what was so important about Old English and Middle English that we felt the need to label them and what are the main differences?
In: 481
Old English was a Germanic language, brought to England by the Anglo-Saxon settlers near the end of Roman rule of Britain, around 410 AD.
Middle English came into existence when with the Norman invasion of Britain around 1066. As the Normans spoke a proto-French language at the time, this shifted a lot of the language closer to French and farther from German. Around this same period is the development of the Early Scots* language, spoken in Lowland Scotland, which saw much less influence from the Normans and so retained more of the Germanic traits.
Modern English occurred due to the Great Vowel Shift that occurred between about 1400 and 1700. Much of this was due to migration effects from the Black Death and various influences with the French. As spelling was heavily standardized in the 1500 and 1600s, this shift is why English has a lot of very odd rules for spelling of vowels.
* This is not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic, spoken in Highland Scotland, which derives from Irish and lacks the Germanic influence.
Old English was a Germanic language, brought to England by the Anglo-Saxon settlers near the end of Roman rule of Britain, around 410 AD.
Middle English came into existence when with the Norman invasion of Britain around 1066. As the Normans spoke a proto-French language at the time, this shifted a lot of the language closer to French and farther from German. Around this same period is the development of the Early Scots* language, spoken in Lowland Scotland, which saw much less influence from the Normans and so retained more of the Germanic traits.
Modern English occurred due to the Great Vowel Shift that occurred between about 1400 and 1700. Much of this was due to migration effects from the Black Death and various influences with the French. As spelling was heavily standardized in the 1500 and 1600s, this shift is why English has a lot of very odd rules for spelling of vowels.
* This is not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic, spoken in Highland Scotland, which derives from Irish and lacks the Germanic influence.
>As spelling was heavily standardized in the 1500 and 1600s
To add a bit of clarification about what ‘heavily standardized’ means, and why it was important to the development of the modern English language:
Prior to the 1500s, there was no set orthographic (spelling) standard. The spelling of a word would almost always vary, often several times in the same sentence, and…well, to be perfectly honest, the common person usually focused on learning skills that were relevant to their occupation, so how a word was *spelled* usually wasn’t as important as how it was *pronounced*.
Even as the printed word became more common, it didn’t entirely remedy the problem — rather, it *solidified* many irregularities with remnants of the multiple languages that influenced the gradual evolution of the English language.
It wasn’t until 1755, when Samuel Johnson published the first significant English dictionary, that there was a concrete example of the ‘proper’ way to spell most English words, that was *also* accessible to the often-poorly-educated peasantry.
So, the next time you feel like getting uppity over the whole ‘there, their, they’re’ issue — just know that modern writers are hardly the first to ever make such a mistake.
Old English was a Germanic language, brought to England by the Anglo-Saxon settlers near the end of Roman rule of Britain, around 410 AD.
Middle English came into existence when with the Norman invasion of Britain around 1066. As the Normans spoke a proto-French language at the time, this shifted a lot of the language closer to French and farther from German. Around this same period is the development of the Early Scots* language, spoken in Lowland Scotland, which saw much less influence from the Normans and so retained more of the Germanic traits.
Modern English occurred due to the Great Vowel Shift that occurred between about 1400 and 1700. Much of this was due to migration effects from the Black Death and various influences with the French. As spelling was heavily standardized in the 1500 and 1600s, this shift is why English has a lot of very odd rules for spelling of vowels.
* This is not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic, spoken in Highland Scotland, which derives from Irish and lacks the Germanic influence.
Languages change over time. “Old English” isn’t English. As in, if you went back in time to England a thousand years ago, you wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone, because English back then was so different that it’s a different language, no different in that regard from modern German or Danish.
Middle English is a middle ground between the two. Something more comprehensible to a modern speaker, though you’d still struggle to speak with a Middle English speaker.
You know how, when you read Shakespeare, it’s really weird? Most of that is because he’s writing using the language common in the late 16th century. It would have been a lot easier to follow to the viewers of the time.
This is the way language goes. I have no doubt that in the 31st century, languages will have evolved to the point where 21st century language is incomprehensible to the average person. That’s just how things change.
They are very different languages. Here is the lord’s prayer in early, middle, and modern English.
