Assignment 1, culture and literature

1. Grammar:
firstly, old English grammar was inflected which changed during the centuries
and then partly/completely changed (weepest-weeps). Secondly, the word
order changed throughout the years (if thou him took-if thou took him). Also,
the continuous and prepositions come in with middle English.
Spelling:
In old English the correspondence between spelling and pronunciation is very
close. However, in middle English the spelling was free which meant that they
could write how they wanted. Second, the French tried to transcribe English
which lead to their own inventions. But one of the most important changes in
spelling would be the invention of printing spelling really developed and
changed.
Vocabulary:
During the old English period, the vocabulary was based on Germanic and
partly Latin because of Christianity. Furthermore, when Middle English
appeared the vocabulary was influenced by the French and even new sounds
appeared. After this the renaissance period begun, this meant that new words
needed to be described and expressed. Finally, spelling has been most stable
in the modern English period, mainly because of Samuel Johnson.

2. English changed throughout the years because of different invasions starting

with the Germanics and later on the Saxons. Next were the Romans and also
the Vikings. French also influenced the English language since William of
Normandy became king in England. Not only the invasions but also
Christianity brought a change to the English language, namely Latin.
Because of these invasions the English language was mixed and changed
every century. Thats why older English is different from Modern English.

3. Older English is quite difficult to comprehend but once you know what the
translation is you recognize some of the words. Moreover, I think that older
English sounds like Norse which I can understand a little bit. So I think that
Older English is difficult but not entirely incomprehensible.