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Old English (nglisc, Anglisc, Englisc) or Anglo-

Saxon 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. It is a West Germanic language closely related to Old Frisian and Old Saxon. Old English had a grammar similar in many ways to Classical Latin. In most respects, including its grammar it was much closer to modern German and Icelandic than to modern English.

Old English was not static, and its usage covered a

period of 700 years, from the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain in the 5th century to the late 11th century, sometime after the Norman invasion. Old English is a West Germanic language, developing out of Ingvaeonic (also known as North Sea Germanic) dialects from the 5th century. AngloSaxon literacy developed after Christianisation in the late 7th century. The oldest surviving text of Old English literature is Cdmon's Hymn, composed between 658 and 680.

The history of Old English can be subdivided into: Prehistoric Old English (c. 450 to 650); for this period,

Old English is mostly a reconstructed language as no literary witnesses survive (with the exception of limited epigraphic evidence). This language, or bloc of languages, spoken by the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, and pre-dating documented Old English or Anglo-Saxon, has also been called Primitive Old English. Early Old English (c. 650 to 900), the period of the oldest manuscript traditions, with authors such as Cdmon, Bede, Cynewulf and Aldhelm. Late Old English (c. 900 to 1066), the final stage of the language leading up to the Norman conquest of England and the subsequent transition to Early Middle English.

Latin influence A large percentage of the educated and literate population of the time were competent in Latin, which was the scholarly and diplomatic lingua franca of Europe. There were at least three notable periods of Latin influence. The first occurred before the ancestral Angles and Saxons left continental Europe for Britain. The second began when the Anglo-Saxons were converted to Christianity and Latinspeaking priests became widespread. The third and largest single transfer of Latin-based words happened after the Norman Conquest of 1066, when an enormous number of Norman (Old French) words began to influence the language.

Norse influence The second major source of loanwords to Old English were the Scandinavian words introduced during the Viking invasions of the 9th and 10th centuries. The Vikings spoke Old Norse, a language related to Old English in that both derived from the same ancestral Proto-Germanic language. It is very common for the intermixing of speakers of different dialects, such as those that occur during times of political unrest, to result in a mixed language.

Celtic influence Traditionally, and following the Anglo-Saxon preference prevalent in the nineteenth century, many maintain that the influence of Brythonic Celtic on English has been small, citing the small number of Celtic loanwords taken into the language.

Dialects Old English should not be regarded as a single monolithic entity just as Modern English is also not monolithic. It emerged over time out of the many dialects and languages of the colonising tribes, and it was not until the later Anglo-Saxon period that they fused together into Old English. The four main dialectal forms of Old English were Mercian, Northumbrian, Kentish, and West Saxon.Each of those dialects was associated with an independent kingdom on the island.

Literature Some of the most important surviving works of Old English literature are Beowulf, an epic poem; the AngloSaxon Chronicle, a record of early English history; and Caedmon's Hymn, a Christian religious poem. There are also a number of extant prose works, such as sermons and saints' lives, biblical translations, and translated Latin works of the early Church Fathers, legal documents, such as laws and wills, and practical works on grammar, medicine, and geography. Still, poetry is considered the heart of Old English literature. Nearly all Anglo-Saxon authors are anonymous, with a few exceptions, such as Bede and Caedmon.

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What are the four main dialectal forms of Old English? How can be subdivided the history of Old English? What are the most important surviving works of Old English literature? Which other languages had influence in Old English? Describe the Latin influence?

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