Maybe this is Old English!

[Karima-19]

While I'm listening to music, I always try to write down the lyrics myslef (to improve my listening skill). I wanna know what's the meaning of this word "Ain't"; the song says; "Ain't nothin' but a mistake". I think it's an old English because most of the old books I read use (in') instead of (ing) as in the sentence above: "Ain't nothin'..." Instead of "nothing". Also they use "cuz" instead of "because" etc...I want to know why do old English is different from the recent one?. Old poetry and literature prove the difference...we ofen rely on dictionaries in order to understand the meaning of words.

Thanks in advance

 

[freezeframe]

While I'm listening to music, I always try to write down the lyrics myslef (to improve my listening skill). I wanna know what's the meaning of this word "Ain't"; the song says; "Ain't nothin' but a mistake". I think it's an old English because most of the old books I read use (in') instead of (ing) as in the sentence above: "Ain't nothin'..." Instead of "nothing". Also they use "cuz" instead of "because" etc...I want to know why do old English is different from the recent one?. Old poetry and literature proves the difference...we ofen rely on dictionaries in order to understand the meaning of words.

Thanks in advance

It's not "old English". It's colloquial in some dialects in North America (and I think in UK too... but I'm not sure). Ain't can replace am not, is not, are not, have not, has not.... It's also commonly used in a double negative construction (like ain't nothing). It should not be used in formal language.

cuz is also colloquial. It's commonly used on the Internet. It should not be used in formal English.

 

[Karima-19]

It's not "old English". It's colloquial in some dialects in North America (and I think in UK too... but I'm not sure). Ain't can replace am not, is not, are not, have not, has not.... It's also commonly used in a double negative construction (like ain't nothing). It should not be used in formal language.

cuz is also colloquial. It's commonly used on the Internet. It should not be used in formal English.

Oh, right! I thought not it was colloquial English , but now I see.

 

[freezeframe]

Oh, right! I [STRIKE]thought not[/STRIKE] did not think it was colloquial English_ but now I see.

.

 

[birdeen's call]

I want to know why do old English is different from the recent one?. Old poetry and literature prove the difference...we ofen rely on dictionaries in order to understand the meaning of words.

Karima, the English language changes all the time. It just happens and it's difficult to say why. Almost all languages change. Your language, Arabic, has many dialects -- Arabic in Morocco is different from Arabic in Iraq. (I don't speak Arabic, so I don't know the difference.) This means that Arabic changes.

When you say old English, you probably mean English as it was spoken one or two centuries ago. It was different from what people speak now, but not very much. We could easily understand those people. There used to be a language however that we call Old English today (note the capital letter in "Old"). It's an extinct language -- nobody has used it in everyday speech for many centuries. Modern English is that language's child, but it's not very similar. People who speak Modern English are usually completely unable to understand Old English. Here's a sentence in Old English:

Cnut cyning gret his arcebiscopas and his leod-biscopas and Þurcyl eorl and ealle his eorlas and ealne his þeodscype, twelfhynde and twyhynde, gehadode and læwede, on Englalande freondlice.

You can see that some word are recgnizable, but most aren't. English has changed a lot since that time.

 

[Karima-19]

.

Oh, I'm sorry sometimes I do stupid mistakes which awake me after. Thank you

 

[Karima-19]

Karima, the English language changes all the time. It just happens and it's difficult to say why. Almost all languages change. Your language, Arabic, has many dialects -- Arabic in Morocco is different from Arabic in Iraq. (I don't speak Arabic, so I don't know the difference.) This means that Arabic changes.

When you say old English, you probably mean English as it was spoken one or two centuries ago. It was different from what people speak now, but not very much. We could easily understand those people. There used to be a language however that we call Old English today (note the capital letter in "Old"). It's an extinct language -- nobody has used it in everyday speech for many centuries. Modern English is that language's child, but it's not very similar. People who speak Modern English are usually completely unable to understand Old English. Here's a sentence in Old English:

Cnut cyning gret his arcebiscopas and his leod-biscopas and Þurcyl eorl and ealle his eorlas and ealne his þeodscype, twelfhynde and twyhynde, gehadode and læwede, on Englalande freondlice.

You can see that some word are recgnizable, but most aren't. English has changed a lot since that time.

Oh, Birdeen. You provide me with an important information. Now, I understand what is meant by Old English. In fact, when I read your sentence that is written in Old English, I don't understand it quite well as I understand the recent one. Maybe because I'm a non-native speaker. Anyway, I learnt lots of things today, and this is my objective in this forum.

 

[birdeen's call]

In fact, when I read your sentence that is written in Old English, I don't understand it quite well as I understand the recent one. Maybe because I'm a non-native speaker.

Let's ask native speakers if they understand it so very well... ;-)

 

[SoothingDave]

Cnut was the king. It says something about Archbishops and all his earls. That's all I can get out of it.

 

[birdeen's call]

Cnut was the king.

And I would be unpatriotic if I didn't mention his Polish mother!

 

[charliedeut]

Cnut cyning gret his arcebiscopas and his leod-biscopas and Þurcyl eorl and ealle his eorlas and ealne his þeodscype, twelfhynde and twyhynde, gehadode and læwede, on Englalande freondlice.

.

Knut the king greeted his archbishops and his lower (that is, plain) bishops and Earl Þurcyl (no idea about its meaning) and all his soldiers and all his priests (?), (...), on England's friendship.

How was that for an approximation? Is it anywhere near its real meaning? :-?

Greetings

Charliedeut

 

[birdeen's call]

Knut the king greeted his archbishops and his lower (that is, plain) bishops and Earl Þurcyl (no idea about its meaning) and all his soldiers and all his priests (?), (...), on England's friendship.

How was that for an approximation? Is it anywhere near its real meaning?

You did very well. I have found a translation (page 452).

"Leod" was difficult to get. The word didn't manage to become a vital part of Modern English: leed, leod, leud. Speakers of Slavic languages can recognize it ("люди" in Russian) and Germans, who say "Leute".

"Theod-" of "þeodscype" is another word that didn't make it. The word also means people. Its akin to the words "Dutch" and "Teuton", and the Irish word "tuath" (1, 2). It's also clearly the source of Tolkien's Theoden's name.

"Freondlic" means friend-like. "Freondlice" is an adverb: in a friendly way. He greeted the addressees in a friendly way.