Editing Danish language (section)

=== Runic Danish ===
{{Main|Old Norse}}{{Old Norse language map}}
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|quote= {{lang|non|Móðir Dyggva var Drótt, dóttir Danps konungs, sonar Rígs er fyrstr var konungr kallaðr á danska tungu}}.<br /> "[[Dyggvi]]'s mother was Drott, the daughter of king Danp, [[Rígsþula|Ríg]]'s son, who was the first to be called king in the Danish tongue."
|source= {{lang|non|[[Heimskringla]]}} by [[Snorri Sturluson]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heimskringla.no/wiki/Ynglinga_saga|title=Ynglinga saga |website=heimskringla.no |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120802093936/http://www.heimskringla.no/wiki/Ynglinga_saga |archive-date= 2 Aug 2012 }}</ref>
}}
By the eighth century, the common Germanic language of Scandinavia, [[Proto-Norse]], had undergone some changes and evolved into [[Old Norse]].
This language was generally called the "Danish tongue" ({{lang|non|Dǫnsk tunga}}), or "Norse language" ({{lang|non|Norrœnt mál}}). Norse was written in the [[runic alphabet]], first with the [[elder futhark]] and from the 9th century with the [[younger futhark]].{{sfn|Faarlund|1994|pp=38–41}}

Possibly as far back as the seventh century, the common Norse language began to undergo changes that did not spread to all of Scandinavia, resulting in the appearance of two dialect areas, Old West Norse ([[Norway]] and [[Iceland]]) and Old East Norse ([[Denmark]] and [[Sweden]]). Most of the changes separating East Norse from West Norse started as innovations in Denmark, that spread through Scania into Sweden and by maritime contact to southern Norway.{{sfn|Faarlund|1994|p=38-39}} A change that separated Old East Norse (Runic Swedish/Danish) from Old West Norse was the change of the [[diphthong]] ''æi'' (Old West Norse ''ei'') to the [[monophthong]] ''e'', as in {{lang|non|stæin}} to {{lang|non|sten}}. This is reflected in runic inscriptions where the older read {{lang|non|stain}} and the later {{lang|non|stin}}. Also, a change of ''au'' as in {{lang|non|dauðr}} into ''ø'' as in {{lang|non|døðr}} occurred. This change is shown in runic inscriptions as a change from {{lang|non|tauþr}} into {{lang|non|tuþr}}. Moreover, the {{lang|non|øy}} (Old West Norse {{lang|non|ey}}) diphthong changed into {{lang|da|ø}}, as well, as in the Old Norse word for "island". This monophthongization started in Jutland and spread eastward, having spread throughout Denmark and most of Sweden by 1100.{{sfn|Faarlund|1994|p=41}}

Through Danish conquest, Old East Norse was once widely spoken in the [[Danelaw|northeast counties of England]]. Many words derived from Norse, such as "gate" ({{Wikt-lang|da|gade}}) for street, still survive in [[Yorkshire]], the East Midlands and East Anglia, and [[Danelaw|parts of eastern England]] colonized by Danish [[Vikings]]. The city of [[York]] was once the Viking settlement of Jorvik. Several other English words derive from Old East Norse, for example "knife" ({{Wikt-lang|da|kniv}}), "husband" ({{Wikt-lang|da|husbond}}), and "egg" ({{Wikt-lang|da|æg}}). The suffix "-by" for 'town' is common in place names in Yorkshire and the east Midlands, for example Selby, Whitby, Derby, and Grimsby. The word "dale" meaning valley is common in Yorkshire and Derbyshire placenames.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.viking.no/e/england/e-pl-england.htm |title=Viking place names and language in England |publisher=Viking.no |access-date=2013-09-22 |archive-date=18 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218150807/http://www.viking.no/e/england/e-pl-england.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Anchor|Old/Middle Danish|Old and Middle Danish}}