Beowulf prologue in Old High German

[@IR-xy3ij]

This actually sounds not too different from old English

[@maxopaladino]

Old English and Old High German are equivalent in period, grammar and vocabulary and distant in phonology and orthography. If English wasn't influenced by Old Norse and French, I risk saying that English and German would be still only different by in phonology (since Old English would anyway end up adopting Latin Alphabet standard). Norse and French influence drove English away from being an Standard West Germanic language like Dutch, German, West Frisian and Low German. If you were from the 8th century and spoke Old English to an German (an East Frank) he would probably understand you 90%. Since differences between English and German down to that time were just on Phonological Shifts and Orthography.

[@hweiktomeyto]

the red lines lmao

[@patsysakchekapo1373]

I love the sound of the German language

[@ancientsurvival]

Another great video! It messes with my head, because I'm extremely familiar with the OE version, so it just sounds like a strange accent 😂 Perhaps an early Proto-Norse or late norther common germanic would be interesting, as the language a potential historical Beowulf may have spoken))

[@iceomistar4302]

Beowulf would have probably spoken early proto Norse, the language itself would have probably been very close to Old English, hell one could even argue that Old English is partially North Germanic due to the influence from the Jutes and Angles, the form of to be 'are' is retained in North Germanic, but unattested in West Germanic. Ingvaeonic is the middle ground between North and west Germanic, it is possible even today for a West Frisian speaker to go to Scandinavia and communicate somewhat, this could also have to do with the Hanseatic league where there some influence from Plattduutsk on the north Germanic languages as well. But it is so difficult to say what Beowulf would have sounded like in proto-Norse because just complex reconstructing historical lamguages is. I mean there is no literature for it unlike Old English.

[@talibislamov3540]

@@iceomistar4302 I think it s different languages .Norse and old english

[@roicervino6171]

Sounds great!

[@lepmuhangpa]

Bruh, sounds equal to old English.

[@juliettpapa]

Must be very old High German because I as a German do not understand a single word.

[@evannlorman7926]

I got: GārTeno is it a T or D?

[@thurianwanderer]

Old Upper German: _Old_ _Alemannic_ , _Old_ _Bavarian_ "Gêrtano > Kêrtano" (with umlaut: "Gêrteno > Kêrteno") Old High Franconian: _Old_ _East_ _Franc_ "Gêrtano" (Gêrteno) / _Old_ _Rhine_ _Franc_ , _Old_ _Middle_ _Franc_ "Gêrdano" (Gêrdeno). Compare names like Tani, Teni / Halbteni / Taniburg, Taniburch / Tanucho, Tanicho (diminutive) / Tanifrid, Tenifrid: the place name Täfertingen, a small village near my hometown first atttested as Tenefridingen (1150) derives from an older Tanifridingun, Tenifridingun.

[@squidking762]

How come the letter "W" is pronounced as it is in modern English as opposed to modern German (which sounds like a "V")?

[@learningoldgermaniclanguages]

That sound change happened much later in the Early New High German period. Here's a link to read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_New_High_German#/w/

[@squidking762]

@@learningoldgermaniclanguages Well thank you, but that link goes to Early New High German. Does that and Old High German have the same grammar/sounds?

[@learningoldgermaniclanguages]

No. Old High German's sounds definitely have changed over time such as during the High German consonant shift periods. I would think that the grammar too would definitely have some changes.

[@waltergro9102]

Middle High German w was still like the actual English w but changed later to a sound with more friction. But it has not as much friction as actual English v. It's between English w and v.

[@heinrichkreubel759]

I give 6 of 10 Points

[@zafelrede4884]

are you sure that old high german had Þ and Ɖ as sounds?

[@learningoldgermaniclanguages]

Yes, because there are attested words that have ̈'th' represent those sounds.

[@zafelrede4884]

@@learningoldgermaniclanguages we have many archaic spellings today that Feature th but were never pronounced that way. Could i see a Paper on this?

[@learningoldgermaniclanguages]

Of course. Language evolve and change and evolve differently. English, along with Icelandic and Elfdalian are among the few that actually still the voiced th. I'm sure OHG had 'th' sounds because it came from Proto-Germanic which had 'th' sounds. I'll give you an example. In Old English, Thuringia is spelled Þyring. Scribes would go back and forth between a þ or a ð. We do know with the Consonant shift in Germania that the High German languages went from ð to d hence in OHG we have During for Thuringia. Thuringia is a Latinised spelling of a Germanic word.

[@evannlorman7926]

So D is a latinized Eth, and Thorn is th I had a feeling

[@Jon-mh9lk]

Danke für das gute Wissen.