Speaking Anglo-Saxon - Seven Ages of Britain - Series 1 Episode 1 Preview - BBC One

More about this episode:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00qn322

David travels throughout Britain in search of the greatest works of art from the time: the mosaics of Bignor Roman Villa, the burial treasure of Sutton Hoo, Anglo-Saxon poetry, and Alfred the Great's Jewel. He also goes abroad, throughout Europe, to find objects either made in Britain, or which tell us something about our past.

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[Bjowolf2]

Now, if only those BEEEP Normans hadn't switched to Frænch - OR they had stayed where they belonged - , we would probably still be able to talk across the North Sea ;-)

Engelske folk haver mange (many) af vore (our) (w)ord(s), så I [ee, ~ye ] kan

se, hvad vi siger [seey-er, say ] over her(e) i(n) Danmark.

Hav en god dag alle mine engelske frænder ;-)

[MagnusBruce]

Is it bad that I knew he was reciting the first verses of Beowulf before he said so?

I performed the first few lines for a song once, initially in english and then I made an attempt at the anglo saxon original text...probably sounds nothing like how it should!

[LeeHoxton1]

@ashleysoulful Anglo-Saxon German is better than modern English and modern French.

English wouldn't sound like high German. English is mostly like Frisian or sounds Swedish.

It was Danish Viking which was one of the most important espect to the lexicon change of English.

The Normans indirectly introduced more Latin with their invasion, but it was in Johns' reign & for 200 years of Plantagenet rule where 10,000 loan words were introduced. Anglo-Saxon German numbered 50,000

[LeeHoxton1]

@AuxaneD Anglo-Saxon numbered approx 50,000 words with the French introducing about 10,000. About 17%.

The reason that there are so many words in English lang. is because of the industrialization & globalisation of English trade from the 16th century onwards, and we're still borrowing more words. It's as simple as that.

[LeeHoxton1]

@AuxaneD Which means that the French don't have their own language because they were originally German or Gaullish speakers. Whereas the core English tongue is Anglo-Saxon German with a bit of Danish Viking. Latin didn't come from the Normans, it came after from Johns' reign & later Plantagenets (yes ok French) English became dominate again by 1400. The most important lexicon change was from the Danish invasion in N. East England.

Any Latin isn't English, it's Anglicized

[LeeHoxton1]

@Andrewmation855 That's not correct. Most geneticist conclude that there are 3 clear YDNA markers which define A-S or Danish Viking. In E. York, Lincoln,Midlands, Anglia, and across the S. East the these markers make up 65% include ad-mix of other La Tene/Cimbric markers from Germany it's probably 80%. The proportion shift is in Lancs, Cumbria, Devon, and Cornwall, where there's what appears to be much more pre-Roman ancestry.

[silenteyesspy]

@VendeeD85: hit is swa treow min frend..

[VendeeD85]

@silenteyesspy What? Hardly.



[VendeeD85]

@Bjowolf2 Yeah, that's true. Something else that is fairly interesting - when most English people speak French, the French often confuse our accent with that of the Germans'. Says quite a lot I think.

[rw5791]

the norman conquest applied mostly to the nobles.The people just carried on being anglo-saxon and were not so quick to give up their ways.Again,the "stubborness".The english can easily be mistaken for a german but I can spot a frenchie from a mile away.

[apologeticsman]

@silenteyesspy I thought I was writing gibberish, just in fun. Apparently, I speak Dutch and didn't know it