An example of the use of these letters is in the word 'cough.' Originally, the letters were used in the Irish area. It is pronounced “ogh” with a bit of a raspy sound. They are used to pronounce a long “th” sound with a “d.” An example is the word 'thought.' In the late Middle Ages, the letters fell out of use. That letter is Edh or Eth which is symbolized by (Ð). There are other letters in the Old English alphabet that are similar to thorn. The Thorn is also related to several old sentences such as 'Ye Olde Tavern.' The word 'ye' is read as 'the.' Because of its confusing use, thorn was omitted from the list of the English alphabet. The thorn is pronounced with “th” sound and serves to represent the letter “y.” An example is “you” where the “y” is pronounced with the “th” sound. Previously, the letter was used in Icelandic writing and is related to old Norse. It is read as “th” or similar to 'the' and 'this' in modern English. What are the letters in the old English alphabet that are no longer used?įirst is Thorn (Þ, Þ). The reason is, there are several letters that are no longer used until only 26 letters are left.

However, the Old English alphabet had more than 26 letters. The English alphabet used today has only 26 letters. How Many Letters in the Old English Alphabet? Old English spoken in Anglo-Saxon was influenced by Latin-inspired Caroline Minuscule. Finally, they started writing in Old English in the 10th century. The Anglo-Saxons adopted the writing style of the Irish people. Most of the language was written in West Saxon, which was one of the four main dialects spoken at that time. They live in the Engalaland and Angelcynn areas.Īlthough it has been in use since the 5th century, the language was only used in written form in the 8th century. The native speakers of old English are Englisc people such as Angelcynn, Angle, and Angelfolc. It was also known as West Germanic which was spoken in England from the 5th to the 11th centuries. The Old English alphabet is often referred to as Anglo-Saxon or Ænglisc. The old English alphabet contains several letters derived from the Old Norse, Runic, and Gothic languages. The Old English alphabet is the precursor to the English language we know today. Like most writing systems in the world, the history of old English alphabet is also very complicated because it is influenced by various things from the past.

What is the History of the Old English Alphabet?

Old english font letter n