This is something that I should have done three years ago, but never got around to. My request is, would somebody please have a look at Magus’ Quest and correct my pathetic attempts at old English that Frog and Cered speaks? I believe Another Life is alright since I had a beta for that, but he never got around to the first one in the series. The Prince’s Story and A Look might need a check as well.
I’d be honored to, but my knowledge of proper grammar and word choice doesn’t extend beyond contemporary English. If Perc is willing, he’d be an excellent beta.
me try but me no good grammar. :moogle:
LikeDemi said:
Perc is probably the right person to ask, because he is (I think) the only who actually know REAL old english around here…
:moogle: me agree
I’'l have a look for you Weiila. But I ain’t promising anything, since I have like 50 things in my TO DO box already.
Although, definetly give Percy a holla. He is the man, on this stuff.
Like everyone else said, you’re wasting your time here. Just PM Percy. :hahaha;
I’ll do that then 
So don’t feel pressed, HS, I appreciate all help I can get but I don’t want to press you.
Did they speak real Old English in the game? I don’t really think so. Some Old English is too weirdly-spelled to be geenrally understandable anyway. Just because it may be more accurate doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll be better. 
I’m not sure how well or not Frog’s old English was, supposedly not too complicated. I’m no expert 
Still, when people tell me my attempt makes them want to scream, it’s overdue time for a sweep.
Ahh, the old scream-excuse eh? They’re just wusses. ^^;;
I’ve got some minor skills with Old English, but use me as a last resort. Perc is who you need for this.
No, I’m quite sure the game uses modern English. Modern English is Shakespear and such. Middle English is VERY difficult to understand; the Canterbury Tales are an example of this. Old English is, barring the odd word, fully impossible to understand and seems to bear no similarities to English as we know it. It may as well be another language, really. I think I have an English Literature anthology somewhere that has an example of it…here, from some old poem: “Nu sculon herigean heofonrices Weard Meotodes meahte and his modgepanc weorc Wuldor-Faeder swa he wundra gehwaes…” and so on. Supposedly this means the following: “Now we must praise heaven-kingdom’s Guardian, the Creator’s might and his mind-plans, the work of the Glory-Father, when he of wonders of every one…”. Only one or two words in all of that old English make any sense at all. So no, Frog doesn’t speek old English.
As for as Middle-English, that’s understandable but still greatly unlike that which we are commonly used to. Let’s see…I’ll look for one of the Canterbury Tales…the Wife of Bath’s Tale, here it is…it begins so: “Experience, though noon auctoritee, Were in this world, is right ynough for me, To speke of wo that is in mariage: For lordinges, sith I twelf yeer was of age-” and it goes on so. Understandable to a degree, but really weird.
So, I would reckon that Frog speaks a modern “shakespearean” English, somewhat King James like (like the King James version of the Bible). Moreover, I think he speaks somewhat of a comic version. Looking at it a while back, I would maintain that it’s more of a parody of that style than anything else, the form someone would speak if they’re just winging it and really don’t know it. But I can’t be all too sure, as I don’t make it a habit of writing in quite such a way (My current style is fraught with slightly archaic elements so that it is not fully colloquial, but certainly not to such a full extent).
Yeah, Old English (Anglo-Saxon) is almost totally unrecognizable to a modern English speaker. That was way back before the Normans invaded England and the language was more Germanic than Latinized. My elventh grade English teacher gave showed us a poem written in Old English and asked for a volunteer to read it (well, in the opposite order) and I volunteered. It was hard enough to pronounce the words, much less understand them.
Interesting tidbit: you know the French taunter scene from the Holy Grail and how he says knight? Well originally, that’s pretty much how it was pronounced. That’s the reason for all the extra letters. Ironically, it’s probably because of the French that we don’t pronounce them anymore.