Speaking Old English

'Tis a fine morrow to be reading my article, come hither and learn the ways of ye olde english.

Don't worry, I wont talk like that for the whole article. You may think, "why would i want to speak like that?" Well the answer is, because its fun, if you play fantasy games, its more fun if you actually speak their speak, plus it also annoys your opponents.

Some basic words are:

• Aye: yes
• Nay: no
• Hail: hello
• Well met: response to Hail

A good tip is to practice speaking this tongue, you may sound like an idiot, but in the end, you'll be very well spoken. now o­nto your quest for learning.

Pronouns!
Many people do not know how to use pronouns properly and effectively, In the most part, it is the use of thee and thou. This is easy to understand. In modern English, we do not distinguish between the subject and object case of the second person. In other words, it doesn't make a difference whether the you is doing something or having something done to him or her. o­nly the second person has lost this distinction, having been replaced with a simplified version of the second person plural. There are also some niceties of the use of possessives that do not appear in modern English but are common in old English.

• Thou is the pronoun used for the person to whom you are speaking when that person is the subject of your sentence.
  • Example: Thou art a knave and a lout, and thou shoulds't not anger me.

  You cannot use thou as the object of a sentence.

  • Incorrect: I see thou hiding behind that tree!

  It may help to think of thou as the second-person equivalent of I.

• Thee is the pronoun used when the person you are speaking to is the object of the verb of your sentence.
  • Example: Whilst thy head was turned, the dragon did attack thee.

  You cannot use thee as the subject of a sentence.

  • Incorrect: Thee smellest as foul as a sewer doth smell!

  It may help to think of thee as the second-person equivalent of me.

  Note: There are some dialects in which thee serves as both the object and subject case of the second person pronoun. In the real world, the old-style Quakers spoke this way – particularly to o­ne another.

• Ye is a tricky word, and should be used with caution. In the most formal Britannian, it is used as the second-person plural subject pronoun (the second-person equivalent of we). However, most Britannians do not use the word, instead preferring to use you for both the subject and object second-person plural.
  
  • Example: [When speaking to a group.] Ye adventurers are heading toward Britain and did miss the turn for Skara Brae. Hear ye! Hear ye!

  Ye can also be used as the singular second-person subject pronoun, but usually o­nly in extremely formal (that is, Biblical) speech.

  Ye and you are also somtimes used as "polite" second-person subject and object pronouns in some dialects. Thus, you can use thee and thou when you would use tu in Spanish or French, and ye and you as you would the Spanish Usted or French vous. (It is from this usage that Quakers adopted using thee, the familiar, when addressing everybody to show that they held all in equal esteem.)

  Ye is also used in some dialects rather loosely, as you in both singular and plural, subject and object. This usage has more to do with accent than grammar; imagine pirates who just say ye when we would say you.

  Finally, a note o­n the word ye in the phrase "Ye Olde Weapons Shoppe." In this case, it does not mean "Your Old Weapons Shop." The thorn, (a letter which is not part of our modern alphabet), represents the letters th. The word "the" was often abbreviated "te" o­n signs, and was later corrupted to "ye." Ye in this case has nothing to do with pronouns.

• Possessives are pretty much the same as possessives in modern English, with the addition of thy and thine for the second-person singular (to go along with thee and thou).
  

  My and thy indicate that the following noun belongs to me or you respectively.

  • Examples: My sword is sharp, but thy dagger is sharper. Thou dost make my [or mine, depending o­n your accent] heart beat with passion, for thy smile doth affect me as strong drink.

  Mine and thine serve as possessive pronouns, referring to that which belongs to me (in the case of mine) or you (in the case of thine), used without a following noun as a pronoun.

  • Examples: The gold in this ettins pack is mine ; but the bread and ale are thine.

  Mine and thine are also used whenever the following word starts with a vowel (or the letter h, if you speak in a dialect in which the h is not pronounced, as most Britannians do).

  • Examples: With mine arrows I slew a wretched orc. To thine own self be true.

Verb Forms

Verb forms are trickier still than pronouns, mostly because there are countless irregular verbs in English. What follows is a very simplified discussion of how to get your regular verbs to agree with their subjects. Following that, a few useful irregular verbs are conjugated.

• First person: Pretty much exactly the same as in modern English. There are some peculiar Britannian constructions for example, "I needs must improve mine ability to craft bows" but such constructions are more a matter of vocabulary and diction than grammar.

  You should not add funny endings to first person verbs in any tense. This is o­ne of the most common mistakes. Just remember, when youre talking about something you did, the verb in Britainnian is the same as in Modern English.

  • Examples: I want gold. I walk to Despise. I plan to kill many harpies and ettins.
  • Incorrect: I wantest gold. I walketh to Despise. I planst to kill many harpies and ettins.
• Second person: Here's where most of the trouble arises. Fortunately, it o­nly really arises in the present tense, and o­nly for second-person singular subject. Unfortunately, most conversation takes place in the present tense, and almost always involves the second-person singular to some degree, so you have to learn to do it right.
  

  With regular verbs in the present tense, add -est or -st to the end of the root to make it agree with a second-person singular subject. Add the -est if the root ends in a consonant; add the -st if the root ends in a vowel.

  • Examples: Thou eatest as a pig eats, knave. Seest thou that city yonder? Whither walkest thou? And whence comest?

  Remember, you don't need to do this for second-person plural subjects. And be sure to use the second-person endings (-est and -st), not the third-person endings.

• Third Person: When speaking very formally, with regular verbs in the present tense, you must add -eth or -th to the root (depending o­n whether the root ends in a consonant or a vowel) to make it agree with third-person singular subjects. This is often very cumbersome, and was o­ne of the first things to go as English got modernized, so you neednt worry about it too much. You will certainly be understood by any Britannian if you ignore the "ething," but if you have the time, you might want to give it a try.
  
  • Example: She that walketh in stealth findeth safety.

  Because this is so cumbersome, other constructions are often used. Thus, the above example might more likely be rendered, "She that doth walk in stealth shall find safety." o­ne would also more likely say, "Thou didst have much wealth," rather than, "Thou hadst much wealth."

  Remember, you don't need to do this for third-person plural subjects.

• The imperative mood in Britannian is identical to that of modern English.

Here are the conjugations of three extraordinarily useful irregular verbs: be, have, and do.

Common Words

Phrases

okay here is a chart of a few conversations o­ne may have

Insulting someone!

Instead of cursing at someone, really curse them. That is, wish aloud for evil things to happen to them. "A pox o­n thee and thy family" is a common curse. You can get really creative, too. For example, if youre really angry, you might say, "Knave! May thy hair fall out and thy teeth all rot; and may thy well-known ugliness be visited upon thy children, and their children, unto the tenth generation; and mayst thou find that the purses of the beast thou dost slay are empty; and, most of all, may orcs and lizardmen always look upon thee with lust in their eyes!"