sahsisk
Old Saxon
Indo-European (West Germanic, Low German, Old Saxon) · historical / hidden variety
Old Saxon was the West Germanic language of the continental Saxons in modern northwest Germany and eastern Netherlands during the 8th-12th centuries CE, and the direct ancestor of Middle Low Saxon and modern Low German (Plattdüütsch, nds). It is the closest continental relative of Old English (Anglo-Saxon), reflecting the pre-migration unity. Best known from the Heliand (~830 CE), an alliterative biblical epic of ~6000 lines that retells the Gospel as a Germanic warrior-saga, and the fragmentary Genesis. Christianized only after Charlemagne's brutal 30-year Saxon Wars (772-804 CE).
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Old Saxon
Water
watar
/ˈwatar/
Fire
fiur
/fiur/
Sun
sunna
/ˈsunːa/
Moon
māno
/ˈmaːno/
Mother
muoder
/ˈmuodər/
Father
fader
/ˈfadər/
Eat
etan
/ˈetan/
Drink
drinkan
/ˈdrinkan/
Love
minnea
/ˈminːea/
Heart
herta
/ˈherta/
Tree
bōm
/boːm/
House
hūs
/huːs/
Dog
hund
/hund/
Cat
katta
/ˈkatːa/
Hand
hand
/hand/
Eye
ōga
/ˈoːɡa/
Hello
heil
/heil/
Thank you
thank
/θaŋk/
One
ēn
/eːn/
Good
gōd
/ɡoːd/
Sources
- Cathey (2002) Hêliand: Text and Commentary
- Holthausen (1900) Altsächsisches Elementarbuch
- Glottolog: olds1239
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (West Germanic, Low German, Old Saxon) languages
| Meaning | Old Saxon | Old High German | Middle High German | Old Frisian | Old English | Middle English | Saterland Frisian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | watar /ˈwatar/ | wazzar /ˈwatsar/ | wazzer /ˈwatser/ | wetir /vetiɾ/ | wæter /wæter/ | water /watər/ | Woater /ˈvɔːtɐ/ |
| Fire | fiur /fiur/ | fiur /fiur/ | viur /viur/ | fiur /fjuːɾ/ | fȳr /fyːr/ | fyr /fyːr/ | Fjuur /fjuːɐ/ |
| Sun | sunna /ˈsunːa/ | sunna /ˈsunna/ | sunne /ˈzunːə/ | sunne /sunːe/ | sunne /sunːe/ | sonne /sɔnːə/ | Sunne /ˈzʊnə/ |
| Moon | māno /ˈmaːno/ | māno /ˈmaːno/ | mâne /ˈmaːnə/ | mōna /moːnɑ/ | mōna /moːnɑ/ | mone /moːnə/ | Moune /ˈmoːnə/ |
| Mother | muoder /ˈmuodər/ | muoter /ˈmuotɛr/ | muoter /ˈmuoːtər/ | moder /moːdeɾ/ | mōdor /moːdor/ | moder /moːdər/ | Mäme /ˈmɛːmə/ |
| Father | fader /ˈfadər/ | fater /ˈfatɛr/ | vater /ˈfatər/ | feder /fædeɾ/ | fæder /fæder/ | fader /faːdər/ | Babe /ˈbaːbə/ |
| Eat | etan /ˈetan/ | ezzan /ˈetsan/ | ezzen /ˈetsən/ | eta /etɑ/ | etan /etɑn/ | eten /eːtən/ | ete /ˈeːtə/ |
| Drink | drinkan /ˈdrinkan/ | trinkan /ˈtrinkan/ | trinken /ˈtrinkən/ | drinka /dɾinkɑ/ | drincan /drinkɑn/ | drinken /drɪŋkən/ | drinke /ˈdrɪŋkə/ |
| Love | minnea /ˈminːea/ | minna /ˈminna/ | minne /ˈminːə/ | minne /minːe/ | lufu /luvu/ | love /lʊvə/ | Lieuwde /ˈljœːʊdə/ |
| Heart | herta /ˈherta/ | herza /ˈhertsa/ | herze /ˈhertsə/ | herte /heɾte/ | heorte /ˈheorte/ | herte /hɛrtə/ | Häärt /hɛːrt/ |
| Tree | bōm /boːm/ | boum /boum/ | boum /boum/ | bām /baːm/ | trēow /treːow/ | tre /treː/ | Boom /boːm/ |
| House | hūs /huːs/ | hūs /huːs/ | hûs /huːs/ | hūs /huːs/ | hūs /huːs/ | hous /huːs/ | Huus /huːs/ |
| Dog | hund /hund/ | hunt /hunt/ | hunt /hunt/ | hund /hund/ | hund /hund/ | hound /huːnd/ | Huund /huːnt/ |
| Cat | katta /ˈkatːa/ | kazza /ˈkatsa/ | katze /ˈkatsə/ | katte /katːe/ | catt /kɑtt/ | catte /katːə/ | Kat /kat/ |
| Hand | hand /hand/ | hant /hant/ | hant /hant/ | hond /hond/ | hand /hɑnd/ | hand /hand/ | Hounde /ˈhɔʊndə/ |
| Eye | ōga /ˈoːɡa/ | ouga /ˈouɡa/ | ouge /ˈouɡə/ | āge /aːɣe/ | ēage /æːɑɣe/ | eye /iːə/ | Oge /ˈɔːɣə/ |
| Hello | heil /heil/ | heil /heil/ | gegrüezet /ɡəˈɡryːətsət/ | heil /heil/ | wes hāl /wes haːl/ | hail /hɛːl/ | Moin /moin/ |
| Thank you | thank /θaŋk/ | danc /daŋk/ | danc /daŋk/ | thank /θank/ | þanc /θɑŋk/ | gramercy /ɡraːmɛrsiː/ | Bedoankje /bəˈdɔːŋkjə/ |
| One | ēn /eːn/ | ein /ein/ | ein /ein/ | ān /aːn/ | ān /aːn/ | oon /oːn/ | aan /ˈɔːn/ |
| Good | gōd /ɡoːd/ | guot /ɡuot/ | guot /ɡuoːt/ | gōd /ɡoːd/ | gōd /ɡoːd/ | good /ɡoːd/ | goud /ɡoʊt/ |
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