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So I discovered that Old English is harder for me to read than Latin. Which is odd, since English is a Germanic language. I can't really read either language, but I can pick out more words from the Latin text. I did take French in high school, and know a fair number of Latin roots, so that might be why. But since modern English has a large amount of vocabulary from French and Latin, I wonder if Old English is easier for German or Dutch speakers to understand.
Old English text
Ond þā ongeat se cyning þæt, ond hē on þā duru ēode, ond þā unhēanlīce hine werede oþ hē on þone æþeling lōcude, ond þā ūt rǣsde on hine ond hine miclum gewundode; ond hīe alle on þone cyning wǣrun feohtende oþ þæt hīe hine ofslægenne hæfdon. Ond þā on þæs wīfes gebǣrum onfundon þæs cyninges þegnas þā unstilnesse, ond þā þider urnon swā hwelc swā þonne gearo wearþ, ond radost. Ond hiera se æþeling gehwelcum feoh ond feorh gebēad, ond hiera nǣnig hit geþicgean nolde; ac hīe simle feohtende wǣran oþ hīe alle lǣgon būtan ānum Bryttiscum gīsle, ond sē swīþe gewundad wæs. Þā on morgenne gehīerdun þæt þæs cyninges þegnas, þe him beæftan wǣrun, þæt se cyning ofslægen wæs, þā ridon hīe þider, ond his aldormon Ōsrīc, ond Wīferþ his þegn, ond þā men þe hē beæftan him lǣfde ǣr, ond þone æþeling on þǣre byrig mētton þǣr se cyning ofslægen læg — ond þā gatu him tō belocen hæfdon — ond þā þǣrtō ēodon. Ond þā gebēad hē him hiera āgenne dōm fēos ond londes, gif hīe him þæs rīces ūþon; ond him cȳþdon þæt hiera mǣgas him mid wǣron, þā þe him from noldon. Ond þā cuǣdon hīe þæt him nǣnig mǣg lēofra nǣre þonne hiera hlāford, ond hīe nǣfre his banan folgian noldon. Ond þā budon hīe hiera mǣgum þæt hīe gesunde from ēodon; ond hīe cuǣdon þæt tæt ilce hiera gefērum geboden wǣre þe ǣr mid þām cyninge wǣrun. Þā cuǣdon hīe þæt hīe hīe þæs ne onmunden 'þon mā þe ēowre gefēran þe mid þām cyninge ofslægene wǣrun.' Ond hīe þā ymb þā gatu feohtende wǣron oþ þæt hīe þǣrinne fulgon ond þone æþeling ofslōgon; ond þā men þe him mid wǣrun, alle būtan ānum, sē wæs þæs aldormonnes godsunu; ond hē his feorh generede, ond þēah hē wæs oft gewundad.
I was under the impression that Old English was something more along the lines of Shakespeare, not a language clearly distinct from modern English. That passage gave me a headache.
I was under the impression that Old English was something more along the lines of Shakespeare, not a language clearly distinct from modern English. That passage gave me a headache.
Shakespeare wrote in Early Modern English, it's basically the earliest form of English that the average person in 2017 can understand.
Shakespeare wrote in Early Modern English, it's basically the earliest form of English that the average person in 2017 can understand.
Middle English isn't too bad. I can get the gist of what's going on in the Canterbury Tales (written in the late 14th century), even if I miss some of the vocabulary. It's about as easy to read as French for me. See here for a description of a monk.
Source: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22120...0-h.htm#knight
A Monk ther was, a fair for the maistrye,
166
An out-rydere, that lovede venerye;
A manly man, to been an abbot able.
Ful many a deyntee hors hadde he in stable:
And, whan he rood, men mighte his brydel here
170
Ginglen in a whistling wind as clere,
And eek as loude as dooth the chapel-belle,
Ther as this lord was keper of the celle.
The reule of seint Maure or of seint Beneit,
By-cause that it was old and som-del streit,
175
This ilke monk leet olde thinges pace,
And held after the newe world the space.
He yaf nat of that text a pulled hen,
That seith, that hunters been nat holy men;
Ne that a monk, whan he is cloisterlees,
180
Is lykned til a fish that is waterlees;
This is to seyn, a monk out of his cloistre.
But thilke text held he nat worth an oistre;
And I seyde, his opinioun was good.
What sholde he studie, and make him-selven wood,
185
Upon a book in cloistre alwey to poure,
Or swinken with his handes, and laboure,
As Austin bit? How shal the world be served?
Lat Austin have his swink to him reserved.
Therfore he was a pricasour aright;
190
Grehoundes he hadde, as swifte as fowel in flight;
Of priking and of hunting for the hare
Was al his lust, for no cost wolde he spare.
I seigh his sleves purfiled at the hond
With grys, and that the fyneste of a lond;
195
And, for to festne his hood under his chin,
He hadde of gold y-wroght a curious pin:
A love-knotte in the gretter ende ther was.
