Have you ever seen a phrase or sentence that contains misspelled words, such as olde? How could they be so clueless about the correct spelling of the word?
During my childhood, I certainly wondered about these perceived misspellings, especially when I was taught in school that old was spelled with only three letters.
The truth is that some of these phrases are not misspelled, they are imitating the spellings of an older form of English; that’s right, there are multiple forms of English spanning across millennia: Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, and Modern English.
Old English (450 AD – 1150)
þes is Eald Englisc, oftsíþ gedémed þone feormane gewriten Englisc; hit wæs mæled fram þæm gére feower hundraþ fiftig oþ án þusend án hundraþ fiftig in Breotene.
Since this dialect is obsolete, I assume that nobody could precisely determine the meaning of the prior sentence. Believe it or not, I have no fluency in Old English, therefore my sentence likely butchered the structure and grammar despairingly. Regardless of my ineptitude, the sentence should translate to: this is Old English, often considered the first written English; it was spoken from the year four hundred fifty until one thousand one hundred fifty in Britain.
Old English is sometimes referred to as Anglo-Saxon; it is the precursor to the English that we speak today, I presume that you speak English if you are reading this post. In my observation, it is interestingly similar to Icelandic in appearance and German in structure, with a faint resemblance to Modern English. Due to this dialect’s predating the United States by at least 600 years, the main focus of this post will be a more recent dialect of English: Early Modern English.
Early Modern English (1500 – 1800)
This is one versyon of Early Modern English, it may haue beene called London English by some. It was in prynt after Middle English vntil shortly after the formacyon of the first colonies.
It is quite probable that my grammar is incorrect again, but this quick sentence is an example. If you would like to read actual Early Modern English writings, I have linked a website.
This strangely spelled English is much more recognizable than the last; a translation may not be necessary, but here it is: this is one version of Early Modern English, it may have been called London English by some. It was in print after Middle English until shortly after the formation of the first colonies.
Early Modern English is also known for using words like thou, thy, and thine as apposed to you, your, and yours.
How does this relate to the United States?
The Pilgrims left Europe to develop and settle what would become the Thirteen Colonies in the year 1620. During that year, Early Modern English was still in use, and it is likely that the Pilgrims used that dialect, in fact, typical of Early Modern English, the first successful colony that would become Virginia was originally spelled with an extra E: Jamestowne.
There are many texts that you can freely access online that are written in Early Modern English; numerous physical texts, such as Bibles, Shakespeare’s writings, and even many early American documents, including the Declaration of Independence, contain some elements of Early Modern English.
Before researching this topic, it never occurred to me that it required centuries of development and standardizing to form the complex English language of today that I take for granted.
Were you already aware of Old English?
Onward American 🇺🇸
Source: Old English Translator
Source: Early Modern English Pronunciation and Spelling
Onward American 