Medieval Literary Languages of Western Europe

[@ProfASAr]

If you would like to read Medieval languages with me, you can do so in my virtual academy. You can also practice spoken Latin, improve your reading abilities in French, German, and Spanish, participate in Great Books discussion seminars, and get support for teaching yourself languages, including participation in study-with-me sessions: www.alexanderarguelles.com/academy/

[@YogaBlissDance]

My highest complement is I care nothing about the topic! But I'm watching because you are so erudite and I enjoy listening to you and learning.

[@ProfASAr]

How very kind of you! Thank you so much!

[@YogaBlissDance]

@@ProfASAr Dr. wouldn't Romanian fit under languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin? I'm currently studying Italian- and that's the reason I found your channel, as I thought learning from polyglots made sense.

[@ProfASAr]

@@YogaBlissDance Romanian come from Eastern Europe and is part of Orthodox Christian culture, so it is best treated in that context.

[@jankoszuta9835]

What a tour de force! Very inspiring, thank you

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you kindly, Jan.

[@GoodMorningButch]

I love this field of studies, although I'm not at all well versed in it. Every time I've had the occasion to read texts in medieval versions of my native language, French (to varying levels of understanding), I've felt a sense of kinship with the locutors of a language from which mine rose up. History, culture and languages can be linked so intricately.

[@ProfASAr]

Yes, there is a special feeling one gets while reading medieval literature that is quite different from reading more modern texts.

[@dowolo]

Thank you for this very fascinating video and invaluable resource.

[@ProfASAr]

You are so very welcome!

[@Yan_Alkovic]

Professor, this is a *positively* delightful unintentional birthday present for me! And it serves as a reminder and an additional motivator for me to read Chaucer this summer. I've always found his style captivating, which is unusual because I rarely ever enjoy poetry, least of all narrative told through poetry!

[@ProfASAr]

Happy birthday, Yan!

[@AlejandroColeteMoya]

Thank you very much for uploading this video. It's been I while since I last watched one of your videos, I'll try to keep up! I'm very interested in the Middle Ages and this quick overview of the languages and the literature is fantastic. I have one addition though: you forgot MOZARABIC. I can't blame you because very few people know about this. Mozorabic is an IBERIAN ROMANCE LANGUAGE written in either arabic or hebrew script, and predates old castillian: the golden age of mozarabic was the 7th-9th century, and was still spoken around 11th century (it was finally displaced by arabic). Most of the Iberian Pensinsula was speaking this romance language, not arabic, even during muslim rule. Very few texts survive, but there's a grammar of the language and actually "The Little Prince" was recently translated into mozarabic (by a friend of mine actually). Again, fantastic videos, I really enjoy watching your channel.

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for letting the world know about Mozorabic.

[@haicautrang5304]

Thanks for bringing awareness to something unique. I have never learned about this before.

[@ProfASAr]

You are very welcome!

[@saradevanney9469]

Hello Alexander! Is there much literature to be found in old/middle Irish?

[@ProfASAr]

Yes, there is indeed a fair enough amount to warrant learning such a different and therefore difficult language well. Relatively speaking, though, there are fewer published editions of it and this may afford you the opportunity (and necessity) to work with manuscripts. Best of success on your journey!

[@saradevanney9469]

@@ProfASAr Thank you, I'll follow through. I have been really enjoying your content. Thank you for sharing so many good things!

[@ahnafhabib2750]

Hi Professor, On the offerings page for the Academy, the descriptor for Medieval Literary Languages reads "Suitable for those who are comfortable reading modern French or German". In terms of reading the text in the modern languages (i.e. French and German) I do have the ability to do so; but I do not think I am at the B2 level yet with regard to comprehension. Most likely I am at the upper A2 to lower B1 (A guess; I haven't taken a formal test to confirm) for reading comprehension; but I am able to enunciate everything with reasonable accuracy. My question is: Should I study another 3 months or so to get to that B2 comprehension level, or am I (given enunciation and current level) able to enrol now? Please do advise! Apologies again for the (slightly unrelated) query! I originally wanted to put my question forward towards the end of our session in the Language Learning Support Group; but it slipped my mind at the last second. Thanks Again for all your Hard Work!

[@ProfASAr]

Hello Ahnaf, I would love to have you in these sessions, but as they are conducted entirely in French and German, we need to make sure you are up to that before you sign up. Let's talk after one of our other sessions next week.

[@ahnafhabib2750]

@@ProfASAr sounds good professor! If possible, could I do an “audit”/trial whereby I sit on the sidelines and observe? Thank you again for your prompt replies!

