Old English looks like Welsh and Icelandic combined. And yet it looks a bit like German.
Speaking of Welsh and Icelandic, double L, "ll" makes the same sound in both these languages and is unlike anything in present day English. It is a voiceless lateral fricative (Ll - Wikipedia). According to one Icelandic pronunciation video, this sound is made by placing one's tongue to one side of the mouth and blowing. It works for me.
Watch this video to hear the sound.
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Sunday, May 5, 2013
A thousand years ago feels like yesterday
I felt like they were my neighbors, my relations, my community, these Icelanders from a thousand years ago.
I think it was the style in which their sagas were written.
Many authors these days take an over-the-shoulder, inside-the-soul, point of view with their characters, telling you exactly what the character is thinking and feeling in every excruciating detail. I like that. However, the sagas were not written that way, they were written in a rather external fashion. Yet I felt close to the people.
They seemed real because the lens through which I saw them was as if I were a part of the community. I am told a bit of what they are feeling, I hear of their actions, I know who is best friends with who and how they are related. Just like in real life. In real life I don't know every thought, every pleasure, every pain that passes through my friends, let alone acquaintances that I see frequently. And so the sagas, by being distant, seem real because I see a community functioning, like my home school co/op, like my extended family, like my Christian community. I see the major events that take place and I hear a little of the inside scoop through those more directly involved.
Additionally the descriptions of people are sometimes vivid, so it's like you can see them. I can see their face and external appearance (physique, clothing), but I can't see their mind. Like real life.
Interestingly, books written in first person or with a very over-the-shoulder view often leave you guessing as to the person's looks.
They were so human, driven by their feelings of greed, anger, ambition, brokenheartedness and by what was acceptable in their culture. The women were not meek sheep in the kitchen. A number had strong characters and were driving forces in the stories as they struggled for revenge. And they often manipulated/strong-armed their husbands into getting their way.
And so the sagas easily bridge the gap between then and now, despite culture and language barriers.
I think it was the style in which their sagas were written.
Many authors these days take an over-the-shoulder, inside-the-soul, point of view with their characters, telling you exactly what the character is thinking and feeling in every excruciating detail. I like that. However, the sagas were not written that way, they were written in a rather external fashion. Yet I felt close to the people.
They seemed real because the lens through which I saw them was as if I were a part of the community. I am told a bit of what they are feeling, I hear of their actions, I know who is best friends with who and how they are related. Just like in real life. In real life I don't know every thought, every pleasure, every pain that passes through my friends, let alone acquaintances that I see frequently. And so the sagas, by being distant, seem real because I see a community functioning, like my home school co/op, like my extended family, like my Christian community. I see the major events that take place and I hear a little of the inside scoop through those more directly involved.
Additionally the descriptions of people are sometimes vivid, so it's like you can see them. I can see their face and external appearance (physique, clothing), but I can't see their mind. Like real life.
Interestingly, books written in first person or with a very over-the-shoulder view often leave you guessing as to the person's looks.
They were so human, driven by their feelings of greed, anger, ambition, brokenheartedness and by what was acceptable in their culture. The women were not meek sheep in the kitchen. A number had strong characters and were driving forces in the stories as they struggled for revenge. And they often manipulated/strong-armed their husbands into getting their way.
And so the sagas easily bridge the gap between then and now, despite culture and language barriers.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Brave - What is Young MacGuffin Saying? Translation
So, after seeing Brave several times, it appears Young MacGuffin, who speaks only Doric (a dialect of English), has just three lines.
The first one is in the scene where the suitors are presented.
He says, "If he was a wee bit closer, I could lob a caber at him, ye ken."
If you know even a little about Scotland, then this one is pretty straight forward.
If you don't, I'll explain a wee bit here: Do you remember in the Highland Games scene when one of the men throws a a log that looks rather like a telephone pole? Well, that log is a called a"caber." The Caber Toss is a traditional Scottish game.
