Me reading "Pangur Bán" in a reconstruction of late Old Irish Pronunciation with my English translation
This poem about a monk-scribe & his pet cat is easily the most famous of Old Irish poems, & since the internet was made for cats, it was only a matter of time before I made this. The anonymous author was an Irish monk operating at or near Reichenau Abbey in what is today Germany in the 9th century. The poem is found in his notebook
In which I read a page from Lord of the Rings out loud in Old English translation
The pronunciation I use is meant to reflect a rather late period, when monophthongization of the old diphthongs was extensive and contrasts of unstressed final vowels were growing unstable. That's why you hear things like the "eo" grapheme read as /œ/ or /ø:~øʉ/, why those final vowels are often schwa-ified.
A reading of Jaques' "All the world's a stage" monologue from Shakespeare's "As You Like It" in a reconstruction of 17th century pronunciation.
I gave Jaques a more advanced/innovative pronunciation than I do in many of my other readings, with a WAIT/MATE merger at /ɛ:/, full loss of the velar fricative and some other things.
In which I read Shakespeare's Sonnet 81 in a reconstruction of early 17th century pronunciation, and also in my normal accent for comparison.
Note, in this reading, that the words "grave" and "have" are full rhymes, as are "o'er-read" (inf.) and "dead". You can read more about this on the entry at my patreon page for this sonnet:
In which I read some passages from the poet Rudaki (9th-10th centuries) in a reconstruction of Early New Persian pronunciation and also in my English translation.
Complete with nasalized long vowels, still quite peripheral short vowels, and phonemic /xʷ ð β ɣ q w ē ō/. The text shown, as before, uses ذ for all instances of /ð/, and ڤ for /β/.
Thank you for sharing! I can't gauge the accuracy of the translation, but you definitely captured the rhyming, and the poems are meaningful in English as you recite them.
When you record King Henry's famous speech before the walls of Harfleur in a reconstruction of Early Modern English phonology, and.....decide that the king's speech needs to be interrupted by a suicide attacker a couple lines in.
It's recordings like these that I only make when I have access to reasonably soundproof environs
In which I read a few passages from the poet Rudaki (9th-10th centuries) in a reconstruction of Early New Persian pronunciation and also in my English translation. Complete with nasalized long vowels, still quite peripheral short vowels, and phonemic /xʷ ð β ɣ q w ē ō/. The text shown, as before, uses ذ for all instances of /ð/, and ڤ for /β/.
"You stole the scent and redness from the rose
For your cheek's color and hair's scent. It shows.
Streams where you wash your face run gorgeous red.
You let your hair down, and a musk-wind blows."
— Rōdakī (tr. from Persian)
Ay az gul-i surx rang birbūda u bō
rang az pay-i rux rabūda, bō az pay-i mō
gulrang šawad ču rōy šōyī hama jō
muškīn gardad ču mō fišānī hama kō
"If sovereignty hangs in a lion's jaws,
Then rob his fangs. Go. This risk's yours to run.
Win glory, fame and power to give laws
Or end as heroes end. Take death head-on."
— Hanzala Badghisi tr. from Persian (9th century)
mihtarī gar ba kām-i šēr dar ast
šaw, xatar kun, zi kām-i šēr bijōy
yā buzurgī u 'izz u ni'mat u jāh
yā ču mardānt marg rōyārōy
"If you can master your own mind, then you're a man.
If you don't mock the deaf and blind, then you're a man.
It is not manliness to kick men when they're down.
Give fallen men a hand. Be kind. Then, you're a man."
— Rōdakī (10th century), tr. from Persian
Gar bar sar-i nafs-i xwad amīrī, mardī
bar kōr u kar ar nukta nagīrī, mardī
mardī nabuwad futādarā pāy zadan
gar dast-i futādaē bigīrī, mardī.
"We ride a world of fickle, rough terrain.
Don't spur the horse, friend. Ride with easy rein.
Weigh all your words, but speak them from the heart.
Find the right road. Take it, and fear no pain.
When fate's wheels crush me, I will beg no mercy.
When sorrow rattles me, I won't complain.
This universe is blind. What use is virtue?
The wheeling heavens are deaf. We wail in vain."
— Qatrān of Tabrēz (11th century), tr. from Persian
My reading of the first section of the Nibelungenlied in reconstructed Middle High German pronunciation, with my English verse-translation. Followed by me singing the first two verses at the end.
"Everything's right as it should be. It is
A festive time. So yes: feast with them too.
Why drag out your anxieties and fears?
Destiny's state will do what it must do.
Scheming like some Vizier won't turn out well.
The hands of fate will not be turned askew.
Life's wheel cannot create your substitute.
Your mother will not bear another you.
God will not shut a door on you without
Another hundred opening. Go through."
— Rōdakī, tr. From Persian by Yours Truly
Here's sonnets 18 and 19 in a reconstruction of early 17th century London pronunciation. Note the rhyme of "blood"/"brood", and the preserved /æ:/ under secondary stress in "temperate".
I included readings in my normal accent for comparison.