[Sca-cooks] Writing & speaking early-Middle English

[Laura C. Minnick]

Ok, my two livres on the matter (hey, inflation...)

In my view, what we call 'speaking forsoothly' is counter-productive, and 
actually one of the barriers to an actual communication and a deeper 
experience in the realm of persona development.

Julian said: "One might enquire as to the depth of academic, medieval 
-Western-European-historical Study that enables you to be a Judge as to who 
is  " 'speaking forsoothly' well"? " Well, indeed, Julian. To what purpose 
is the affectation of archaic speech if those you speak to are not 
qualified to judge (or understand) what you are doing? And to yourself- how 
do you know you're doing it right? Have you sound recordings? Who are you 
doing this for?

I live in a kingdom where you can hardly swing a cat without hitting a 
Norseman, a Mongol, or a Scythian. It would be pointless for them to 
communicate in Late Middle or Early Modern English, and even more so for me 
to talk to them in Middle French. So how would using an archaic form of 
English be any better than speaking plain modern English? What has been 
accomplished? You play in a small group that is focused on a particular 
place and time, and it is effective for you do manipulate the language to 
fit. But the rest of us do not. The scope of our context is too broad for 
such detail to be effective, or have any real meaning.

Most SCAdians really don't have the background to pull it off successfully 
(and yes Julian _I do_) and attempts are usually on the spectrum between 
silly and ghastly. And they've gained nothing except in weirdness factor. 
(And usually it marks them as a 'newbie who'd trying _really_ hard'.) And 
lets not get into SCA euphemisms for modern objects- that just gives me a 
headache.

I've taught persona development is a number of different venues, and in my 
experience, this is what works best in the SCA context: Be conscious in 
your speech; avoid when possible modern slang and colloquialisms- speak a 
little more formally. Use polite forms of address, and titles where 
applicable. An expression from your context used occasionally, even if 
limited to the occasional oath or cuss word, lands a 'difference' that will 
not likely interfere with effective communication. For instance, my lord 
and I are in 1405- he in Scotland and Gascony (what a combo, eh?) and 
myself in Normandy and Poitou (I lost my English possessions when 
Bolingbroke deposed Richard). A sprinkling of French here and there, works 
well, and the exclamation of "Jesu Maria!" is what you might hear if we've 
stubbed a toe on a stake (well, that and a few French and Anglo-Saxon curse 
words ;-). But why would we use Early Modern English? How would that be 
more appropriate than modern English?

So much for my two livres. Hmm. Can I get change? ;-)

'Lainie
(gotta head back upstairs and back to work on the new pavilion. *sigh*)
___________________________________________________________________________
O it is excellent to have a giant's strength; but it is tyrannous To use it 
like a giant--Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, Act II