what was so important about Old English and Middle English that we felt the need to label them and what are the main differences?
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They are very different languages. Here is the lord’s prayer in early, middle, and modern English.
Here is a sample of old English:
Fæder ure
ðu ðe eart on heofenum
si ðin nama gehalgod
to-becume ðin rice
geweorþe ðin willa on eorðan swa swa on heofenum.
Urne ge dæghwamlican hlaf syle us to-deag
and forgyf us ure gyltas
swa swa we forgifaþ urum gyltendum
ane ne gelæde ðu us on costnunge
ac alys us of yfle.
Here is a sample of middle English:
Oure fadir
that art in heuenes,
halewid be thi name;
thi kyngdoom come to;
be thi wille don, in erthe as in heuene. Yyue to vs this dai oure breed ouer othir substaunce,
and foryyue to vs oure dettis,
as we foryyuen to oure dettouris;
and lede vs not in to temptacioun,
but delyuere vs fro yuel.
Here is modern English:
Our Father,
who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
Languages change over time. “Old English” isn’t English. As in, if you went back in time to England a thousand years ago, you wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone, because English back then was so different that it’s a different language, no different in that regard from modern German or Danish.
Middle English is a middle ground between the two. Something more comprehensible to a modern speaker, though you’d still struggle to speak with a Middle English speaker.
You know how, when you read Shakespeare, it’s really weird? Most of that is because he’s writing using the language common in the late 16th century. It would have been a lot easier to follow to the viewers of the time.
This is the way language goes. I have no doubt that in the 31st century, languages will have evolved to the point where 21st century language is incomprehensible to the average person. That’s just how things change.
They are very different languages. Here is the lord’s prayer in early, middle, and modern English.
Here is a sample of old English:
Fæder ure
ðu ðe eart on heofenum
si ðin nama gehalgod
to-becume ðin rice
geweorþe ðin willa on eorðan swa swa on heofenum.
Urne ge dæghwamlican hlaf syle us to-deag
and forgyf us ure gyltas
swa swa we forgifaþ urum gyltendum
ane ne gelæde ðu us on costnunge
ac alys us of yfle.
Here is a sample of middle English:
Oure fadir
that art in heuenes,
halewid be thi name;
thi kyngdoom come to;
be thi wille don, in erthe as in heuene. Yyue to vs this dai oure breed ouer othir substaunce,
and foryyue to vs oure dettis,
as we foryyuen to oure dettouris;
and lede vs not in to temptacioun,
but delyuere vs fro yuel.
Here is modern English:
Our Father,
who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
Middle English was about the time when English started to become the “black sheep”
Old English was clearly Germanic to the naked eye. It sounded Germanic, functioned Germanic. You could put English beside German, and they’d look like siblings without any squinting.
Middle English by contrast marks the loss of most of our grammatical case & gender systems, and a massive influx of Norman/French words entering the language. We also lost a great deal of verb conjugations.
This was basically the time when “English” as we know it began to exist. It’s still more difficult to parse as it looks like it was written by a toddler, but it’s still actually readable. Same can’t be said for Old English
Take this example: Beowulf vs Chaucer:
Syððan ærest wearð feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad, weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah, oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra ofer hronrade hyran scolde, gomban gyldan. Þæt wæs god cyning!
ther was, and that a worthy man, That fro the tyme that he first bigan To ryden out, he loved chivalrye, Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisye. Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre, And thereto hadde he riden (no man ferre ) As wel in cristendom as hethenesse, And evere honoured for his worthinesse.
How did the Vikings influence the shift to Middle English? They arrived a few centuries before the Normans, would you consider that a separate event or a group it with the Normans when it comes to the English language and how it changed in the Middle Ages?
Middle English was about the time when English started to become the “black sheep”
Old English was clearly Germanic to the naked eye. It sounded Germanic, functioned Germanic. You could put English beside German, and they’d look like siblings without any squinting.
Middle English by contrast marks the loss of most of our grammatical case & gender systems, and a massive influx of Norman/French words entering the language. We also lost a great deal of verb conjugations.
This was basically the time when “English” as we know it began to exist. It’s still more difficult to parse as it looks like it was written by a toddler, but it’s still actually readable. Same can’t be said for Old English
Take this example: Beowulf vs Chaucer:
Syððan ærest wearð feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad, weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah, oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra ofer hronrade hyran scolde, gomban gyldan. Þæt wæs god cyning!
ther was, and that a worthy man, That fro the tyme that he first bigan To ryden out, he loved chivalrye, Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisye. Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre, And thereto hadde he riden (no man ferre ) As wel in cristendom as hethenesse, And evere honoured for his worthinesse.
How did the Vikings influence the shift to Middle English? They arrived a few centuries before the Normans, would you consider that a separate event or a group it with the Normans when it comes to the English language and how it changed in the Middle Ages?
How did the Vikings influence the shift to Middle English? They arrived a few centuries before the Normans, would you consider that a separate event or a group it with the Normans when it comes to the English language and how it changed in the Middle Ages?
The two sides of the coin:
These completely different languages are called [adjective] English because they were stages in the history of modern English.
These stages in the history of modern English are completely different languages because understanding one of them does not allow you to understand the other.
The two sides of the coin:
These completely different languages are called [adjective] English because they were stages in the history of modern English.
These stages in the history of modern English are completely different languages because understanding one of them does not allow you to understand the other.
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