So, the front vowels /æ(:)/ and /e(:)/ diphthongize when preceded by the palatal sounds /tʃ/, /j/ and /ʃ/. Ok, makes sense.

But how does palatal diphthongization of /æ(:)/ produce /æɑ(:)/? How does a preceding palatal consonant produce a diphthong with a velar element that wasn't there originally? With /e(:)/ it's easy to imagine a palatal glide, but that can hardly be the case with /æ(:)/. And as far as I know, palatal diphthongization must have happened long after Anglo-Frisian brightening, so it wasn't a case of /ɑ/ > /æɑ/ either before /ɑ/>/æ/ elsewhere. But maybe there's nothing inherently weird about /æ/>/æɑ/ for reasons I haven't considered?

I know there's a theory that palatal diphthongization was merely orthographic and that the <e>/<i> is just diacritical. But apparently that's not the consensus, presumably for a good reason. If nothing else, there's late West Saxon forms like gyfan that make more sense if palatal diphthogization was real, plus probably some other stuff I'm missing. So how do scholars make sense of this?

I was studying the Heptarchy kingdoms and was wondering about how Mierċe got its name from mearc. Obviously, mearc was pronounced the same as its modern form, mark. Did the /t͡ʃ/ in the name come from the Anglian or West Saxon dialects? And if this is the case, then would any of the more northern dialects pronounce it just like mearc?

Another example would be the word mersċ, or marsh. I know this word in Scots is pronounced as mersk, which I assume was influenced by the northern dialects.

As I understand it, Old English fricatives /s/, /f/, /θ/ as well as the voiceless plosives /p/, /t/, /k/ all have voiced allophones when sandwiched in between two voiced sounds. Does this extend across word boundaries during speech?

Þæt éare /θæd eːɑ̯re/ ?

While we're at it, how are doubled consonants to be interpreted? For liquids and nasals, I assume it marks gemination (sunne, etc.), but what about s, f, þ/ð and the plosives? I have heard it marks an exception to the voicing rule but are they geminated as well?

þisse /θise/ or /θisːe/ ?

sċieppan, biddan?

pp/bb /pː/?

tt/dd /tː/ ?

Edit: I have no idea why I assumed the allophony extended to plosives. I'm aware that that is not the case now.

Hey everyone, I've been interested in old Germanic languages for a while.

I've seen that there are countless things written in Old English that, with enough study of the language, you can read. However, what I would like to know is whether anyone has tried to write works in Old English as well (poetry, for instance).

I've already done my googling with prompts like "modern writers composing in old english" and "composing prose in old english." But apart from the fascinating Old English works that Tolkien left behind in the Songs for the Philologists, I could really only find guides on how to write poems in modern English that are just in the style of Old English.

Does no one try to write their own works in Old English? Or have I just not looked hard enough (which I hope is the case)?

I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could point me in the direction of someone or a community that composes their own works in the language.

Are there people who hold that /f/ in Old English was [ɸ]?

Just started reading Learn Old English with Leofwin, and it has the phrase “eart ðū gehīwed?” meaning “are you married?” But I can’t find the word gehīwed anywhere else - is this the right translation?

is there an OE struggles account/subreddit? i think i've earned a spot there 😂🤦‍♀️

thanks to GardenGnomeRoman and TheSaltyBushtail for their help !! <3

my knowledge of old english is pretty basic but i tried my best. went with "dwole bedrēogere" (mad deceivers?) instead of "delusional cosplayers" for obvious reasons. feedback appreciated <3

I’m looking for short-ish, dramatically read, Old English audio that isn’t Beowulf, but have good enunciation and audio quality. Any suggestions?

For example, is the phrase "throne of the mourning king" translated best as "ġifstōl winegéomoran cyninges," "ġifstōl winegéomoran cyning," or "ġifstōl winegéomor cyninges?"

For my sins I have to translate a passage from the Vercelli Homily and I've been stuck on the analysis of this word the whole afternoon.

