Editing Jutes (section)

===Language and writing===
{{see also|Anglo-Frisian languages}}
The [[runes|runic alphabet]] is thought to have originated in the Germanic homelands that were in contact with the Roman Empire, and as such was a response to the Latin alphabet. In fact some of the runes emulated their Latin counterpart. The runic alphabet crossed the sea with the Anglo-Saxons and there have been examples, of its use, found in Kent.{{sfn|Haigh|1872|pp=164–270}}{{sfn|Charles-Edwards|2003|p=193}} As the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were evangelised the script of the [[Latin alphabet]] was introduced by [[Hiberno-Scottish mission|Irish Christian missionaries]]. However, they ran into problems when they were unable to find a Latin equivalent to some of the Anglo-Saxon phonetics. They overcame this by modifying the Latin alphabet to include some runic characters. This became the [[Old English Latin alphabet]]. The runic characters were eventually replaced by Latin characters by the end of the 14th century.{{sfn|Charles-Edwards|2003|p=193}}{{sfn|Crystal|1987|p=203}}

{|class="wikitable" style="border-collapse:collapse;"
|-
! colspan="36" | [[Capital letters|Majuscule forms]] (also called uppercase or capital letters)
|-
|width=3% align="center"|[[A]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Æ]]||width=3% align="center"|[[B]]||width=3% align="center"|[[C]]||width=3% align="center"|[[D]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Eth|Ð]]||width=3% align="center"|[[E]]||width=3% align="center"|[[F]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Insular G|Ᵹ]]/[[G]]||width=3% align="center"|[[H]]||width=3% align="center"|[[I]]||width=3% align="center"|[[L]]||width=3% align="center"|[[M]]||width=3% align="center"|[[N]]||width=3% align="center"|[[O]]||width=3% align="center"|[[P]]||width=3% align="center"|[[R]]||width=3% align="center"|[[S]]||width=3% align="center"|[[T]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Thorn (letter)|Þ]]||width=3% align="center"|[[U]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Wynn|Ƿ]]/[[W]]||width=3% align="center"|[[X]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Y]]
|-
! colspan="36" | [[Lower case|Minuscule forms]] (also called lowercase or small letters)
|-
|width=3% align="center"|[[a]]||width=3% align="center"|[[æ]]||width=3% align="center"|[[b]]||width=3% align="center"|[[c]]||width=3% align="center"|[[d]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Eth|ð]]||width=3% align="center"|[[e]]||width=3% align="center"|[[f]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Insular G|ᵹ]]/[[g]]||width=3% align="center"|[[h]]||width=3% align="center"|[[i]]||width=3% align="center"|[[l]]||width=3% align="center"|[[m]]||width=3% align="center"|[[n]]||width=3% align="center"|[[o]]||width=3% align="center"|[[p]]||width=3% align="center"|[[r]]||width=3% align="center"|[[s]]/[[Long s|ſ]]||width=3% align="center"|[[t]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Thorn (letter)|þ]]||width=3% align="center"|[[u]]||width=3% align="center"|[[Wynn|ƿ]]/[[w]]||width=3% align="center"|[[x]]||width=3% align="center"|[[y]]
|}

The language that the Anglo-Saxon settlers spoke is known as [[Old English]]. There are four main dialectal forms, namely [[Mercian (Old English)|Mercian]], [[Northumbrian (Old English)|Northumbrian]], [[West Saxon (Old English)|West Saxon]] and [[Kentish (Old English)|Kentish]].{{sfn|Campbell|1959|p=4}} Based on Bede's description of where the Jutes settled, Kentish was spoken in what are now the modern-day counties of [[Kent]], [[Surrey]], southern [[Hampshire]] and the [[Isle of Wight]].{{sfn|Bede|1910|loc=2.5}} However, historians are divided on what dialect it would have been and where it originated from. {{sfn|Derolez|1974|pp=1–14}} The Jutish peninsula has been seen by historians as a pivotal region between the [[North Germanic languages|Northern]] and the [[West Germanic languages|Western Germanic dialects]]. It has not been possible to prove whether Jutish has always been a Scandinavian dialect which later became heavily influenced by West Germanic dialects, or whether Jutland was originally part of the West Germanic [[dialectal continuum]].{{sfn|Braunmüller|2013|pp=52–72}} An analysis of the Kentish dialect by linguists indicates that there was a similarity between Kentish and Frisian. Whether the two can be classed as the same dialect or whether Kentish was a version of Jutish, heavily influenced by Frisian and other dialects, is open to conjecture.{{sfn|Derolez|1974|pp=1–14}}{{sfn|DeCamp|1958|pp= 232–244}}