MovieChat Forums > 1066 (2009) Discussion > Mind your language

Mind your language

posted 15 years ago by dogmatix-4
10 replies | jump to latest

Just got this production on DVD (not being UK-based any more, I missed it on Channel4), thought it was very good.

I particularly liked the use of the Anglo-Saxon, Old Norse and Old French languages. A pity that only the first few lines in each case were spoken in those languages before reverting to modern English, albeit flavoured with a few Aglo-Saxon style expressions. I would have much preferred all the dialogue to have been in authentic languages, with subtitles. I realise that this wold have put a greater burden on the actors, but I think it would have been worth it!

[–] Bardyllis 14 years ago

Unfortunately, Søren Byder and the extras by the longship actually speak modern Danish. Furthermore, Stiklestad didn't look at all like itself, and in any case Harald didn't sail from there (it's not even by the coast). Finally (and pedantically), "vikingr" is actually the singular form, while "vikingar" is plural and means "vikings" and the word actually meant raider. Why not just call them vikings? Or even better, Norsemen, Norwegians or Danes.

I really enjoyed the way they dealt with the English' language. Having every line of dialogue in Old English would have been a huge challenge, so I'm glad they at least put in some Old English words and kept the latinate words out as much as possible. Fantastic work.

[–] Hannes-15 14 years ago

Hákon and his people speak Icelandic, at least in the begining.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Norm_uk 12 years ago

Icelandic is probably closer to Old Norse than what they spoke in this production.

The Normans were actually speaking modern French at one point. Still, it was good to see a production that tried to show the people at the time didn't speak the languages we know today.

N.

"You are entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts"

[–] murad23 11 years ago

Exactly. By 1060 the Normans were speaking only French -- even among each other.

[–] Norm_uk 9 years ago

What is amazing is how England has kept enough of the root words from the Saxon era to still be a Germanic language.

Almost all our technical and professional language is Greek and Latin - and almost every single word has an original English word that can be used. Many educated foreigners learning English find this really frustrating...as an example a Dermatologist is a Skin Doctor...so why not just call them skin doctors? Poets are Word Smiths. A Dictionary is a Word Book and so on and so forth.

The answer is Franco-Norman elitism (who replaced most of the Saxon ruling class) and keeping professions mysterious to the common man. I hate this with a passion and wish we could apply the efforts of some scholars (such as the folk who came up with the Anglish Moot) to make English 'cleaner'...alas the ship has long sailed though.

N.

[–] ContinentalOp 8 years ago

What is amazing is how England has kept enough of the root words from the Saxon era to still be a Germanic language.

There is more to language than that anyway, you have things like syntax as well, but yes it does retain most root words.

The answer is Franco-Norman elitism (who replaced most of the Saxon ruling class) and keeping professions mysterious to the common man. I hate this with a passion and wish we could apply the efforts of some scholars (such as the folk who came up with the Anglish Moot) to make English 'cleaner'...alas the ship has long sailed though.

Problem is that many people have stolen such efforts due to racialist and xenophobic beliefs so a lot of people were put off by that. But actually English could do with ditching many of the elitist words, which are mostly not even Norman French even!

Formerly KingAngantyr

[–] TheGreatBambino (207) 2 years ago

Yes, and it was their own variety of French, distinct from the Parisian or Continental French varieties of that time period.

[–] Blueghost 8 years ago

It was okay.

[–] TheGreatBambino (207) 2 years ago

If you enjoyed that aspect, see the series "Vikings" for more use of those old languages.