What was Old Frisian? | Language of the Medieval Frisians (c. 1000-1550)

[@FrisianWithHilbert]

Ha goeie! Thanks for watching this video on Old Frisian. What did you find most surprising about the language and its history?

[@jinengi]

It's distribution, I find it amazing that it was spoken in Holland and Zeeland and also in the Low Saxon area. (Btw pls tell me if u got my email!)

[@hansbreslau8119]

I ve just learned this Frisians were in fact Jutes which were migrating from Jütland, so no wonder the language is very close related to the languages of the Angles.

[@lhpl]

​@@hansbreslau8119did I miss something? Where do you get that from?

[@historywithhilbert]

You should start a history channel!

[@sander...444]

You won the self flex of the week award 😉

[@lmsna1966]

I am a proud Frisian, eventhough I have not lived there since 1959, as I moved at 17 to an HTSE in Hilversum, after which I was drafted into the Dutch Signal Corps, and stationed in Germany. As a Teenager I used the visit the harbour in Harlingen after school, dreaming about all the foreign places the ships went, consequently I emigrated to Canada 2 weeks after I left the Dutch Signal Corps in 1964. Transferred to various places in Canada, stationed in Germany / Switzerland for a few years, after which I moved to Asia, where my children speak neither Dutch not Frisian, but either Japanese or Korean, depending which country they wern born and lived in (Focus was on them and their mother learning English !). Retired after 43 years with the same German company and moved back to Canada, where I now live in Toronto. Still speak & write Frisian with my siblings, although my sister writes in Dutch / English, my brother is better in Frisian than me, my grammer is not getting better after all these years. If I am not mistake my father was a partner in writing a Frisian Dialect Bible in 50 /60's. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy your Frisian websites ! They are great, Thank you.

[@FrisianWithHilbert]

What a story - you've been quite the traveller! Great that you're still writing in Frisian after all those years :) Very happy to hear you've been enjoying the videos!

[@frisian2680]

Thank you so mutch for this video, this will massively help me in my learning journey.

[@jaapvandenbergh7430]

Baie dankie. Gaan asseblief so voort.

[@marchauchler1622]

Groeties na die mooie land van Suid Afrika

[@FrisianWithHilbert]

Dankie vir jou kommentaar! Ek sal meer videos maak!

[@iceomistar4302]

@@marchauchler1622 Groetjes uit Nieuw Zeeland

[@markthompson180]

I find all this information fascinating. In many ways, I find it amazing that Frisian still continues to survive, and I hope it continues to do so!

[@FrisianWithHilbert]

It really is amazing that Frisian survived where it did down the years, and in such a large area in the Netherlands. The story of how it survived in the Seelterlound is also fascinating, having to do with it being a Catholic enclave and surrounded by marshland - something for a future video!

[@laurawatkinson881]

Brilliant, Hilbert!

[@weonanegesiscipelibba2973]

6:33 I used to think was [a]-[sega] with a prefix like in OE, so assuming it was stressed like aSEga, so just "sayer, speaker" but now that I see your gloss of it, it makes sense since OFy underwent (slight) less palatalization and vowel-fronting by that I mean it makes sense to read it as "law" (OE æ) + "speaker" as a compound noun rather than an affixed one

[@weonanegesiscipelibba2973]

so stressed like A-SEga (LAW-SAyer) not aSEga or Asega

[@lukefriesenhahn8186]

I thought it would be said like the Old English 'as-aga' which sounds like 'his auge' which means "his eye". I hope what I put makes sense.

[@jezusbloodie]

Finally had time to watch this! If i'm able, i definitively will attend that summerschool!

[@FrisianWithHilbert]

Awesome! Let me know if you make it and I might see you there :)

[@morvil73]

Great video!

[@kjduursma9776]

Great video as always. I recently saw that the 4th verse of Wilhelmus mentions Friesland - as the place where Graaf Adolf died in battle. This was of course in Heiligerlee and it is in Grongingen province. I think it goes to show that in 1572 the whole Northern coastal region was still considered Friesland - and Groningen - as a separate county, was not yet fully developed / recognised even though it did have its own stadholder.

[@FrisianWithHilbert]

Thank you! Interesting note - perhaps something for a future video to look at! The development of how Groningen, particularly the Ommelannen went from being Frisian to something else is also really interesting.

[@torrawel]

Eindelijk iemand die de Angelen, Saksen en Juten niet over Nederland laat springen! (aka alle andere videos op KZbin 😂)🎉🎉 Finally someone that makes a video where the Anglo-Saxons & Jutes don't jump from their homelands to Britain but go via the Netherlands (like they almost certainly did. See archaeology and the runic inscriptions) 🎉🎉

[@FrisianWithHilbert]

Vind ik ook altijd irritant haha, maar zo gaat dat wel eens!

