How we Know what Old English Sounded Like

I've been asked this a few times, so I thought I'd produce a short video explaining how we reconstruct the pronunciation of Old English.

[@sortofsollo]

wow baldric is doing great in english

[@savannahrose4447]

peachi0 LOOOL

[@ianhowlett4682]

This video has the feel of those late night random student chats in someone’s room that I used to enjoy so much at university. I really like it.

[@katherinetutschek4757]

Omg yes❤ That's exactly how I feel.

[@kodoyama]

Tell us a story from the olden days, Baldrick.

[@Tankervoy]

kodoyama Yes, please do, Bealdric!

[@NichtNameee]

Look to teh staaars

[@Zagrash]

check out the Bock Saga on KZbin

[@Marhathor]

The number of thumbs is glorious now...

[@hafbuckeye1324]

Have you ever heard of the tragedy of Darth Plageus the wise?

[@AlexanderSilver1996]

*Simon explaining why his appearance is dishevelled:* "I haven't had a shower in..." *Simon deciding not to admit the number of days that have passed since last showering* "...a..." *Simon executing an amazing save of face by volunteering a non-specific or otherwise ambiguous range of time* "...a little while."

[@simonroper9218]

Fuck I've been rumbled

[@AlexanderSilver1996]

@@simonroper9218 of all of the things you could have responded to, I'm very happy it was this. I love all of your videos, keep up the good work!

[@simonroper9218]

@@AlexanderSilver1996 Thank you friend

[@AbsoluteAbsurd]

I love you lmao

[@davidcadman4468]

@@simonroper9218 Baldric might understand this. The longest I went without a shower, was 23 days. In that time no one took their clothes off, and we slept in a paper sleeping back, in wet and cold conditions for the last week or so, in the Canadian Rockies on the Columbia River. We were on fire duty. When we got airlifted out, we had communal showers, threw away our clothes. There was a powdery substance on our bodies, that turned out to be dead skin. Yes we all came down with your cough / cold. As for the old English, I think it would be cool to be able to read the old ballads or poetry out loud. Just found your channel, will be exploring it over the next months of the 18 month lock down, until we have a vaccine.

[@stevenlowe3026]

One of my favourites is that the Latin word "episcopus" (bishop) became eve^que in French and "bishop" in modern English. French - drop the "opus" at the end, soften the "p" to become "v", and the "s" becomes a circumflex, and the "k" sound is usually rendered "que" in French = eve^que. English - drop the initial "e" and the final "us"; soften the first "p" to become "b"; "sc" is pronounced in OE is modern "sh" = "bishop". The French chronicler of the Battle of Hastings reported some of the English war-cries as "olicrosse" (halig cros = Holy Cross - the final "g" is not pronounced) and "Godamite" (God ælmihtig = God Almighty). "Also "stane" = modern "stone" - the name "Dunstan" = dun (brown) stone.

[@highgroundproductions8590]

Are you sure that Godamite wasn't Goddammit?

[@redwaldcuthberting7195]

Engisc(old English) stone was 'stan' with a long 'a.'

[@jessemunnings]

You know this guy is definitely from the ancient world when there is a landline in the corner of the room

[@GrimFate08]

Not really

[@dept-7443]

GrimFate grim humour.

[@GrimFate08]

I’m Not A Gamma You’re fate is doomed.

[@teriofshalott]

A few years ago I failed a uni module in Old English; the lecturer was ill and so we didn’t get any lectures or tutorials, just a stack of course notes which I tried my hardest to understand, but without someone explaining it to me I found incredibly difficult. I have always been fascinated by the subject so the whole thing was pretty disappointing. Watching these videos is like finally having a series of proper lectures on the subject. Thank you so much! x

[@daverem870]

From the United States thank you for your appreciation of where we all came from . It’s important to keep history close at heart

[@texantexaningintexas7189]

si james There are lots of us. Howdy from Texas.

