Old English, Middle English, Modern English

Hope you enjoyed learning a bit about the history of the English language. If nothing else, now you know why we say "oxen" instead of "oxes" and "houses" instead of "housen," right?

For me, the most interesting part of the lecture (besides the text shooting around the powerpoint screen) was the comparison between the different versions of the Lord's Prayer. Here the versions are, if you'd like to examine them again:

The Lord’s Prayer – late 11th century, found in Bath (Old English)

Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum
Si þin nama gehalgod
to becume þin rice
gewurþe ðin willa
on eorðan swa swa on heofonum.
urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg
and forgyf us ure gyltas
swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum
and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge
ac alys us of yfele. Soþlice

The Lourdes Preyere -- from the Wyclif Bible, 1390 (in Middle English)

Oure fadir that art in heuenes,
halewid be thi name;
thi kyngdoom come to;
be thi wille don, in erthe as in heuene.
Yyue to vs this dai oure breed ouer othir substaunce,
and foryyue to vs oure dettis,
as we foryyuen to oure dettouris;
and lede vs not in to temptacioun,
but delyuere vs fro yuel.
Amen.

English at the time of Shakespeare (late 1500’s – early 1600’s) – Modern English--King James Bible:

Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done
in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory for ever.
Amen.

Present day English:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours, now and for ever.
Amen.

P.S. Pictured here is St. Gregory sending monks to the Anglo-Saxons.

P.P.S. I checked and learned that "Google" originated from a misspelling of "googol", which is 1 with 100 zeros following it. I also learned that the verb "to google" was added to the dictionary in 2006.