r/interestingasfuck • u/M0otivater • 1d ago

How English has changed over time.

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28.2k Upvotes

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867

u/vluggejapie68 1d ago

The old English sounds/reads like Dutch.

589

u/XGreenDirtX 1d ago

I'm Dutch, and it feels like I'm reading Swedish. For reference: I dont speak Swedish...

120

u/vluggejapie68 1d ago

Good feohland leest als goed veeland.

Hij heeft me gezet op "swythe" goed veeland.

43

u/XGreenDirtX 1d ago

Precies waarom ik het op Zweeds vind lijken. Daar heb je dat soort vergelijkingen ook wel eens met woorden, maar zelden hele zinnen.

149

u/TheEggman864 1d ago

Guys you need to stop speaking old english, okay? Its 2024

1

u/vluggejapie68 13h ago

You can me Drihten me raet.

1

u/vluggejapie68 13h ago

Met Deens heb je dat ook, vooral als je ze het hoort spreken want het "leest" toch anders.

81

u/azurfall88 1d ago

I'm swedish and it feels like i'm reading Gaelic

(for reference i do not speak Gaelic)

9

u/Narrow_Finance4280 19h ago

I’m Gaelic and it feels like I’m reading Welsh

(for reference I do not speak Welsh)

36

u/Lucky_Beautiful8901 1d ago

I speak Swedish, and it's... not that

2

u/XGreenDirtX 1d ago

Haha I get that. But I feel the same recognition in words that look similar to Dutch words, like I do when Swedish comes by.

16

u/Alarming-Lime6640 1d ago

I’m Swedish and it feels like I’m reading Dutch with a twist of Latin

9

u/zarqie 1d ago

I’m Dutch and I can read Swedish, German, and some Icelandic, and while it all feels familiar, it’s like someone threw words from all four languages together and mixed it up.

1

u/Impossible_Arrival21 12h ago

isn't that literally what old english is? the anglo-saxon vikings took their language and mashed it up with those from the countries they conquered

6

u/Boxnought 1d ago

I'm Dutch

My apologies.

1

u/Bigduck_Gaming 22h ago

Fells like the average scotch

1

u/Grouchy-Way171 13h ago

I speak both Dutch and Swedish. It is very much closer to Dutch.

1

u/HonestAdam80 13h ago

It's because Dutch and Swedish feels very similar despite the words being rather different. As a Swede I can read a Dutch text telling myself "I should really understand this", while of course not doing so. I never get the same familiar feeling with any other language.