A Conversational Phrasebook
Culled from the Old English Corpus
for the englisc list
By Catherine N. Ball
Eala ðu lareow, tæce me sum ðing. [Aelfric, Grammar]
NB: all examples occur in the Old English Corpus, unless marked with an asterisk (* = ‘unattested’).
Greetings
| Ic grete þe. | I greet you (sing.). |
| Ælfric abbod gret freondlice Sigwerd æt Eastheolon. | Aelfric Abbot greets in-friendship Sigwerd at Eastheolon. |
| Cnut cyning gret his arcebiscopas … freondlice. | Cnut King greets his archbishops … in-friendship. |
| Willelm cyngc gret ealle mine þegenas on Eoferwicscire Frencisce and Englisce freondlice. | William King greets all my thegns in Yorkshire, French and English, in friendship. |
| Wes ðu hal. Hal wes þu. Sy ðu hal. Wes gesund. |
Hail! or Farewell! (‘be thou hale/healthy/well (etc.)’) |
| Beoð ge gesunde. | Hail! or Farewell! (plural) |
| Wilcume. | Welcome! |
| Wilcuman la, mine hlafordas. | Welcome, my lords! |
Forms of Address
| Broðor min | My brother, … |
| Sweostor min | My sister, … |
| Lareow | Teacher, … |
| Leof | Friend, … (or Sir, …) |
| Hlaford | Lord, … |
| Hlaford min | My lord, … |
| Hlæfdige | Lady, … |
| Hlæfdige min | My lady, … |
| Men ða leofestan | Dearest men, … |
| Leofe broðra | Dear brothers, … |
Introductions
| Hwæt eart þu? | Who are you (sing.)? |
| Beowulf is min nama. | My name is Beowulf. |
| Min nama is Michael. | My name is Michael. |
Interjections (betwuxaworpennyss)
| Wa me | Woe is me! |
| Eala | Alas! Lo! (etc.) |
| La | Lo! Oh! Ah! (etc.) |
| Wa la wa | Woe! (etc.) |
Reply Headers
Useful when quoting previous messages (e.g. using the ‘Reply’ function in e-mail):
| *Sarra ure sweostor awrat on þæm iii dæg thæs monþes: | cf. ‘On Sat, 3 Jan 1997, Sarah L. Higley wrote:’ |
Short Replies
| Giese. | Yes. |
| Gea. Nese. |
No. |
| Ic þe þancas do | Thank you [I give you (sing.) thanks] |
| Ic sæcge eow þancas | Thank you [I say you (pl.) thanks] |
| Ic þancie þe | Thank you [I thank you (sing.)] |
| Soþ is þæt þu segst! | What you (sing.) say is true! |
| Wel ðu writst. | You write well. |
| Ic nat. | I don’t know. |
Useful Connectives
| and (&, 7) | and |
| ac | but |
Miscellaneous
| Broðor, ic þe secge … | Brother, I say to you (sing.): … |
| Ic þe axige … | I ask you (sing.): … |
Copyright © 1997 Catherine N. Ball [Last updated January 9, 1997]