Here is a sample of old English:
Fæder ure
ðu ðe eart on heofenum
si ðin nama gehalgod
to-becume ðin rice
geweorþe ðin willa on eorðan swa swa on heofenum.
Urne ge dæghwamlican hlaf syle us to-deag
and forgyf us ure gyltas
swa swa we forgifaþ urum gyltendum
ane ne gelæde ðu us on costnunge
ac alys us of yfle.
Here is a sample of middle English:
Oure fadir
that art in heuenes,
halewid be thi name;
thi kyngdoom come to;
be thi wille don, in erthe as in heuene. Yyue to vs this dai oure breed ouer othir substaunce,
and foryyue to vs oure dettis,
as we foryyuen to oure dettouris;
and lede vs not in to temptacioun,
but delyuere vs fro yuel.
Here is modern English:
Our Father,
who 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 trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
Middle English was about the time when English started to become the “black sheep”
Old English was clearly Germanic to the naked eye. It sounded Germanic, functioned Germanic. You could put English beside German, and they’d look like siblings without any squinting.
Middle English by contrast marks the loss of most of our grammatical case & gender systems, and a massive influx of Norman/French words entering the language. We also lost a great deal of verb conjugations.
This was basically the time when “English” as we know it began to exist. It’s still more difficult to parse as it looks like it was written by a toddler, but it’s still actually readable. Same can’t be said for Old English
Take this example: Beowulf vs Chaucer:
Syððan ærest wearð feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad, weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah, oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra ofer hronrade hyran scolde, gomban gyldan. Þæt wæs god cyning!
ther was, and that a worthy man, That fro the tyme that he first bigan To ryden out, he loved chivalrye, Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisye. Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre, And thereto hadde he riden (no man ferre ) As wel in cristendom as hethenesse, And evere honoured for his worthinesse.
>As spelling was heavily standardized in the 1500 and 1600s
To add a bit of clarification about what ‘heavily standardized’ means, and why it was important to the development of the modern English language:
Prior to the 1500s, there was no set orthographic (spelling) standard. The spelling of a word would almost always vary, often several times in the same sentence, and…well, to be perfectly honest, the common person usually focused on learning skills that were relevant to their occupation, so how a word was *spelled* usually wasn’t as important as how it was *pronounced*.
Even as the printed word became more common, it didn’t entirely remedy the problem — rather, it *solidified* many irregularities with remnants of the multiple languages that influenced the gradual evolution of the English language.
It wasn’t until 1755, when Samuel Johnson published the first significant English dictionary, that there was a concrete example of the ‘proper’ way to spell most English words, that was *also* accessible to the often-poorly-educated peasantry.
So, the next time you feel like getting uppity over the whole ‘there, their, they’re’ issue — just know that modern writers are hardly the first to ever make such a mistake.
Languages change over time. “Old English” isn’t English. As in, if you went back in time to England a thousand years ago, you wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone, because English back then was so different that it’s a different language, no different in that regard from modern German or Danish.
Middle English is a middle ground between the two. Something more comprehensible to a modern speaker, though you’d still struggle to speak with a Middle English speaker.
You know how, when you read Shakespeare, it’s really weird? Most of that is because he’s writing using the language common in the late 16th century. It would have been a lot easier to follow to the viewers of the time.
This is the way language goes. I have no doubt that in the 31st century, languages will have evolved to the point where 21st century language is incomprehensible to the average person. That’s just how things change.
>As spelling was heavily standardized in the 1500 and 1600s
To add a bit of clarification about what ‘heavily standardized’ means, and why it was important to the development of the modern English language:
Prior to the 1500s, there was no set orthographic (spelling) standard. The spelling of a word would almost always vary, often several times in the same sentence, and…well, to be perfectly honest, the common person usually focused on learning skills that were relevant to their occupation, so how a word was *spelled* usually wasn’t as important as how it was *pronounced*.
Even as the printed word became more common, it didn’t entirely remedy the problem — rather, it *solidified* many irregularities with remnants of the multiple languages that influenced the gradual evolution of the English language.
It wasn’t until 1755, when Samuel Johnson published the first significant English dictionary, that there was a concrete example of the ‘proper’ way to spell most English words, that was *also* accessible to the often-poorly-educated peasantry.
So, the next time you feel like getting uppity over the whole ‘there, their, they’re’ issue — just know that modern writers are hardly the first to ever make such a mistake.
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