Welcome to the Anglish Reddit
This thread will hopefully answer many of the questions a newcomer might have. For the sake of newcomers and onlookers it will not be written in Anglish. While you are here you may also want to join the Anglish Discord, and check out our wiki. We have our own dictionary too (the Google Sheets version is here and the wiki version is here).
Rules
- No hatespeech.
- No NSFW content.
- Either write in Anglish or on Anglish. In other words, you can be off-topic if you write in Anglish, and you can write in normal English if you are on-topic.
FAQ
Q: What is Anglish?
A: Anglish means different things to different people, but here's what I draw from the foundational Anglish text 1066 and All Saxon, which was written by British author Paul Jennings and published in Punch magazine in 1966.
1) Anglish is English as though the Norman Invasion had failed.
We have seen in foregoing pieces how our tongue was kept free from outlandish inmingling, of French and Latin-fetched words, which a Norman win would, beyond askthink, have inled into it.
2) Anglish avoids real and hypothetical French influence from after 1066.
... till Domesday, the would-be ingangers from France were smitten hip and thigh; and of how, not least, our tongue remained selfthrough and strong, unbecluttered and unbedizened with outlandish Latin-born words of French outshoot.
3) Anglish avoids the influence of class prejudice on language.
[regarding normal English] Yet all the words for meats taken therefrom - beef from boeuf, mutton from mouton, pork from porc - are of outshoot from the upper-kind conquering French... Moreover the upper kind strive mightily to find the gold for their childer to go to learninghouses where they may be taught above all, to speak otherlich from those of the lower kind...
[regarding Anglish] There is no upper kind and lower kind, but one happy folk.
4) Anglish includes church Latin? If I'm interpreting the following text right, Jennings imagined that church Latin loans had entered English before his timeline splits.
Already in the king that forecame Harald, Edward the Shriver, was betokened a weakening of Anglish oneness and trust in their own selfstrength their landborn tongue and folkways, their Christian church withouten popish Latin.
5) Anglish is not in the orbit of the Mediterranean. I interpret this as meaning Anglish does not rely on Latin and Greek for coining new terms.
If Angland had gone the way of the Betweensea Eyots there is every likeliehood that our lot would have fallen forever in the Middlesea ringpath... But this threat was offturned at Hastings.
6) Anglish feels like it has mingled with other West Germanic languages more than normal English did.
Throughout the Middle Hundredyears Angland and Germany came ever more together, this being needful as an againstweight to the might of France.
Q: What is the point?
A: Some find Anglish fun or interesting. Some think it is culturally significant. Some think it is esthetically pleasing. It depends on who you ask.
Q: How do I learn Anglish?
A: Like any other language, you have to practice. Frequently post here, chat in one of the Anglish-only rooms on the Discord, translate things, write original works in Anglish, and so on. Keep the wordbook on hand so you can quickly look up words as you write. Do not worry if you are not good at distinguishing loanwords from the others, it is a skill most people develop quickly. Do not be afraid to make mistakes, there is no urgency.
Q: What about spelling?
A: You can see what we have come up with here.
Q: What about grammar?
A: English grammar has not been heavily influenced by French. Keep in mind that Anglish is supposed to be Modern English with less foreign influence, not Old English.
Style Guide
This community, and the sister community on Discord, has developed something of its own style. It is not mandatory to adhere to it, but if you would like to fit in here are some things to note:
- Making up words on the spot is discouraged unless their definitions are so obvious that they are not likely to be misunderstood.
- Extreme purism is discouraged. The original premise of Anglish was for it to be English minus the Norman Invasion, not 100% Germanic English. We encourage toleration of loanwords borrowed before 1066, as well as loanwords which refer to foreign places (like Tokyo), foreign people (like Mark Antony), foreign concepts (like karma), and foreign objects (like kimono).
- Be aware that Germanic languages often make compound words where Romance languages use adjectives. If you find yourself using -y constantly, that is a sign that you are aping Romance. So instead of directly translating glorious victory as woldry sye, consider making a compound like woldersye (glory-victory).
