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
31 core words in Old Saxon
Water
watar
/ˈwatar/
Fire
fiur
/fiur/
Sun
sunna
/ˈsunːa/
Moon
māno
/ˈmaːno/
Star
sterro
/ˈsterro/
Mother
modar
/ˈmoːdar/
Father
fader
/ˈfadər/
I
ik
/ik/
You
thu
/θuː/
Name
namo
/ˈnamo/
Eye
ōga
/ˈoːɡa/
Hand
hand
/hand/
Heart
herta
/ˈherta/
Love
minnea
/ˈminːea/
Tree
bōm
/boːm/
House
hūs
/huːs/
Dog
hund
/hund/
Cat
katta
/ˈkatːa/
Eat
etan
/ˈetan/
Drink
drinkan
/ˈdrinkan/
One
ēn
/eːn/
Two
twēne
/ˈtweːne/
Hello
heil
/heil/
Thank you
thank
/θaŋk/
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 | West Flemish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | watar /ˈwatar/ | wazzar /ˈwatsar/ | wazzer /ˈwatser/ | wetir /wetir/ | wæter /wæter/ | water /watər/ | woater /ˈwɔːtər/ |
| Fire | fiur /fiur/ | fiur /fiur/ | viur /viur/ | fiur /fjuːɾ/ | fȳr /fyːr/ | fyr /fyːr/ | vier /viːr/ |
| Sun | sunna /ˈsunːa/ | sunna /ˈsunna/ | sunne /ˈzunːə/ | sunne /sunːe/ | sunne /sunːe/ | sonne /sɔnːə/ | zunne /ˈzœnə/ |
| Moon | māno /ˈmaːno/ | māno /ˈmaːno/ | mâne /ˈmaːnə/ | mōna /moːnɑ/ | mōna /moːnɑ/ | mone /moːnə/ | moane /ˈmɔːnə/ |
| Star | sterro /ˈsterro/ | sterno /ˈsterno/ | sterne /ˈstɛrnə/ | stera /ˈstɛra/ | steorra /ˈstæɔrːɑ/ | sterre /ˈstɛrːə/ | sterre /ˈstærə/ |
| Mother | modar /ˈmoːdar/ | muoter /ˈmuotɛr/ | muoter /ˈmuoːtər/ | moder /moːdeɾ/ | mōdor /moːdor/ | moder /moːdər/ | moeder /ˈmudər/ |
| Father | fader /ˈfadər/ | fater /ˈfatɛr/ | vater /ˈfatər/ | feder /fædeɾ/ | fæder /fæder/ | fader /faːdər/ | voader /ˈvɔːdər/ |
| I | ik /ik/ | ih /ix/ | ich /ix/ | ik /ik/ | ic /itʃ/ | I /iː/ | ik /ɛk/ |
| You | thu /θuː/ | du /duː/ | dû /duː/ | thū /θuː/ | þū /θuː/ | thou /θuː/ | gie /hi/ |
| Name | namo /ˈnamo/ | namo /ˈnamo/ | name /ˈnamə/ | nama /ˈnama/ | nama /ˈnɑma/ | name /ˈnaːmə/ | noame /ˈnɔːmə/ |
| Eye | ōga /ˈoːɡa/ | ouga /ˈouɡa/ | ouge /ˈouɡə/ | āge /aːɣe/ | ēage /æːɑɣe/ | eye /iːə/ | ooge /ˈoːhə/ |
| Hand | hand /hand/ | hant /hant/ | hant /hant/ | hond /hond/ | hand /hɑnd/ | hand /hand/ | and /ɑnt/ |
| Heart | herta /ˈherta/ | herza /ˈhertsa/ | herze /ˈhertsə/ | herte /heɾte/ | heorte /ˈheorte/ | herte /hɛrtə/ | erte /ˈærtə/ |
| Love | minnea /ˈminːea/ | minna /ˈminna/ | minne /ˈminːə/ | minne /minːe/ | lufu /luvu/ | love /lʊvə/ | liefde /ˈliːvdə/ |
| 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/ | uus /ʏːs/ |
| Dog | hund /hund/ | hunt /hunt/ | hunt /hunt/ | hund /hund/ | hund /hund/ | hound /huːnd/ | hound /hont/ |
| Cat | katta /ˈkatːa/ | kazza /ˈkatsa/ | katze /ˈkatsə/ | katte /katːe/ | catt /kɑtt/ | catte /katːə/ | katte /ˈkɑtə/ |
| Eat | etan /ˈetan/ | ezzan /ˈetsan/ | ezzen /ˈetsən/ | eta /etɑ/ | etan /etɑn/ | eten /eːtən/ | eetn /ˈeːtn̩/ |
| Drink | drinkan /ˈdrinkan/ | trinkan /ˈtrinkan/ | trinken /ˈtrinkən/ | drinka /dɾinkɑ/ | drincan /drinkɑn/ | drinken /drɪŋkən/ | drienkn /ˈdriŋkn̩/ |
| One | ēn /eːn/ | ein /ein/ | ein /ein/ | ān /aːn/ | ān /aːn/ | oon /oːn/ | êen /eːn/ |
| Two | twēne /ˈtweːne/ | zwei /tswei/ | zwei /tsweɪ/ | twā /twaː/ | twā /twɑː/ | two /twɔː/ | twêe /tweː/ |
| Hello | heil /heil/ | heil /heil/ | gegrüezet /ɡəˈɡryːətsət/ | heil /heil/ | wes hāl /wes haːl/ | hail /hɛːl/ | goeiendag /ˌhujənˈdɑh/ |
| Thank you | thank /θaŋk/ | danc /daŋk/ | danc /daŋk/ | thank /θank/ | þanc /θɑnk/ | thank /θank/ | merci /mɛrˈsi/ |
| Good | gōd /ɡoːd/ | guot /ɡuot/ | guot /ɡuoːt/ | gōd /ɡoːd/ | gōd /ɡoːd/ | good /ɡoːd/ | goed /hut/ |
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