Old-English

Old English

Old English (Englisc, Ænglisc), also called Anglo-Saxon, is

an early form of the English language that was spoken and

written in parts of what are now England and south-eastern

Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-

12th century.

The following passage is from the time of about 800 A.D.:



Faeder ure thu the eart on heofonum, si thin nama gehalgod.

Tobecume thin rice. Gewurthe thin willa on earthan swa

swa on heofonum.

Middle English

• Middle English is the name given by historical linguists to the diverse

forms of the English language in use between the late 11th century and

about 1470, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based

English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the

introduction of the printing press into England by William Caxton in

the late 1470s.



• The same phrase is written as it would have appeared at the time of

(1320 – 1384).

Oure fadir that art in heuenes, halwid be thi name; thi kyngdom cumme

to; be thi wille don as in heuen and in erthe; gif to us this day ouer

breed oure substaunce; and forgeue uo us oure dettis as we forgeue to

oure dettours….

Modern English

• Here is the same passage as it appeared in 1611 or about the time of

Shakespeare. Modern English begins to appear at this time.



• Our Father, which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy

kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us

this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our

debtors. And lead us not into temptation…

Present Language

• Our present language is roughly half Germanic and half Romance

(Latin and French).

• There are over 7,000 different languages spoken in the world today

and nearly half of them are in danger of extinction.

• Here are some phrases from endangered languages:

Kwetamalsi means “now you know how it feels!” in Lenape

(Oklahoma)

Di’nisbaa means “I’m in the process of driving a vehicle into

something and getting stuck” in Navajo (Oklahoma)

Aimerpok means “to visit and expect food” in Aleut (Australia)

Outdated Terms

• Stool pigeon

• Grodey!

• Sound off

• Groovy

• Gag me with a spoon

• Pass the buck

• Rad

• Give me air