Old_English

March 6: You are on the right track, but much editing and proof=reading is needed. Try to put most of the info in your own words and use the specific facts and interesting information as support. When you cite within your paper, you just need a number that would then be listed under your Reference Section. See a Wikipedia page to see how they do it. Also, the number would be an actual hyperlink. To to the Editor bar on top and click on the Earth/Chain link icon and in the URL, put in the link [|http://www] Some of the information sounds like a lot of goobely-gook - meaning it sounds repeated from another source and not your own spin on what is being said. Unfortunately, you four are held on a higher level, because I know you are capable of doing higher level thinking and writing. Put those Dr. Price skills to work. Think of this Wiki space as loose-leaf paper and instead of writing one essay - you are all contributing to one essay. Figure out what each of your strengths are and then focus on that. Someone should be in charge of an intro, conclusion - someone the substance of the paragraphs (at least 3). And someone should do the proofreading and editing. Right now, I would give this essay a B-/C+. Also, include more appropriate images. Email me if you have additional questions. Have a good weekend. Mrs. Houston
 * __History of Old English: Old English__**

http://linguistlist.org/**
 * Regina: Why I'm looking at web sites for other students, I found some links you might like:

Erin Alisha Regina Brittany  //**__ The Influence of Old English __**// It is very hard to believe that Old English is one of the predecessors of the language that we know as English today. Old English derived from a Proto-Germanic language, which was spoken before the year 1 A.D. [[|9]]. By the year 700 A.D., many different languages had broken off from this old language, including Old Saxon and Old English. [[|9]]. These languages were spoken in lands occupied by various Germanic peoples. During the Middle Ages, many Germanic tribes were traveling to (and conquering) areas in the British Isles. Their influence spread across the Isles, including their customs, beliefs, and language. As time went on, Old English progressed to Middle English, (That was by the year 1050 A.D. to be exact,) and by 1700, the language had progressed to the English we know today. [[|9]]. Though you may not think so, some of our modern words are quite similar to Old English words. For instance, the word “brother” in Old English was “brothor,” “mother” was “moder,” and “ten” was “tien.” [[|9]]. They’re eerily similar, aren’t they? It’s pretty interesting to know that words from our language at such an early stage are similar to the modern version of the words.  Our modern version of the English language derives from the Old English language spoken by Anglo-Saxons who settled in Britain between the fourth and seventh centuries. The Anglo-Saxons were pagan – they praised rocks, trees etc. Their faith was based upon material such as good harvest rather than for spirituality. Rich lords lived in big estates surrounded by houses of the commoners. This society was separated into three classes. The king was the highest among the estate. He was expected to lead in warfare and to provide land and slaves [[|15]]. Below him were the freemen. This class was also separated into to different groups including the upper class thanes and lower class ceorls. The thanes were given land by the king whereas the ceorls, were not. After the free men are the slaves. The majority of slaves consisted of the conquered Celtic people who were unable to pay their fines to their lord [[|15]]. However, during this period slaves were easily freed. They had three different options. One was to be ransomed by relatives. Second, was to be set free in their master’s will. And lastly, they could be let go if they worked off their debts to the lord. Common clothing of Anglo-Saxons consisted of a tunic or robe tied at the waist with leggings and soft shoes, for men. Women wore a dress or robe that reached their feet. It was also very common in these days to wear broaches and stones for good luck [[|15]]. People enjoyed playing games with dice and chess for entertainment. They also enjoyed riddles, horse racing, and hunting [[|15]]. During festivities the most common entertainment was juggling and music played on the harp. Anglo-Saxon England is one of the best recorded periods of the medieval times. There are several pieces of writing including missionary letters, accounts of the lives of numerous saints, and epic poems, such as //Beowulf //. It is from these works that historians gain their knowledge of the Anglo-Saxon's royal ideology, government, and administration [[|14]]. It is difficult to fully understand the texts due to missing sections of the manuscripts. The epic poem, //Beowulf //, is a great example of this. There are sections that have been lost over time, leaving readers to solve occurrences on their own. During the Fifth century, groups of Germanic people, including the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, migrated to Britain from Germany and South Scandinavia. It is also possible that Franks and Frisians were also included in this migration. This migration is recorded in the //Anglo-Saxon Chronicle //. The Conquest of the Germanic people in Britain ended in 1066 with the Battle of Hastings led by William, the Duke of Normandy [[|14]].

