1. Pronunciation:
- The letter 'e' at the end of words was pronounced as a separate syllable. For example, "love" was pronounced as "love-eh."
- The letter 'y' was pronounced as an 'i' sound. For example, "my" was pronounced as "mi."
- The letter 'w' was pronounced as a 'v' sound. For example, "water" was pronounced as "vater."
- The letter 'j' did not exist, and the sound it represented was spelled with 'i' or 'y.'
2. Vocabulary:
- Many words in Middle English are no longer used today. For example, the word "fain" meant "glad" or "happy."
- Some words have changed their meaning over time. For example, the word "nice" originally meant "foolish" or "stupid."
- Many words in Middle English were borrowed from French. For example, the word "beef" comes from the French word "boef."
3. Grammar:
- The verb "to be" was conjugated differently in Middle English. The present tense forms were:
- Singular: I am, you are, he/she/it is
- Plural: we are, you are, they are
- The past tense of strong verbs was formed by adding '-ed' to the stem.
- The past participle of strong verbs was formed by adding '-en' to the stem.
4. Sentence Structure:
- Middle English sentences were often constructed differently from modern English sentences. For example, the object of a verb could come before the verb.
5. Dialects:
- There were many different dialects of Middle English spoken throughout England. Some of the major dialects included:
- Northern English
- Midland English
- Southern English
It's important to note that Middle English was a complex language with many variations. These tips provide a general overview of some of the key features of Middle English, but there were many exceptions and nuances to the rules.