Old English language

Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. It is a West Germanic language and therefore is similar to Old Frisian and Old Saxon. It is also quite similar to Old Norse (and by extension, to modern Icelandic).

Related Topics:
English language - England - Scotland - Mid-fifth century - Mid-twelfth century - West Germanic language - Old Frisian - Old Saxon - Old Norse - Icelandic

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Old English was not static, and its usage covered a period of some 700 years ? from the Anglo-Saxon migrations into England of the fifth century to some time after the Norman invasion of 1066, when the language underwent a major and dramatic transition. During this period it assimilated some aspects of the languages that it came in contact with, such as the Celtic languages and the two variants of the Scandinavian languages from the invading Norsemen who were occupying and controlling the Danelaw in northern and eastern England.

Related Topics:
Anglo-Saxon - Norman invasion - 1066 - Celtic languages - Scandinavian - Norsemen - Danelaw

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The term Old English does not strictly refer to older varieties of Modern English such as are found in Shakespeare or the King James Bible, which are called Early Modern English by linguists. In some older works (such as the 1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary), Old English refers to Middle English, or also more specifically Middle English as used from 1150 to 1350, with the older form of the language referred to exclusively as Anglo-Saxon. http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?resource=Webster%27s&word=English

Related Topics:
Modern English - Shakespeare - King James Bible - Early Modern English - Webster's Dictionary - Middle English - 1150 - 1350

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