The sentence is ... ond on heom sylfum bēoð ealle hēora synna ġesēne... which I translated "and in themselves are all their sins seen/visibile"

The glossary I have translate ġesēne as the adjective seen or visibile but i've been asked to analyse the word futher. From the word I'd assume that this is a past participle of (ge)seon which means to see, conjugated with ealle but the correct form of the pp would be ġesewen. How did we get from ġesewen to ġesēne ? Was it some sort of mutation?

Or is is a fully independent adjective and in that case what would be the base form?

Moreover, if this were a pp I would tend to see bēoð ġesēne as a passive voice (all their sins are seen), but if this were to be the adjective visibile/manifested then bēoð woud be a copula, and ġesēne the subject predicative.

What am I missing?

Thanks!

Hello, I am looking for Old English translations for a project of mine. However, I have been only able to find dictionaries with single-word translations but not actual sentences or texts. Most translations I've found on the internet are a few pieces or extracts of texts and poems.

I came across this compilation of texts from Sacred Texts and YCOE, but these don't provide translations, just the original texts.

What's the best source for translations?
Thanks in advance

I got chat GPT to translate the lyrics for Hildegard von Blingin' We didn't start the fire into old English. I have no idea what I'm doing I just though it would be interesting to see what chat gpt would spit out. Can someone tell me how good or more likely poor the result is?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drDs-Y5DNH8

Original lryics.
[Verse 1]
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Charles the 6th hath gone insane
Reconquista
Geoffrey Chaucer, Michelangelo
Marco Polo, Magna Carta
Christian Schism, Siege of Acre
Byzantine iconoclasm
Guillaume de Machaut

Charlemagne, Alfred
Anne Boleyn without a head
Few things here to read
But the Nibelungenlied
Castile with Aragon
Second pope in Avignon
Novgorod, Genghis Khan
Beowulf, Decameron

[Chorus]
We did not start the fire
'Twas always burning
As the world was turning
Wе did not start the fire
No, we did not light it
But wе tried to fight it

[Verse 2]
Henry Tudor, Saladin
Richard and the Winter King
Lindisfarne, Norse raids
Children on crusade
Rome gone, Castillon
Mona Lisa, King John
Kalmar Union
Hanseatic trade

Kipchaks horseback
Constantinople sacked
Song of Roland, silk demand
Wallachia, Holy Land
Grunwald, Manzikert
Barbarossa, Golden Spurs
Joan of Arc, Patriarch
Battle of Lepanto!

[Chorus]
We did not start the fire
'Twas always burning
As the world was turning
We did not start the fire
No, we did not light it
But we tried to fight it

[Verse 3]
Canterbury, Nikephoros
Alchemy, Matthias Corvinus
Khan Krum, Sicily
Normans land in Italy
Hippodrome, Notre Dame
Timur in Afghanistan
Double prince homicide
Seven papal regicides

Edinburgh, Malta
Wenceslaus, Bohemia
Hunedoara stronghold
Mansa Musa’s got gold
Ghazi, Gutenberg
Baghdad and Mosul burn
Gunpowder twofold
Panic, it's the Mongols!

[Chorus]
We did not start the fire
'Twas always burning
As the world was turning
We did not start the fire
No, we did not light it
But we tried to fight it

[Verse 4]
Antioch, Sassanids
Spaniards in a strange land
Fatimids, El Cid
Ottoman invasion
Rashidun Arabia
Christian relicmania
Hussites, Swiss pikes
Executing Templar Knights
Lichtenauer, Skanderbeg
Holding off the Pechenegs
Black plague, here to stay
What else do I dare to say?

[Chorus]
We did not start the fire
'Twas always burning
As the world was turning
We did not start the fire
No, we did not light it
But we tried to fight it

[Verse 5]
Nicaea, troubadours
William Wallace torn in four
Falkirk, glasswork
Stamford Bridge, Göktürks
Three-year famine, medicine
Barons oust a sovereign
Carrouges versus Jacques le Gris
Carracks sail across the sea

Walpurgis Fechtbuch
Arslan and the Seljuks
Clontarf, Lombards
Habsburgs, Bannockburn
Church denied by Thomas More
Montezuma is no more
Curse this German Peasants’ War
I can't take it anymore!

