Difference between revisions of "Old English"
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| − | '''Old English''' is the name given to the earliest written phase of the [[English]] language. English is derived from dialects of [[North Sea Germanic]] spoken around the coasts of the [[North Sea]] prior to the 5th century AD. Tribes speaking these dialects included the [[Angles]], [[Saxons]], and [[Jutes]], who later settled in [[Britain]]. Once established on the island of Britain, the language gradually diverged from its continental neighbours. It appears to have been called "English" right from the outset (spelt ''Englisc'' in Old English), from the name of the Angles. English was the first European language after the [[Classical]] period to develop its own [[native]] [[literature]]. The Old English period is | + | '''Old English''' is the name given to the earliest written phase of the [[English]] language. English is derived from dialects of [[North Sea Germanic]] spoken around the coasts of the [[North Sea]] prior to the 5th century AD. Tribes speaking these dialects included the [[Angles]], [[Saxons]], and [[Jutes]], who later settled in [[Britain]]. Once established on the island of Britain, the language gradually diverged from its continental neighbours. It appears to have been called "English" right from the outset (spelt ''Englisc'' in Old English), from the name of the Angles. English was the first European language after the [[Classical]] period to develop its own [[native]] [[literature]]. The Old English period is conventionally regarded as coming to an end after the [[Norman Conquest]] of 1066 AD, when many [[French]] loan words entered the language. This new phase is called [[Middle English]]. |
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
[[Category:languages]] | [[Category:languages]] | ||
Revision as of 04:05, December 14, 2007
Old English is the name given to the earliest written phase of the English language. English is derived from dialects of North Sea Germanic spoken around the coasts of the North Sea prior to the 5th century AD. Tribes speaking these dialects included the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, who later settled in Britain. Once established on the island of Britain, the language gradually diverged from its continental neighbours. It appears to have been called "English" right from the outset (spelt Englisc in Old English), from the name of the Angles. English was the first European language after the Classical period to develop its own native literature. The Old English period is conventionally regarded as coming to an end after the Norman Conquest of 1066 AD, when many French loan words entered the language. This new phase is called Middle English.