Old English is the ancestor of modern English; therefore, the writing system used to express it is also modern alphabet’s ancestor. Just like the language itself was based on that of Germanic tribes, the characters were also based on Germanic letters, which may have been derived from Latin writing styles. These characters, which are also known as runes, form an alphabet called Futhark (see below). In Futhark, a few runes represent two letters of Modern English, such as thorn, which looks similar to the letter “p,” and is pronounced like a “th.” The present pronunciations of vowels have changed very greatly, due to what is known as the Great Vowel Shift, which occurred around 1400 C.E.[|[11]] Vowels had short pronunciations and long pronunciations as Modern English does, and the sounds used today are the same, but different letters represent those sounds. For example, the modern long a sound was instead a long e sound; by this understanding, today’s “way” should rhyme with Old English‘s “we.” Some words we have inherited from other languages have retained their original vowel sounds, but the words that have come from Old English were changed because of the vowel shift. These Old English words we still use today are typically short, simple words. Clearly, Old English was a completely different language from the English used today.

FUTHARK
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Runic_letter_fehu.png/24px-Runic_letter_fehu.png width="24" height="32" caption="f" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_fehu.png"]] f || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Runic_letter_uruz.png/24px-Runic_letter_uruz.png width="24" height="32" caption="u" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_uruz.png"]] u || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Runic_letter_thurisaz.png/24px-Runic_letter_thurisaz.png width="24" height="32" caption="th,þ" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_thurisaz.png"]] þ || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Runic_letter_ansuz.png/24px-Runic_letter_ansuz.png width="24" height="32" caption="a" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_ansuz.png"]] a || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Runic_letter_raido.png/24px-Runic_letter_raido.png width="24" height="32" caption="r" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_raido.png"]] r || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Runic_letter_kauna.png/24px-Runic_letter_kauna.png width="24" height="32" caption="k" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_kauna.png"]] k || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Runic_letter_gebo.png/24px-Runic_letter_gebo.png width="24" height="32" caption="g" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_gebo.png"]] g || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Runic_letter_wunjo.png/24px-Runic_letter_wunjo.png width="24" height="32" caption="w" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_wunjo.png"]] w ||
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/Runic_letter_haglaz.png/24px-Runic_letter_haglaz.png width="24" height="32" caption="h" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_haglaz.png"]] h || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Runic_letter_naudiz.png/24px-Runic_letter_naudiz.png width="24" height="32" caption="n" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_naudiz.png"]] n || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Runic_letter_isaz.png/24px-Runic_letter_isaz.png width="24" height="32" caption="i" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_isaz.png"]] i || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/01/Runic_letter_jeran.png/24px-Runic_letter_jeran.png width="24" height="32" caption="j" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_jeran.png"]] j || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Runic_letter_iwaz.png/24px-Runic_letter_iwaz.png width="24" height="32" caption="ï,ei" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_iwaz.png"]] ï || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Runic_letter_pertho.png/24px-Runic_letter_pertho.png width="24" height="32" caption="p" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_pertho.png"]] p || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Runic_letter_algiz.png/24px-Runic_letter_algiz.png width="24" height="32" caption="z" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_algiz.png"]] z || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Runic_letter_sowilo.png/24px-Runic_letter_sowilo.png width="24" height="32" caption="s" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_sowilo.png"]] s ||
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Runic_letter_tiwaz.png/24px-Runic_letter_tiwaz.png width="24" height="32" caption="t" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_tiwaz.png"]] t || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Runic_letter_berkanan.png/24px-Runic_letter_berkanan.png width="24" height="32" caption="b" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_berkanan.png"]] b || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Runic_letter_ehwaz.png/24px-Runic_letter_ehwaz.png width="24" height="32" caption="e" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_ehwaz.png"]] e || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Runic_letter_mannaz.png/24px-Runic_letter_mannaz.png width="24" height="32" caption="m" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_mannaz.png"]] m || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Runic_letter_laukaz.png/24px-Runic_letter_laukaz.png width="24" height="32" caption="l" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_laukaz.png"]] l || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Runic_letter_ingwaz.png/24px-Runic_letter_ingwaz.png width="24" height="32" caption="ŋ" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_ingwaz.png"]] ŋ || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Runic_letter_dagaz.png/24px-Runic_letter_dagaz.png width="24" height="32" caption="d" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_dagaz.png"]] d || [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/16/Runic_letter_othalan.png/24px-Runic_letter_othalan.png width="24" height="32" caption="o" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Runic_letter_othalan.png"]] o ||


