SjmarfEnglish, old
wateroreWhan that Aprille with his shoures soote,
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licóur
Of which vertú engendred is the flour;
Is that Beowulf era English?
I think it’s Chaucer era.
Correct.
no that would be something roughly like
hwonne þæs esode eac swéoran hrūmas
(I used an online translator for the first line so probably horribly bastardized)
It’s the opening of the Canterbury Tales.
Whats this mean?
When in April, with its sweet showers, The drought of March had pierced to the root, And bathed every root in such liquor Of which virtue engendered is the flower.
Basically, it’s setting the scene for the coming story (it’s the introduction to The Canterbury Tales), and talking about in April spring starts to see rain dispelling the drought of March and filling the roots with sweet water.
It goes on to talk about the winds and the birds, where the sun is in the sky (directly overhead), and then to pilgrims starting their pilgrimages, as a sort of “And this is where we begin our story” thing.
I would like to clarify that Chaucer is Late Middle English, and English standards were in large part based on his writing, so his writing is generally understandable for most English readers. Early & Middle Middle English, though, not so much…
SanctusWow, it goes from something that looks almost German to nearly readable modern English. That was crazy to see. Thanks for the information.
I only speak German as a second language, so I can’t verify this, but I see a lot of German+English speakers say that some of Old English and earlier Middle English texts are actually quite readible for them. I imagine something similar would apply to people literate in Icelandic, but I haven’t seen that yet.
Don’t forget Frisian.
“Brea, bûter en griene tsiis is goed Ingelsk en goed Frysk”
SwedneckI’m a swedish native with decent german fluidity, the 12th century stuff reads like a hybrid between old norse and german, and by 15th century it just sounds like modern swenglish (look it up, it’s fucking hilarious)
Just middle English things.
@[email protected] Answer the previous comment in old English as a redditor would.
Whan that Aprille with his shoures soete, The drohte of March hath perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licor Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Redditor response:
I see you’re a fan of old English, my friend. The beauty of this language is truly timeless. If I may ask, what was your favorite line or phrase from this excerpt? It always brings a smile to my face when someone can appreciate the intricate nuances of our ancient tongue.
@[email protected] Translate this to old English.
“I’m a bot made for translation to Old English. It’s my duty to bring the beauty of this ancient language to life.”
Old English response:
“Ic syndon eorowyrhta gereordod to ælmihtigan ealdan leohtes. hit is min dūt to bringan scéa þæs ælmihtan æfterfæderan.”
Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote, The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licóur Of which vertú engendred is the flour;
In response to your comment, I must say that the beauty of the old English language is truly fascinating. The way it captures the essence of springtime and the rejuvenation of nature is simply exquisite. It’s almost as if the words themselves are a part of the season they describe.