The Germanic Origins

The Germanic peoples are an ethno-linguistic Indo-European group of northern European

origin. They are identified by their use of Germanic languages, which diversified out of Proto-
Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.
The Germanic languages is divided into three groups: West Germanic, including English,
German, and Netherlandic (Dutch); North Germanic, including Danish, Swedish, Icelandic,
Norwegian, and Faroese; and East Germanic, now extinct, comprising only Gothic and the
languages of the Vandals, Burgundians, and a few other tribes.

The Anglo-Frisian languages are the West Germanic languages which include Anglic (or Old
English) and Frisian.
Frisian language was formerly spoken from what is now the province of North Holland in
the Netherlands along the North Sea coastal area to modern German Schleswig, including
the offshore islands in this area, modern Frisian is spoken in only three small remaining
areas, each with its own dialect. These dialects are West Frisian, which is spoken in the
province of Friesland in the Netherlands, including the islands of Schiermonnikoog and
Terschelling; East Frisian, which is spoken in the Saterland west of Oldenburg, Germany.;
and North Frisian, which is spoken along the west coast of Schleswig in Germany and on the
offshore islands of Sylt, Föhr, Amrum, the Halligen Islands, and Helgoland.
Old English is the language of the Germanic inhabitants of England, dated from the time of
their settlement in the 5th century to the end of the 11th century. Old English itself has four
dialects: Northumbrian in northern England and southeastern Scotland; Mercian in central
England; Kentish in southeastern England; and West Saxon in southern and southwestern
England. Mercian and Northumbrian are often classed together as the Anglian dialects.
Runic alphabet, also called futhark, writing system of uncertain origin used by Germanic
peoples of northern Europe, Britain, Scandinavia, and Iceland from about the 3rd century to
the 16th or 17th century AD. Runic writing appeared rather late in the history of writing and
is derived from one of the alphabets of the Mediterranean area. Because of its angular
letter forms and because early runic inscriptions were written from right to left like the
earliest alphabets, runic writing seems to belong to a more ancient system. Scholars have
attempted to derive it from the Greek or Latin alphabets, either capitals or cursive forms, at
any period from the 6th century BC to the 5th century AD. The Anglo-Saxon script added
letters to the futhark to represent sounds of Old English that did not occur in the languages
that had used the Early Germanic script. Anglo-Saxon had 28 letters, and after about 900 AD
it had 33. There were also some slight differences in letter shape.
The alphabet used to write our Old English texts was adopted from Latin, which was
introduced by Christian missionaries. Nor spelling was never fully standardized: instead the
alphabet, with continental values (sounds), was used by scribal monks to spell words
"phonetically" with the result that each dialect, with its different sounds, was rendered
differently due to dialectal evolution and scribal differences. King Alfred did attempt to
regularize spelling in the 9th century, but by the 11th century continued changes in
pronunciation once again exerted their disruptive effects on spelling.
fuþorcgwhnipxstbemidaæyð

Vowels
a short: 'a' `o' long: like 'a' in 'father'
Æ short: smilie a long: `ea' in modern 'clean'
e short: `e` like in set long: same sound but longer
i short: `i` like in sit long: like in mashine
o short: not long: 'o' in 'stone' but lengthened
u short: 'u' like in 'put' long: 'u' like in 'rule'
Y sounds like the 'u' in French 'tu'
Diphthongs:
Ea short: Has the sound of 'æ', followed by a weak 'a'

Eo short: short 'e' and 'o' together

Ie short: Has the sound of short 'i' and 'e' together, eg 'shield'

Consonants: Many of consonants sound were pronunce like modern english sounds.
bcdðfghlmnprstþwx
F /f/ like f and v

S /s/ and /z/

th sounds: first the runic thorn (þ), and later eth (ð)

Ng: like the 'ng' in 'finger', with the gutteral 'g' sound ending.

Suffixis
 “-ing” meaning people of (e.g. Worthing, Reading, Hastings)
“-ton” meaning enclosure or village (e.g. Taunton, Burton, Luton)
“-ford” meaning a river crossing (e.g. Ashford, Bradford, Watford)
“-ham” meaning farm (e.g. Nottingham, Birmingham, Grantham)
-stead” meaning a site (e.g. Hampstead).

Inheritance and Features of Modern English.

The new Anglo-Saxon nation known as Anglaland or Englaland (the Land of the Angles),
later shortened to England, and its emerging language as Englisc (now referred to as Old
English or Anglo-Saxon, or sometimes Anglo-Frisian). It is impossible to say just when English
became a separate language, rather than just a German dialect, although it seems that the
language began to develop its own distinctive features in isolation from the continental
Germanic languages, by around 600AD.
Certain days of the week are named after early Saxon Gods.

Monandæg ( Moon's day - the day of the moon ),

Tiwesdæg ( Tiw's-day - the day of the Scandinavian sky god Tiw,Tiu or Tig),
Wodnesdæg ( Woden's day - the day of the god Woden (Othin) ),
Ðunresdæg ( Thor's Day - the day of the god Ðunor or Thunor ),
Frigedæg ( Freyja's day - the day of the goddess Freyja or Frigg, wife to Woden),
Sæternesdæg ( Saturn's day - the day of the Roman god Saturn, whose festival "Saturnalia," with its
exchange of gifts, has been incorporated into our celebration of Christmas.),
Sunnandæg ( Sun's day - the day of the sun ).

- Beowulf: Anglo-Saxonpoet, referred to by scholars as the "Beowulf poet". The author was an
anonymous Anglo-Saxon and it is one of the most important works of Old English literature. The date
wich was written is uncertain but is believed to have been composed between 700 and 750 .

The story is set in Scandinavia. Beowulf was a hero who comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the king of the
Danes, whose mead hall in Heorot has been under attack by a monster known as Grendel. After
Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated. Victorious, Beowulf
goes home to Geatland (modern Sweden) and later becomes king of the Geats. After a period of fifty
years has passed, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is mortally wounded in the battle. After his death,
his attendants cremate his body and erect a tower on a headland in his memory.

- Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: Wrote in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The
original manuscript of the Chronicle was created in the 9th century in Wessex, during the reign of
Alfred the Great. Multiple copies were made of that one original and then distributed to monasteries
across England, where they were independently updated. The Chronicle was still being actively from
the time of Caesar's updated in 1154.
Links:

-https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/the-germanic-tribes/

-https://www.britannica.com/topic/Frisian-language

-https://www.thehistoryofenglish.com/history_old.html

-https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol_printable/engol

-http://www.runetree.co.uk/?articles/2013/06/29/the-anglo-saxon-alphabet-and-
pronunciation.html

-http://www.runetree.co.uk/?articles/2013/06/29/the-anglo-saxon-alphabet-and-
pronunciation.html

-http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/saxon_20.htm

-https://www.britannica.com/topic/Beowulf