3.6.1

Old English

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The Celts

To track the way English changes, we’re going to look chronologically at what happened from 400 AD to modern day. Old English refers to the period from about 400 AD to 1100.

British history

British history

To track the way English changes, we’re going to look chronologically at what happened from 400 AD to modern day.
Pre-5th century, there were a tribe of people living in Britain called the Celts.
Around 455, there was an invasion of Britain.

First invasion

First invasion

Who invaded?
- The Angles, The Saxons and The Jutes
When?
- Around 455.
Who or what was impacted?
- The Celts and their language (Celtic).

The Celts

The Celts

The Celts (and their language) were pushed to the very edges of the country (Scotland, Wales, Cornwall etc).
However, we can still see the influence they had in:
- Place names (like Carlisle).
- Dialectal words (like crag).
- River names (like the Thames).

Celtic morphemes

Celtic morphemes

In addition, the ‘-ing’, ‘-ton’ and ‘-ham’ suffixes denote the Celtic morphemes for ‘the people of’, ‘enclosure or village’ and ‘farm’ respectively.

The Anglo-Saxons

The Angles and the Saxons (the Anglo-Saxons) became dominant in England, replacing Celtic with their own language (which came to be called ‘Old English’ or ‘Englisc’).

The Anglo-Saxons

The Anglo-Saxons

The Angles and the Saxons (the Anglo-Saxons) became dominant in England, replacing Celtic with their own language (which came to be called ‘Old English’ or ‘Englisc’).
Old English had a lexicon of around 25,000 words and was very much an aural language: the written work was meant to be read aloud.

Divisions

Divisions

The country then became divided into four main sections:
- Mercian.
- Northumbrian.
- Kentish.
- West Saxon.
All of which spoke varieties of Old English.

Examples of Old English

Examples of Old English

The following are some examples of Old English you can use in your exam:
- Nouns: Son, daughter, youth, field, friend, home and ground.
- Verbs: Drink, come, go, sing, like and love.
- Preposition: In, on, into, by and from.

The Danish language

The Danish language

Following this, in the 9th century, the Danish language spread around the country leading to a simplified grammatical system in Old English.
Also around this time, borders came into place, preventing travel.

Old Norse

Old Norse

However, trade was permitted.
This led to the borrowing and trading of words.
Some examples of words from Old Norse are:
- Score, sky, skive, anger, ball, freckle, neck, root, skull and window.

1

Language Levels

1.1

Assessment Objectives

1.1.1Assessment Objectives

1.2

Lexis

1.2.1Introduction 1.2.2Common, Proper, Abstract & Concrete Nouns 1.2.3Collective Nouns 1.2.4Adjectives 1.2.5Main, Auxiliary & Copular Verbs 1.2.6Dynamic & Stative Verbs 1.2.7Transitive, Intransitive, Active & Passive Verbs 1.2.8Mood of Verbs 1.2.9Adverbs 1.2.10Personal, Possessive & Reflexive Pronouns 1.2.11Relative & Demonstrative Pronouns 1.2.12Determiners 1.2.13Conjunctions 1.2.14Synonyms, Antonyms & Phonological Features 1.2.15End of Topic Test - Lexis

1.3

Grammar

1.3.1Morphology 1.3.2Clauses 1.3.3Phrases 1.3.4Present Tense 1.3.5Past Tense 1.3.6Future Tense 1.3.7End of Topic Test - Grammar

1.4

Semantics & Pragmatics

1.4.1Semantics 1.4.2Pragmatics

1.5

Discourse Structure, Graphology & Orthography

1.5.1Discourse Structure 1.5.2Graphology & Orthography 1.5.3End of Topic Test - Semantics, Graphology etc.

