SIMILARITIES AND

DIFFERENCES OF OLD
AND MODERN ENGLISH
LANGUAGE
R E P O RT E R S :
L AY S O N , R A H S M A
NOSOTROS, LIZA JANE C.
Three periods of English Language:
Old English also known as Anglo-Saxon(450 AD- 1100 AD/
Mid 5th century to Mid 11th century)
Middle English (1100 AD-1500 AD/ late 11th century to late
15th century)
Modern English ( from 1500 AD till present day/ late 15th
century to the present)
Differences of Old and Modern English Language

The verb system

Old English – more complex and there are two main types of verbs (strong and weak)
(next slide for example)

Modern English - regular verbs are conjugated in the same form for all subject pronouns or
persons, with only one exception, namely the present tense indicative, third person singular
(he/she/it steals)
Sentence structure
Old English: The word order and the sentence structure were rather free.
'Sie liebt Mark' / 'Mark ist der, den sie liebt' [She loves Mark (MnE) / It is Mark whom she loves.]
(SVO/OSV)

Modern English: Modern English follows the subject-verb-object sentence structure.

The woman [S] built [V] a strong stone wall [O]
Pronunciation

In Old English (OE), stress usually fell on the first syllable of a word. This means that most OE
words were pronounced with a "falling" stress pattern, from strong to weak.
(like the <-er> in MnE winter)
Pronunciation
In OE, double consonant-letters represented consonant sounds which were pronounced long,
differently from single short consonants, especially if the consonant was at the end of a word.

In Modern English (MnE), double consonant-letters are used to indicate that the preceding
vowel is short.

bucc (buck), eall (all), hyll (hill).

Pronunciation
Morphology
Use of inflections in OE
Inflections in MnE
As in modern English, the only regular noun inflection was the -s
ending of the genitive and plural: irregular plurals were mostly the
same as those that have survived into recent English. 

Plural
Toy=toys
 Similarities of the Old and the
Modern English Language

Reported By : Rahsma M. Layson

Dr ag and
r
Insert o oto of the
ph
Drop a cover
book
BOOK
REVIE
W
Similarities of
the Old and the
Modern English
Language
Rahsma M.
p 13
Layson
Old
English had
very little or no
resemblance to
Modern English
Rahsma M.
Layson
Language is
constantly adapting
and changing to reflect
our changing lives,
experiences and
cultures. Language change
enables us to accommodate
new ideas, inventions and
technologies. It's not just the
words themselves which
change; the way in which
we use them can shift too.
Rahsma M.
Layson
 d D ro p yo uurrIm
Imagee
ag
rt or Drag an d Dr op yo ermanic
e language of the G
In se
Insert or D rag an
Old English is th fr o m the time of
En g la n d , d at e d
inhabitants of n tu ry to the end
n t in th e 5 th ce
their settleme o re ferred to as
n tu ry . It is a ls
of the 11th ce in c ontrast with
a n a m e g iv e n
Anglo-Saxon, of northern
What is Old
o f th e in h ab it a n ts
the Old Saxon
Germany.

Old English
Saxon, Kentis
it
h ,
sel
a
f
n d
h a
A
s
n g
th
lia
re
n .
e
W
dialects: West
e st Saxon was
and therefore
English
Language?
o f A lf re d th e G re at
the language p ro minence;
the g re a te st
achieved n gl ish texts have
th e ch ie f O ld E
accordingly, th e conquest of
is d ia le c t. U p o n
survived in th 1 0 6 6, n um erous
an s in
England by the Norm o m F re n c h an d ,
o p te d fr
words came to be ad
m Latin.
subsequently, also fro

Rahsma M.
p 16
Layson
 rag an d D ro p yo
youurrIm
Imagee
ag
In se rt or
Insert or DD rag an d Dr op

fi rs t a n d m o s t o b vio u s
The
Old
similarities between the
g li sh ex t ra c t a n d its M o dern
En
rt is b et w e e n
Englis h co
o
u
g
n
ra
t
p
e
h
rp
y
a
a n d s p e llin g . Similarities of the
the orth
Refe r rin g b a c k to th e fa c t th at Old and the
the Old E n g li sh A lp h a b
a
e
lp
t
h
w
a
e
be
re
t .
Modern English
m a n
based on t h e R o
Language

Rahsma M.
p 17
Layson
Lets’ Watch This!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRHR8D6QcHo

Rahsma M.
p 18
Layson
 Im
uurte xag
tseemay
first gInlasenrtcore,DOld
In se rt or D rag
ragan
and
EdD
n ro
g
Dr op h
p syo
li yo r Im ag
At
c id e d ly st ra n g e to a m o dern
look de
English speaker:
ng
However, with small spelli
n c e s a n d so m e ti m e s m inor
diffe re
me an in g c h a n g
s
e s
in
, m
O
an
ld a
y
n
o f the most
d modern
Similarities of the
co m m o n  w o
English are the same.
rd
Old and the
Alphabet and Pronuncia
The alph a b e t u s e d to w ri
tion
te o u r O ld Modern English
English te xt s w a s a d
e
o
d
p te
b y
d
C
fr
h
o
ri
m Latin,
stian
Language
which w a s in tr o d u c
n a ri e s in th e m o d e rn E nglish. It
missio
s so m u ch m o d e rn tr a n scriptions
look
la c e it w it h th e m o re fa miliar to
rep
eliminate confusion.
Rahsma M.
p 19
Layson
Lets’ Watch This!

https://theanthrotorian.com/history/what-is-old-english

Rahsma M.
p 20
Layson
Insert
Insertor
orDrag
Dragand
andDrop
Dropyour
yourImage
Image
Conclusion is transformed as it is transmitted from one
Language
generation to the next.
Generation by generation, pronunciations evolve,
new words are borrowed or invented, the meaning of
old words drifts, and morphology develops or decays.
Through the years, languages have developed by
many factors that complement them or sometimes
distort them.
Language is always changing, evolving, and adapting
to the needs of its users. 
All aspects of language change, and a great deal is
Caption
Caption Lorem
Lorem Ipsum
Ipsum
know about general mechanisms and historical details
of changes at all levels of linguistic analysis.

Rahsma M.
p 21
Layson
InInse rt or D ra
Dr g
aganddDDr
an p yo
roop yo r Im
uur agee
Imag
se rt or

Rahsma M.
p 22
Layson
InInse rt or D ra
Dr g
aganddDDr
an p yo
roop yo r Im
uur agee
Imag
se rt or

Rahsma M.
p 23
Layson