English''' is an early form of the English [[language]] that was spoken in [[England]] around 1000 years ago. It is sometimes called [[Anglo-Saxon]]. The language spoken in England is considered Old English [[450]] [[AD]] until some time after the [[Norman]] invasion of England (around [[1066]] [[AD]]), when it becomes [[Middle English]]. Most Old English texts are now [[Transliteration|transliterated]] rather than being produced in [[period]] typefaces. 

== Major differences from modern English ==
* Extra letters (such as �, �, and �)
* Different sound values for letters.
* Different grammar (including cases: nominative, dative, genitive and accusative.)

== Samples of Old English ==
=== Beowulf (circa 900 AD) ===
[[Beowulf]] is a traditional heroic epic poem in Old English alliterative verse. At 3182 lines, it is far more substantial than any similar work in the language, representing about 10% of the extant [[Anglo-Saxon]] corpus. The poem is untitled in the [[manuscript]], but has been known as Beowulf since the early [[19th century]].

The [[Project Gutenberg]] e-text of Beowulf can be found at http://library.adelaide.edu.au/etext/pg/etext97/bwulf10.txt

=== The Lord's Prayer (showing change over time) ===
Many early examples of old english (and other period languages) are of a religious nature. The Lord's Prayer is a good example of the change in [[English]] over time.

====Dated 1611 AD.====
:Our father which art in heauen,
:hallowed be thy name.
:Thy kingdom come.
:Thy will be done in earth as it is in heauen.
:Giue us this day our daily bread.
:And forgiue us our debts as we forgiue our debters.
:And lead us not into temptation,
:but deliuer us from euill.
:Amen.

Most modern English speakers should be able to understand this version of the Lord's Prayer. Note the use of u in place of v. It is not until fairly recently that u an v have been considered separate letters (a good example of this can be seen in the glossary of the [[Forme of Cury]]).

====Dated 1384 AD. ====
:Oure fadir �at art in heuenes halwid be �i name;
:�i reume or kyngdom come to be.
:Be �i wille don in her�e as it is doun in heuene.
:yeue to us today oure eche dayes bred.
:And foryeue to us oure dettis �at is oure synnys as we foryeuen to oure dettouris �at is to men �at han synned in us. 
:And lede us not into temptacion but delyuere us from euyl.

Most modern English speakers should be able to understand some of this version of the Lord's Prayer when written. Spoken it would sound a great deal different; for instance, ou is pronounced like oo and in general the vowels have their continental value (oorra fahderr thut arrt in ai(r)venas ulwid bai(r) thee nahma, with trilled rr). Note the use of the letter �, this has essentially the same value as "th" in modern English.

====Dated circa 1000 AD.====
:F�der ure �u �e eart on heofonum si �in nama gehalgod tobecume �in rice gewur�e �in willa on eor�an swa swa on heofonum urne ged�ghwamlican hlaf syle us to d�g and forgyf us ure gyltas swa swa we forgyfa� urum gyltendum and ne gel�d �u us on costnunge ac alys us of yfele so�lice.

This version of the Lord's Prayer probably isn't recognizable by the majority of modern English speakers. 1000 AD is before the [[Norman]] [[invasion]] of [[England]] and therefore many of the words in Modern English that were taken from French are not yet present in the language.

===Other Examples===

* [[Battle of Brunnanburh]]
* [[Beowulf]]

===External Links===
*[http://www.engl.virginia.edu/OE/courses/handouts/oealpha.gif The Old English Alphabet]

[[Category:Language]]