Vocabulary:
* Old English: Borrowed heavily from Germanic languages, particularly Old Norse. Words like "ship," "knife," "king," and "day" are of Old English origin.
* Modern English: Has a much wider vocabulary due to centuries of borrowing from French, Latin, Greek, and other languages. Many everyday words like "government," "justice," and "beautiful" came from French after the Norman Conquest.
Grammar:
* Old English: Had a complex system of noun declensions (different endings for nouns depending on their function in a sentence) and verb conjugations (different endings for verbs depending on tense and person). It also had a more elaborate system of pronouns.
* Modern English: Has simplified grammar, with far fewer noun declensions and verb conjugations. We rely heavily on word order to convey grammatical relationships, unlike Old English, which used more inflections.
Pronunciation:
* Old English: Sounds very different from Modern English. Vowels were often pronounced differently, and there were sounds that no longer exist in Modern English.
* Modern English: Pronunciation has shifted significantly over the centuries, with many words evolving from their Old English counterparts. The Great Vowel Shift, a major sound change in the 15th and 16th centuries, transformed how vowels were pronounced.
Script:
* Old English: Used the Anglo-Saxon futhorc, a runic alphabet.
* Modern English: Uses the Latin alphabet, with a few additions like "w" and "j."
Examples:
* Old English: "Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum, si þin nama gehalgod" (Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name)
* Modern English: "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name."
Other Key Differences:
* Sentence structure: Old English sentences were often more flexible and less reliant on fixed word order.
* Literary tradition: Old English had a rich literary tradition, including epic poems like Beowulf and prose works like the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
* Regional variation: Old English had greater regional variation than Modern English.
It's important to note:
* The transition from Old English to Modern English was a gradual process that took centuries, with no clear-cut "break" between the two.
* Modern English, although vastly different, still carries a significant legacy of Old English, both in vocabulary and grammar.
Understanding the differences between Old English and Modern English highlights how language evolves over time and how major events, such as the Norman Conquest, can significantly influence a language's development.