It is the object of this book to give an elementary knowledge of Early West Saxon, that is, the language of King Alfred. With this knowledge, it will not be difficult for the student to read Late West Saxon, or any other dialect of the Old English period. Such knowledge will also serve as the best introduction to the structure both of Middle English and of Modern English, besides laying a secure foundation for the scientific study of any other Germanic tongue.
Note.—The Germanic, or Teutonic, languages constitute a branch of the great Aryan, or Indo-Germanic (known also as the Indo-European) group. They are subdivided as follows:
| Germanic |  | North Germanic: Scandinavian, or Norse. | |||||
| East Germanic: Gothic. | |||||||
| Old High German, | ||||||
| High German | Middle High German, | |||||
 | West Germanic | | New High German, | ||||
| Low German | | Dutch, Old Saxon, | ||||
| Frisian, English. | ||||||
[1.] This unfortunate nomenclature is due to the term Angli Saxones, which Latin writers used as a designation for the English Saxons as distinguished from the continental or Old Saxons. But Alfred and Ælfric both use the term Englisc, not Anglo-Saxon. The Angles spread over Northumbria and Mercia, far outnumbering the other tribes. Thus Englisc (= Angel + isc) became the general name for the language spoken.
[2.] As small as England is, there are six distinct dialects spoken in her borders to-day. Of these the Yorkshire dialect is, perhaps, the most peculiar. It preserves many Northumbrian survivals. See Tennyson’s Northern Farmer.
[ CHAPTER II.]
Sounds.
Vowels and Diphthongs.
[6.]
The long vowels and diphthongs will in this book be designated by the macron (–). Vowel length should in every case be associated by the student with each word learned: quantity alone sometimes distinguishes words meaning wholly different things: fōr, he went, for, for; gōd, good, God, God; mān, crime, man, man.