Native Content available for Old English

General discussion about learning languages
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Iuri
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Re: Native Content available for Old English

Postby Iuri » Mon May 15, 2017 8:05 pm

Thanks for your comments guys, I actually liked @MorkTheFiddle suggestion of going from Modern English to Middle English and then Old English, that would allow me to learn the languages seamlessly and without the amount of effort required to normally learn a new language, which would then spare me some energy to keep with my French and Japanese. I actually liked the idea but I wonder: Would that really work? I bet that for someone like me, not a native speaker of English, a longer time with each form of the language would be required to master it, also a previous step reading Early Modern English, such as Shakespeare, would be a must before attempting ME.

Also, @IronMike, thanks for the resources!
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Iuri
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Re: Native Content available for Old English

Postby Iuri » Tue May 16, 2017 9:48 pm

I'm deviating a little bit from the post but I really liked the idea of going backwards from Modern English, but I suddenly realised that before tackling Early Modern English literature, I should master Modern English literature itself. Let me explain, I have no trouble whatsoever reading anything written in English, from forum posts to scientific journals, everything is accessible to me, but for some reason I always stumble when I dive into literature, there are always difficult structures and vocabulary that I'm not used to. Now I believe I can't say I'm a fully fledged literate in my own language! Sure, I've read the translations of the world most famous young literature, but I never really dived into the high literature stuff-but I want to do that for English.

So does anyone know of a list of the great books of literature written in Modern English so I can get a better grasp of this kind of register.
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Re: Native Content available for Old English

Postby SophiaMerlin_II » Tue May 16, 2017 10:33 pm

Iuri wrote:Thanks for your comments guys, I actually liked @MorkTheFiddle suggestion of going from Modern English to Middle English and then Old English, that would allow me to learn the languages seamlessly and without the amount of effort required to normally learn a new language, which would then spare me some energy to keep with my French and Japanese. I actually liked the idea but I wonder: Would that really work? I bet that for someone like me, not a native speaker of English, a longer time with each form of the language would be required to master it, also a previous step reading Early Modern English, such as Shakespeare, would be a must before attempting ME.

Also, @IronMike, thanks for the resources!


Well, one way to try it would be to look for books that were written in a certain decade, then work your way back. So, for example, start with a book made in 2010's, then 2000's, then 1990's. As far as writing style, one can begin to find obvious stylistic and word choice differences beginning as soon as about the early 1940's, though more pronounced in the 1910's or 1920's. In the mid-1800s most native English speakers without any previous exposure may struggle with some expressions (four-score, etc.) though of course, the grammar is almost exactly the same.

I think since you said you are still struggling a bit with contemporary English Literature, this might be a good way to do it. You might only need one book from each decade, or it might take more. It depends.
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Iuri
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Re: Native Content available for Old English

Postby Iuri » Wed May 17, 2017 11:34 pm

@SophiaMerlin_II thanks for your suggestion, I think it's a very interesting way to cover English literature and master the language over time, I think I'll do just that, I found these two wikipedia pages that will help me select works from each decade:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_literature
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_cent ... literature

I'm pretty excited to follow this path to discover the whole of the English language. :)
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Re: Native Content available for Old English

Postby IronMike » Mon May 22, 2017 4:52 pm

Iuri wrote:I'm deviating a little bit from the post but I really liked the idea of going backwards from Modern English, but I suddenly realised that before tackling Early Modern English literature, I should master Modern English literature itself. Let me explain, I have no trouble whatsoever reading anything written in English, from forum posts to scientific journals, everything is accessible to me, but for some reason I always stumble when I dive into literature, there are always difficult structures and vocabulary that I'm not used to. Now I believe I can't say I'm a fully fledged literate in my own language! Sure, I've read the translations of the world most famous young literature, but I never really dived into the high literature stuff-but I want to do that for English.

So does anyone know of a list of the great books of literature written in Modern English so I can get a better grasp of this kind of register.

Just know that there was not a sudden change one day from Old English to Middle English. It was a slow change. Thus, in early Middle English you'll have lots of Old English vocabulary. This is the reason the Middle English book I used (linked above I believe) suggests you finish a course in OE before tackling ME.

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