2

Language, The Individual & Society

2.1

Children’s Language Development

2.1.1The Exam 2.1.2Phonemes, Vocal Tract & Articulation 2.1.3Writing About Phonemes 2.1.4Phonological Simplification 2.1.5A Child's First Year & Consonant Acquisition 2.1.6Beginning Stages of Language 2.1.7Lexical Development 2.1.8Stages of Development 2.1.9End of Topic Test - Child Language Development

2.2

Children's Language Development - Theories

2.2.1Behaviourism 2.2.2Interactionism 2.2.3Challenging Interactionism 2.2.4Nativism 2.2.5Nativism - Exam Answer 2.2.6Cognitivism 2.2.7Social Constructionism 2.2.8Writing About Spoken Acquisition 2.2.9End of Topic Test - Development Theories

2.3

Literacy Development: Reading

2.3.1Introduction 2.3.2Phonics vs Whole Word 2.3.3Debates in Reading 2.3.4Modelling Reading Acquisition 2.3.5Other Reading Theories 2.3.6End of Topic Test - Reading

2.4

Literacy Development: Writing

2.4.1Orthography 2.4.2Kroll's Theory 2.4.3Barclay's Theory 2.4.4Creativity vs Accuracy 2.4.5Other Writing Theories 2.4.6The Exam 2.4.7End of Topic Test - Writing

3

Language Diversity & Change

3.1

The Importance of Gendered Language

3.1.1Writing About Gender 3.1.2Dominance Theory 3.1.3Interruptions - Zimmerman & West 3.1.4Deficit Theory 3.1.5Difference Model 3.1.6Difference Model - Men 3.1.7Diversity Model 3.1.8End of Topic Test - Gendered Language

3.2

Social Groups

3.2.1Writing About Social Groups 3.2.2Social Class 3.2.3Social Class 2 3.2.4Age 3.2.5Age - Teen Speak 3.2.6Milroy’s Belfast Study 3.2.7Labov’s Martha’s Vineyard Study 3.2.8End of Topic Test - Social Groups

3.3

Occupational Groups

3.3.1Writing About Occupational Groups 3.3.2Jargon 3.3.3Conversations 3.3.4Hierarchy & Power 3.3.5End of Topic Test - Occupational Groups

3.4

Accents & Dialects

3.4.1Writing About Accent & Dialect 3.4.2Introduction to Accents & Dialects 3.4.3Accents - Matched Guide Experiment 3.4.4Accents - Received Pronunciation & Brummie 3.4.5Dialects - Dialectal Variations 3.4.6Accent & Dialect Case Study - London 3.4.7End of Topic Test - Accents & Dialects

3.5

Language Change

3.5.1Writing About Language Change 3.5.2Modelling Change 3.5.3Modelling Change 2 3.5.4Lexical Change 3.5.5Semantic Change 3.5.6End of Topic Test - Language Change

3.6

History of English

3.6.1Old English 3.6.2Old English 2 3.6.3Middle English 3.6.4Middle English 2 3.6.5Early Modern English 3.6.6Late Modern English 3.6.7Present Day English 3.6.8Global English 3.6.9American English 3.6.10Modelling Global English 3.6.11End of Topic Test - History of English

Jump to other topics

1

Language Levels

1.1

Assessment Objectives

1.1.1Assessment Objectives

1.2

Lexis

1.2.1Introduction 1.2.2Common, Proper, Abstract & Concrete Nouns 1.2.3Collective Nouns 1.2.4Adjectives 1.2.5Main, Auxiliary & Copular Verbs 1.2.6Dynamic & Stative Verbs 1.2.7Transitive, Intransitive, Active & Passive Verbs 1.2.8Mood of Verbs 1.2.9Adverbs 1.2.10Personal, Possessive & Reflexive Pronouns 1.2.11Relative & Demonstrative Pronouns 1.2.12Determiners 1.2.13Conjunctions 1.2.14Synonyms, Antonyms & Phonological Features 1.2.15End of Topic Test - Lexis

1.3

Grammar

1.3.1Morphology 1.3.2Clauses 1.3.3Phrases 1.3.4Present Tense 1.3.5Past Tense 1.3.6Future Tense 1.3.7End of Topic Test - Grammar

1.4

Semantics & Pragmatics

1.4.1Semantics 1.4.2Pragmatics

1.5

Discourse Structure, Graphology & Orthography

1.5.1Discourse Structure 1.5.2Graphology & Orthography 1.5.3End of Topic Test - Semantics, Graphology etc.