[@torrawel]

@FrisianWithHilbert wel eens??? ALTIJD ! :)

[@lhpl]

So, did the Jutes and Angles also leave a liguistic imprint while they passed through Friesland? Also, on the map around 13:00, the Frisisan areas are in the duchy of Slesvig, which was a Danish fief. So what were the interactions between Danish and Frisian here? The reason I'm asking is because I was born close to the northern side of the Flensborg fjord, and have always been curious about how my native Synnejysk language differs both from more northern Jutish dialects and from standard Danish. I have been looking into the 1295 text of Flensborg Stadsret for a few months now, and believe I see things there, that seem to relate to the "modern" dialect. The 1840es study of Angel Danish by Hagerup (first published 1854) definitely describes a language very close to the dialect spoken by my grandmother and by various neighbors. Sorry about the downvote, your content is great as always, and I look forward to checking out your references and have a look at Old Frisian. (And to your next video on the subject- just please turn down the noise a notch in the sound and graphics, thank you! ❤)

[@tidsdjupet-mr5ud]

There are a number of shared features shared with north germanic also, such as loss of word final -n, and the masculine plural -ar

[@FrisianWithHilbert]

Yeah that dialectal -ar ending looks super Old Norse - I jumped on it when I found it a few years ago but I think the scholarly consensus is that this was an internal change rather than a borrowing from the Vikings (aww :/).

[@tidsdjupet-mr5ud]

@FrisianWithHilbert so Germanic final -z did not drop out in Frisian? Like how -w- wasn't lost after velars in other west germanic? This implies that anglo-frisian split very early on.

[@iceomistar4302]

I highly recommend everyone buy a copy of An Introduction to Old Frisian by Rolf Bremmer, I bought it years back and still glance at it from time to time.

[@FrisianWithHilbert]

100% - used that extensively for this video as well.

[@onnofeldmann4282]

Up Oostfräisk Plat in däi mäist djóólekten "gaus", man süüdwestelk "geaus", noordoostelk "gous" un Feentjer djóólekt "göys". In däi gewesten fan Läär, Raiderland un Westooverläiden kumt ook fóók gâans föör >> hollandsk föörm man mit fräisk lengen fan däi wookóól. Däi gâans-föörm sal nóó Hans Janßen fan hannelslüü uut Läär ferspred't worden weesen. Up Oostfräisk is dat ook fan "us" sünner - n - ook wen fóók "uns" skreeven word't, word't dat bold naarnds in Oostfräisland soo proot't. Man "us" het kiin läengt. Dat póóletóólisäären fan olfräisk -k- is in dat Oostfräisk noch in wat woorden tau finnen, däi tau dat fräisk substróót höören, soo as biets "quarrelsome women" >> en. bitch of blits "skimmed milk".

[@FrisianWithHilbert]

Nijsgjirrich! Dy nasaalútfal hat ek yn guon plakken yn 't Nederlânsk plakhân lykas yn: NL: vijf, WFris: fiif Dú: fünf. Moai om mear te witten oer hoe't it yn ferskate dialekten fan it Eastfrysk foarkomt. Ik sil it grif hjir oer hawwe as ik myn fideo's oer it Eastfrysk Leech-Dútsk meitsje sil!

[@onnofeldmann4282]

@@FrisianWithHilbert Up däi siid fan dat Oostfräisk Woordenbauk kaast meer gewoer worden oover däi djóólektferskeelen binnen dat Oostfräisk.

[@ikbintom]

The nasal dropping law applies even to High German in some words (e.g. south) and to quite a large extent also applies to Low Saxon / Low German. It's an example of lexical diffusion and not a strong, black and white sound change law. The palatalization is a much stronger example of the ties between English and Frisian. I wonder if they also share vowel developments.. feel like Low Saxon and West Frisian sometimes do

[@Just_A_Baryonyx]

Kan je een video maken over de invloed van het (oud) fries op de Friso-saxische dialecten. Zelf ben ik Groninger, en vind de Friese invloeden op het Gronings zeer interessant

[@brendtarons]

De websites naar de digitale manuscripten zijn niet gelinkt, zou het kunnen opzoeken, maar er zijn misschien meer mensen die er naar op zoek zijn. Zou het trouwens intressant zijn om een video te maken over de verschillen tussen oud friese en oud engelse runnen? Hurlebatte heeft er een video over gemaakt, maar zou zelf graag nog meer over willen weten.

[@ronanbakker]

Ik woon in Aalsmeer en daar word ook nog gewoon West, Stadsfries en Aalsmeers gesproken, ook op werk. Als jongeren er vaker mee stuntelen, ook met fouten, dan kunnen we de taal in de gehele oud-Friese regio laten herleven. Ik ha wer wat leart fan dyn nije fideo oer it Aldfrysk, meitsj fierder sa. Ik wist net oer de skiednis in detail, mar no kin ik it better plaatse. Ik wist ek net, det de âlde Fryske wette in bytsje op de sharia leke, wa't no noch in it Mitte-Easte, Afrika ônskôgje kin. En 'old English law' is noch praktisseare in de USA, Suid Afrika en Mexico. De lju ha skynbar angst oer te wissele nei in nij wetstelsel, miskien út nostalgie of kultuerlike oerwegingen

[@eritain]

I love the typeface you're using for all the historical texts. What is it?

