Old English Language
Letters, Numbers, and Words
Overview
Old English, the language spoken in England from around the 5th to the 11th centuries, shares several similarities with Modern English despite significant changes over time. Both are inflected languages, with Old English and Modern English using word endings to show grammatical function. While much vocabulary has changed, many basic words in Modern English have Old English roots. The basic sentence structure of subject-verb-object (SVO) is shared, though word order and syntax have shifted. Some pronouns in Modern English, like “I,” “you,” “he,” “she,” and “we,” originate from Old English. Fundamental concepts expressed in Old English, such as kinship terms, numbers, and basic verbs, remain largely the same in Modern English.
Pronunciation Rules
1. There are no silent letters in Old English.
2. Pronounce both letters in words with two consonants at the at the beginning.
Example: hlāf (loaf)
3. Pronounce both letters in words with double consonants.
Example: habban (to have)
Image: Entry for the year 1043 in MS D of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Public Domain.
Alphabet:
Uppercase: A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U X Y Ƿ Þ Ð Æ
Lowercase: a b c d e f g h i k l m n o p q r s t u x y ƿ Þ ð æ
ƿ, Ƿ, wynn (Wynn):
In Old English, wynn represented the “w” sound, similar to the modern letter “w” but fell out of use in Middle English and was replaced by the digraph “uu” or “w.”
Ð, ð (Eth):
This letter represented the voiced dental fricative sound, similar to the “th” in “this.” It is no longer used in modern English and has been replaced by “th.”
Þ, þ (Thorn):
Thorn also represented the voiced dental fricative sound, similar to the “th” in “that.” Like Eth (Ð, ð), it is no longer used in modern English and has been replaced by “th.”
Æ, æ (Ash):
This letter represented a vowel sound similar to the “a” in “cat” or “hat.” In modern English, it is used in words borrowed from Latin or Greek, such as “aesthetic” or “encyclopædia.”
Image: Eawa Pybbing; from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. British Library Cotton MS Tiberius A VI, folio 12v. Public Domain.
Vowels
Long
ā – as in father
Example: hām (home)
ǣ – as in bad
Example: dǣd (deed)
ē – as in may
Example: dēman (to judge)
ī – as in seen
Example: wīf (wife)
ō – as in flow
Example: gōd (good)
ū – as in loot
Example: nū (now, immediately)
ȳ – as in mule
Example: fȳr (fire)
Short
a – as in band
Example: abbod (abbot)
æ – as in trap
Example: glæd (glad, bright)
e – as in less
Example: eald (old)
i – as in pick
Example: hindan (from behind)
o – as in flaw
Example: dohtor (daughter)
u – as in foot
Example: nunne (nun)
y – as in few
Example: wyrd (fate)
Diphthongs
A diphthong is a complex vowel sound that begins with one vowel sound and glides smoothly into another within the same syllable, as in the Modern English words “coin” or “loud.” Since Old English does not contain silent letters, pronounce both vowel sounds in diphthongs, however say them quickly and close together.
ea – as in jail
Example: seax (a short, single-edged sword)
eo – like the ‘ea’ in ‘dead’ and quickly moving to ‘o’ in ‘off’
Example: seofon (seven)
ie – as in field
Example: siex (six)
ēa – as in able
Example: ēastan (eastern)
ēo – like the ‘ay’ in fray’ and quickly moving to the ‘o’ in ‘core’
Example: lēode (people)
īe – as in clear
Example: hīeran (to hear)
Image: Æþelbriht; from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. British Library Cotton MS Tiberius A VI, folio 12v. Public Domain.
Consonants
Overall, most Old English consonants are pronounced as they are in Modern English, however, there are certain consonants that change their sound depending on where they fall in a word – F, S, C, G, Sc, and Cg.
F is pronounced like its modern equivalent [F] when at beginning or end of a word or before other unvoiced consonants. However, it changes to a [v] sound when it occurs between two vowels or other voiced consonants.
Examples: bufan (above), seofon (seven)
S is similar to the F but makes a [z] sound when between two vowels.
Examples: Frisan (Frisian), hūsian (to house)
C is pronounced either as a ‘hard c’ or as a ‘soft c’ depending on where is falls in a word. The ‘hard c’ sound, like in cat or car, comes before a, o, u, y and consonants. The ‘soft c’ sound, like in church or charge, comes before an e and i or when it is doubled.
Example: ‘Hard c’ | cuman (to come), cyning (king)
Example: ‘Soft c’ | cild (child), ceosan (to choose)
G is similar to C as it follows the same rules for ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ pronunciation, except for doubling. The ‘hard g’ sound, like in grain or guard, comes before a, o, u, y and consonants. The ‘soft g’ sound, in yard or yes, comes before e and i.
Example: ‘Hard g’ | god (God), gār (spear)
Example: ‘Soft g’ | yēa (yes), geong (young)
Sc is a combination of two letters that produces a ‘sh’ sound in a word, like in ‘shoe’ or ‘show.’
