Speak like an Anglo-Saxon #3: Small talk

So, you’ve managed to survive the first five minutes of life in ye olde England. What next? Try out some pukka small talk, straight from the pen of an Anglo-Saxon monk:

What do you do? = Hwelcne cræft canst þu? [‘H-welch-ne craft canst thu?’]
(literally ‘what craft do you know?’)

I am a monk = Ic eom munuc [‘Itch e-om mun-uc’]
I am a hunter = Ic eom hunta [‘Itch e-om hunt-a’]
I am a shepherd = Ic eom sceaphierde [‘Itch e-om she-ap-hee-urd-uh’]

I make cheese = Ic macie ciese [‘Itch mak-ee-uh chee-eh-suh’]

Oh dear, that is hard work = Eala, þæt is micel gedeorf [‘Ey-al-a, that iss mitch-el ye-day-orf’]

Comments