ENGLISH LANGUAGE. It is usual to divide English chronologically into three main periods of development—Old English, from the earliest records to about 1100; Middle English, from this date to about the first third of the 15th century, and Modern English from then onwards. The dates given for the limits of the Old and Middle periods are only approximate, and it is impossible to mark off, with precision, epochs in a process of change and growth which is continuous. It is sometimes con venient to subdivide more minutely into Early and Late O.E., Early and Late M.E., Early and Late Modern, but it is often preferable to refer to the characteristic features of a specific cen tury as revealed in the records.
English, as is clearly revealed by the language of these early documents, belongs to the West Germanic branch of the great Germanic or Teutonic family, itself one of the subdivisions of Aryan. Germanic (Indo-European) speech was brought to these islands during the 5th and 6th centuries of our era, by heathen invaders drawn from three main tribes, the Angles from what is still called Angelic, the Saxons, from the country north of the Elbe now called Holstein, and the Jutes from further south in the same region. These various tribes were designated collectively by the Britons as "Saxons," after the tribe with whom they first became acquainted, cf. Modern Welsh Sassenach, applied to Eng lishmen generally. Bede uses the phrase "Angli sive Saxones," implying that both terms mean the same thing, though he usually refers to the people of the country generally as Angli, to the lan guage as sermo Anglicus. In the 9th and loth centuries Angel cynn and Engle are used for the people, Englisc for the language, and Englaland for the country. On the other hand rex Anglo saxonum, Angel seaxna cyning are found in the loth century. The term Anglo-Saxon seems to have been revived in the i8th cen tury for the oldest form of English, and is still much used, though perhaps Old English is now rather commoner among stu dents of the language.
Of the ancient West Germanic languages of the Continent, the most closely related to the dialects of the conquerors of Britain were first Old Frisian, then Old Saxon, that is the speech of the Saxons who remained in their old homes. The Old High German dialects are considerably more remote especially in phonological character, from Old English, owing partly to the comparative fidelity with which the former adhered to the old vowel sounds which the English changed to a remarkable degree, partly to the characteristic changes in the consonants which distinguish the High German type from all the other West Germanic dialects. Some authorities consider the agreements between Old English and Old Frisian sufficiently close to justify the assumption of an early period of development common to both, from which it is but a step to postulate an Anglo-Frisian branch of West Germanic which, as some believe, was subsequently differentiated into Eng lish and Frisian. To this it may be objected that the earliest Frisian mss. are several centuries later than the English, and that the supposed phonological unity may be illusory, and due to simi lar, but much later, and independent changes in Old Frisian.
The differentiation from the old West Germanic type exhibited by the English dialects in their oldest recorded forms, while f ore shadowing already the tremendous new developments in the future, had not yet gone so far in the 9th and loth centuries, but that the Old Saxons and the English must have been able perfectly to understand each other's form of speech. By one of those ex traordinary pieces of good fortune by which the industry of schol ars is occasionally rewarded, a fragment of Old Saxon poetry in a 9th century hand was discovered some 3o odd years ago in the Vatican library, which was recognized as being identical with a passage in a well known Anglo-Saxon poem dealing with the story of Genesis, long attributed to Caedmon. On comparing the Old Saxon fragment with the Old English, it was obvious that the one must be based on the other, and the internal evidence makes it certain that the Old English as we possess it, must be a translation from the Old Saxon. The following short extracts from both ver sions show how close the two languages were in vocabulary, specific poetic diction, in the characteristic Germanic compounds, in accidences, word order, and general structure. The differences in spelling between the two reflect phonological differences, consider able indeed, but not sufficient to render either language unintelli gible to speakers of the other.
Old Saxon nis hebanriki not is the Kingdom of heaven gilic sulicaro lognura; thit uwas alloro Lando sconiust like to such flames; this was of all lands the loveliest, that wit hier thuruh unkas herran thank hebbian muostun, that we two here through our Lord's grace have might, thar thu them ni hordis, thie unk thesan haram giried, where thou to that one (him) not heard (obeyed), who for us two this calamity has decreed that unit nualdandas nuord farbrakun In that we two the ruler's (wielder's) word have violated (broken) hebankuningas the heavenly King's Old English nis heofonrice is not the Kingdom of heaven gelic tham lige: ac this is landa betst like to this flame: but this is of lands the best bæt wit turh uncres hearran anc habban moston that we two through our lord's grace have might, pær Pu pam ne hierde, re unc 'isne hearm gened there thou to that one (him) not heard who for us two this calam ity has decreed pæt wit waldendes, word forbræcon in that we two the ruler's word (command) have broken heofoncyninges the heavenly King's