What language do they speak when ..

[dkth]

they cast their spells?

[Syn]

Hopefull not gibberish, I hate shows that do that.

[TMLS]

It's English. Just a very early form of it. Check out the works of Geoffrey Chaucer for something similar (although Merlin uses an even earlier version).

Technically the whole show should be like it, but it's not about accuracy

[LovelyLoisLane]

I thought it was ancient Welsh or Celtic.

[TMLS]

No, listen close. I studied Chaucer for A Level (for outsiders, a higher course you do after high school but before going to University/college) so know it well. Plus why would it be a Celtic language? They're not Celts in this version.

Plus I googled it to make certain before posting in case I was wrong

[LovelyLoisLane]

No, listen close. I studied Chaucer for A Level (for outsiders, a higher course you do after high school but before going to University/college) so know it well. Plus why would it be a Celtic language? They're not Celts in this version.

Plus I googled it to make certain before posting in case I was wrong

I knew they weren't Celts, but ya never know what language they might be using on a TV show and I have no idea what Celt sounds like. In the old stories from my mother country everyone spoke Latin.


You give me this little informative thing and then say . . . "Plus, I Googled it." Silly, silly.


What is Antique/Ancient English called? Old Britannia maybe? My brother bought me a Forgotten English thesaurus/dictionary, but it's more words not often used anymore. Like 'verily'


I've seen Arthurian names written different, and in a few books they called it the Fae Tongue, but I have no idea what that is.

King Arthur became Kyng Artur
Bedivere was Bedwyr.

Names like that, is that the same thing as Chaucer English? I'm a Modern-Lit graduate, I should know things like that, but I don't. Then again it was Modern Lit.

[TMLS]

Googled it "to make certain", ie I knew it but wanted to make sure so as not to give duff information based on my interpretation (especially as it's something I haven't seen for nearly a year).

Chaucer's stuff is deemed "Middle English", but the Merlin dialogue isn't quite as "modern" as that. I actually can see where the Celt bit comes from, since there is a similarity in inflection but it really is different enough that you can tell the difference. Coming from near Wales, I speak a bit of modern Welsh - which is similar to Celtic.

I'd guess what they're using is a dramatised version of Middle English, changed slightly to fit the show's requirements.

[LovelyLoisLane]

Googled it "to make certain", ie I knew it but wanted to make sure so as not to give duff information based on my interpretation (especially as it's something I haven't seen for nearly a year).

Chaucer's stuff is deemed "Middle English", but the Merlin dialogue isn't quite as "modern" as that. I actually can see where the Celt bit comes from, since there is a similarity in inflection but it really is different enough that you can tell the difference. Coming from near Wales, I speak a bit of modern Welsh - which is similar to Celtic.

I'd guess what they're using is a dramatized version of Middle English, changed slightly to fit the show's requirements.

I thought you were just being cute about it.


I was under impression that Camelot was suppose to be situated in the Wales area more than England (within the show itself, not in actuality, I know its filmed in France), and I think I've seen a few fans of the show talking about their 'Welsh' skills in accordance with the show. That's where I got the Ancient Welsh from, but I have to defer to you locals on that one because I really have no idea. I'm certain you'd be more knowledgeable about the history of your own area (and by proxy, its linguistic history) than 'I' would. My own knowledge on what Celtic sounds like, on a scale of one-to-ten, rests at about zero.


Would it be apt to call the language 'Ancient Welsh' as well then, as I've picked up on some fan boards, or is that just a fan thing?


It does sound quite 'dramatic' and very different from today's English, though I have noted that place and people names stay the same, at least with the spell work Nimueh was weaving.


Thank you for the information, since 'my' guesswork was pretty much a shot in the dark.


On an off note, would the Druids in the story technically be speaking Celtic or is their language called Druidic? I've seen both in literature before. I know they were speaking regular 'ole English in 'Beginning of the End' (Though creepy-and-somewhat-adorable Mordred was doing a lot of the talking IN his head..) but I have a feeling their own language wouldn't be that. I can't recall what the druid that acted like Mordred's father/mentor at the start of the episode was saying, when he cast that one spell. Maybe it was the same as Nimueh and Merlin's spell work.

[Heleen]

The spells are for the most part in Old English. This is the language they spoke from 400-1066 (when the Normans invaded). Though I often have the subtitles on (I'm a bit lazy) and read the spells, I never checked whether all spells were completely in this language.

I'm a student of English and had to follow the compulsery course called "Old and Middle English". It was actually a very interesting course in which we discussed a lot of the King Arhur legend too. Funnily enough this was all when the first season was on tv!

Camelot is believed to be situated in Cornwall, as in one of the Historia (a book in which events, namely battles, were noted) Arthur is said to be a Celt. And the Celts were pushed away by the Anglo-Saxons and all gathered in West England, Wales and Ireland. Also, though Old English referes to the language spoken at that stage over all England, it was mainly the Mercian language that was taken into making this standard.

Hope to have informered you enough .

[genvillewars92]

It's very interesting, I love the whole legend and mythology of King Arthur and Merlin, you just can't tire of it

[Keli]

It's really similar to icelandic but the accent is off...
he says "dreka" (actually sounds more like dreg-ha) and the ambers form a dragon (in s1e10)
In icelandic the word for dragon is "Dreki"
(take note i'm translating each word, i'm not bending the sentences)
((Declension by case))
Hér er dreki - here is dragon (Nominative)
Um dreka - about dragon (Accusative)
Frá dreka -from dragon (Dative)
Til dreka - to dragon (Genitive)
i know you really don't care but it bothered me when i watched that show and he said dreka and not dreki.

Well that's just an example, most of the spells are some kind of old english/norse/icelandic
(doesn't really matter what you call it, most of it is the same)


oh... i'm icelandic btw.

----- Added 9 Minutes later -----

...but it's more words not often used anymore. Like 'verily' ...

I think verily is the same as the icelandic "Verulega"
often used to intensify sentences but in essence it only means... "Really"

[supervardon]

Hello there. I'm a newbie so here goes....
Merlin etc. has nothing to do with english history, it is of Welsh origin hence all of the Welsh names. Also, there is no such thing as one Celtic language.
In fact, Welsh is the oldest language in europe.

[Purged]

Welsh is the oldest language in europe.

In fact Welsh is not the oldest language, but is one of the oldest languages.
In my opinion I believe that Ancient Greek is the oldest language because the Ancient Greeks were the first Civilization to use the Phoenician alphabet, the first alphabet created on this planet I believe...