Friday Video: English Through History, or, Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
In a college seminar on Chaucer, we were required to learn to read and speak Middle English. Until then, I hadn�t realized the sound of English is not only slightly different from one locality to another, but can sound like another language entirely, depending on what century you�re in.
I wish today�s video creators had stuck with English English speakers throughout, since the change of accents adds a layer of confusion, I think. We Yanks started out with a fairly modern English which we gradually transformed into our own variety. That could form a program in itself, as could the English of Australia and New Zealand and India and everywhere else the language invaded.
Some, too, would disagree about how recognizable Shakespeare�s English would be to modern ears, and not just in terms of our ability to recognize words. Still, the point is made about English�s evolution, and our nerdy history readers are welcome, as always, to comment.
Image: Chaucer as a pilgrim from Ellesmere Manuscript in the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, via Wikipedia.
Readers who receive our blog via email might see a rectangle, square, or nothing where the video ought to be. To watch the video, please click on the title to this post.
Comment (0)
Post a Comment