For example. Beowulf is Old English, Chaucer is Middle English and Shakespeare is Modern English but people refer to all three as Old English
2006-07-23 05:21:13 · 6 answers · asked by DNE 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
For those of you who honestly think there is very little difference between the three I listed, here are some quotes:
Beowulf -- "Hwät! we Gâr-Dena, in geâr-dagum"
Chaucer -- "A sompnour was there with us in that place, that had a fire-red cherubinnes face"
Shakespeare -- "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune tr to take arms against a sea of troubles"
Do you see the major difference?
2006-07-23 05:35:03 · update #1
I love this example:
1000 AD: Fæder ure, thu the eart on heofonum, si thin nama gehalgod…Urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us to dæg.
1300 AD: Fader oure that is i heuen, blessid be thi name… Oure ilk day bred gif us to day.
1600 AD: Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name… Give us this day our daily bread.
2006 AD: Our father who is in heaven, may your name be hallowed… Give us our daily bread today.
It's a great example because it shows how little Shakepeare / King James Bible English has changed from then till now in comparison with the eras before it.
2006-07-23 08:26:23 · answer #1 · answered by XYZ 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Because they are fools.
Although Shakespeare isn't exactly modern English as in what we speak now, and thus what we would assume modern English is, so I can understand the confusion there.
2006-07-23 12:45:59 · answer #2 · answered by AndyB 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
See, I thought Old English was a malt liquor, Middle English is what you learn in middle school and Modern English was an 80's new wave band.
thanks for the clarification
2006-07-23 12:25:09 · answer #3 · answered by chetahbill 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
In 500 years, current English will be, like all the others, Old English. The distinctions you mention are of no interest to common folk.
2006-07-23 12:26:40 · answer #4 · answered by torchedbyangels 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Anything older than 150 years or so is considered old english, regardless of age.
2006-07-23 13:23:02 · answer #5 · answered by cognitively_dislocated 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋
because we never had to learn.
2006-07-23 12:25:14 · answer #6 · answered by sarah_lynn 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