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For the benefit of those who are new to this Wikipedia, this Help page is written in modern English.
== About ==
:''See also: [[Wikipedia:Tutorial on Old English]], [[:Wikibooks:Old English]], [http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/resources/IOE/index.html Introduction to Old English by Professor Peter S. Baker of UVA]''
'''Old English''', otherwise known as '''Anglo-Saxon''', is the earliest and longest stage of the English language, having existed in the original time span of about 400 AD to 1150 AD, when the language began to evolve from its West Germanic Anglo-Frisian roots into Middle English, and then Modern English. The most prominent historic writing in Old English is [[Bēowulf|Bēoƿulf]]. This language is currently experiencing a small revival in use, for both academic and [[:en:Germanic Neopaganism|religious]] purposes.
== Special characters ==
There are a few special characters you will see on this Wikipedia, '''ȝ''', '''ƿ''', '''þ''', '''ð''', '''æ''', '''ċ''', the macron accent mark ( '''¯''' ), as well as the Anglo-Saxon runes. In order to see the Runic characters, you will need any font which has Unicode compliance within the "Runic" range. If your browser supports it, you may enable Junicode in your [[Wikipedia:Stylistic and font options|UniversalLanguageSetting preferences]]. If that is not sufficient for some reason, feel free to give feedback by following the links at the bottom of that page or following the advice here.
The recommended font to save to your computer is '''[http://sourceforge.net/projects/junicode/files/ Junicode]''', as its Runic characters are well-designed and evenly spaced. You will also need to have JavaScript enabled on your web browser to properly view the [[Wikipedia:Stylistic and font options|automatically converted page versions]]. It is usually enabled by default, but it can be disabled. If you suspect that JavaScript is disabled on your browser, you should see [http://www.ehow.com/how_4811781_turn-javascript-back.html this page for Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari instructions], [http://www.ehow.com/how_6927197_turn-javascript-google-chrome.html this page for Google Chrome instructions], and [http://www.ehow.com/how_5054653_turn-java-script.html this page for Opera, Internet Explorer, and Firefox instructions].
The macron is used to represent a long vowel to help distinguish between words which would otherwise appear indistinguishable ('''īs''' vs '''is'''). The acute accent is often used in the same manner, but for consistency the macron should be used.
== Typing ==
''(For further and more detailed information, see [[Help:On Englisce Ƿrītan]])''
As with anything else, in order to type in Old English, you will need the proper tools to fit the job. Because of automated page conversion, there is no need to type using ȝƿ or runes; and you should not type with runes at all, because it is much more difficult to accurately convert from runes to the Latin alphabet than vice verse. As such, it would be best for you to have a keyboard which could write vowels with macrons, write æ and ǣ, and write þ and ð. Note that all page names will be written using gw, although there may still be a few pages around written in non-gw, which need cleaning up.
# A software-based keyboard can be downloaded [http://megse.unm.edu/research/internal/keyboards.html here]. The provided link also includes instructions on how to type the extra characters, installation, and switching between keyboards. Alternatively, you can create your own software-based custom keyboard layout with a program such as [http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/goglobal/bb964665.aspx Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator]. This allows you to organize the extra characters according to what feels natural to you.
# An alternative is to use the Icelandic keyboard layout, although this will not cover the full range of characters you will need.
# If you use Mac OS X, you can download a pre-made keyboard layout [http://groups.google.com/group/eald-englisc/web/Anglo-Saxon.keylayout here], and save it to your '''Hard Drive > Library > Keyboard Layouts''' folder. Upon a system restart, and enabling your new layout in your '''System Preferences > International > Input''' pane, you will now have "Anglo-Saxon" as an option for your system. A map of this specific layout can be seen [http://groups.google.com/group/eald-englisc/web/rtende-englisc-on-num-mac here]. If you wish to write an article in Runes, creating your own layout will be especially helpful.
# You can use ALT codes. A table of numeric values for Windows-based systems is provided on [[Help:On Englisce Ƿrītan]], and on Macintosh, the custom Anglo-Saxon layout (which is based on '''US International''') is shown [http://groups.google.com/group/eald-englisc/web/rtende-englisc-on-num-mac here].
# You can create Autocorrect values for typing in Microsoft Word.
# In the X Window System, used in free software operating systems such as GNU/Linux and the various BSDs, it is not too hard to customise the keyboard. Specially relevant to customise a keyboard are a Unicode character map such as gucharmap, and editing, as root, the console-setup configuration file at /etc and the Compose file.
== Terminology ==
Using the speech of a thousand years ago to describe modern concepts can be difficult, but it can be done. Authentic words ought to be used where they exist in the extant ''Englisc'' texts. Excessive neologisms should be avoided, if genuine Anglo-Saxon vocabulary can be used and applied accurately. Where a word or a concept is needed which does not exist in the original, there are a few steps you can take when writing or editing articles, to conjure the best possible term.
# See what other Germanic languages call it. One thing you can do, if the word has a Wikipedia article, visit that article's English version, and look at its translation links on the left-hand side of the page. With the cursor hovering over each link, view the URL preview, and see what others call it. Useful languages to look for are '''Deutsch''', '''Dansk''', '''Íslenska''', '''Svenska''', '''Nederlands''', '''Frysk''', and sometimes even '''Seeltersk'''. This can also be done on the "Translations" section of any Wiktionary page.
# Translate the etmological root. Sometimes this is a good method, sometimes it is not; you need to use judgement, particularly when blending this potential new term in with the rest of the language. For example, '''automobile''' ''could'' be rendered as '''selffērend''', but is there a closer authentic concept?
# Create a descriptive term. This is useful when a transliteration or translation is not possible, yet there is no consistency across other Germanic languages as to what they call it either. Remember that Germanic languages tend to be more descriptive in their nature, rather than technical. For instance, '''fȳrþyrel''' ''("fire hole")'' is used as "engine cylinder" in the [[Stēamwægn|steam car]] article.
# If all else fails, resort to a loan word. The general trend of modern Old English usage is a strive for language purity, but Old English of yore sometimes made use of loan words, and even today's Icelandic has had to. For example, it would be quite hard simply to represent "guitar" in Old English speech.
Useful resources relating to modern terminology can be found on the [[NWT|Neologism proposal page]] as well as the [[Hu secge ic|"How do I say_?"]] page. The first relates directly to tackling the issues mentioned in this section, and the second deals with using the best existing terminology, reapplied to the modern world. You will find both to be very helpful.
Finally, you need to remember that it is of utmost importance that you are ''understood'' by other people when they encounter your term for the first time. As such, it is important that all neologisms and also historical words used with new meanings in an article should be documented on the article's talk page, using the [[bysen:wordgetæl|wordgetæl]] template. The list of words should be bulletted and contained within the [[template:noc|noc]] template, to ensure that phonological notation will not be muddled by automated page conversion.
== Spelling ==
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