Are you interested in The Language of Olde' Worlde' English ?

Question

Could you speak like this ? If so please give an Example.No rude sentences please.

Dost thou liketh thus Questione.?

Thankee for thou answers.

Answer 1

You MAY want to read this answer starting from the bottom up!

1. The scientific terms are Early Modern English (about 1400-1650, which includes Sir Thomas Malory at the beginning and Master William Shakespeare at the end), or late Middle English (just before 1400, which includes Chaucer, and BOY does 50 years or so make an astonishing difference!).

Using either or both of those terms, or either of those names, as web-search terms, you should find serious sites and LOTS of examples.

2. Your own example might be "Pleaseth you/thee this question?" or "Likes this question you/thee?" Because in period, "like" worked the opposite way: "This weather liketh not me." Honest!

The you/thee distinction is between formal and familiar and/or respectful/familiar. Your parents use thee/thou while you're young, and perhaps you/ye when you're older; but they should be you (objective) and ye (nominative) your whole life. When Hamlet tells his mother the Queen, "Madam, thou hast my father much offended," it's not only insulting but contemptuous.

3. Buzzy Smith makes a common mistake that it's helpful to clarify. The -eth ending is EXACTLY equivalent to modern -s. So his sentence needs to be "Foresoothe and verily I say unto ye, those garments shall not come forth this daye." You can't say "shall not comes," he shouldn't say "shall not cometh."

4. Bruno Vespucci would be better off with "Thou hast thyself put forward most obtusely." Just because something (like -ly) has survived doesn't mean it's not period, too; and just because something is polysyllabic (like publicize) doesn't mean it IS period. That word goes back only to 1925, according to the Merriam-Webster people.

Oh, and he's wrong. You've asked a perfectly reasonable question, and reasonably well!

5. The SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism, website http://www.sca.org/ ) calls it "speaking forsoothly." Like much of the SCA, that's partly a joke; "forsoothly" is not a possible word in period!

Renaissance Faire people do it much more regularly--and often tho not always better--than SCA people. They're performing for the public; the SCA does what it does for itself/themselves, most of the time.

And other Answerers are right: Plenty of actors and professors do it quite nicely, too.

Answer 2

English is going to be a bit challenging because it's in a different language family. Overall, English is not difficult. It is a bit more specific than Spanish in terms of sentence structure, but it is still similar to English. Where English has simple tense conjugation, Spanish has considerably more, and it's noticeable. In terms of pronunciation, English is more difficult. Some of the pronunciation isn't common, but it's not something that can't be easily overdone. Spanish definitely is more difficult than it seems, and if verb endings and adjective endings make things easier to spot (however, o/a endings are very deceiving, they're a lot more insonsistent than people think). Plus, since English has gone through a pronunciation shift since its orthography was formed, Spanish is going to be more consistent. Just watch people try to justify their answers that Spanish is easier. They're going to talk about "exceptions", as if Spanish doesn't have any for some reason. They're going to talk about homonyms, as if Spanish doesn't have any either. None of them have any clue what they're talking about. I'm still going to have to go with English being easier.

Answer 3

I have been on a visit to Llancaiach Fawr Manor in Nelson, Caerphilly. It's a big 'olde' house where you get taken around 'upstairs/downstairs' and listen to life as it was a few centuries ago. All the staff are in period costume and talk Olde English. e.g. I sat down to listen to the story and was asked to'uncrosseth the legs' (a lady didn't cross her legs or indeed show any leg. The only legs on show were on a piano !) We were all asked to 'come hither' to another part of the house where the 'upstairs maid' told us that they had to 'sleep tight' which meant no more than 4 hours sleep otherwise the corded mattress would start to sag. I remember that Somerset was so called because people then believed 'that is where the sun did set'. My friend and I were thought to be 'fast' because we didn't have a chaperone. Very interesting but I prefer NOW

Answer 4

Yes, I started reading olde english when I was very young and my father bought a beautiful set of Book of Knowledge. I read every Olde English Classic and in fact every world classic. In later years I read The conquest of Mexico, by Bernal Diaz and had been translated in Olde English and had no difficulty, though others muddled through it. The funny part is I think in Olde English, Irish and Italian and of course English and Spanish. But I discourse in English and Spanish.

Answer 5

I don't think anyone can speak Olde English now... it's a long lost art. Perhaps some scholar can, but I studied Chaucer when I was in college and I couldn't pronounce some of those words even then.

Answer 6

If you come to the UK we have loads of teachers who can speak it. I've come accross a guy who can speak totally in Chaucerian English which is quite amazing, and most English teachers in schools know how to say words in Saxon and onwards.

Answer 7

Thou hast publicized thine self in a most obtuse manner!

Answer 8

I find this method of speaking most fascinating, but hardly applicable to today's society of 'instant' results and our concept of immediacy. People now want a quick answer or explanation, not a diatribe. Can you imagine if you went in a store to ask if they had an item in stock and the girl said, "Foresoothe and verily I say unto ye, those garments shall not cometh forth this daye."
Your immediate response would be, "Duh" !!!

Peace,

Buzzy

Answer 9

For me, no I can't speak such a language. But learning such languages is nice. It needs patience and being exposed to it in many ways. That's just my opinion. Sorry for not helping out.

Answer 10

I can't but I'm actually introducing myself to it via the "Teach Yourself : Old English" book/audio series. Want to practice with me? Send me a msg.