Question

What is Old English?

1. an archaic language with little lasting importance
2. the Germanic language used in Anglo-Saxon England
3. the language spoken during Shakespeare's time

Answer 1

The language of the Anglo-Saxons (up to about 1150), a highly inflected language with a largely Germanic vocabulary, very different from modern English.

Answer 2

Old English is the Germanic language used in Anglo-Saxon England. In 449, the firs band of people from great North German plain crossed the North Sea and settled in the current territory of England. The Jutes were the first of many Germanic invaders who brought the language that we now know as Old English or Anglo-Saxon.