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Last September I spent a little time going through Beowulf and pulling out words we no longer use but are still active in modern Swedish. I got to 100 very quic
by luxpir 13y ago
Last September I spent a little time going through Beowulf and pulling out words we no longer use but are still active in modern Swedish. I got to 100 very quickly. I can't speak so much for German, having only a basic grasp, but to me it looks like Scandinavian languages are closer to Old English now than Modern German. That might give a picture of how English would otherwise look without a Norman conquest (or if the Normans had retained their Norse language).[0]
For info, if you hadn't heard yet, Tolkien's Beowulf translation is due out on the 22nd of May. Scholars say it is likely to just be his working translation and teaching notes, unlikely to rival Heaney's efforts. I think everyone interested will want to see it though. Myself included. [1]
[0] http://lukespear.co.uk/2013/09/old-english-vs-modern-swedish-via-beowulf-and-heaney/ http://lukespear.co.uk/2013/09/old-english-vs-modern-swedish...
[1] http://www.tolkienbeowulf.com/ http://www.tolkienbeowulf.com/
- pessimizer 13y ago>That might give a picture of how English would otherwise look without a Norman conquest Wouldn't that be Icelandic, or Faroese?
- luxpir 13y agoSure, but perhaps the development of the Scandinavian languages would be closer to the most likely outcome (speculation), with their general European influences, rather than the wider, and better preserved Nordic variants. There's a brief comparison of Old Norse and Old English in the blog post mentioned, if interested. They were very similar, almost mutually intelligible, and so only major outside influences would have caused their divergence (as has happened). Without those influences, though, who knows, maybe Icelanders and the Germanic-British could still converse in their own tongues.