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General Category => Off the Record => Topic started by: jimmy olsen on July 24, 2013, 09:30:43 PM

Title: Shakespeare in the Original pronunciation
Post by: jimmy olsen on July 24, 2013, 09:30:43 PM
A fascinating little video on how the dialect that Shakespeare wrote in sounded, it sounds Irish to my ears  :hmm:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPlpphT7n9s
Title: Re: Shakespeare in the Original pronunciation
Post by: Camerus on July 24, 2013, 10:00:48 PM
Thanks for the link.   :)
Title: Re: Shakespeare in the Original pronunciation
Post by: 11B4V on July 25, 2013, 02:43:44 AM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on July 24, 2013, 09:30:43 PM
A fascinating little video on how the dialect that Shakespeare wrote in sounded, it sounds Irish to my ears  :hmm:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPlpphT7n9s

Thanks for wasting 10 minutes of my life, you Nard.  :P

How do they know? They got a recording?
Title: Re: Shakespeare in the Original pronunciation
Post by: Syt on July 25, 2013, 02:47:04 AM
Quote from: 11B4V on July 25, 2013, 02:43:44 AM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on July 24, 2013, 09:30:43 PM
A fascinating little video on how the dialect that Shakespeare wrote in sounded, it sounds Irish to my ears  :hmm:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPlpphT7n9s

Thanks for wasting 10 minutes of my life, you Nard.  :P

How do they know? They got a recording?

There's usually some sort of forensic extrapolation you can use, e.g. what rhythm and rhymes they use in poems. Also, changes in spelling can provide a hint.

And I hope you're not one of the people who think "Ye Olde" is pronounced "Yee Olday"!
Title: Re: Shakespeare in the Original pronunciation
Post by: Viking on July 25, 2013, 03:01:36 AM
the "y" of Ye Olde is actually an "olde" english variant of "þ" which has a hard "th" sound like "think" or "bath" but not the soft "th" of "this" or "that".

So "ye olde" is actually pronounced "the old" with the e silent.
Title: Re: Shakespeare in the Original pronunciation
Post by: Syt on July 25, 2013, 03:05:13 AM
Correct. When printing presses came around, it was just easier to use "y" instead of the special letter because they were so close.

I've managed to impress an Icelandic colleague, because I pronounced her name properly with þ at the beginning instead of T like most Germans would. :smarty:
Title: Re: Shakespeare in the Original pronunciation
Post by: jimmy olsen on July 25, 2013, 04:17:28 AM
Quote from: 11B4V on July 25, 2013, 02:43:44 AM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on July 24, 2013, 09:30:43 PM
A fascinating little video on how the dialect that Shakespeare wrote in sounded, it sounds Irish to my ears  :hmm:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPlpphT7n9s

Thanks for wasting 10 minutes of my life, you Nard.  :P

How do they know? They got a recording?
Old dude explained it in detail. Pay attention!
Title: Re: Shakespeare in the Original pronunciation
Post by: Warspite on July 25, 2013, 07:14:37 AM
It's "original pronunciation" to an extent, but which regional accent of the time do they pick?
Title: Re: Shakespeare in the Original pronunciation
Post by: merithyn on July 25, 2013, 07:21:00 AM
Quote from: Viking on July 25, 2013, 03:01:36 AM
the "y" of Ye Olde is actually an "olde" english variant of "þ" which has a hard "th" sound like "think" or "bath" but not the soft "th" of "this" or "that".

So "ye olde" is actually pronounced "the old" with the e silent.

Not quite. The e isn't silent. It's a very soft lilt at the end of old. Kind of an OLD-eh, though you barely hear the "eh" at the end.

I've a friend who has her Masters' Degree in English Literature, with a concentration in Middle English poetry. She spent a good portion of her studies working on how Middle English was pronounced and how it affected the way poetry was written. I love listening to her recite Gawain and the Green Knight in the original Middle English. :wub:
Title: Re: Shakespeare in the Original pronunciation
Post by: Ed Anger on July 25, 2013, 07:52:02 AM
The scene in PCU with the Sanskrit major just flashed in my mind.
Title: Re: Shakespeare in the Original pronunciation
Post by: Razgovory on July 25, 2013, 08:13:39 AM
Quote from: Ed Anger on July 25, 2013, 07:52:02 AM
The scene in PCU with the Sanskrit major just flashed in my mind.

Chick I went to high school learned Sanskrit.  In addition to Latin and Greek and some other languages.  She later found out that the Nepal is inhabited with assholes.
Title: Re: Shakespeare in the Original pronunciation
Post by: DGuller on July 25, 2013, 08:44:46 AM
Why couldn't he just write normally, like we do today?
Title: Re: Shakespeare in the Original pronunciation
Post by: alfred russel on July 25, 2013, 08:51:11 AM
Quote from: DGuller on July 25, 2013, 08:44:46 AM
Why couldn't he just write normally, like we do today?

He must have been deaf and dumb like Hellen Keller. It really makes his achievements all the more impressive.
Title: Re: Shakespeare in the Original pronunciation
Post by: grumbler on July 25, 2013, 02:26:52 PM
Shakespeare is over-rated.  His stuff is just a mass of cliches.
Title: Re: Shakespeare in the Original pronunciation
Post by: 11B4V on July 25, 2013, 04:56:16 PM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on July 25, 2013, 04:17:28 AM
Quote from: 11B4V on July 25, 2013, 02:43:44 AM
Quote from: jimmy olsen on July 24, 2013, 09:30:43 PM
A fascinating little video on how the dialect that Shakespeare wrote in sounded, it sounds Irish to my ears  :hmm:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPlpphT7n9s

Thanks for wasting 10 minutes of my life, you Nard.  :P

How do they know? They got a recording?
Old dude explained it in detail. Pay attention!


kind of tuned him out after 30 secs.
Title: Re: Shakespeare in the Original pronunciation
Post by: Josquius on July 30, 2013, 12:32:46 AM
Quote from: Viking on July 25, 2013, 03:01:36 AM
the "y" of Ye Olde is actually an "olde" english variant of "þ" which has a hard "th" sound like "think" or "bath" but not the soft "th" of "this" or "that".

So "ye olde" is actually pronounced "the old" with the e silent.

You mean like in Northern?
Title: Re: Shakespeare in the Original pronunciation
Post by: Queequeg on July 30, 2013, 04:14:06 PM
It's like a mix of Ray Winstone, Danish, Scottish and Australian.