A History of English

1. A History of English Old English

2. What is Old English? • Old English describes the language spoken in England from the 5th Century to the 11th Century AD. • Old English has its roots in Anglo Saxon (from Germany) and Old Norse (from Scandinavia).

3. Before English • The original inhabitants of Great Britain were called The Britons and spoke a variety of languages called The Celtic Languages. • The word Britain comes from the Celtic word Pritani, meaning “painted people”. • Cornish, Welsh and Manx are Celtic languages, and still survive today.

4. Before English • In 43 AD, the Romans invaded Britain. • The Roman language was latin. • Latin became the prestige language, ie the language of education, religion, the royal court and the law. • However, most Britons hated Roman rule and continued to speak their own Celtic languages.

5. Why is Old English influenced by German? • 1500 years ago, after the Romans had left Britain, tribes from Germany came here to settle. Among these tribes were the Angles and the Saxons, known collectively as the Anglo-Saxons.

6. Why is Old English influenced by German? • The Anglo-Saxons brought with them their language, an ancestor of modern German. • Anglo-Saxon changed the language of the British Isles for ever.

7. What about Old Norse? • The Vikings began settling in Britain from the 8th Century. • The Vikings came from Scandinavia, and often landed in Northern Britain, rather than the Anglo-Saxons, who arrived in the South. • The Vikings brought their language, known as Old Norse, with them.

8. Old English Place Names • The area of South-East England is still known as East Anglia, after the Angles who settled there. • The kingdom of the South Saxons is called Sussex, and the East Saxons Essex. • Look at the map. Can you think of a reason why Welsh (a celtic language) has survived into the present day?

9. Old English Place Names • Many Old English place names are Christian and refer to Anglo-Saxon saints: St Albans St Neots

10. Hebden: “bramble valley” (from heope, meaning “bramble”, and denu, meaning “valley”) Mytholmroyd: “clearing in the forest on the land between two rivers” (from mydd, meaning “in the middle”, holm meaning “island” and rod, meaning “clearing”) …but many refer to plants, animals and natural features:

11. Place Name Challenge Using the translation sheet, can you work out what these local place names mean? 1. Scout Crags 2. Dean Clough 3. Caldene 4. Heptonstall 5. Blackshawhead • Old English Place Name Translator

12. What does Old English look and sound like? a gyt hie him asetton segen geldenne heah ofer heafod, leton holm beran,geafon on garsecg; him wæs geomor sefa,murnende mod. Men ne cunnonsecgan to soðe, selerædende,hæleð under heofenum, hwa þæm hlæste onfeng. “The Funeral of Scyld Scefing”, from Beowulf, Anglo-Saxon poem.

13. a gyt hie him asetton segen geldenne heah ofer heafod, leton holm beran,geafon on garsecg; him wæs geomor sefa,murnende mod. Men ne cunnonsecgan to soðe, selerædende,hæleð under heofenum, hwa þæm hlæste onfeng. High o'er his head they hoist the standard,a gold-wove banner; let billows take him,gave him to ocean. Grave were their spirits,mournful their mood. No man is ableto say in sooth, no son of the halls,no hero 'neath heaven, -- who harbored that freight! Are there any Old English words which look or sound like their modern equivalent?

14. leton geafon mod men ne cunnon soðe heofenum let gave/given mood men can not soothe heaven Old English Vocabulary Most of our Modern English Vocabulary comes from Anglo Saxon.

15. The Old English Alphabet eth /th/ thorn /th/ wynn /w/

16. Old English is highly inflected. This means that words or their endings change depending on case, tense or gender. Ic stele I steal Þū stilst you steal hē/hit/hēo stilð he/she/it steals wē/gē/hīe stelaþ we/you(pl)/they steal Old English Grammar

17. Old English Word Order • In Modern English, sentences usually follow the pattern of subject, verb, object. “They brought the king to Joshua.” Subject object verb But in Old English, word order was more flexible: Ðone cyning hī brōhton tō Iosue.

18. Old English Word Order subject, verb Ðā cwæð Drihten tō Caine: "Hwǣr is Abel ðīn brōðor?” Then the Lord said to Cain, “where is Abel your brother?” subject…verb hē on hys swustor ġewīfode. He married his sister

19. Summary: How is Old English different from Modern English? • Lexis (words). Although most words in Modern English are anglo-saxon in origin, Old English words are often difficult for the modern reader to understand. • Orthography (alphabet). Letters existed in Old English which have not survived into Modern English. • Grammar. Old English, like Modern German, was a highly inflected language which meant that words were often changed depending on case, tense or gender. • Syntax (word order). Word order differed in Old English a great deal more than modern English.