In this week’s episode: Just how far back could you go and still understand the English people were speaking? We crank up our trusty time machine to find out. Hint: You’d probably have a tough time getting around in the eighth century, when English poetry looked like: “Hwaet we gardena in geardagum.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Understanding Old English”
You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Grant Barrett.
And I’m Martha Barnette.
And
Yes, I would like to buy some Swedish furniture and assemble it myself.
Very good, Grant. I think you know what that was, really, don’t you?
Yeah, I think that was Old English.
It was indeed. It was Beowulf.
Martha, I am impressed. That is fantastic.
But how many times a day do you get a chance to speak Old English?
How many times in my life?
Anyway, there’s a good reason that I’m reading you the first few lines of Beowulf.
We received an email recently from Isaac Hirschbein of La Mesa, California, and he had an intriguing question, Grant.
He writes,
How far back in history could I go and maintain a simple conversation and be reasonably understood in English?
Could I make my way during Elizabethan times or earlier?
It’s a great question, don’t you think?
Yeah, and you know, it’s one that the science fiction writers and the people who write books about,
Even Mark Twain, when he wrote about a Connecticut Yankee and King Arthur’s court.
Oh, yeah.
They kind of skirt around that issue, don’t they?
Yeah.
Because that’s what, Beowulf was what, the 8th century?
Right, right.
Right, and I didn’t understand a word you said.
It sounded like Swedish to me.
Exactly. Exactly. Well, it has those Germanic roots.
So going back that far, you’d have a pretty tough time of it.
Well, we’ll talk about that a little bit later in the show, but first let’s take some of your calls.
You can ask us about any aspect of language. Just call 1-877-929-9673.
Or send us an email in modern English, if you wish, to words@waywordradio.org.