"Ken" is the Scot's word for "know."
Young MacGuffin's second line is right after Elinor turns into a bear and Fergus hears her roar and runs up the stairs to go bear hunting. I honestly can't understand it. To me, to sounded something like "Since yer sayin it I wasna anya say it myself. Og dae gahere wa a liɾle." (I'll go out there and watch a little?!) I'm missing words, possibly have it totally wrong...
Anyhow, just before his line, Lord MacGuffin says, "We haven't had desert yet."
His third line is in the scene where Merida walks into the room in the middle of the battle and then speaks with the lords. When she tells them she thinks they should all be able to find love for themselves the suitors each pipe in.
Young MacGuffin says, ""It's jist nae fair makin us ficht for the hand o the quine that disnae want any bit o it. Ken?" (Found on MetaFilter). The same person who posted this line also posted a translation: "It's just not fair making us fight for the hand of a girl who doesn't want anything to do with it. You know?"
The first and third lines and translations I found in a comment by gnuhavenpier on MetaFilter. (Scroll down)
The second one, I was trying to figure out by listening to the movie. Doric speakers, please help!!!
I wrote more about Young MacGuffin and Doric in my post: Brave -What is Young MacGuffin Saying?
The first one is in the scene where the suitors are presented.
He says, "If he was a wee bit closer, I could lob a caber at him, ye ken."
If you know even a little about Scotland, then this one is pretty straight forward.
If you don't, I'll explain a wee bit here: Do you remember in the Highland Games scene when one of the men throws a a log that looks rather like a telephone pole? Well, that log is a called a"caber." The Caber Toss is a traditional Scottish game.
"Ken" is the Scot's word for "know."
Young MacGuffin's second line is right after Elinor turns into a bear and Fergus hears her roar and runs up the stairs to go bear hunting. I honestly can't understand it. To me, to sounded something like "Since yer sayin it I wasna anya say it myself. Og dae gahere wa a liɾle." (I'll go out there and watch a little?!) I'm missing words, possibly have it totally wrong...
Anyhow, just before his line, Lord MacGuffin says, "We haven't had desert yet."
His third line is in the scene where Merida walks into the room in the middle of the battle and then speaks with the lords. When she tells them she thinks they should all be able to find love for themselves the suitors each pipe in.
Young MacGuffin says, ""It's jist nae fair makin us ficht for the hand o the quine that disnae want any bit o it. Ken?" (Found on MetaFilter). The same person who posted this line also posted a translation: "It's just not fair making us fight for the hand of a girl who doesn't want anything to do with it. You know?"
The first and third lines and translations I found in a comment by gnuhavenpier on MetaFilter. (Scroll down)
The second one, I was trying to figure out by listening to the movie. Doric speakers, please help!!!
I wrote more about Young MacGuffin and Doric in my post: Brave -What is Young MacGuffin Saying?
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Brave - What is Young MacGuffin saying?
In Disney's Brave, no one (in the film and that I know in the audience) can tell what Young MacGuffin is saying. My question is, could he be speaking Scottish Gaelic? The flavor of the words sounded like Gaelic, but I couldn't be sure.
So I looked it up online. Well, the flavor is Gaelic, but he is technically speaking English! IMBD, among other sources, reports that he speaks the Doric dialect (of English). This is the dialect of the Scottish hometown of the voice of Young MacGuffin, Kevin McKidd. (The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood Reporter )
Kevin McKidd told The Hollywood Reporter, "It definitely is a fanaticized version of Scotland but I think that they did capture the essence and spirit of the landscape and spirit. The humorous and wildness but warmth still exists, really captured that, kind of a love letter to Scotland in a way. I think the landscapes they created were almost more beautiful than Scotland."
There are other interesting facts amongst the trivia. Seems like this was a film of firsts:
IMBD Brave Trivia
Want to learn more and see samples of Doric?
Wikipedia entry on Doric
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