The First English Conversation, feat. Dr. Colin Gorrie | Episode XXXII

Ælfric's Colloquy is a dialogue between a teacher and his students, written both in Old English and Latin, designed to teach Latin to Anglo-Saxon schoolboys. It is also the earliest record of a (relatively) realistic English-language conversation. In celebration of the Ancient Language Institute's new Old English program, Dr. Colin Gorrie joins Jonathan and Ryan to walk through the Colloquy and to talk about language learning, education, and literacy in medieval England.

Ælfric's Colloquy (Old English): https://www.kul.pl/files/165/history%20of%20english/texts2009/aelfriccolloquy-translation.pdf

Colloquium Ælfrici (Latine): https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/12358426/colloquium-aelfrici-1-nos-pueri-rogamus-te-magister-ut-doceas-nos-

Ælfric's Colloquy (modern English translation): https://www.kentarchaeology.ac/authors/016.pdf

David Sedaris's "Me Talk Pretty One Day": https://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/a1419/talk-pretty-0399/

Eleanor Dickey's Learn Latin from the Romans: https://bookshop.org/a/25626/9781316506196

C. P. Wormald's "The Uses of Literacy in Anglo-Saxon England and Its Neighbours": https://www.jstor.org/stable/3679189

Watch an Old English Beginner Lesson with Dr. Gorrie: https://youtu.be/YwECgGWCwis

Old English at the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/old-english/

New Humanists is brought to you by the Ancient Language Institute: https://ancientlanguage.com/

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Music: Save Us Now by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com