By the year 1250, new towns developed in England that were free of feudal control. After the
Plague of 1348 and The Hundreds’ Year War[1337-1453], the value of the laboring classes steadily rose.
In the year 1476, William Caxton, the first printer in England, set up his printing press at Westminster.
The middle class was becoming more literate. Leaders of the organized church knew they’d better get
together to get their stories straight as to what spin on The Truth should be fed to the masses. The King
James version of the Bible became available to many more people than any other church teachings had
been.
The King James Bible [1611] is considered by many a major part of our history as an English
speaking Christian culture. I recall the wife of a Christian minister, also an assistant director of a Christian
school, many times boasted that she preferred reading the King James Version of the Bible because “ it’s
so poetic.” Modern English speakers often value language like that of Shakespeare and of King James
as more sophisticated and therefore superior. I consider a language superior [ most effective ] when high
minded thoughts can be communicated to the extent that we’re edified as a collective race-consciousness.
What I saw, when I daily encountered that minister’s wife, was an arrogant, rude, hateful, condescending ,
hauty person.
Consider the following passages, first in King James language, and then from the Modern
English Living Bible. Perhaps if we got down to the real nitty gritty as to the purpose of language, and
assimilated some of these ideas into our consciousness, we’d then be an edified culture… Perhaps…
Proverbs 6: 16- 19- King James Version
16 These six things
doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto Him:
17 A proud look , a
lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood.
18 An heart that
deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief.
19 A false witness
that speaketh lies and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Living Bible version :
16-19 For there are
six things the Lord hates – no, seven:
haughtiness, lying,
murdering, plotting evil, eagerness to do wrong, a false witness, sowing discord
among brothers.
I Corinthians 13:4-7 King James version
4 Charity suffereth
long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not
puffed up,
5 Doth not
behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her
own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in
iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things,
believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
4 Love is very
patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud,
5 Never haughty or
selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or
touchy.
It does not hold
grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong.
6 It is nevr glad
about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out.
7 If you love
someone you will be loyal to him no
matter what the cost. You will always believe
in him, and always
expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him.
King
James’ language may be more poetic but
I believe the Living Bible is
easier to understand, don’t you?
Notes about King James
language in contrast to Present Day English :
·
Use of the
verb “to be” - -
“feet that be swift” is an odd use of third
person plural [=they]
just as in the phrase, “the powers that
be.”
{ By the way, remind me –
What’s a verb
? }
·
Use of
relative pronouns - -
In Middle English, the language of King
James,
we find “which” in many instances where
we
could expect “who”. For example,
“Our father which art in heaven.”
{ By the way, remind me –
What’s a pronoun
? }
·
The article
“an” - -
Today
we use “an” before vowel sounds only, as opposed
to
older, more liberal uses, for example,
“
an heart.”
{ By the way, remind me –
What’s an article
? }
·
Plurals - -
In
Old English, plural nouns typically ended in
-as [masculine nominative-accusative**]
-a [feminine**]
-u [ neuter**].
** cases
{ By the way, remind me –
What does case
mean? }
{ By the way, remind me –
What’s a noun
? }
In
Middle English, most nouns acquired the same
plural ending, -es, although for awhile, the
–n
plural ending, like in brethren, was popular.
{ By the way, remind me –
What’s a plural
? }
Comments? Visit Becks' Back Porch here.
TUTORPAL IS NEW
& GROWING. PLEASE VISIT AGAIN SOON !