Old English (Ænglisc, Anglisc, Englisc, pronounced [ˈæŋgliʃ]) or Anglo-Saxon[1] is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southern and eastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century. What survives through writing represents primarily the literary register of Anglo-Saxon. From the 9th century, Old English experienced heavy influence from Old Norse, a member of the related North Germanic group of languages.
As Old English no longer has any native speakers, it is considered an extinct language.
Resources[edit | edit source]
Anglo-Saxon text
Websites
- Ða Engliscan Gesiða - Society for all those interested in Anglo-Saxon England.
- Old English Translator (Horrible site. Avoid. The Google Translate of Old English.)
- Academlib.com - College E-textbooks.
- Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary - Old English Dictionary (The only good, comprehensible dictionary.)
- EOW - A decent dictionary with declension charts. (Incomplete)
- r/OldEnglish - Has a few people who actually know Old English (notably u/Wylfcen and u/DungeonsAndChill).
- Discord - A good place with a handful of knowledgeable people.
Podcasts
- University of Oxford Podcasts - Series of podcasts that includes readings of Beowulf and information about Old English.
Learning Material
Reading
- Introduction to Old English - Richard Hogg's introductory textbook. Pretty good.
- An Introductory Grammar of Old English - R. D. Fulk's fairly recent and comprehensible textbook. Some choices he made in the phonetics department are perhaps different from what students usually learn, but that is hardly a problem. All in all a pretty good resource.
- Learning Old English
- Old English Wikipedia - Not good. Really stilted and awkward sentences. Often ungrammatical.
Video
- Síen Ése ond Wene mid éow - Series of lessons including (not that good) pronunciation and basic phrases.
- Leornende Eald Englisc - A YouTube channel dedicated to teaching Old English. (Avoid at all costs. Totally bogus and unhistorical.)
- The Ænglisc League - A YouTube channel dedicated to reviving Old English. (Made by the same guy who made Leornende Eald Englisc. Avoid.)
Audio
- University of Glasgow Audio Files - Obvious Anglo accent. Make of that what you will.
Texts
- Beowulf in Hypertext
- Calgary Old English Texts - List of texts ranging from simple prose to complex prose
- Gutenburg Old English Texts - Downloadable texts
- Apollonius of Tyre
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