[@jennacrawford7504]

Same here in Pennsylvania!🙂

[@CJ-rx5fi]

Love from Georgia! 🇺🇸

[@chemicalcowpoke307]

present

[@scottiequality1981]

We’re Appalachian. Moms side was Welsh before coming over many, many , many years ago. When we were growing up and people would make fun of our hillbilly dialect and all the folks in the hollers as, we were told “it’s the closest thing to the language that first landed here” and to be proud of it. Now, my family are no scholars, but if there is truth to this, I think it’s pretty cool:)

[@khacviet3461]

I’d watch a 10hrs vid of this guy just talking about anything

[@mehitabel1290]

Without a single Um, Er, Uhmmun, Sudduv or Yunnoh...

[@latitude1904]

ikr. What I listen to at night to fall asleep. AFTER clicking the Like button, of course

[@Burascko]

I'm just 7 minutes into the video but I need to say that I'm amazed by your dedication my dude. As a german, I had fun pronouncing the vocals but for the rest I somewhat struggled. Nevertheless, thanks for sharing those videos with us! Very big mind energy over here.

[@simonroper9218]

Thanks for the interest! :) As a German you'll be used to a pretty wide range of vowels, so it might be easier for you to pick up than, for example, a Castilian Spanish speaker.

[@TelecastPropellor96]

We should form a ninth century folk band.

[@MonteKristof]

Got a band name : The Plague Survivors!

[@Jettypilelegs]

BTOM- bring thine own mead

[@LOLletsallfreakout]

Jean-Kristof Bouton the main plague, the one everyone thinks of when you say the plague, began in the mid-1300s :)

[@Tonks143]

hiwfæsthæfen mittung

[@oldtimetinfoilhatwearer]

Look up Bert Jansch and pentangle

[@mattbear2604]

Utterly fascinating. No idea I’d find something of this nature so interesting. Your voice and demeanor do make you an ideal lecturer as well.

[@mouthpiece200]

Maybe he should get a cold more often.

[@trappistpreserves]

When you did the Old English interviews, your acting was superb. Naturalistic, subtle.

[@seyeruoynepotsuj]

"I said vowel... I meant semi-vowel..." *me, nodding because I don't know the difference*

[@ryee86]

Consonants are created when you manipulate articulation points in various parts of your mouth and throat that partially or completely stop the air passing through. So for example, to create plosives like b/p, d/t and g/k sounds you momentarily completely block the pathways, but for fricatives like v/f or s/z/th you only partially block the pathways (there are obviously more examples). Vowels are a manipulation of the space in your mouth with your tongue and either the relaxing or contracting your vocal chords without actually stopping (partially or completely) the flow of air. A semi-vowel like w is exactly that, a halfway point where the sound produced is vowel-like but you are still manipulating the airflow, in this case with your lips.

[@mallardofmodernia8092]

@Luke Bassilious cringe

[@danlevay5657]

Cheeburger?

[@Haliotro]

😂😂😂

[@FreeManFreeThought]

I can read aloud middle and early modern English pretty well, (started because I wanted to learn all of the dirty jokes in Chaucer, Johnson and Shakespeare... as one does) but Old English really is a different beast entirely for me. Being a speaker of both Dutch and English, when I came across an unfamiliar sound I can usually guess the sound based on modern cognates, but that only goes so far. My respects to you for having these conversations in such an approachable manner.

[@theloafabread4341]

As a business major who wanted nothing more than to study language, thank you for these videos. Your wealth of knowledge is inspiring and enthralling. I look forward to more videos, and hope that your channel grows as big and popular as we all know it deserves. Amazing work.

[@simonroper9218]

Thank you, and it's never too late to start studying it! :) There are plenty of resources about, although it's sometimes hard to get decent sources on phonology and things.

[@oskarsrode2167]

As you said mæt > meat 'as the thing you eat', it just struck me it's a cognate of Scandinavian mat (food). So pretty much the same story as deer going from just any animal to a specific one (dyr/djur still means [any kind of] animal in Scandinavian).

[@borgalabop]

I could fall asleep to his voice but like in an endearing way???

[@watleythewizard2381]

No glitz, no glamour. This is why we love you, Simon Roper

[@Montageproduction123]

Man, your videos are highly educational and valuable for language geeks like me. Sincerly, you deserve more attention.

