duckrvr_at_... wrote:
> England it happened sometime between Middle English and Modern English.
> Ever read Chaucer in the original?
Yes, as a matter of fact I did... I'd recommend reading Terry Jones
"Chaucer's Knight" for an interesting view of him. Not merely the
language (ie spelling pronunciation etc) has changed, but also many of
the references have gotten lost in the translation.
Consider how someone in the 27th century might react to the description
of "The Perfect Soldier":
"At My Lai he was, And Guarded those
At Auschwitz who his Lord Oppos'd."
They might just take it at face value, of someone who'd been in a famous
battle, and was a trusted lifeguard.
> Everything was phonetic. By the time
> you get to Shakespear, many of the words are spelled similarly to Chaucer's
> time (and today's English is also), but they are pronounced almost as they
> are today.
And funnily enough, it's only in certain places in the W.Indies and US
East coast that Elizebethan pronunciation is still current. Coo -raj -er
for courage, for example, act -ey- on for action.
It's a private joke amongst English scholars that the Yankee Drawl is
considerably close to Shakespear (or Shakesper, spelling wasn't
particularly consistent in them days) than Veddy Pwopah Oxford English.
> You can almost read Chaucer as it is written if you know modern
> English, aside from vocabulary differences.
It's a lot easier if you've also studied Old Saxon, Plattdeutsch, Dutch,
and for that matter, un petit peu Francais.
> On the other hand the pronunciation . . .
>
> wahn thaht Ahpreel with its shorres soata
> the drote of March hath pear-sid to the roata
>
> . . . bears little resemblance to today's.
I've got to say that your exposition was extremely good. Rather better
than I might have done myself. With your permission, may I clip it and
use it whan I want to explain to others how English has changed.
And in the meantime,
Ere all, see all, say Nowt
Ate all, sup all, pay Nowt
And if ever tha' do-s Owt f'Nowt
Allus do't f'tha'Sen.
Ah, ain't Dielects wonderful?
We should ask Francois how the Academy Francais views Quebecois in all
its 17th century glory, where the situation is similar...
--
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Received on Sat Jun 21 1997 - 18:58:25 UTC
