Old English
The Oldest English
Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest written form of the English language. It was spoken in England, of course, and southern & eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages.
Germanic Roots
Old English originated from Anglo-Frisian and Ingvaeonic dialects that were spoken by Germanic tribes commonly known as the Angles, Jutes, and Saxons.
Runic System
Old English inscriptions dated to be the oldest found were written in the runic system, but this was replaced by an early version of the Latin alphabet in the 8th Century.
Scholarly Texts
Old English is very different from modern English because its nouns, adjectives, pronouns and verbs have many inflectional endings and forms, and word order is much freer.
Modern Mother
Old English was the pretext to Modern English, which we speak today, so there are many crossovers that help us understand it after a bit of extra study.
Learn More about Old English
Watch this video to learn about the origins of the English language.