[Outro]
We did not start the fire
'Twas always burning
As the world was turning
We did not start the fire
But when we are gone
It shall still burn on and on and on

We did not start the fire
'Twas always burning
As the world was turning
We did not start the fire
No we did not light it
But we tried to fight it

Chat GPT output

Verse 1:

Eleanor of Aquitānia
Cearl se sisca hæfde wērig
Recnysing ealdras
Geoffrey Chaucer, Michealangelo
Marco Polo, Micel Cwarta
Cristen scism, besiege of Acre
Byzantīn eagan wiðerweardnesse
Wilhelm de Machaut

Carloman, Ælfred
Anne Boleyn būtan heafde
Fēa þing her tō rēdan
Ac þæt Nibelungenlied
Castile mid Aragon
Æfter pope in Avignon
Novgorod, Chinggis Khan
Beowulf, Decameron

Chorus:

Wē ne onbyrde þā fyr
Hit wæs symle byrning
Swā þæt weoruld wæs weorcing
Wē ne onbyrde þā fyr
Nā, wē ne lēhton hit
Ac wē forwyrndon hit

Verse 2:

Henric Tudor, Saladin
Rīċard and se Winter Cyning
Lindisfarne, Norðmann raida
Cildren on crusade
Rōm forloren, Castillon
Mona Lisa, Cyning John
Kalmar Unīon
Hanseatic ceap

Kipchaks on hest
Constantinopol sāc
Song of Roland, silc abēod
Walachia, Hālige Land
Grunwald, Manzikert
Barbarossa, Golden Sporn
Iohanna of Arc, Patriarch
Gefeoht of Lepanto!

Chorus:

Wē ne onbyrde þā fyr
Hit wæs symle byrning
Swā þæt weoruld wæs weorcing
Wē ne onbyrde þā fyr
Nā, wē ne lēhton hit
Ac wē forwyrndon hit

Verse 3:

Canterbury, Nikephoros
Alchymie, Matthias Corvinus
Khan Krum, Sicilia
Norman cyningas landa on Ītalie
Hippodrome, Notre Dame
Timur on Afghanistan
Twā princi hyrde
Seofon papal mord

Edinburgh, Malta
Wenceslaus, Bohemia
Hunedoara stronghold
Mansa Musa hæfde gold
Ghazi, Gutenberg
Bagdad and Mosul byrnað
Gunpowder twēonfald
Panic, hit is Mongols!

Chorus:

Wē ne onbyrde þā fyr
Hit wæs symle byrning
Swā þæt weoruld wæs weorcing
Wē ne onbyrde þā fyr
Nā, wē ne lēhton hit
Ac wē forwyrndon hit

Verse 4:

Antioch, Sassanids
Spaniards on frēod land
Fātimids, El Cid
Ottoman invasiōn
Rashidun Arabia
Cristen relicmania
Hussites, Swiss pīca
Execution of Templar Knights
Lichtenauer, Skanderbeg
Haldend Pechenegas
Blæc plæga, hēr tō stænan
Hwæt elles dēag I tō secgan?

Chorus:

Wē ne onbyrde þā fyr
Hit wæs symle byrning
Swā þæt weoruld wæs weorcing
Wē ne onbyrde þā fyr
Nā, wē ne lēhton hit
Ac wē forwyrndon hit

Verse 5:

Nicaea, trūbadouras
Willelm Wallace torn on fēower
Falkirk, glassweorc
Stamford Bridge, Göktürks
Þrēo gear fæmne, medicine
Barons āwēgan cyning
Carrouges wið Jacques le Gris
Carracks sæl on ālfewe

Walpurgis Fechtbuch
Arslan and se Seljuks
Clontarf, Lombards
Habsburgs, Bannockburn
Cyrce denied by Thomas More
Montezuma is no mōr
Wyrm þis German Peasants’ Wērig
Ic ne mæg tōferan!

