Episode 1 (Shakespeare's Original Pronunciation)

This first podcast focuses on Shakespeare’s Original Pronunciation (the dialect of English spoken in the late 16th and early 17th century). It also serves as an introduction to the entire In a Manner of Speaking series, as Paul briefly touches on several topics of upcoming podcasts. For more information about the Orlando Shakespeare Theater’s upcoming production of Twelfth Night, visit the site. And here is the Original Pronunciation text that Paul references:

If music be the food of love, play on
ɪf mju̹ːzɪk beː ðə fu̹ːd ə lɤv ple ɑːn

Give me excess of it, that surfeiting,
gɪ mɪ ɪksɛs əv ɪt ðət sɐ˞fətɪn

The appetite may sicken and so die.
ðɪ apətəit mɛ sɪkn̩ n̩ so dəi

That strain again! It had a dying fall.
ðat stɹɛːn əgɛn ɪt ad ə dəiɪn fɑːɫ

O, it came o’er my ear like the sweet sound
o ɪt kɛː oə˞ mɪ i˞ ləik ðə sweːt səʊnd

That breathes upon a bank of violets.
ðət bɹeːðz əpɑn ə baŋk ə vəiəlɪts

[Duke Orsino,  Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare, Act I, Scene 1]

(Bach’s Cello Suite #1 in G Major BMV 1007 Prelude (by Ivan Dolgunov) courtesy of Jamendo Licensing.)

The post Episode 1 (Shakespeare’s Original Pronunciation) first appeared on Paul Meier Dialect Services.