If I am to be honest, I have been
dreading this moment since the first day of class. (Sorry, Dr.
Mitchell-Buck!) The art of blogging I have little experience with and
this mode of communication and expression I find very intimidating.
I know, I am not living up to my Millennial generation stereotypes or
expectations. So, here goes. . .
To begin: I don't know about the rest
of the class (since the poll taken today during class was answered
blindly), but I will admit that my first read of The Canterbury Tales (that I am proud to say
was attempted aloud, Dr. MB) of the opening lines of this piece were
difficult, scary and, just like writing this blog, intimidating. For
the first time, I was speaking broken English and experiencing the
bitter taste of learning (Middle) English as my “secondary”
language. I now empathize with ESL students! Well, not exactly, but
nevertheless, I thought I was going to be a lost cause in the realm
of learning Middle English. And although, I was mesmerized my the
melodic and lullaby qualities of it being read in the audio clip, the
meaning behind the pretty words on the page confused and escaped me.
Today's class period, though, filled
me with relief and I've got a feeling I'm not the only student who
felt this way either. The lesson on Middle English pronunciation
through reading it correctly has effectively sparked a renewed
interest and stimulated excitement about continuing to read this
Chaucer-ian work.
One of the thoughts that struck me as
we read this foreign form of English was how similar it was (in its
sound and written form) to the other languages, especially European
languages. I kept hearing words that sounded like French, Spanish,
Italian, a 'confident Scotsman'. . .it reinforced how interconnected
the world's languages are and obviously were even back in the Middle
Ages. And I wondered if this also struck some of my classmates. Did
any of you also think Middle English words resembled those of other
languages in sound and composition? Which ones in particular?
You are sweet. I am completely used to people dreading the first day of Middle English. Heck, I may have dreaded it too, but it was so long ago I have since forgotten it!
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