Old English
Abstract
This chapter places the beginning of the English language in the mid fifth century with the arrival in Britain of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. There is a glance at the West Germanic language of these tribes on the continent as well as the linguistic and cultural situation they encountered among the Celts, or “Romanized Britons.” An outline of the sounds, the grammatical inflections, and the word formations of Old English allows a modern speaker, with moderate effort, to read texts in prose and poetry from the eighth century to the eleventh, including Beowulf .
Fields of Study & Subjects
Linguistics and language evolution
Medieval Literature and History
Linguistics and Language Studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Routledge eBooks
- Pages
- 38–65
- Publication date
- 19 January 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter