Old English, Old Norse, and Danish!

I originally posted this elsewhere 2018-11-20 but ported it here to have a sample post in order to design this blog.

I love learning about the history of English, especially Old English. A while ago I read Stories of English and loved it so much that I have moved with it for a decade, across the Atlantic and twice across the US.

Last year I started learning Danish (with the help of Duolingo and Danish friends) and it re-ignited my interest in Old English. So I've read more and am 100+ hours into The History of English podcast, which is incredible. The podcast is so throughly researched and presented!

Unexpectedly, Danish has come to make a lot more sense! Instead of thinking of it as learning a new word for everything there are now many words for which a pattern can be applied to transform it into a modern English word or the Danish word is the same or nearly so as a now lost Old English word.

• 'sk' pairs in Old Norse became 'sh' in English so skip became ship (b's often became p's) and vask became wash (v's often became w's, think about wine and vin)
• Old English's fugol for bird and fugl in Danish; Old English's hus for house is still hus in Danish.

I love learning these patterns and the history behind all the changes in the language (though I do wish English had remained more Nordic/Germanic). And I love to share random etymology facts!

Here are some resources:

• Stories of English, David Crystal
• Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue, John McWhorter
• History of English Podcast
• Great Vowel Shift
• Grimm's Law