Can Dutch understand Old English? - Old English VS Dutch

The English language as we know it today is totally different from the Old English language. I bet you wouldn't understand a lot from the English language in the year 1000 AD.
As a matter of fact, the Old English language was much more similar to Dutch. Do you know what "stol" means?

#oldenglish #languagelearning #ancientlanguage

[lars]

In the north of the Netherlands there is a province called Friesland, thats were i live. We have our own language here, its called “Fries” and it is even closer to old English. There is a old video on YouTube were a Englishman tries to buy a brown cow from a Frisian farmer while speaking old English and they understand each other quite good!

[robert]

As a German I could figure out parts of the text from the similarity to german and then going on with logic and context. But i'm talking about small parts

[PrinceWalacra]

Yes, even the language Shakespeare wrote and spoke is very easy to understand for modern Dutch speakers

[FRIKANDL]

Belgian Dutch speaker here, I want to try this

[PeterHeinens]

so I am Dutch and at first I didn't understand (except for the counting of course) but when you explained it, it made a lot of sense and it is very similar I don't know how much of the language is similar but if it would be allmost all this similar it would probably be very easy to learn in a short amount of time.

[lGalaxisl]

Even today I learned about my west flemish dialect's close similarities with english.

Here are examples, first dutch, then west flemish, then english:
Donder -> dunder -> thunder
Zon -> zunne -> sun
Boter -> butter* -> butter
Dun -> dinne -> thin
Luisteren -> lustr'n -> to listen
Gebracht -> 'ebroht** -> brought
Gezegd -> 'ezeit** -> said

* west flemish butter has a soft 't' sound as opposed to english 'd'. Also the 'r' is different
** in west flemish the 'g' becomes a 'h' but in west-west flemish the 'h' often just disappears alltogether. I'd say "hebroht" & "hezeit"

[boxerfencer]

The real question is can a Frisian person understand old English, or middle engrish.

[lugo_]

Frisian is much closer than Dutch. And maybe also Danish.

[jarco]

Flemish people easily understand old english when we get time and context we can just understand it

[robmcrob]

Not written!
Spoken, yes, a little.
I speak English, German and Dutch.
Old English has an archaic alphabet with letters no longer used in any of these languages, digraphs which are difficult to interpret, vowels which obviously sounded different back then and very inflected grammar. It's almost impossible to read.

Spoken it makes more sense.

The written version i think an Icelander might get more of than a Dutch person tbh.

[tammo]

I am Dutch and can understand written Old English, some words are the same and otherwise it is possible to figure it out. But when spoken its really difficult only a word here and there and some familiar sounds.

[max]

The good old German counting system...

[Akuya-de]

it's because they were Saxons, from germany. and german and dutch to this day are really similar (german was the first language I started to learn, dutch the third and last. and thanks to my german, I could get durch quite easily.)
and I understood most of here really good

[FebruaryHasDays]

Which is easier to understand, Old English or Gen Alpha?

[lydiamusima]

As a native English speaker, when I listen to Dutch 🇳🇱 it sounds very old English

[Ugugggu]

I can understand spoken middle english as dutch

[ansibarius]

Most people probably would have trouble understanding Old Dutch, let alone Old English.

[tigerland]

The UK didn't exist in 1000 its only been in existence since 1801 lol (in its current form since 1922)

[mattbukovski]

Lol. In Polish "stół" means a table 😂 not a chair 😅

[joppejaapbusscher]

Reading is harder then lissning and i think frysian is even closer to old English... hi dutchie here