 * __Old English Today__**

Beowulf is the oldest epic poem in Old English that is still read today. Of course, we read the Modern English Translation of it so we can appreciate it. Seamus Heaney has the best translation of //Beowulf.//

http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/attachment.php?attachmentid=16332&stc=1&d=1153795530

The Anglo-Saxons spoke Old English in Britian during years 1 A.D.-700 A.D.

References
 * 1) Baker, Peter S. "The Anglo-Saxons and Their Language." __Wmich.Edu__. 2003. Feb. 2008 <[|http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/resources/IOE/genintro.html>.]
 * 2) "Chapter 1: a Brief History of Old English." 2005. Feb. 2008 <[|http://fileserver.wheatonma.edu/mdrout/GrammarBook2005/HistoryOfOE.html>.]
 * 3) "History of English." __AskOxford.Com: Oxford Dictionaries__. 2008. Oxford University Press. Feb. 2008 <[|http://www.askoxford.com/worldofwords/history/>.]
 * 4) "History of the English Language." __Linguistics 201__. Feb. 2008 <[|http://pandora.cii.wwu.edu/vajda/ling201/test3materials/History_of_English.htm>.]
 * 5) Jamison, Dr. Carol. "History of the English Language." __Armstrong.Edu__. Armstrong Atlantic State University. Feb. 2008 <[|http://www.llp.armstrong.edu/5800/histno.html>.]
 * 6) McArthur, Tom. "Old English." __Highbeam Encyclopedia__. 1998. Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. Feb. 2008 <[|http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-OLDENGLISH.html>.]
 * 7) "Starting with Old English..." __Talking to the Past - the History of the English Language From Old English to Middle English__. Feb. 2008 <[|http://aspirations.english.cam.ac.uk/converse/essays/english/middle_english1.acds>.]
 * 8) "English Language." __Highbeam Encyclopedia__. 2007. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Feb. 2008 <[|http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Englsh-lan.html>.]
 * 9) Jebson, Tony. "Learning Old English." __Texas.Net__. 15 May 2001. Feb. 2008 <[|http://lonestar.texas.net/~jebbo/learn-oe/contents.htm>.]
 * 10) McArthur, Tom. "Alphabet." __Highbeam Encyclopedia__. 1998. Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. Feb. 2008 <[|http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-ALPHABET.html>.]
 * 11) McArthur, Tom. "Great Vowel Shift." __Highbeam Encyclopedia__. 1998. Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. Feb. 2008 <[|http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-GREATVOWELSHIFT.html>.]
 * 12) "Old English Aerobics." __Virginia.Edu__. 1999. Briery Creek Software. Feb. 2008 <[|http://faculty.virginia.edu/OldEnglish/OEA/>.]
 * 13) Osborne, John. "The Engliscan Gesithas Home Page." __The Engliscan Gesithas__. 18 Nov. 2007. The HTML Writers Guild. Feb. 2008 <[|http://www.tha-engliscan-gesithas.org.uk/index.html>.]
 * 14) "Anglo-Saxon: Definiton and Much More from Answers.com". 2008. Feb.2008 
 * 15) Ross, David. "Anglo-Saxon Life". Feb. 2008. 