I read some Shakespearean text and talked with my friends about them and I told her it was old english. She said "it's not old english, but early modern english". So..... What does old english mean then???
old english
This is a extraction of Beowulf, a Old English poem
Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.
Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum,
5
monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah,
egsode eorlas. Syððan ærest wearð
feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad,
weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah,
oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra
10
ofer hronrade hyran scolde,
gomban gyldan. þæt wæs god cyning!
ðæm eafera wæs æfter cenned,
geong in geardum, þone god sende
folce to frofre; fyrenðearfe ongeat
15
þe hie ær drugon aldorlease
lange hwile. Him þæs liffrea,
wuldres wealdend, woroldare forgeaf;
Beowulf wæs breme (blæd wide sprang),
Scyldes eafera Scedelandum in.
20
Swa sceal geong guma gode gewyrcean,
fromum feohgiftum on fæder bearme,
þæt hine on ylde eft gewunigen
wilgesiþas, þonne wig cume,
leode gelæsten; lofdædum sceal
as you can see very different from Middle English
Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.
Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum,
5
monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah,
egsode eorlas. Syððan ærest wearð
feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad,
weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah,
oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra
10
ofer hronrade hyran scolde,
gomban gyldan. þæt wæs god cyning!
ðæm eafera wæs æfter cenned,
geong in geardum, þone god sende
folce to frofre; fyrenðearfe ongeat
15
þe hie ær drugon aldorlease
lange hwile. Him þæs liffrea,
wuldres wealdend, woroldare forgeaf;
Beowulf wæs breme (blæd wide sprang),
Scyldes eafera Scedelandum in.
20
Swa sceal geong guma gode gewyrcean,
fromum feohgiftum on fæder bearme,
þæt hine on ylde eft gewunigen
wilgesiþas, þonne wig cume,
leode gelæsten; lofdædum sceal
as you can see very different from Middle English
Here's middle English:
Whan that Aprille with his shoores soote
Wan thot A'prill with his sure-es so-tuh
The drought of March hath perced to the roote
The drewgt of March hath pear-said to the row-tuh
And bathed every vein in swich liquor
And ba-thed every vane in sweech lee-coor
Of which vertu engendred is the flour
of wheech ver-too en-jen-dred is the flu-er
When Zephyrus eek with his sweete breeth
When Zeph-er-us ache with his sway-tuh breath
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
In-spear-ed hath in every holt and heth
Whan that Aprille with his shoores soote
Wan thot A'prill with his sure-es so-tuh
The drought of March hath perced to the roote
The drewgt of March hath pear-said to the row-tuh
And bathed every vein in swich liquor
And ba-thed every vane in sweech lee-coor
Of which vertu engendred is the flour
of wheech ver-too en-jen-dred is the flu-er
When Zephyrus eek with his sweete breeth
When Zeph-er-us ache with his sway-tuh breath
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
In-spear-ed hath in every holt and heth
(the bottom line is the pronunciation.)
Now if that's Middle English, then Shakespearian English is most certainly early modern English. Early modern English started in the 1500s.
Now if that's Middle English, then Shakespearian English is most certainly early modern English. Early modern English started in the 1500s.
According to Wikipedia, Old English was the language spoken by the Germanic peoples of the Heptarchy (the seven Anglo-Saxon countries that later unified to form England) right up to around the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066.
Middle English was spoken from around the time of the Norman Conquest right up until the late 15th Century, so it was spoken before the time of Shakespeare.
Early Modern English was spoken from the late 15th Century to around 1650.
The English we speak today was spoken from 1650 onwards.
---------------------
According to Wikipedia -
Middle English is the name given by historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion of 1066 and the mid-to-late 15th century, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the introduction of the printing press into England by William Caxton in the 1470s, and slightly later by Richard Pynson. By this time the Northumbrian dialect spoken in south east Scotland was developing into the Scots language. The language of England as spoken after this time, up to 1650, is known as Early Modern English.
Unlike Old English, which tended largely to adopt Late West Saxon scribal conventions in the immediate pre-Conquest period, Middle English as a written language displays a wide variety of scribal (and presumably dialectal) forms. It should be noted, though, that the diversity of forms in written Middle English signifies neither greater variety of spoken forms of English than could be found in pre-Conquest England, nor a faithful representation of contemporary spoken English (though perhaps greater fidelity to this than may be found in Old English texts). Rather, this diversity suggests the gradual end of the role of Wessex as a focal point and trend-setter for scribal activity, and the emergence of more distinct local scribal styles and written dialects, and a general pattern of transition of activity over the centuries which follow, as Northumbria, East Anglia and London emerge successively as major centres of literary production, with their own generic interests.
