3. Oe Dialects.

Since the very earliest times there were 4 main dialects in OE:

1) Northumbrian, spoken by the Angles living north of the Humber,

2) Mercian, spoken by Angles between the Humber and the Thames,

3) West-Saxon, the language of the Saxons south of the Thames,

4) Kentish, the language of the Jutes.

The rise of Wessex as a political power in the 9^th c had its consequences for the West-Saxon dialect: in the course of that century it became the dominating literary language of the epoch.

4. First Anglo-Saxon Written Records.

With the introduction of Christianity the Latin language was again heard in Britain. Latin was of international importance at that time, as it was used by learned men in all countries. They wrote their books in Latin so that they could be understood by the learned men of other countries.

The Anglo-Saxons spoke quite a different language of Germanic origin and did not understand Latin. The Anglo-Saxon nobles were ignorant; many of them were quite illiterate and could not even sign their own names. No one except the monks knew Latin and the monasteries became centres of knowledge and of learning in those early times.

The first libraries and schools for the clergy were set up in monasteries. The monks copied out many handwritten books and even translated some books from Latin and Greek into Anglo-Saxon. Some monks were chroniclers—they kept a record of the important events of each year. Psalters, chronicles and other manuscripts written by the medieval monks are very important historical documents today. Thus, translation of Latin Gospels and Anglo-Saxon Chronicles were, perhaps, the first manuscripts in the Anglo-Saxon language.

The most famous writer was the monk named Bede who lived from 673 to 735. The Venerable Bede, as he was known in Europe, was brought up and educated in the monasteries of Northumbria where he lived all his life. He wrote Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which was studied carefully by educated people in Europe, as it was the only book on Anglo-Saxon history. From this book we learn much of what happened in Britain thirteen centuries ago. A copy of Bede's book can be found at the British Museum in London.

Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, a famous epic poem written in Anglo-Saxon, is another important written record of the Anglo-Saxon period. It tells us about the life of the Anglo-Saxons at the time when every man was a warrior. The poem describes the arms and armour of the Anglo-Saxon warriors, their exploits and adventures. It is named after the great legendary warrior, Beowulf.

5. Oe Alphabet.

a n [n], [ŋ]

æ

b o

c [k] or [k'] p

d r

e s [s] or [z]

f [f] or [v] t

3 [g], [g'], [γ] or [j] Þ ð [ð] or [θ]

h [х], [х'] or [h] u

i w

l x

m y

The letters could indicate short and long sounds. The length of vowels is shown by a macron: bát [ba:t], NE boat or by a line above the letter: ōðer ['o:ðer].