This study into the analysis of linguistics deals with The Peterborough Chronicle' . This piece is one of the group of manuscripts collectively titled Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. It is written in Middle English and has had it's punctuation and capitalization modernized, in this extract. .
In this study, the language and linguistics of the extract will be analysed using a set range of criteria; orthography, lexis, morphology, syntax, and grammar. All of these methods will be employed to assess what time period the piece is from and what linguistic methods were and were not being employed at this time. It can also tell us what methods of language were viewed as non-standard and as standard at that time in comparison to previously and to now. .
The extract is set out on the page in continuous prose. The punctuation and capitalization of this piece have been modernized so no comment can be made regarding those factors. The piece uses the letterform or ash regularly in words such as s (line 1) meaning sea. This is because was used to show the ME equivalent of the modern letter a or e. This letterform was used throughout Old and Middle English. The extract also uses the letterform or eth. Ã is the capital letterform of and they both refer to the sound that is made when a modern t and h are put together. Therefore the extract regularly uses at (line 2) for that and is for this. These letterforms, similar to were used throughout the OE and ME periods. On occasion within the extract the letterforms and are used in the same word such as t (line 16) these letterforms place together the th' and a' sounds to make the modern word that'. and its lowercase form Þ or thorn are also regularly used in the extract to represent the th sound of words. a ( line 6) and Þe (line 1) are often used to represent the modern word the. All of these letterforms were used throughout the OE and ME periods.