A very special Christmas etymology

[@shanedemeulenaere5792]

Language change is so fascinating. I recently read a comment about how Latin (book Latin) may owe a large part of it's historical steadiness, and in some part then it's usefulness, to the fact that it wasn't a 'living' language undergoing all of these changes. It was (and perhaps still is to some extent) outside of linguistic time.

[@fekixrudolfbischof]

?????😢😂

[@saiyajedi]

Time to learn the Old Latin used by the playwrights of the Roman Republic!

[@mariannehepple4907]

I like the way you teach Old English for beginners, but ... as someone who has always learnt languages in an analytical and comparative way, I actually enjoy the old fashioned grammars. Having thoroughly learnt Hochdeutsch and also being minimally au fait with Modern Norwegian, Danish and Swedish. I also learned Latin at school from the Cambridge tutors - 45+ years ago - and it has stood me in good stead

[@joriskbos1115]

That analogy at the end reminds me of how Americans tend to pronounce Goebbels as Gurbles

[@crbgo9854]

I received your book osweald bera for Christmas and ive never read a good graded reader your work is incredible and working 👏🏻👏🏻

[@TerrasScourge]

I was always confused as to why we pronounce “Christmas” with a monophthong but “Christ” with a diphthong.

[@ghenulo]

The same reason that we pronounce "sphere" as /ˈsfɪɚ/ but "spherical" as /ˈsfɛɹɪkəl/, I'd imagine.

[@iykury]

⁠​⁠@@ghenulo i actually do say /ˈsfɪr.ɪk.l̩/

[@rwbaira]

Real world example of a misheard name: I was introduced to Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy via the BBC dramatization. It was years before I realized Slartibartfast wasn't Slatibadfast

[@rahashi]

Are you in any way, shape or form related to Tolkien? This was very thorough. Being Flemish Dutch speaking myself I can see lots of links with other saxon languages. The influence of old Norse languages is, of course, very clear as well.

[@carlinberg]

Great etymology deep dive! I've always wondered about Christ/messiah but for some reason never looked it up 😅 Happy Little Christmas Eve as we say on the 23rd in southern Scandinavia!

[@wclk]

It is fascinating. Hebrew "Moshiach" and Greek "Khrīstós" are proper nouns created from their verb forms for anointing with oil. Germanic languages had a similar verb for anointing with oil (smear), but when Anglo-Saxons first became christians they called the Christ, "Hælend", meaning Savior or Healer, coming from the same root as Heal, Health, and Whole. Playing into Jesus' role to save and make you physically and spiritually healthy (whole). Interestingly looking back to the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) roots, we can see the divergence of words that language families took for meaning "anointing". The Ancient Greek "khrī́ō" (to smear, to anoint) has the same PIE root as what became "grime" and "grima" in the Germanic languages. The PIE root for anointing in the Germanic languages (smear, smørja, schmieren) lead to the Greek "múron" meaning sweet oil or perfume, which coincidentally is an anointing oil for Christian ceremonies.

[@carlinberg]

@wclk thanks, super interesting! 😊

[@Romanophonie]

Fascinating! Could you explain why the final /a/ in Latin "missa" becomes an /e/ in Kentish Old English, and subsequently, in West Saxon Old English? Iċ þancie þē!

[@hive_indicator318]

I can read the last sentence, and I only watched the video on the first chapter of his textbook! I'm so chuffed

[@mariannehepple4907]

Love me a schwa! I'speak NZ English so all our vowels have been flattened. Fush and Chups etc Supposedly early NZ accent is closest to Suffolk English accent

[@Ryan_Kaufman]

Love this kinda stuff, thank you!!!

[@eunoiavision7567]

Simon Roper sent me. or should I say, Roperum Simonus missa me. LOL. Just guessing here with my new found etymology.

[@Ptaku93]

Merry Christmas!

[@angelageisler8806]

Thank you for all this wonderful information! BLITHE GEOLA!

[@sterlingdafydd5834]

Is that Anglo Saxon for Merry Christmas???

[@daviddesalvo623]

What reading level would you say the Heliand is, if you were to place it in your reading program for studying old english

[@daviddesalvo623]

I retract this question, lol

[@GershomEmos]

איך האָב זײער ליב געהאַט אַז דו האָסט געניצט דעם אַשכּנזישן אַרױסרײד. ש'כּוח!

[@sterlingdafydd5834]

So you never really told us how to say “Merry Christmas” in Anglo Saxon..!!!

[@gary.h.turner]

Bliðe Cristes mæsse!

[@fekixrudolfbischof]

Wow, what a handsome you are! ❤ cute! also the beard.

[@ConciseCabbage]

Old English looks and sounds quite a bit like Latin tbh.

[@cadian101st]

As related languages go back in time they tend to resemble each other more

[@josenoesantiago9175]

this is due to protoindoeurpeanization

[@DarkLight748]

You didn't pronounce Christmas differently at the end, dislike dislike dislike.

[@gary.h.turner]

And a Mairreee Kreeeestuhmairsuh to you too! 😅

[@strike6621]

First!!!!!!!