Old English
Syððan wæs geworden þæt he ferde þurh þa ceastre and þæt castel: godes rice prediciende and bodiende. and hi twelfe mid. And sume wif þe wæron gehælede of awyrgdum gastum: and untrumnessum: seo magdalenisce maria ofþære seofan deoflu uteodon: and iohanna chuzan wif herodes gerefan: and susanna and manega oðre þe him of hyra spedum þenedon;
— Translation of Luke 8.1–3 from the New Testament
-------------------------
And it is don, aftirward Jesus made iourne bi cites & castelis prechende & euangelisende þe rewme of god, & twelue wiþ hym & summe wymmen þat weren helid of wicke spiritis & sicnesses, marie þat is clepid maudeleyn, of whom seuene deuelis wenten out & Jone þe wif off chusi procuratour of eroude, & susanne & manye oþere þat mynystreden to hym of her facultes
— Luke 8.1–3
------------------------
The following is from the first sentence of the Prologue from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.
Whan that Aprill with his shoures sote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote,
And bathed euery veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in euery holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe course yronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the niȝt with open ye—
So priketh hem Nature in hir corages—
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from euery shires ende
Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blissful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke.
*****************
Translation
When April with its sweet showers has pierced
the drought of March to the root,
and bathed every vein in such liquor
from whose power the flower is engendred;
when Zephyr [the west wind] also, with his sweet breath
has blown [into life] in every wood and heath
the tender crops, and the young sun
has run his half-course in the sign of the Ram [Aries],
and small fowls make melody,
who sleep all night with open eye
- so Nature stimulates them in their hearts
- THEN people long to go on pilgrimages,
and palmers [pilgrims carrying palm leaves] to seek strange coastlines,
to distant saints [holy places], known in various lands;
and specially, from every shire's end [from every county]
in England, to Canterbury they journey,
to seek the holy blissful martyr [Thomas à Becket]
who helped them when they were sick.
-------------------
Shakepeare's language of the late 16th and early 17th Centuries is Early Modern English.
Early Modern English refers to the stage of the English language used from about the end of the Middle English period (the latter half of the 1400s) to 1650. Thus, the first edition of the King James Bible and the works of William Shakespeare both belong to the late phase of Early Modern English, although the King James Bible intentionally keeps some archaisms that were not common even when it was published. Current readers of English are generally able to understand Early Modern English, though occasionally with difficulties arising from grammar changes, changes in the meanings of some words, and spelling differences. The standardization of English spelling falls within the Early Modern English period, and is influenced by conventions predating the Great Vowel Shift, explaining the archaic non-phonetic spelling of contemporary Modern English.
Timeline: Early Modern English
1476 — William Caxton starts printing in Westminster, but the language he uses reflects the variety of styles and dialects used by the authors whose work he prints.
1485 — Tudor dynasty established — start of period of (relative) political and social stability.
1491 or 1492 — Richard Pynson starts printing in London — his style tends to prefer Chancery Standard, the form of English used by government.
c1509 — Pynson becomes the king's official printer.
From 1525 — Publication of William Tyndale's Bible translation (which was initially banned).
1539 — Publication of the Great Bible, the first officially authorised Bible in English, edited by Myles Coverdale, largely from the work of Tyndale. This Bible is read to congregations regularly in churches, familiarising much of the population of England with a standard form of the language.
1549 — Publication of the first Book of Common Prayer in English, under the supervision of Thomas Cranmer. This book standardises much of the wording of church services.
1557 — Publication of Tottel's Miscellany.
c1590 to c1612 — Shakespeare's plays written — they are still widely read and familiar in the 21st century.
1611 — The King James Bible is published, largely based on Tyndale's translation. It remains the standard Bible in the Church of England for many years.
c1640–1660 — Period of social upheaval in England (the English Civil War and the era of Oliver Cromwell).
1662 — New edition of the Book of Common Prayer, largely based on the 1549 and subsequent editions. This also long remains a standard work in English.
1667 — Publication of Paradise Lost by John Milton.
wikipedia.org
Middle English was spoken from around the time of the Norman Conquest right up until the late 15th Century, so it was spoken before the time of Shakespeare.
Early Modern English was spoken from the late 15th Century to around 1650.
The English we speak today was spoken from 1650 onwards.
---------------------
According to Wikipedia -
Middle English is the name given by historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion of 1066 and the mid-to-late 15th century, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the introduction of the printing press into England by William Caxton in the 1470s, and slightly later by Richard Pynson. By this time the Northumbrian dialect spoken in south east Scotland was developing into the Scots language. The language of England as spoken after this time, up to 1650, is known as Early Modern English.