[@123fourfive5]

In the most respectful way possible, I listen to you to fall asleep and hopefully wake up slightly smarter

[@jen43072]

Simon, this is video number 2 that I've watched of you and you are simply a lovely human being from what I see. Please consider a side career in reading audiobooks. The world needs your voice- both the quality and content!

[@davidbooker6769]

Every now and then he'll pronounce a word, and it reminds me of my Grandfather speaking. He had a Leigh Lancashire dialect. When he spoke with his friends they'd gradually lapse into the dialect so much that I couldn't understand them.

[@apooto1553]

Everything aside I like the atmosphere that you're showing, they're bleak but somehow lovely at the same time. In-a-nutshell they're just mesmerizing

[@bubb5225]

Simon is one of those eccentric English people. I enjoy his videos, they’re truly educational.

[@livedandletdie]

And I think it's very likely that Old English had long and short vowels for almost any letter, just like Norse and Frisian had in the past, I think it's the reason for why you have words such as Cheese, which in Frisian is Tjiis, and in old Norse it was Kjes, and the e was long in old Norse, and it's still a long vowel in Swedish in the other word for cheese Keso, because we have 2 words for it. Linguistics is a fascinating topic.

[@elizabethmurphy3832]

I Could listen to you for hours..winding your way , the out loud thought process, the descriptive tangents, you twist together the world of historical language comparisons , I enjoy your videos so much. I shall be back to take a ride on this cornucopia of information that brings me a little closer to understanding the languages of our world and their influences on each other. It weaves a tale of history, of how people came together ethnically and geographically. Blending their languages to form an inclusive and shared structure of communication. Can't wait to hear more.

[@joactrix]

Your voice is so smooth that I love to listen to your videos to fall asleep. You seemed to be worried about your voice in this video, but I'd listen to this one just the same. Don't stress it. Also we're here for the content (mostly ;) ). Don't let it bug you that you were a little under the weather.

[@AncientLiteratureDude]

Always a fascinating subject. I remember taking a History of the English Language course in college, as well as a Chaucer course, so we covered the whole history of the stages of the language and the lexical borrowings and the Great Vowel Shift and all of that. The history of English is pretty unique in that.

[@barnbersonol]

Love how guy sets the scene like its the 15th century and he lives in a stone monastery on the windswept coast of Northumberland.

[@martingarciaarvidson6684]

As a Swede, a lot of this makes perfect sense, seeing as how old English has similar origin to our Scandinavian languages. The 'a' combined with an 'e' is basically the swedish ä, or the Danish and Norwegian equivalent. Etc etc. Great videos, keep them up!

[@aymanarznifa259]

I also speak a Scandinavian language (Icelandic) and my mother tounge is English. There's an awful lot of similarities between the old Norse and old English language. Even the words we use today are directly from Scandinavian routes :)

[@martingarciaarvidson6684]

@si james ä is more like the "a" in the English word "hand".

[@andeen]

Det är för danskarna och norrmännen hade stora delar av England under vikingatiden. Sen får man inte glömma jutlänningarna (danskar) som stack före till England men anglorna Sachsen... Sen får man inte glömma norrmanderna Etcetera

[@dumvivimus]

Knowing some Danish I was thinking the same.

[@dumvivimus]

Also, to me, when he speaks old English it sounds like some accent on Islandic.

[@TomQuiNEstPasLa]

Come for the explanation as to how we know what Old English sounded like, stay for the top notch sweater and collared shirt game.

[@sofiar8910]

man I love these kinds of videos. before I found ur channel I used to watch the more clickbaity ones about language and stuff but yours are so much more in depth which is pretty cool :)

[@doomergirl2540]

5 stars on ratemyprofessor lmao

[@simonroper9218]

Thank you :) There are quite a few good channels out there! Like you say though, it's sometimes tricky to find ones that aren't just grounded in getting views.

[@rmoss42]

Your videos are great. I enjoy watching them from a strange part of the English speaking world where we say things like "y'all" and "couldn't've." I love how you subvert KZbin norms yet deliver something so intelligent, fresh, and entertaining. Keep it up!

[@jehaert]

"except for some African languages that have thirty vowels, which is" *cuts out* LOL

[@SinginShooter]

He should've added Bobby Hill learning Laotian.

