"May" is still correct for matters of permission or rule. Most people use it incorrectly now instead of "might", which denotes action. It "may" be popular, but it might result in lost nuance. People who insist on calling this the "evolution of language" do not realize that meaning and subtlety are being lost. How many news articles now use the word "massive" to incorrectly describe scope or volume? As professional writers, are they ignorant or uncaring, or is it just a "vibe"?
Perhaps it's that I studied German in High School, or Latin in Jr. High School (Middle School) but I understood the conversation quite well. It isn't the way we normally speak now, but it is so close that I had no issue with fully understanding it.
“What have you?” is technically grammatically correct and if someone said that to me I’d think they were a foreigner but I’d understand what they mean.
So “thou” and “thee” weren’t originally used to refer only to God, they are just the singular first person pronoun. The King James Bible is a pretty direct translation and they kept those for the singular/plural distinction as it was in the original languages, rather than the general changeover to only “you”. It’s very precisely done and even sheds a little extra light on things to know whether one person or a group was being addressed.
I think the special use of the old singular to refer to God and/or religious significance in general, is probably a holdover from that.
It is interesting that over the years the English stopped pronouncing the letter 'r'. This old speech reminds me of the Scottish 'r' but even the Scottish 'r' is not rolled as much.
As an aside I’m 75 and brought up in Surrey and I can remember being asked, as a child, ‘How art thou?’ as a question as to my wellbeing: moving to Glatton in Huntingdonshire/ Cambridgeshire in 1976, I’m pretty sure I heard similar use of ‘thou’ by old people in the village who spoke with the Huntingdonshire dialect. Along with ‘housen’ for houses etc. there are still a lot of words viewed as archaic in use today in East Anglia unlike Surrey where I grew up.
I wonder if "ye" was pronounce more like "ee" – which corresponds pretty well to (at least modern) French "y" "You" is often contracted to "ee" in various modern dialects, such as Somerset and Devon. P.S. Still loving the random garden wildlife – but the black screen confused me at first …thought my screen had died 😟
An absolute revelation – to me, anyhow! I've long been sceptical of the modern interpreation of Shakespearean pronunciation being very West country, or Germanic,m but here's the proof. I'm puzzled, because in Henry IV part 1 we have 3 characters, soldiers in the field, who employ recognisably modern cockney, Welsh and Scottish accents. However, all I know is that Bellot has evidently conveyed, accurately and painstakingly, the modes of speech and accents he heard in London at this late Elizabethan period.
Seems funny the old way of greeting is basically “how are you?” But not actually a question, just like it still is here in America. I’ve herd modern Europeans don’t get that?
I thought it was a trivial but interesting use of the expression "fairly well" (as in farewell, but not fare ye well) in the film Shawshank Redemption. I assume that was a uniquely American expression. Seems like it might had been used commonly around Appalachia by past generations.
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So much closer to modern English than I thought it would be.
Fine. But why the Irish accent, I thought this was England?
Hi Simon – just discovered your channel. So, the word 'hello' has only been in common usage since the1800????? Wow, crazy
"May" is still correct for matters of permission or rule. Most people use it incorrectly now instead of "might", which denotes action. It "may" be popular, but it might result in lost nuance. People who insist on calling this the "evolution of language" do not realize that meaning and subtlety are being lost. How many news articles now use the word "massive" to incorrectly describe scope or volume? As professional writers, are they ignorant or uncaring, or is it just a "vibe"?
Perhaps it's that I studied German in High School, or Latin in Jr. High School (Middle School) but I understood the conversation quite well. It isn't the way we normally speak now, but it is so close that I had no issue with fully understanding it.
The syntax of 'how do' is right out of my Yorkshire front door.
The item about "what do you lack"? is a direct translation from French "Qu'est-ce qu'il vous faut?" (from the infinitive "falloir")
Fascinating stuff. Can't stand MLE, it has to be about as lyrical as Vogon poetry.
“What have you?” is technically grammatically correct and if someone said that to me I’d think they were a foreigner but I’d understand what they mean.
So “thou” and “thee” weren’t originally used to refer only to God, they are just the singular first person pronoun. The King James Bible is a pretty direct translation and they kept those for the singular/plural distinction as it was in the original languages, rather than the general changeover to only “you”. It’s very precisely done and even sheds a little extra light on things to know whether one person or a group was being addressed.
I think the special use of the old singular to refer to God and/or religious significance in general, is probably a holdover from that.
Thanks, deleted previous comment after pausing if interested.
Scottish, think not LOL
Strange that the Indian’s stereotypical greeting “how” is so similar.
It's so STYLISH . . I like it. A nice break from the mumbling jargon of today.
Good day to you bush dweller! Aye? Me? Never cast a thought to my whereabouts good sir.
It is interesting that over the years the English stopped pronouncing the letter 'r'. This old speech reminds me of the Scottish 'r' but even the Scottish 'r' is not rolled as much.
As an aside I’m 75 and brought up in Surrey and I can remember being asked, as a child, ‘How art thou?’ as a question as to my wellbeing: moving to Glatton in Huntingdonshire/ Cambridgeshire in 1976, I’m pretty sure I heard similar use of ‘thou’ by old people in the village who spoke with the Huntingdonshire dialect. Along with ‘housen’ for houses etc. there are still a lot of words viewed as archaic in use today in East Anglia unlike Surrey where I grew up.
I wonder if "ye" was pronounce more like "ee" – which corresponds pretty well to (at least modern) French "y"
"You" is often contracted to "ee" in various modern dialects, such as Somerset and Devon.
P.S. Still loving the random garden wildlife – but the black screen confused me at first …thought my screen had died 😟
An absolute revelation – to me, anyhow! I've long been sceptical of the modern interpreation of Shakespearean pronunciation being very West country, or Germanic,m but here's the proof. I'm puzzled, because in Henry IV part 1 we have 3 characters, soldiers in the field, who employ recognisably modern cockney, Welsh and Scottish accents. However, all I know is that Bellot has evidently conveyed, accurately and painstakingly, the modes of speech and accents he heard in London at this late Elizabethan period.
And to think in 2024 our dialogue is Urdu 😭😢😭
i thought the "ye" of 'olde shoppe' was formed with a thorn and e (hard th sound) rather than the eth. am i wrong about that?
It's nice there's a little bug to keep me company whilst I hide in the bushes overhearing conversations.
"How do you?" = Howdy
‘How’ (3:20) is.even today a form of greeting in northeast England, specifically the east of county Durham formerl mining area.
Hello. Where can I find the book?
I love these types of videos that describe how conversations actually went
Seems funny the old way of greeting is basically “how are you?” But not actually a question, just like it still is here in America. I’ve herd modern Europeans don’t get that?
They sound like they're from Workington.
Whaaaa.sup? had not yet come into …uh er …. vogue
I find t'were in use here in places in present day VT usa
Listening to that haggle conversation was incredible. I was cast back in time. Thank you.
I live english conversation focused around the sounds and uses of English instead of grammar
I thought it was a trivial but interesting use of the expression "fairly well" (as in farewell, but not fare ye well) in the film Shawshank Redemption. I assume that was a uniquely American expression. Seems like it might had been used commonly around Appalachia by past generations.