Can Swedish people understand Old English?

[JOE]

Yesterday I came across some native Swedish speakers and as I heard them speak, I thought, "Gee that sounds familiar." Sounded a lot like a reading from Beouwulf in its original tongue, Old English. Here's the opening of the Original Epic Tale:







And here is Swedish spoken by native speakers:







...so I was just wondering if Swedish can understand old english, and if not, then they could pick it up real quick?

[Love Blob]

Joe, many of the Germanic languages are not that far apart as we may think.



As an English speaker, who's first language was German until Kindergarten, I only know the very basics...



There is surprisingly more in common with these languages than one may think...  English and German words, for instance, are often more closely related in their spelling than people think.



Left and right.  Day and night.  Simple terms like this in English, are very similar in German.



Now, for someone that has never spoken the language, it would be hard to make the connection, but there is one.



The most difficult aspect in translating, for me anyhow, is that the same term will have a slightly different meaning in German, if you will...  I can translate a "phrase" or a "slogan," if you will...  And it will make sense.  However, the real meaning isn't quite carried forward properly.



I'm trying to think of an example of this that would make sense...  Poor examples (on my part) would be business slogans like "I'm lovin' it," or "Have it your way"...  Often times slogans like these would translate over poorly, even though you'd get the basic understanding.



I still remember words in German, that I still fight to this day with having the ability to translate, to translate properly into English.  I could make a literal translation, but it's just not quite right.  I'd almost have to spend a few sentences trying to explain the exact context and meaning of the word.

[Renee]

Yesterday I came across some native Swedish speakers and as I heard them speak, I thought, "Gee that sounds familiar." Sounded a lot like a reading from Beouwulf in its original tongue, Old English. Here's the opening of the Original Epic Tale:







And here is Swedish spoken by native speakers:







...so I was just wondering if Swedish can understand old english, and if not, then they could pick it up real quick?

Sure Joe, we all believe that you are familiar with Beowulf in it's original 10th century West Saxon Dialect.



Nice try though.



In reality the term "Old English" is kind of misleading. The only thing that makes it "English" is that it was a language spoken in England from the 5th thru the 12th centuries by the Germanic settlers of Britian. It's actually an Anglo-Saxon/Frisian dialect and within that dialect there are several Germanic sub-dialects. Somewhere in the 9th century under Alfred the Great, the West Saxon dialect was standardized for literary use.



When Beowulf was allegedly written, there was a large population of Danes living in Britain who spoke Old Norse. Danes and the native Saxons communicated relatively well because their languages, customs and the people themselves were so similar. Also the Danes and the Norse people in general were a very dynamic group and assimilated into local society quite readily. You also have to remember that Beowulf takes place in Scandinavia so there is undoubtedly some Scandinavian influence mixed in.



It wasn't until the years after the Norman Invasion in 1066 that a form of English that we would recognize started to develop. That was Anglo-Norman or what we call Middle English. Today about 90% of the Anglo-Saxon words in Old English aren't even used.



This is just some of the semi-useless info I learned in college. It's OH so useful.  



Now all seriousness aside....Alexander Skarsgard makes my pants wet......Shit did I really just say that?  ac_blush

[Anonymous]

Joe, many of the Germanic languages are not that far apart as we may think.



As an English speaker, who's first language was German until Kindergarten, I only know the very basics...



There is surprisingly more in common with these languages than one may think...  English and German words, for instance, are often more closely related in their spelling than people think.



Left and right.  Day and night.  Simple terms like this in English, are very similar in German.



Now, for someone that has never spoken the language, it would be hard to make the connection, but there is one.



The most difficult aspect in translating, for me anyhow, is that the same term will have a slightly different meaning in German, if you will...  I can translate a "phrase" or a "slogan," if you will...  And it will make sense.  However, the real meaning isn't quite carried forward properly.



I'm trying to think of an example of this that would make sense...  Poor examples (on my part) would be business slogans like "I'm lovin' it," or "Have it your way"...  Often times slogans like these would translate over poorly, even though you'd get the basic understanding.



I still remember words in German, that I still fight to this day with having the ability to translate, to translate properly into English.  I could make a literal translation, but it's just not quite right.  I'd almost have to spend a few sentences trying to explain the exact context and meaning of the word.

My husband spoke Frisian Dutch in the home when he was growing up..



Dutch is probably the closest language to English.

[JOE]

Here's a link which discusses the origins of English & its relationship with the Old Norse/Viking languages:



 http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=4710">http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=4710



One theory is that Old English was actually a Scandinavian language opposed to a German/Saxon tongue.

[Anonymous]

Joe, many of the Germanic languages are not that far apart as we may think.



As an English speaker, who's first language was German until Kindergarten, I only know the very basics...



There is surprisingly more in common with these languages than one may think...  English and German words, for instance, are often more closely related in their spelling than people think.



Left and right.  Day and night.  Simple terms like this in English, are very similar in German.



Now, for someone that has never spoken the language, it would be hard to make the connection, but there is one.



The most difficult aspect in translating, for me anyhow, is that the same term will have a slightly different meaning in German, if you will...  I can translate a "phrase" or a "slogan," if you will...  And it will make sense.  However, the real meaning isn't quite carried forward properly.



I'm trying to think of an example of this that would make sense...  Poor examples (on my part) would be business slogans like "I'm lovin' it," or "Have it your way"...  Often times slogans like these would translate over poorly, even though you'd get the basic understanding.



I still remember words in German, that I still fight to this day with having the ability to translate, to translate properly into English.  I could make a literal translation, but it's just not quite right.  I'd almost have to spend a few sentences trying to explain the exact context and meaning of the word.

My husband spoke Frisian Dutch in the home when he was growing up..



Dutch is probably the closest language to English.

Everybody in Holland speaks fluent English. Not everybody in Germany can speak English.

[JOE]

Here's an example of Dutch spoken by Native speakers:







....it also bears a strong resemblance to Old English, althought I think it really is closer to Scandinavian languages than Dutch.

Joe, many of the Germanic languages are not that far apart as we may think.



As an English speaker, who's first language was German until Kindergarten, I only know the very basics...



There is surprisingly more in common with these languages than one may think...  English and German words, for instance, are often more closely related in their spelling than people think.



Left and right.  Day and night.  Simple terms like this in English, are very similar in German.



Now, for someone that has never spoken the language, it would be hard to make the connection, but there is one.



The most difficult aspect in translating, for me anyhow, is that the same term will have a slightly different meaning in German, if you will...  I can translate a "phrase" or a "slogan," if you will...  And it will make sense.  However, the real meaning isn't quite carried forward properly.



I'm trying to think of an example of this that would make sense...  Poor examples (on my part) would be business slogans like "I'm lovin' it," or "Have it your way"...  Often times slogans like these would translate over poorly, even though you'd get the basic understanding.



I still remember words in German, that I still fight to this day with having the ability to translate, to translate properly into English.  I could make a literal translation, but it's just not quite right.  I'd almost have to spend a few sentences trying to explain the exact context and meaning of the word.

My husband spoke Frisian Dutch in the home when he was growing up..



Dutch is probably the closest language to English.