Example: biscop (bishop), sculan (should)
Cg is another combination of two letters that produce a ‘dg’ sound.
Example: brycg (bridge), ecg (edge)
Image: arcebisceop (archbishop); from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. British Library Cotton MS Tiberius A VI, folio 12v. Public Domain.
Old English Paragraph with Translation
The following Old English excerpt are the first 10 lines from the Anglo-Saxon poem, The Battle of Brunanburh. The poem is found within the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle under the year 937 CE.
Ðǣre Brūnanburge Camp
Hēr Æðelstān cyning, eorla dryhten,
beorna bēaggiefa, and his brōðor ēac,
Ēadmund æðeling, ealdorlangne tīr,
geslōgon æt sæcce sweorda ecgum
ymbe Brūnanburg. Bordweall clufon,
hēowon heaðulinda hamora lāfum
eaforan Ēadweardes, swā him geæðele wæs
fram cnēomāgum ðæt hīe æt campe oft
wið lāðra gehwone land ealgodon,
hord and hāmas.
The Battle of Brunanburh
Here King Athelstan, lord of earls,
ring-giver of men, and his brother also,
Prince Edmund, won eternal glory
at strife of the sword’s edges
around Brunanburg. The shield-wall they split,
the linden-wood shields they hewed with their swords,
they, Edward’s heirs, as was natural for them
as a result of their ancestors, that they at battle often
against hostile men defended their land,
their hoards and their homes.
Numbers
The Anglo-Saxons primarily used a system of counting similar to our modern decimal system, where numbers are represented using combinations of tens and units. However, they also used a system based on twenties, known as a vigesimal system, which is believed to have originated from earlier Celtic traditions.
In this system, numbers were counted in multiples of twenty, and the numbers from one to nineteen were represented using a combination of units and twenties. For example, the number nineteen would be represented as “nīgontīene,” which means “one less than twenty.”
The use of Roman numerals was limited among the Anglo-Saxons and was mainly used for inscriptions and official documents influenced by Roman practices, such as the Laws of Alfred. They generally did not use Roman numerals for everyday calculations or record-keeping.
ān = one (1) (I)
twēgen = two (2) (II)
ðrīe = three (3) (III)
fēoƿer = four (4) (IV)
fīf = five (5) (V)
siex = six (6) (VI)
seofon = seven (7) (VII)
eahta = eight (8) (VIII)
nigon = nine (9) (IX)
tīen = ten (10) (X)
endleofan = eleven (11) (XI)
twelf = twelve (12) (XII)
ðrīetīene = thirteen (13) (XIII)
fēowertīene = fourteen (14) (XIV)
fīftīiene = fifteen (15) ( XV)
siextīene = sixteen (16) (XVI)
seofontīene = seventeen (17) (XVII)
eahtatīene = eighteen (18) (XVIII)
nīgontīene = nineteen (19) (XIX)
twēntig = twenty (20) (XX)
ān and twēntig = twenty-one (21) (XXI)
ðrītig = thirty (30) (XXX)
fēowertig = forty (40) (XL)
fīftig = fifty (50) (L)
siextīg = sixty (60) (LX)
seofontig = seventy (70) (LXX)
eahtatig = eighty (80) (LXXX)
nigontig = ninety (90) (XC)
[ān] hund = [one] hundred (100) (C)
[ān] ðūsend = [One] Thousand (1000) (M)
Days & Months
Days of the Week
Mōnandæg = Monday
Tīwesdæg = Tuesday
Ƿōnesdæg = Wednesday
Ðunresdæg = Thursday
Frīgedæg = Friday
Sæterndæg = Saturday
Sunnandæg = Sunday
Months
Ƿulfmōnað = January
Solmōnað = February
Hrēðmōnað = March
Ēastermōnað = April
Ðrimilcemōnað = May
Midsumermōnað = June
Mǣdmōnað = July
Ƿēodmōnað= August
Hāligmōnað = September
Ƿinterfylleð = October
Blōtmōnað = November
Midƿintermōnað = December
Related Topics
Further Research & References
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Translated by Michael Swanton. London: J. M. Dent, 1996.
Asser, Life of King Alfred. Translated by Simon Keynes and Michael Lapidge. London: Penguin Classics, 2004.
Bosworth Toller’s Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Online – https://bosworthtoller.com/
Koivisto-Kokko, Victoria. Old English Online. 2023. https://oldenglish.info/
Morris, Marc. The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England, 400-1066. New York, NY. Pegasus Books, Ltd. 2021.
Savelli, Mary. Elementary Old English: An Introduction to the Language. 2011.
Stenton, Frank. Anglo-Saxon England. Oxford, UK. Oxford University Press, 2001.
Sweet’s Anglo-Saxon Reader (1905) – https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/34316/pg34316-images.html
Yorke, Barbara. “The Writing of History in Anglo-Saxon England.” Anglo-Saxon England, vol. 23, 1994.