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To: eno_
eno wrote: high school honors English class should be comfortable with Beowulf, Caterbury Tales, and Sir Gawain in the original dialect,

____________

Absolutely LOL. Here are a few lines from Beowulf in the original dialect. Perhaps you meant they should be comfortable with a Modern English translation, as I'm not sure what high schools are teaching Old English these days.

Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.
Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum,

5
monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah,
egsode eorlas. Syððan ærest wearð
feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad,
weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah,
oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra

10
ofer hronrade hyran scolde,
gomban gyldan. þæt wæs god cyning!
ðæm eafera wæs æfter cenned,
geong in geardum, þone god sende
folce to frofre; fyrenðearfe ongeat

15
þe hie ær drugon aldorlease
lange hwile. Him þæs liffrea,
wuldres wealdend, woroldare forgeaf;
Beowulf wæs breme (blæd wide sprang),
Scyldes eafera Scedelandum in.

20
Swa sceal geong guma gode gewyrcean,
fromum feohgiftum on fæder bearme,
þæt hine on ylde eft gewunigen
wilgesiþas, þonne wig cume,
leode gelæsten; lofdædum sceal

25
in mægþa gehwære man geþeon.
Him ða Scyld gewat to gescæphwile
felahror feran on frean wære.
Hi hyne þa ætbæron to brimes faroðe,
swæse gesiþas, swa he selfa bæd,



1,008 posted on 10/21/2002 8:53:58 AM PDT by dmz
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To: dmz
Read it out loud, you'll be suprised how much you understand. It comes out kind of like the Swedish Chef, or that bad fake German they have in war movies.
1,009 posted on 10/21/2002 10:47:55 AM PDT by eno_
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