Old English
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Grammar
Full development of the weak declension of the adjective with particular categorical meaning
Development of a dental preterite and appearance of the strong/weak verb distinction
Alphabet
A peculiar alphabet
24 letters
Futhark
Dialect
Northumbrian dialect
Mercian dialect
Wessex dialect
Sussex dialect
Kentish dialect
Runic inscription :
"secret", "mystery"
Runes used as letters
Each symbol indicated a separate sound
Inner history
Development of language was very slowly
Spelling
Mainly phonetic
f, s, þ, ø could denote voiced consonants in intervocalic posions or voiceless
c denote sound [k] (palatal or velar)
y denote sound [ý] (similar to German ü)