How to Pronounce Middle English

Before the modern English of Shakespeare and today's world, Middle English was the language of the common people, the lower class in the fourteenth century. Chaucer was the first to write in the language of his people rather than the elevated languages like Latin. Middle English was a shifting but beautiful language, and anyone can learn the basics of it pronunciation.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Choose a Middle English text you are interested in reading. Learning how to pronounce the words and then learning what some of the unfamiliar words mean take some time and dedication, so make sure it's something you want to live with for a while. "The Canterbury Tales" is the most well known text and will have a lot of resources, translations and interpretations available to you, but there are many other stories to choose from.

2. Pronounce all the consonants and vowels in a word as a general rule. As in any language, there will be exceptions as you learn the deeper nuances of the language, but as you start out, make this your first rule. Pronounce the 'k' before 'n' such as in 'knight' and pronounce the 'e' at the end of words.

3. Familiarize yourself with the long vowel sounds. Long 'e' and long 'o' were often written as double letters: ee and oo. A long 'u' was usually written with 'ou' or 'ow'. The long and short 'i' were usually written with a 'y' such s in 'nyght'. A long 'a' was only sometimes indicated by 'aa'. When a single vowel was followed by a consonant and another vowel (such as in 'smale') or if the vowel is followed by consonant groups like 'ld', 'mb' or 'nd', the vowel generally has a long sound.

4. Familiarize yourself with the short vowel sounds. The short 'a' sounded like in 'pat', the short 'o' sound like that in 'auction' and the short 'u' like in 'put'.

5. The 'r' in a word was usually trilled, especially when placed between vowels.

6. Find the rhyming lines. Most of Chaucer's work was written in verse; "The Canterbury Tales" specifically was written in couplets, so refer to the lines around the line you're working on to see how the last word might rhyme.

7. Make notes as you go. If possible, have a translated version nearby to help with understanding the words you are speaking. Some words you will recognize, but they will sound different rolling off your tongue.

8. Once you have familiarized yourself with the basic sounds of the Middle English words, research the inflections of the syllables within the words to further perfect your skills.

9. Read aloud as much as possible. Some rhythms and inflections will come naturally to you. Find a teacher who is well versed in the language and see what you can improve on. Do your research.