352. Searching the roots of English



Here I offer you a linguistic point. Taken from http://www.putlearningfirst.com


Photo from www.ascobi.com



NB.: We would need some special characters to show differences in the pronunciation of some letters below, if compared with contemporary English. To say in simple terms, OE is from the stem of Germanic languages. And as you may know, this stem comes from the Indo-European family. Basque, Hungarian, Finish are some of the very few languages that do not come from this big family but anyway spoken in Europe. Finish and Hungarian, and I think one of the languages of Mongolia, have the same origin. (I have read something somewhere about the thing of Mongolia).


How English Has Changed


Five translations of the Gospel according to St Matthew, Chapter 8, Verses 1 & 2.


Anglo Saxon 995


Sothlice tha seHaelend of tham munte nyther astah, tha fyligdon hym mycle maenio.
Tha genealaehte an hreofla to him and hine to him geathmedde, and thus cwaeth, Drihten, gyf thu wylt, thu miht me geclaensian.


Wyclif 1389


Forsothe when Jhesus hadde comen doun fro the hil, many cumpanyes folewiden hym.
And loo! a leprouse man cummynge worshipide hym, sayinge, Lord, yif thou wolt, thou maist make me clene.


Tyndale 1526


When Jesus was come down from the mountayne, moch people folowed him.
And lo! there cam a lepre and worsheped him, saynge, Master, if thou wylt, thou canst make me clene.


King James Version 1611


When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
And behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.


New English Bible 1961


After he had come down from the hill he was followed by a great crowd. And now a leper approached him, bowed low, and said, "Sir, if only you will, you can cleanse me."

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