[@Urlocallordandsavior]

6:06

[@jehaert]

@@LegendLength I did not mean to call him out for cutting there, it was very funny conincidentially

[@DrMARDOC]

The African bushmen tongue clicks are great! So many of them!

[@larswetterstrom7209]

I find the vowels in the thai language quite subtle. Like the pronounciation of the word "rhon" meaning warm/hot. It is a mix of all vowels basically. Like mixing swedish å and ä and ö. And a too basically.

[@eTraxx]

it is so satisfying to sit and be entertained with logic

[@wolfymilk]

I love your videos. I have absolutely no formal background on linguistics nor phonology but I've always been incredibly fascinated. Its so nice to hear you talk about them, not only from a learning standpoint but also your calm manner.

[@modigbeowulf5482]

I'd love to learn Old English. I've wanted for 30 years. Wes þū hâl

[@simonroper9218]

There are plenty of good resources about, and although it can be difficult at times it's a really interesting process :)

[@els1f]

By the time I get around to learning it, my dialect will be considered old English 🙃

[@modigbeowulf5482]

@@simonroper9218 ...... Can you recommend an extremely simple book to get me started?

[@modigbeowulf5482]

@@els1f ...... LOL ..... let's get started and find out .....

[@Beery1962]

Me too. I'm learning German right now. so Old English would seem to be an obvious choice as a follow-up project. But there's so little time and there are so many languages that are useful in the modern world, it's hard to justify learning what is (sad to say) a dead language.

[@jeffspencer790]

Great Stuff. Knowledgeable, admittedly some beyond my comprehension, love the random imagery and old grey whistle test delivery.

[@_FMK]

Simon, Thank You. The contemplative shots - + the humour running on from them - were such a relief in terms of 'dropping into' the content, as a viewer. Prompted me to switch on Both sides of my brain.. i find it's that middle ground that allows me to internally form the sounds & connections as I follow along with your delivery. Today I leave with a sense that the systematic adaptability of Old English was dyed in the wool, so to speak. Speaks so much to the reasons why modern English is language of international business & politics... of interface across borders & divides. Cheers & all the Very Best! 🖤🌿 Edit: this is one of my favourite channels of this new year - am so glad you popped up in my recommended viewing a few months back! 🤗👍

[@simonroper9218]

Thank you so much :) It's fantastic to know it's a subject that interests other people, and I'm glad it's engaging. It couldn't be done if people didn't watch it and enjoy it!

[@_FMK]

@@simonroper9218 Am enjoying it very much! I wonder, on the off chance - do you have any thoughts about the meaning of the Cornish name 'Vingoe'? I'm finding it a bit mysterious & suspect you have just the mind to clarify it for me! Various contested points of origin - one of course being from Cornish itself... but others estimate from Norman French, or later, French Huguenot. Any thoughts would greatly appreciated. Thanks again for your wonderful channel & sharing all that you do! Cheers Simon! 🍻🙂🌹x

[@izzytrue603]

damn I love this, his delivery reminds me of when I practice explaining things to myself. relaxing and engaging

[@simonroper9218]

Thank you! That's what I tend to do, as well!

[@NobodySpecial666]

Listening to you talk is just dreamy tbh

[@pascal4456]

Your videos give me the chills of my life, man. Thank you so much for making such videos. They're phenomenal! I'm just a German student who chose to do an English advanced course (Englisch Leistungskurs) which is similar to English A levels to give you an idea. I am really interested in learning about English's origin and how it developed. What I particularly love about your videos is authenticity. Your videos are simple and that is what makes them great. Cheers man, I hope you're doing well! Greetings from Germany.

[@ao8352]

This is a great channel. One of the most characteristic things about English is it’s constant change over time; any of us don’t know where it’s been and where it’s come from or why. I live in North America and the one thing that is true is our version(s) of English is (are) also hugely regionalized and there are many accents and dialects and jargons around everywhere. It’s nice or comforting to know it was always that way in the land where it all started too. Perhaps that diversity and ability to absorb new words is why English is becoming a world language.