2

Language, The Individual & Society

2.1

Children’s Language Development

2.1.1The Exam 2.1.2Phonemes, Vocal Tract & Articulation 2.1.3Writing About Phonemes 2.1.4Phonological Simplification 2.1.5A Child's First Year & Consonant Acquisition 2.1.6Beginning Stages of Language 2.1.7Lexical Development 2.1.8Stages of Development 2.1.9End of Topic Test - Child Language Development

2.2

Children's Language Development - Theories

2.2.1Behaviourism 2.2.2Interactionism 2.2.3Challenging Interactionism 2.2.4Nativism 2.2.5Nativism - Exam Answer 2.2.6Cognitivism 2.2.7Social Constructionism 2.2.8Writing About Spoken Acquisition 2.2.9End of Topic Test - Development Theories

2.3

Literacy Development: Reading

2.3.1Introduction 2.3.2Phonics vs Whole Word 2.3.3Debates in Reading 2.3.4Modelling Reading Acquisition 2.3.5Other Reading Theories 2.3.6End of Topic Test - Reading

2.4

Literacy Development: Writing

2.4.1Orthography 2.4.2Kroll's Theory 2.4.3Barclay's Theory 2.4.4Creativity vs Accuracy 2.4.5Other Writing Theories 2.4.6The Exam 2.4.7End of Topic Test - Writing

3

Language Diversity & Change

3.1

The Importance of Gendered Language

3.1.1Writing About Gender 3.1.2Dominance Theory 3.1.3Interruptions - Zimmerman & West 3.1.4Deficit Theory 3.1.5Difference Model 3.1.6Difference Model - Men 3.1.7Diversity Model 3.1.8End of Topic Test - Gendered Language

3.2

Social Groups

3.2.1Writing About Social Groups 3.2.2Social Class 3.2.3Social Class 2 3.2.4Age 3.2.5Age - Teen Speak 3.2.6Milroy’s Belfast Study 3.2.7Labov’s Martha’s Vineyard Study 3.2.8End of Topic Test - Social Groups

3.3

Occupational Groups

3.3.1Writing About Occupational Groups 3.3.2Jargon 3.3.3Conversations 3.3.4Hierarchy & Power 3.3.5End of Topic Test - Occupational Groups

3.4

Accents & Dialects

3.4.1Writing About Accent & Dialect 3.4.2Introduction to Accents & Dialects 3.4.3Accents - Matched Guide Experiment 3.4.4Accents - Received Pronunciation & Brummie 3.4.5Dialects - Dialectal Variations 3.4.6Accent & Dialect Case Study - London 3.4.7End of Topic Test - Accents & Dialects

3.5

Language Change

3.5.1Writing About Language Change 3.5.2Modelling Change 3.5.3Modelling Change 2 3.5.4Lexical Change 3.5.5Semantic Change 3.5.6End of Topic Test - Language Change

3.6

History of English

3.6.1Old English 3.6.2Old English 2 3.6.3Middle English 3.6.4Middle English 2 3.6.5Early Modern English 3.6.6Late Modern English 3.6.7Present Day English 3.6.8Global English 3.6.9American English 3.6.10Modelling Global English 3.6.11End of Topic Test - History of English

Practice questions on Old English

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

1
Who was invaded in Britain in around 455 AD?Multiple choice
2
When did the Angles, Saxons and Jutes invade Britain? Multiple choice
3
Which language spread around Britain in the 9th century? Multiple choice

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End of Topic Test - Language Change

Old English 2