[@witte_raaf]

Misschien een rare gedachte, maar zijn er geen restanten van Friese runen of teksten, in de Faeröer eilanden? I.v.m met de Frísarnir sagen

[@theobolt250]

Wasn't Frisia not a bit larger then is shown on your map (shows only the current province Friesland). Didn't it include also the now current provinces of North- and South Holland and Groningen? Furthermore, trade and pirating where everybody's business who had a coastline. Frisian traders had already there own steady settlement in the tradestown of Haidabu, for one. Frisians and Danes intermingled quite soon. I am talking about the early middle ages. Furthermore, pure for navigational purposes ships always kept as much nearby a coastline, so, routes from the Scandinavian parts would go for a great part via the Frisian coast, stretching from Schleswich Holstein to Zeeland.

[@nolongerlistless]

I struggle with the distracting background music. I may try again.

[@lhpl]

I love music. But I hate it when used simultaneously with speech. I find that practice completely idiotic. Assuming the speak is relevant and important, I don't get why anyone would be so stupid to make it harder to hear. This video is now downvoted. Even though I really like Hilbert's videos, I must.

[@lhpl]

Oh, and now I have reached 12:24, and there is text. Light grey on a white background! Then why bother writing anything at all? If it's relevant, make it readable. If not, leave it out! Hilbert, have you no grasp whatsoever of ergonomics?

[@haraldtorsten8746]

That’s why West Flemish is not a Frankish language per se but an Ingevorean language like Frisian. We say “oes “ for “us”.

[@ansibarius4633]

Or basically Frankish with some Ingvaeonic influences.

[@onnofeldmann4282]

The old border between Ems Frisian and Weser Frisian is still clearly visible in the East Frisian Low Saxon. Especially lexically, e.g. speak, girl: prooten, wicht vs. snakken, fôon in Harlingerland and Jeverland. In both cases, prooten and snakken are probably loanwords - prooten from Dutch praten and snakken from Low German schnacken. wicht is an innovation that we also find in Sater Frisian and Westphalian, while fôon preserves the Old Frisian word fône.

[@niku..]

I don't think prooten and snakken/snacken are loanwords because they're already present in Middle Low German in their modern meaning and don't show any particular signs of being loanwords, especially ones from Dutch. Dutch probably helped promote the split in a sort of language area but I don't see any reason to posit a loan relationship.

[@kjduursma9776]

Danes say snekken (speaking) - not sure they are load words

[@onnofeldmann4282]

@@niku.. I may have expressed myself incorrectly. I meant it in reference to Easter Lauwers Frisian. For example, Sater Frisian has “bale” for “speak”. I assume that the prooten/snakken distribution in East Frisian Low Saxon is based on an influence, but ultimately shows the old Frisian border. The example of wicht vs. fôon is clearer. In Sater Frisian, which is Ems Frisian, it is similar to East Frisian Low German - there has frs. "wicht" - there in the form stq. "wucht" - the meaning girl. Saterlandic "fauene", on the other hand, means "maid" or "stupid girl", like frs. "fôon" in most of East Frisia, while in Harlingerland and Jeverland it has the normal meaning "girl", similar to "faun" in Wangerooge Frisian.

[@lhpl]

​@@kjduursma9776well, we Danes say snakke, "snekke" is a type of boat or ship iirc.

[@kjduursma9776]

@lhpl I think most Danes pronounce it as snekke? I speak norsk, and I do speak with danes every now and then. Norwegian also write snakker and prounounce it as such. To me danes sounds more like snakker, hence my guess of spelling. I didn't know about the boat

[@Seyone030]

Ofcourse baldrs draumer on the background. Being a dutch who's bestfriend is frissian. I grew up with the frissian spirit. Hail radboud.

[@alexBumann]

Any advice how to study old Frisian?

[@FrisianWithHilbert]

I would highly recommend attending the Old Frisian Summer School - the link to the website is in the description! Alternatively, the book "An Introduction to Old Frisian" by Professor Rolf Bremmer is a great way to start from home.

[@theChaosKe]

10:30 weirdly enough west frisian seems to be slightly more intelligble for germans than east frisian, why is that? habba - haben - hebba sonne - sonne - sunne gan/stan - gehen/stehen - gunga/stunda sian - sehen - sia

[@ikbintom]

Probably coincidence in those few words. High German comes from the Alpine mountains in the south, so it doesn't have much to do with Frisian. The East Frisian words are sometimes a bit more similar to the Low Saxon / Low German that is spoken in those regions nowadays

[@theChaosKe]

@@ikbintom I thought it may come from influence from old dutch (thus also becoming slightly closer to german) while east frisian might have stayed more isolated earlier?

[@FrisianWithHilbert]

I think it is likely coincidence in these words selected. Possibly it's also to do with the fact that most Old West Frisian is younger than most Old East Frisian, so Modern High German is closer in time to the first than to the second. In my part 2 of this episode I have a whole video going through pretty much every difference between the various dialects of Old Frisian (West, East, Ems, Weser, Riustringen etc.) so you can let me know there if you see any more patterns :)