[@ironiccookies2320]

how do we know how old english sounded like? because baldric

[@lestervillogaofficial]

I can't help but feel giddy about how cute he is

[@Hard-Boiled-Bollock]

I get the sense from your videos that you have a deep spiritual connection with the middle ages

[@offaofmercia3329]

Thanks Simon, always enjoy your videos. You cannot grasp phonetics in a book. Fascinated too by linguistic change through time over Anglo-Saxon period. I'm sure a Mercian in 566 sounded rather different in 1066.

[@simonroper9218]

No, it's very hard to get the hang of it without hearing sounds/demonstrations. I can't imagine how it must have worked before the days of widespread audio recording.

[@CaroleWeaveLane]

It is such an interesting subject. Thank you. A short story would be wonderful to hear and read...

[@TroyYounts]

Greetings, I found your channel by way of your video collaboration with Jackson Crawford. I came by my interest in old English from JRRTolkien . Language is really the only thing i can do well and I have not even got any certificates or diplomas for it. Language is my nerdish hobby. I am now intensely interested in the parallels and over possible mutual influences of old Norse and Old English.

[@mairianncullen8753]

Simon, you are such a fount of knowledge, explained so clearly. I love watching your videos. You never talk down to your audience. Thank you!

[@OffRampTourist]

I've started listening to you before taking blood pressure and pulse. So calm and clear (except when you make me laugh). You've become a center of balance in my culturally approved self isolation. Thanking you, wishing you well.

[@Ancupola]

You are very intelligent and well informed too and present so clearly

[@ivangonzalez5152]

As a native spanish speaker, its interesting to feel how some vowels in old english sound very "latin" in some way. You can kinda see how the romans and the latin language had a good grip in the early evolution of the english language but then it took off to a very different place. Kudos on your work my friend, its very interesting.

[@apislapis]

HI Simon. You don't have to just tell a story from the olden days. It still applies to now! The northern 'O' test is still very much alive. I was born in Liverpool, so snow is pronounced 'snow'. By the time I get in my car and go to St Helens on the East Lancs it is pronounced 'snaw'. But if I cross the pennines to Huddersfield where I got my BA Hons in Music Tech & Sound Design it was simitar to 'snare'. The great thing about our language is that I was able to understand all of them Simon as a Northerner and not to differentiate negatively. Great vlog.

[@caroldixon3952]

Fascinating. I have always found the development of language interesting and the different way dialects evolved. Being Northumbrian we have some interesting words and word pronunciations (eg word pronounced as woord or ward, oot for out, baall for ball, waalk for walk etc). Recently I have been enjoying rewatching the TV series Merlin and love the way that the spells are said in old English but when Merlin calls the dragon he uses old German. The actor Colin Morgan said he found it fascinating to learn what each spell meant as well as how to pronounce it in the two old languages.

[@jegr3398]

I've always been fascinated by the evolution of language, particularly English. So I'm glad I found your channel, thanks.

[@cthoadmin7458]

You are a gifted expositor. Terse, clear and utterly fascinating. You make linguistics come alive. I hope you don’t waste this gift.

[@jamiewulfyr4607]

I am in my own amateur fumbling manner attempting to teach myself Old Anglo-Saxon.I've just discovered your channel & it's a wonderfully fascinating resource.I could listen to you teaching this subject all day.

[@emilymontague8550]

Just discovered your channel and I'm loving it. It feels like having a really interesting conversation with a clever friend on a drizzly Sunday. Keep up the good work!

[@mal_3157]

1:00 him saying that’s fucking lovely really caught me off guard 😂

[@PsychoKat90]

I also love it when I can see my breath in the cold. Makes me feel a little extra alive :)

[@DaveHuxtableLanguages]

Another of your brilliant throw-away comments, this time about rhotic consonants. Yes, the only thing about them is that they happen to be spelt 'r' in commonly known European languages.

[@simonroper9218]

That's what I've always assumed! Thank you for confirming it :)

[@skyworm8006]

One example is how it's used in Japanese Romanisations. The main one adopts English orthography but phonetically the Japanese R would better be written as L. It's kinda in between (in English terms) but it's easier to learn if you start from L, starting with R just makes your pronunciation wrong (and not even close with an American R).

