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Early Modern English | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes |  | |
| Paco Senior Member Hong Kong Joined 4279 days ago 145 posts - 251 votes  Speaks: Cantonese* | Message 1 of 17 22 January 2014 at 1:09pm | IP Logged | ||
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Could you recommend some materials or methods to learn Early Modern English in an
efficient way? This question presupposes that, in the early phase of the learning of the target language, specific "studies" would be more beneficial than going straight into bilingual text (Early Modern English with Modern English). Or would you suggest otherwise? Any advice would be appreciated. Edited by Paco on 22 January 2014 at 1:10pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| maydayayday Pentaglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5221 days ago 564 posts - 839 votes Speaks: English*, German, Italian, SpanishB2, FrenchB2 Studies: Arabic (Egyptian), Russian, Swedish, Turkish, Polish, Persian, Vietnamese Studies: Urdu | Message 2 of 17 22 January 2014 at 2:59pm | IP Logged | ||
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I have some books in the loft. Ill dig them out this evening for titles......
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| Elexi Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5567 days ago 938 posts - 1840 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 3 of 17 22 January 2014 at 5:49pm | IP Logged | ||
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You don't need to learn early modern English - there are no 'bilingual' texts because
early modern English is so near to modern English. We are talking the King James Bible, William Shakespeare and Thomas Hobbes, not Beowulf or the Pearl poet. The best way in is to get a critical edition of the text you want to read and note any changes in usage - most are minor. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| alang Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 7223 days ago 563 posts - 757 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish | Message 4 of 17 22 January 2014 at 9:40pm | IP Logged | ||
Are you sure there are no bilingual texts? I remember back in high school some student books of Shakespeare's plays in my class had them. We only borrowed the books, so we did not own them. The two plays I remember were "Macbeth" and "Hamlet". One side had early Modern English and the other Modern English. Bolded notes on words used as idioms or which does not occur in modern times. Unfortunately it has been close to 20 years, so I don't think the school uses the same ones still. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| ScottScheule Diglot Senior Member United States scheule.blogspot.com Joined 5230 days ago 645 posts - 1176 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Latin, Hungarian, Biblical Hebrew, Old English, Russian, Swedish, German, Italian, French | Message 5 of 17 22 January 2014 at 10:51pm | IP Logged | ||
I'm not sure, but the Shakespeare I read had annotations on one side explaining idioms, vocabulary, and wordplay, but not translations. There are simplifications, written in Modern English, like this http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeares-Midsummer-Nights-Dream-In essential/dp/0948662034#_ But that's different from a translation. Edited by ScottScheule on 22 January 2014 at 10:52pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Elexi Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5567 days ago 938 posts - 1840 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 6 of 17 22 January 2014 at 11:51pm | IP Logged | ||
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I was being dismissive. It is clear that such aberrations do exist - for example:
http://nfs.sparknotes.com/macbeth/page_2.html . . . but what is the point? For example 'Hover through the fog and filthy air' (original) and 'Let’s fly away through the fog and filthy air' ('translation') are both equally comprehensible in modern English - in the original the word 'hover' communicates far more semantic meaning than the trite attempt of 'Let's fly away'. To my eyes, this is not so much a 'traduction' as a 'reduction'. If one wanted a good Shakespeare, I would recommend the Arden edition for clarity and explanation of idiom. Edited by Elexi on 23 January 2014 at 10:16am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| alang Diglot Senior Member Canada Joined 7223 days ago 563 posts - 757 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish | Message 7 of 17 23 January 2014 at 6:56am | IP Logged | ||
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I wish I could see those books again just to be sure, but it has been such a long time. Are there good recommendations on audio cds for the dramatization of the plays in Early Modern English? It would be nice to have the text and hear a great recording of the play together. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| dampingwire Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4667 days ago 1185 posts - 1513 votes Speaks: English*, Italian*, French Studies: Japanese | Message 8 of 17 23 January 2014 at 9:20am | IP Logged | ||
You can read (some of the) plays as Shakespeare wrote them here. It's already in English so there's no need for a translation. It might be easier to read when rendered in a modern font but that's not really a translation. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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