[@clementinebedsheets3210]

Beautiful! Thank you Professor! Will this be a series? Will you do Eastern Europe next?

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you, but unfortunately I have neither the background nor the resources to cover Eastern Europe. Perhaps this video will stimulate someone who does to do so...

[@Yan_Alkovic]

Also now that I have properly started on Chaucer I would like to point out that we _should_ concern ourselves with making pronunciation make sense and be consistent, especially with meter, because meter demonstrates just how different things used to be back then. The stress in French borrowings of Chaucer’s time was oftentimes markedly different, to say nothing of the vowels, so while we can’t know the _exact_ way they were pronounced, we should strive for something consistent and fitting.

[@ProfASAr]

Sure, Yan, consistent and fitting, but not obsessive.

[@fabianalonsohernandezvazqu6339]

Thanks Professor Argüelles for another enlightening presentation. Concerning literary languages, would you recommend to follow the same procedure to learning modern languages, provided that there are methods like Assimil to study them? I am thinking about languages like Latin, Classical Greek, Sanskrit, and even Occitan, all of which have Assimil manuals. Would the live language approach by shadowing, and listening be of additional value when it comes to literary, so called "dead languages"? I studied Classical Greek and Latin at the university and I learned it with texts, dictionaries, and grammatical analysis. I somehow feel that I never came close to those languages in any way that it felt natural to me. I always wondered if there was a better, more natural way to learn such languages using a method like Assimil.

[@ProfASAr]

You are very welcome. Yes, I learned classical languages like you did in university and there was always a barrier to feeling them closely and naturally, a barrier that doesn't need to be there and can be overcome by using the manuals you mention, among others.

[@fabianalonsohernandezvazqu6339]

@@ProfASAr Thanks for your reply. In my language acquisition process, I need to develop what I call "the voice" in order to feel a language close and natural to me. I think "the voice" comes from listening to native speakers frequently, and having an imprint of speech patterns, rhythm, often used phrases, etc. When I have "the voice" I can anticipate patterns of what I am reading or listening, which makes the experience of being in contact with the language more meaningful. With "literary languages" I never developed that voice, since there are no "native speakers" in a real sense. I never abandon the feeling of being a translator of such languages, and not a full participant of it. The consequences of that barrier is that I have never come to enjoy the literature of such languages fully in the target language. Perhaps it would be interesting and useful for other language learners like myself to learn from you strategies to overcome such a barrier in "literary languages".

[@mac389ify]

I find this fascinating. Speaking both French and English, I am working my way backwards with Occitan. Dr. Arguelles, what would you say to Seneca, who wrote "nusquam est qui ubique est"? I think there is value in learning so many languages, but how to concretize that value? I don't mean to imply only in terms of money, could also be scholarly output.

[@ProfASAr]

I am glad you found this interesting. I would hope that Seneca would not equate polyliteracy with being ubique. I don't view myself as knowing "many languages" but rather as being able to read broadly.

[@botanyrose4092]

What was the name of the Old French - Modern French book series that you were showing at the end of the video?

[@ProfASAr]

Lettres Gothiques - Le Livre de Poche

[@botanyrose4092]

@@ProfASAr Thank you!

[@AlexanderDumb]

Is there a language or language family you don't particularly like?

[@ProfASAr]

There are none that I dislike as such, but I do not find all equally fascinating.

[@VieiraFi]

@@ProfASAr Professor Arguelles, could you name the language families you find it the most fascinating?

[@wordart_guian]

occitan did absolutely not die as a literary language as early as the albigensian crusade (especially since this only damaged one of the occitan states, the language kept its status for a while in aquitania and provence, and much longer in bearn). the troubadour literary movement didn't end until the plague (a century after the crusade) and there were more literary movements afterwards after the 14th century, though, the language is considered to be modern occitan

[@ProfASAr]

Thank you for the detailed correction.

[@ADHDlanguages]

Great stuff as always. Reading Cantar de Mio Cid in its original language is one of my long term goals for my Spanish. That anthology sounds neat, I'll have to check it out. When moving back though English (or any language that does this), do you find that there's a big roadblock when cases come into the mix? Middle English seems reasonable to learn, but Old English seems like a completely different world.

[@ProfASAr]

Cases do make it harder, particularly if there are many different declensions and lots of irregularities, but it is just one more thing to iron out.

[@HCRAYERT.]

Middle Dutch looks more familiar to me than modern Dutch.

[@peanutgames8062]

This is what I imagine William Stoner was like

[@ProfASAr]

I will thank you, assuming this to be a compliment, though I don't know the reference.