[@emilymary1436]

It's fascinating how we can look back and decipher how our language developed over such a long period of time. It's such a trip to hear how certain vowels once sounded compared to how they might sound now, depending on the dialect. Side note, I'm so happy that it's winter! We don't have a long winter here in southern California therefore I rejoice when it hath arrived! Stay warm and get well soon.

[@riotgrrl9218]

All this is so attractive and I have no idea why

[@oldtimetinfoilhatwearer]

RiotGrrl92 get away from him woman do not corrupt him

[@riotgrrl9218]

@@oldtimetinfoilhatwearer Even the common or garden Wench has feelings too.

[@cecilyerker]

He's not conventionally attractive by modern standards but I like his face and features very much

[@riotgrrl9218]

@@cecilyerker I think he is. Good face good brain!

[@mehitabel1290]

Intelligence, the ability to articulate, and enthusiam are all very attractive qualities.. ;-)

[@tedball8677]

Mr Roper, on a lark I picked another vid of yours from YT recommendations. Been watching a number of yours and am now going down that rabbit hole you recommended from Dr Jackson Crawford's post "How we Know what Old English Sounded like." Thank you. You've earned a sub and of course I smack that Like button.

[@santiagocapra7170]

I love your videos simon, they’re very interesting and they’ve made me want to learn about all this. Greetings from Argentina!

[@Matty002]

this was some lovely unintentional ASMR

[@Abelx71]

This channel is so fascinating and i am not even a native english speaker, cheers from Venezuela, mate.

[@Zerelleon]

Absolutely love your discussion here. Thanks Baldric!

[@jacksonbarrett1878]

Simon You should do another video, but in middle English or even series of interviews showing the stages of development of English from Baldrics time to the present. I think that would be a really interesting series to watch

[@simonroper9218]

I'm definitely doing another Old English one for winter, but I'm definitely thinking about how to carry things on after that! Some sort of progression might be interesting :)

[@robertellis6528]

Fascinating. I have heard, years ago, a very short reading of Chaucer''s Canterbury Tales in the English of the time. I've never forgotten than and have been enchanted by the sounds of our ancenstors.

[@hunter-z4547]

Finally he opened his eyes without straining

[@Slimg99]

I already know this is going to be a good video

[@boardmarker5079]

ikr

[@stevo728822]

Campfire language. In those days most people would be busy doing physical work during daylight hours with little time for conversations. The majority of long conversations probably took place during nightime with people sitting around an open fire. Also applies to periods of bad weather. So pronounciations might simulate the sights and sounds of the rising flames, smoke and crackling wood of an open fire and the sounds of the weather outside the door.

[@xuan-productions]

The beginning showing how cold it is, is such an English scene

[@charlestorres9585]

“Just a consonant that’s spelled with an ‘r’ I suppose.” As far as I can tell that is the definition, lmao

[@joshuadupont6074]

One of your final points was very interesting. The predictability of the drift from old to modern English and how it makes sense. I'd really be interested to hear some of your thoughts about future linguistic drift based on that predictability. Especially considering the internet age and what effect our constant global communication will have on the drift of dialects. Love your content and insights and look forward to more of your topics!

[@jacksonbarrett1878]

The cut to Baldrick in the sheet Lol

[@markmayonnaise1163]

Found you, faker!

[@Dunkle0steus]

lots of languages experience different kinds of vowel and consonant changes over time. The change of w > v in German is an example of this. Sampling from how other languages around the world are known to have changed (for example b > v in Greek), I wonder if you could construct hypothetical forms of modern English. Might be an interesting way to demonstrate the different ways languages can change over time.

[@ctmpodcast6901]

Could you do a video on T-Glottalization? Would be interested to know if it is purely a modern phenomenon or whether it existed in older speech

[@diannehardwick950]

I think is is very probably old because they have a similar thing in Dutch.

[@AwareLife]

Phnonlogical detective work. Very interesting. Thank you. Language is a great and fascinating forest if it takes your interest.

[@pravoslavn]

I admire your gifts >VERY< much, Baldrick, and wish I had had such talents when I was your age. Godspeed in life, young man !

