• Help convert this to Shakespearean/ Ye Olde English
    2 replies, posted
Hello lingual masters, I need some help with some phrases I need to convert these phrases into Shakespearean/ Ye Olde English style: "GIVE UP" "DON"T GIVE UP" "REVIVE - WATCH PROMOTIONAL VIDEO" I need to incorporate them into a game I'm making, but I figure it would be boring if I just use those phrases. Those phrases are the options after you had a 'game over' The game is in NES - 8bit style graphic, the settings are medieval, but not too serious or dark or anything. Any suggestions?
I've been googling for a whole 10 minutes or so and resources on Early Modern English (the term for Shakespearen English that linguists use) are actually kind of hard to come by. Personally, I wouldn't bother stressing it to make it completely accurate as not many people will notice. Doesn't mean there aren't things that can be added, though. There are a few basic parts of EME grammar that you can apply. I would end the verbs with "-st" or "-est", and put "thee" next to them. From what I can tell, EME did have do-support, but to make the second sentence more arcadey, I would just use put a "not" after the verb. EME also did the "ye" thing, which is actually a definite article, and a pretty long story, so you can use the sentence like that. The sentences would end up looking like; "GIVEST THEE UP" "GIVEST NOT THEE UP" "REVIVEST - WATCHEST YE PROMOTIONAL VIDEO" Mind, EME is a little bit later than what is typically considered the "medieval" period (with all the knights and castles and tapestries and whatever) but that's a history nitpick. Unless you're dead set on realism, you don't need to worry about that.
If you want a bit of Chaucerian bent, you could; Gyve upp! Gyve upp ye notte! Revive! See þe vydeo of promoϸyn! If you're using 'ye' make sure you only use it when you mean 'you'. Otherwise you make people like me laugh at you.
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