Unlike Old English, which tended largely to adopt Late West Saxon scribal conventions in the immediate pre-Conquest period, Middle English as a written language displays a wide variety of scribal (and presumably dialectal) forms. It should be noted, though, that the diversity of forms in written Middle English signifies neither greater variety of spoken forms of English than could be found in pre-Conquest England, nor a faithful representation of contemporary spoken English (though perhaps greater fidelity to this than may be found in Old English texts). Rather, this diversity suggests the gradual end of the role of Wessex as a focal point and trend-setter for scribal activity, and the emergence of more distinct local scribal styles and written dialects, and a general pattern of transition of activity over the centuries which follow, as Northumbria, East Anglia and London emerge successively as major centres of literary production, with their own generic interests.
Old English
Syððan wæs geworden þæt he ferde þurh þa ceastre and þæt castel: godes rice prediciende and bodiende. and hi twelfe mid. And sume wif þe wæron gehælede of awyrgdum gastum: and untrumnessum: seo magdalenisce maria ofþære seofan deoflu uteodon: and iohanna chuzan wif herodes gerefan: and susanna and manega oðre þe him of hyra spedum þenedon;
— Translation of Luke 8.1–3 from the New Testament
-------------------------
And it is don, aftirward Jesus made iourne bi cites & castelis prechende & euangelisende þe rewme of god, & twelue wiþ hym & summe wymmen þat weren helid of wicke spiritis & sicnesses, marie þat is clepid maudeleyn, of whom seuene deuelis wenten out & Jone þe wif off chusi procuratour of eroude, & susanne & manye oþere þat mynystreden to hym of her facultes
— Luke 8.1–3
------------------------
The following is from the first sentence of the Prologue from The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.
Whan that Aprill with his shoures sote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote,
And bathed euery veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in euery holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe course yronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the niȝt with open ye—
So priketh hem Nature in hir corages—
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from euery shires ende
Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blissful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke.
*****************
Translation
When April with its sweet showers has pierced
the drought of March to the root,
and bathed every vein in such liquor
from whose power the flower is engendred;
when Zephyr [the west wind] also, with his sweet breath
has blown [into life] in every wood and heath
the tender crops, and the young sun
has run his half-course in the sign of the Ram [Aries],
and small fowls make melody,
who sleep all night with open eye
- so Nature stimulates them in their hearts
- THEN people long to go on pilgrimages,
and palmers [pilgrims carrying palm leaves] to seek strange coastlines,
to distant saints [holy places], known in various lands;
and specially, from every shire's end [from every county]
in England, to Canterbury they journey,
to seek the holy blissful martyr [Thomas à Becket]
who helped them when they were sick.
-------------------
Shakepeare's language of the late 16th and early 17th Centuries is Early Modern English.
Early Modern English refers to the stage of the English language used from about the end of the Middle English period (the latter half of the 1400s) to 1650. Thus, the first edition of the King James Bible and the works of William Shakespeare both belong to the late phase of Early Modern English, although the King James Bible intentionally keeps some archaisms that were not common even when it was published. Current readers of English are generally able to understand Early Modern English, though occasionally with difficulties arising from grammar changes, changes in the meanings of some words, and spelling differences. The standardization of English spelling falls within the Early Modern English period, and is influenced by conventions predating the Great Vowel Shift, explaining the archaic non-phonetic spelling of contemporary Modern English.
Timeline: Early Modern English
1476 — William Caxton starts printing in Westminster, but the language he uses reflects the variety of styles and dialects used by the authors whose work he prints.
1485 — Tudor dynasty established — start of period of (relative) political and social stability.
1491 or 1492 — Richard Pynson starts printing in London — his style tends to prefer Chancery Standard, the form of English used by government.
c1509 — Pynson becomes the king's official printer.
From 1525 — Publication of William Tyndale's Bible translation (which was initially banned).
1539 — Publication of the Great Bible, the first officially authorised Bible in English, edited by Myles Coverdale, largely from the work of Tyndale. This Bible is read to congregations regularly in churches, familiarising much of the population of England with a standard form of the language.
1549 — Publication of the first Book of Common Prayer in English, under the supervision of Thomas Cranmer. This book standardises much of the wording of church services.
1557 — Publication of Tottel's Miscellany.
c1590 to c1612 — Shakespeare's plays written — they are still widely read and familiar in the 21st century.
1611 — The King James Bible is published, largely based on Tyndale's translation. It remains the standard Bible in the Church of England for many years.
c1640–1660 — Period of social upheaval in England (the English Civil War and the era of Oliver Cromwell).
1662 — New edition of the Book of Common Prayer, largely based on the 1549 and subsequent editions. This also long remains a standard work in English.
1667 — Publication of Paradise Lost by John Milton.
wikipedia.org
I used to think of old English as shake spear, until i looked at a text.
You can tell right away the french and other influences in English. I would consider old English a different language then what it is today.
You can tell right away the french and other influences in English. I would consider old English a different language then what it is today.