English language Old English, ca. 450-1100

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Information for Authority record
Name (Hebrew)
שפה אנגלית אנגלית עתיקה, בערך 450-1100
Name (Latin)
English language Old English, ca. 450-1100
Other forms of name
nne Anglo-Saxon language
English language To 1100
English language Old English, ca. 450-1100
Old English language
West Saxon dialect
See Also From tracing topical name
Germanic languages
Old Saxon language
MARC
MARC
Other Identifiers
Wikidata: Q42365
Library of congress: sh 85005084
Sources of Information
  • Work cat.: Russom, G. Old English meter and linguistic theory, 1987.
  • Britannica Micro.(Old English language; West Saxon dialect, Old English dialect originally spoken only in the Saxon Kingdom of Wessex. West Saxon became the standard Old English language during the reign (871-899) of King Alfred the Great, of Wessex.)
  • LC data base, 12/15/86(Old English language)
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Wikipedia description:

Old English (Englisċ or Ænglisc, pronounced [ˈeŋɡliʃ]), or Anglo-Saxon, was the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th century, and the first Old English literature dates from the mid-7th century. After the Norman Conquest of 1066, English was replaced for several centuries by Anglo-Norman (a type of French) as the language of the upper classes. This is regarded as marking the end of the Old English era, since during the subsequent period the English language was heavily influenced by Anglo-Norman, developing into what is now known as Middle English in England and Early Scots in Scotland. Old English developed from a set of Anglo-Frisian or Ingvaeonic dialects originally spoken by Germanic tribes traditionally known as the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. As the Germanic settlers became dominant in England, their language replaced the languages of Roman Britain: Common Brittonic, a Celtic language; and Latin, brought to Britain by the Roman conquest. Old English had four main dialects, associated with particular Anglo-Saxon kingdoms: Kentish, Mercian, Northumbrian, and West Saxon. It was West Saxon that formed the basis for the literary standard of the later Old English period, although the dominant forms of Middle and Modern English would develop mainly from Mercian, and Scots from Northumbrian. The speech of eastern and northern parts of England was subject to strong Old Norse influence due to Scandinavian rule and settlement beginning in the 9th century. Old English is one of the West Germanic languages, with its closest relatives being Old Frisian and Old Saxon. Like other old Germanic languages, it is very different from Modern English and Modern Scots, and largely incomprehensible for Modern English or Modern Scots speakers without study. Within Old English grammar nouns, adjectives, pronouns and verbs have many inflectional endings and forms, and word order is much freer. The oldest Old English inscriptions were written using a runic system, but from about the 8th century this was replaced by a version of the Latin alphabet.

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