[@davidian7787]

You may feel you look dishevelled but your mind is far from it. That's the important thing. Thank you for your videos.

[@simonroper9218]

What a lovely thing to say! Thank you

[@davidian7787]

I'm watching your videos and I feel a warm glow that you replied. You're melting my brain a bit but I'm loving it.

[@adripeterpelkman5569]

In Germany meat is "Fleisch", "Schweinefleisch" is pork but a pork sausage is a Mettwurst and a breadroll with minced raw pork is a "Mettbrötchen".

[@lucyjohnson7150]

Fascinating thank you. Have period drama productions asked for your input or had you in a speaking part as another video showed, you were v good ! You have a rare knowledge of lost dialects.

[@troytellsit493]

This dude is so cool

[@Getoverhere666]

You channel is pretty interesting! Even for me - non-English speaker. Thank You!

[@astrogoodvibes6164]

That would explain the sound in auld english ps: I can't remember where I saw it but years ago I remember a documentary about the physical shape of vowels and consonants, [in English particularly] which described each letter as a representation of the placement of the tongue, the mouth and the lower jaw in the forming and projection of sounds. The doco. made it clear that the letter shapes were directly linked to the side view if the mouth when projecting the sound of letters. Fricatives, for example, would use the cross bar against the teeth which represented the tongue as it blocks air and then releases as the letter is projected, eg: the letters 't' 'd' 'p'. in the case of standard vowels, the cross bar would represent the placement of the tongue when forming the 'e' 'f' etc. The capital 'B' sound seems to represent the two lips in profile pressed gently together. The lower case 'b' would begin with a blocked vertical formed at the lips first and then by an full round open mouth formation where the tongue rests on the bottom of the mouth as the air from the mouth is exhaled when the vertical bar [block] is released. I've always been fascinated by the origin of languages and as a visual artist, especially by the origins of the letters themselves as abstract symbols. It would make sense when you see Chinese letters as literal pictorial symbols. What say you?

[@rexgoliath4032]

Rod Bathgate Wow. Sounds very logical!

[@cerliezio]

What a wonderful pronunciation. I ove to hear you speak. Congrats. Simon

[@derekarmstrong1408]

I am fascinated with the relationship between American English and modern Hochdeutsch. Often when I am talking with people about cognates, I notice that saying English words with an Irish or Scottish accent seems to get the vowels closer to the German version. Makes me wonder if being fluent in old English unlocks the ability to understand some words from all modern Germanic languages.

[@windyworm]

In German, "Mett" means minced meat. I wonder if this had the same origin as "Mæt" (sp) in Old English?

[@egbront1506]

Etymological sources suggest both go back to the Proto-Germanic for "food".

[@mack7207]

I love how sections of your video look like an indie music video

[@fjahnhogler]

Makes sense why the letter is called “double u” in English then!

[@williamjordan5554]

The French call it a double v cuz that's what it fucking looks like.

[@d4m3k26]

I call "w", cuz looks like "w"

[@sirbathory3393]

In Portuguese the "w" is called [dabliu] and it's not like a duplicate u... Idk how to explain it but ok

@@williamjordan5554 You can write it both ways, I mostly write a double u.

[@nathanhobson1142]

Loving all these videos. I never knew/imagined I would discover English language evolution to be such a fascinating rabbit hole!

[@LOLletsallfreakout]

i cannot comment something that has not be said already, but i must say i very much enjoy your videos, and seeing a new one at the top of my recommended on youtube always makes me very happy. old english has been a huge love of mine since reading beowulf when i was younger, and it’s so wonderful to see someone with such great knowledge of it around my age. thank you for the videos :)

[@nothankyouYouTube420]

Not sure why but him saying " Fuck" made me laugh. Turns out I'm still a child

[@vintagebrew1057]

Anglo-Saxon for "Oh deary me"

[@spykerhond7008]

they should let you moderate parliament

[@kingofmphs]

Love the high end production budget! Seriously, we love the videos so keep it going!👍🏼

[@johnjones6601]

You Sir are a real talent!! Love your work.👏👏👏👍