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After listening to the three different readings, I have a better understanding of how English has evolved. The Old English was a completely different language, which I did not understand. When I heard the Middle English language reading, I was able to understand some of the words. I thought the name “Middle English” was very suiting to the understanding I had of it. Early Modern English was the most familiar to me. It had more similarities to the sound, spelling, and construction as the English I know today.  Our language is a mixture of several other languages and influences.  It is helpful to know the origins of our language because it gives us a better understanding of the world around us. Being able to understand the origin of our language is important when teaching root words. Also, for certain professions such as, linguist and historian, it is crucial to know the origins and how the language has evolved to what it is today.

-Makenzye Hiller

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It is very interesting to hear and see how the English language has changed with time. The three different readings demonstrate the gradual shift to the language we all understand today. One major shift from the first reading to the last one is the use and spelling of vowel sounds. In the old English the use of diphthongs (combination of two vowel sounds, æ) is present and also the use of macrons (the straight line above a letter) above some of the letters. In the second reading both the diphthongs and macrons disappear. In the last reading the vowel sounds shift to what we use today and the use of apostrophes is present.

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From hearing the three readings, I have a better understanding of just how far our language has come.  Old English was a completely different language of which, none of was understandable.  Middle English was exactly as the name sounds, it was a middle ground between a different language and present English as some of the words were recognizable.  Early Modern English was much more understandable, although it was Shakespeare, so to understand it I had to slowly reread the passage after listening to the video. It is helpful to know the origins of particular words so if you do not know the meaning of a word, you can think of the root word and try to decipher the meaning based on the origin, along with using context clues.

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From hearing the three readings, I have a better understanding of just how far our language has come.  Old English was a completely different language of which, none of was understandable.  Middle English was exactly as the name sounds, it was a middle ground between a different language and present English as some of the words were recognizable.  Early Modern English was much more understandable, although it was Shakespeare, so to understand it I had to slowly reread the passage after listening to the video. It is helpful to know the origins of particular words so if you do not know the meaning of a word, you can think of the root word and try to decipher the meaning based on the origin, along with using context clues.

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-Margarita Villanueva

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What did you learn from hearing the three different readings?
That English has evolved to fit our ideas of modern concepts and has become its own concept that can shift based on notions that are created from other countries or our own. Or that English speakers have decided to "dumb down" language so that people are more likely to understand us without having to learn a new language or try too hard when in a foreign area. The last idea I had, was that English has become more of a literal language with less abstract meaning and a straightforward usage; of course this has its limitations as dialects and accents can vary from region to region and a bucket, a pail and a tin are all the same object.

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Listening to the three readings makes me realize that it might just be a matter of time until English changes yet again. Being able to look back at history, when all the events that helped shape the changes in the English language were going on, I am sure no one really thought of the impact it would have. It is always good and interesting to know how something we use, like language, was formed.

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Listening to the three different readings was very interesting. During the first reading I was really confused as to how that could have possibly been English because I didn’t understand anything. To me it didn’t even sound like it had the basics of English. At least not the English that I have always heard. I felt that English changed more from Old English to Middle English. Middle English and Early modern English sounded a bit similar to each other. I at least understood some sounds and words in Middle English and almost everything in Early Modern English.

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I learned that Old English sounded very Germanic, and I didn't understand any of it. There were words with Latin influence such as "pilgrimage" in the example of Middle English. Early Modern English was the most similar to today's English language.

Listening to those clips impacts my understanding of English as a language because English has evolved greatly over time and has many influences from other languages.

It is helpful to know the origins of our language and particular words because that helps us know the meaning of those words and helps us decipher the meanings on unfamiliar words by relying on our knowledge of those roots, preffixes, and suffixes.

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After listening to these three clips I understand how English has evolved and changed through time.  The Early Modern English, after the vowel shift was the only one I could understand (barely).   It is helpful to know the origin of English to understand how it continues to evolve and change.   It is a global language that is influenced by cultures and new trends.
-Sabra Ottaviano

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The Old English reading seemed like a completely different language all together. The sound, spelling, and arrangement of the words seemed very foreign to me and I did not see any correlation to how English is spoken today. Middle English seemed to take a step closer to what I am familiar with but still very different. The sounds that he was making, although did not create many words I knew (there were a few), but they at least sounded like English. I was surprised though that there were a few words that looked like words in English now but they were not pronounced the same way. Early Modern English was the most familiar and made the most sense to me. To listen to these three consecutively, it is very interesting to see the progression. I feel like the most drastic difference was between Old and Middle English. Knowing the origin and progression of the language and certain words will help create a better understanding of the meaning as well as why the sounds and spellings are a little “strange” at times.
-Allie Larson

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Hearing the different readings gave me a better understanding of what I learned in the video about the origin and growth of the English language. It expanded my knowledge of the evolution of our language and how it got to be where it is today. The Old English sounded like a foreign language, the Middle English was a little more recognizable, and the Modern English made total sense! Let's just say I am thankful for the use of the English language, as we know it today. As far as my understanding of the English language goes, I still cant imagine going through all that went into the creation of the language itself; thinking about all the work that went in to it and all the cultures that were intertwined to create such a universal language. Being able to understand the origin of the English language, or particular words, is helpful when trying to teach root words. Breaking down words to get the true meaning is beneficial for everyone. It also allows people to relate to the foundational words of the language. Grasping the true meaning of a language isn't always easy, but when you can truly understand where it came from, you can enjoy the teaching more!

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Wow!  The English language has certainly changed!
*The first clip of Old English is very hard to follow and the words do not resemble any words in modern English.  It sounds very foreign (Germanic). There are different pronunciations of the vowels and the letter/symbol where the a and e are almost one does not occur.
*The clip of Middle English starts to incorporate some words that are used today.  Other words are somewhat recognizable, but have a different spelling or pronunciation.  This shows the words are beginning to change/evolve.
*The final clip of Early Modern English mostly uses words that are recognized today.  It is fancy in nature though and uses wording or phrases we no longer use.
*I have learned that the English language is constantly evolving and changing.  Some words become extinct (from lack of use), while new words are added to accommodate our every changing society and the people who use it.

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The Old English words definitely sounded much more like today's German. There were a couple of words that, although I have no idea what they actually said, they sounded like words we use today. I think I heard a word like "fella". Middle English begins to look and sound much more like today's language. However, words that are spelled the same today were not pronounced the same way. Early Modern English is closest to what we understand today, but still with slight pronunciation differences and inflection. This clarifies for me how in hymns we sing that were originally written in the 19th century often use words that have the same spelling but do not actually rhyme, probably did so in their original use or pronunciations. - Patti Rodriguez

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Clip 1: I found it interesting what old English used to be interesting. I also found that it interesting that English was the language of the lower class.

Clip 2: The first clip's English, you can tell has a lot of German influence on it, and hard to understand. In this video I can see the beginning of the transition to modern English. I recognize some of the words in this script and the language is starting to look familiar to what I am used to seeing in the English Language.

Clip 3: The sonnet that they played is so close to our modern English that it is easily read. The only real difference I saw was the spelling of the words.

I found this video to be interesting and I learned more about the origins of words that I didn't know I was interested in, until now.

-Amy Jardin

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