Outro:

Wē ne onbyrde þā fyr
Hit wæs symle byrning
Swā þæt weoruld wæs weorcing
Wē ne onbyrde þā fyr
Ac þonne wē syndon forġēan
Hit āreagð still on and on and on

Wē ne onbyrde þā fyr
Hit wæs symle byrning
Swā þæt weoruld wæs weorcing
Wē ne onbyrde þā fyr
Nā, wē ne lēhton hit
Ac wē forwyrndon hit

For some reason I can’t get my head round this. ‘Hwilc’, meaning ‘which’, is in its infinitive form. But in the opening line of The Exeter Book Riddle 1 it reads as ‘Hwylc’. Why has the ‘I’ been swapped for a ‘y’? I know it’s an interrogative pronoun but I was lead down a path about strong adjective endings and my brain exploded. Can someone explain the change from ‘Hwilc’ to ‘Hwylc’?

Hello, I am currently transcribing the entirety of the Junius Manuscript's Exodus onto parchment and have come across the first missing page from the original. It seems, based on context. that this page contained a summary of Joseph's enslavement and eventual success in Egypt. I have made my own translation of a summary to fill in this blank based off of other passages in the Junius Manuscript and my own writing.

I was wondering if people with more experience than me could help critique my translation and improve it:

Iosepus, se wæs heofones hyse,

ac his niþfull bróþra hine fliemed.
On Egypta he wencel waes.
Heahfæder hine besewen.
Ac he awende wea to hiw.

Iosepus eallum leof, þeoden þæm þegnum worden;

þrymmas weoxon duguða mid drihtne,
dreamhæbbendra.

Þonne þá seofon hungorgeár ancuman,

ælþeód gehlæned, ac Iosepuses folc gefarned.

The gloss is as follows:

Iosepus, se wæs heofones hyse,

Joseph, he was heaven's youth,

ac his niþfull bróþra hine fliemed.
but his jealous brothers him banished.

On Egypta he wencel waes.
In Egypt he slave was.

Heahfæder hine besewen
Highfather him looked after

Ond he awende wea to hiw.
And he turned sorrow to fortune

Iosepus eallum leof, þeoden þæm þegnum worden;

Joseph all love, prince those people became;

þrymmas weoxon duguða mid drihtne,
Glory grew prosperity with God,

dreamhæbbendra.
joy having.

Þonne þá seofon hungorgeár ancuman,

Then the seven hunger-years came,

ælþeód gehlæned, ac Iosepuses folc gefarned.
foreigers starved, but Joseph's folk prospered.

Then, in modern English:

Joseph was heaven's youth, but his jealous brothers banished him.

He was a slave in Egypt. The high-father looked after him.
And he turned sorrows into fortune.
Joseph, beloved by all, became a prince of the people;
His glory and prosperity grew with God, he was filled with joy.
So when seven years of famine came,'
Foreigners starved but Joseph's people prospered.

It's been a while since I've done any translating so please let me know how I could improve. Thanks!

I’m curious because l struggle to imagine that Old Saxon had a ready-made word for “desert.”

Hello! I'm not sure what the differences in these are, (not even sure about the differences in them in modern english, either) þǣrtō would litearlly mean "to there", right? But doesn't already "þider" already mean "to there"?

Wesaþ ge hale,

I thought I'd share some recordings I've been making of Old English poems and texts. Some are better than others and there are some innacuracies here and there (especially in the Ælfric homily, which is probably the worst recording). I have been using these to help myself internalize good West-Saxon pronunciation and Old English idiom; I hope they are useful to you as well. Of course I am open to any feedback. Brucaþ ealles wel!

Hey all, I'm new here and am starting to learn old English. I've been doing this through 'First Steps in Old English' by Stephen Pollington and one of the practices it's given me has caught me up a tad and I was hoping if anyone here had some advise.

So, the task in question asked me to translate "this knowledge" into OE where 'knowledge' is the object of the sentence, the answer it gave to this was "þās lāre". I just wanted to confirm was 'lāre' actually translated as because I'm still trying to work my head around online translators?

Hello!

From what Proto-Germanic *word could originate the runic name "siġel"?

Thanks!

View Poll

Hello! Me again! I'm very confused at all the words for something, are all of them valid? Are they simply just dialectal usages that were attested throughout the years?

Edƿiht

Aƿiht

Gehƿæt

Hƿæt

Hello, me again, i'm wondering if anyone has a reliable vowel shift chart for the strong verbs present tense and past tenses, thanks in advance!