His heed was balled, that shoon as any glas,
And eek his face, as he had been anoint.
200
He was a lord ful fat and in good point;
His eyen stepe, and rollinge in his heed,
That stemed as a forneys of a leed;
His botes souple, his hors in greet estat.
Now certeinly he was a fair prelat;
205
He was nat pale as a for-pyned goost.
A fat swan loved he best of any roost.
His palfrey was as broun as is a berye.
The only real Germanic languages as in similar to German will be the Dutch languages, German and the continental Scandinavian languages.
If I didn't know English and was looking at this message from a Swedish mindset I'd recognize only these words:
hybrid = hybrid
be = bli
continental = kontinental
from = från
these = dessa
words = ord is possible but I was merely a little kid then so I don't remember whether I'd gotten that English feels like a crossover between Swedish and French lol
Unpopular opinion: middle ages are boring af, particularly in Europe. Seems like nothing interesting happened at all between 500 and the Renaissance. No scientific advancements, no cool empires, no art, etc.
Unpopular opinion: middle ages are boring af, particularly in Europe. Seems like nothing interesting happened at all between 500 and the Renaissance. No scientific advancements, no cool empires, no art, etc.
Ah, we have one who believes the old "Dark Ages" myth. The large medieval structures just within 20 miles of where I live disprove that theory. In fact Europe is littered with jewels from that era.
Castles, Cathedrals, Paintings, intellectualism, it's all easy to find if you're willing to look.
Middle English isn't too bad. I can get the gist of what's going on in the Canterbury Tales (written in the late 14th century), even if I miss some of the vocabulary. It's about as easy to read as French for me. See here for a description of a monk.
Source: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22120...0-h.htm#knight
A Monk ther was, a fair for the maistrye,
166
An out-rydere, that lovede venerye;
A manly man, to been an abbot able.
Ful many a deyntee hors hadde he in stable:
And, whan he rood, men mighte his brydel here
170
Ginglen in a whistling wind as clere,
And eek as loude as dooth the chapel-belle,
Ther as this lord was keper of the celle.
The reule of seint Maure or of seint Beneit,
By-cause that it was old and som-del streit,
175
This ilke monk leet olde thinges pace,
And held after the newe world the space.
He yaf nat of that text a pulled hen,
That seith, that hunters been nat holy men;
Ne that a monk, whan he is cloisterlees,
180
Is lykned til a fish that is waterlees;
This is to seyn, a monk out of his cloistre.
But thilke text held he nat worth an oistre;
And I seyde, his opinioun was good.
What sholde he studie, and make him-selven wood,
185
Upon a book in cloistre alwey to poure,
Or swinken with his handes, and laboure,
As Austin bit? How shal the world be served?
Lat Austin have his swink to him reserved.
Therfore he was a pricasour aright;
190
Grehoundes he hadde, as swifte as fowel in flight;
Of priking and of hunting for the hare
Was al his lust, for no cost wolde he spare.
I seigh his sleves purfiled at the hond
With grys, and that the fyneste of a lond;
195
And, for to festne his hood under his chin,
He hadde of gold y-wroght a curious pin:
A love-knotte in the gretter ende ther was.
His heed was balled, that shoon as any glas,
And eek his face, as he had been anoint.
200
He was a lord ful fat and in good point;
His eyen stepe, and rollinge in his heed,
That stemed as a forneys of a leed;
His botes souple, his hors in greet estat.
Now certeinly he was a fair prelat;
205
He was nat pale as a for-pyned goost.
A fat swan loved he best of any roost.
His palfrey was as broun as is a berye.
It's very dense, takes a bit of concentration to get the gist, sometimes easier if someone reads it aloud. Shakespeare sinks in pretty easily though.
That would be the case if the Latin influence had altered the basic structure and grammar of the language, but it didn't.
A language is nothing without vocabulary, though. The source of the structure and grammar of English is a valid point. It's hardly enough to tip the balance from the status of English as a Germanic/Latin hybrid to something more purely Germanic.
Technically, however, doesn't matter either way. English is classified as a Germanic language because it's considered the descendant of Middle English, which is turn derived from Old English, and ultimately all the way back to Proto-Germanic. If Latin had influenced the structure along the way as much as it has the vocabulary, it wouldn't really change the picture very much. It's worth mentioning that some grammatical prescriptivists have essentially introduced Latin-inspired rules to English grammar. The prohibitions against splitting infinitives and ending sentences with prepositions are a few examples. Native Anglophones generally disregard these rules, but they would be a counterexample to your argument.
They were making announcements here in Quechua, I was surprised by how much it sounded like German. Very interesting language. It has about 8-9 million speakers, larger than the population of Sweden. It is the most widely spoken American language, it has 30x the amount of speakers of Navajo
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English feels like a crossover between Swedish and French lol 
