Golden Rose Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Reading books written in Old English certainly alters how I speak sometimes. For example, I often say "Gods be good" and people find me weird.What are the other phrases or words you took up from reading aSoIaF series? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Rose Posted April 11, 2014 Author Share Posted April 11, 2014 Doubled, please ignore and delete it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo cool Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 "Would that I could" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night's_King Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Is Ice and Fire really written in "Old English"? I am no native english speaker, but I read many english books and the difference in language is massive if you compare Ice and Fire to works that are really old and less so if you compare it to recent literature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night's_King Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Reading books written in Old English certainly alters how I speak sometimes. For example, I often say "Gods be good" and people find me weird. What are the other phrases or words you took up from reading aSoIaF series? Were there really people who said "Gods be good"? I always thought, that GRRM invented the phrase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qaekijj Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 seven hells. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maester Pedant Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 ASoIaF is not "Old English", or anything of the sort. It's actually pretty modern American English, with a archaic few phrases and words. Compare it with Lord of the Rings, for example. Tolkien is constantly using archaic words and phrases. That's what makes it both more poetic and more difficult to read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Ghost- Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Mayhaps. I said that once and my friend just looked at me and said wtf is a mayhapsAnd just so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon's Queen Consort Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 ASoIaF is not "Old English", or anything of the sort. It's actually pretty modern American English, with a archaic few phrases and words. Compare it with Lord of the Rings, for example. Tolkien is constantly using archaic words and phrases. That's what makes it both more poetic and more difficult to read. That is one of the multiple reasons why I prefer Tolkien. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo cool Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 ASoIaF is not "Old English", or anything of the sort. It's actually pretty modern American English, with a archaic few phrases and words. Compare it with Lord of the Rings, for example. Tolkien is constantly using archaic words and phrases. That's what makes it both more poetic and more difficult to read. Of course you are correct, but I think this is what Golden Rose meant. The entire grammatical structure is archaic in the Silmarillion, along with words and expressions, making it one of the most beautiful pieces of literature I've ever read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frey family reunion Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 If you want to start speaking actual "Old English" people are going to think that you went "wode". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedShirt47 Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 an eccentric phrase from ASOIAF is "much and more". There is much and more to be said for it as an expression... I always liked "In his cups" I know GRRM didn't invent the phrase but it's rarely used and he has almost made it his own... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Blizzardborn Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 an eccentric phrase from ASOIAF is "much and more". There is much and more to be said for it as an expression... I always liked "In his cups" I know GRRM didn't invent the phrase but it's rarely used and he has almost made it his own... That one is used frequently in historical fiction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oberoth Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 I quite like the use of the word 'leal' and the phrases 'words are wind' 'much and more'.Which didn't stand out enough to be noticed in reading and should be used more. I've used 'gods be good' and on occasion I've used much and more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boarsbane Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Breaking wind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormland's Fury Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Ye' olde pube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonCon's Red Beard Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 I first read the books in Spanish and it's really "dumbed down" to polite but normal Spanish (except the rude language). Makes sense because if translated correctly, would read like the Quixote and many people, even adults, need a translator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maester Pedant Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 That is one of the multiple reasons why I prefer Tolkien. There are two moments in my life as a non-native English speaker I am proud of, because they proved my proficiency in this language. One was when I had my first real argument with my English boyfriend in perfectly fluent and idiomatic English. The other was when I read the whole Lord of the Rings without even going to the dictionary. All those years reading Shakespeare really paid off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
averde Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 ASoIaF is not "Old English", or anything of the sort. It's actually pretty modern American English, with a archaic few phrases and words. Compare it with Lord of the Rings, for example. Tolkien is constantly using archaic words and phrases. That's what makes it both more poetic and more difficult to read.I believe that's also because Tolkien was a linguist and made the entire Lord of The Rings just to explore language and make his own languages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aderyn Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 I personally think medieval fantasy doesn't need to sound like Tolkien, therefore I find the middle ground GRRM has chosen more than pleasant. In my opinion, a few carefully chosen idioms and terms derived from the old language, as well as certain grammatical structures are enough to set the tone of authenticity. The rest of the tone is drawn from the overall story, the milieu etc. As much as Tolkien's writings are a work of linguistic art, my faithfulness to him makes it hard if not impossible to read other people trying to write in a similar manner. Emphasis on the word 'trying', as in people deliberately mimicking his style. It is another thing completely to read his actual contemporaries or predecessors. As to what parts of GRRM's language I've adopted myself, I think 'gods be good' is something I slip out almost automatically. I also like 'mayhaps' and 'would that I could'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.