Banestorm language question - english?

[Maz]

Hi I am very new to Banestorm.

Reading page 33 in the book. There is a lot about different languages.
However something is unclear to me:

How well would a person with modern day english be able to understand Anglish?


The wording, with the "heavy norman-french influence" reference, seems to indicate that it closely resembles our-world English. But it's not stated outright.


I am planning on running a "people from our modern world ends up on Yrth"-game. However they will be Danish people with a mix of accented-level english in a weird mix of british/american english.
so how well will they understand Anglish?


...I know I could just rule anything from "not at all" to "somewhat" to "perfectly well", depending on what I want. But I am unsure what I actually want yet, so going with "how would it be per the rules" is as good a guideline as any.

[Rupert]

From further down p.33, English won't help you. French might if you land in just the right place. Being able to read Classical Arabic and speak either Classical or modern Arabic is good in the Muslim places, and Church Latin is good in Christian lands - these will at least let you speak to scholars and other educated people.

[Maz]

Originally Posted by Rupert

From further down p.33, English won't help you.

Ok. I just thoguht part of the point of the setting was that "most people speak almost-english". So words, names, and so on will be "in character" if in english.

[Alden Loveshade]

From GURPS Banestorm p. 33, "The Christian nations of Yrth speak Anglish, a language evolved from medieval English with heavy outside influences, mostly Norman-French." Keep in mind that the works of William Shakespeare and the (original) King James Bible are written in early Modern English.

If someone's doing a historical campaign set centuries in the past, the vignette on p. 5 has "His English had an odd accent." So an English speaker could understand the local English/Anglish.

In a modern campaign, keep in mind Niall of Fordham on p. 117. He is a native English speaker and writer, but spent full points for Anglish--there is no default between the two.

In a modern-day vignette in the current draft of my upcoming first GURPS book, GURPS Fantasy Folk: Elves, I have a Banestorm victim from Earth who's talked to but "can't understand a word of that stuff."

[Stormcrow]

Since the Banestorm happened in 1050, the "medieval English" mentioned is Old English, just prior to the Norman Conquest.

How well do you understand this? https://youtu.be/oFX1nbD3dV0

[Phantasm]

The "heavy Norman-French influence on the language" makes me think Anglish is closer to the Middle English of Chaucer..

[Alden Loveshade]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow

Since the Banestorm happened in 1050, the "medieval English" mentioned is Old English, just prior to the Norman Conquest.

True, the first Banestorm did happen in 1050, which is before the (to me somewhat arbitrary) 1066 cut-off point between Old and Middle English.

But keep in mind this on p. 7 on Banestorm activity: "Most of this occurred between the years 1050 and 1200 A.D., the approximate time of the Crusades on Earth." (And yes, I know some would put a gray area from Old to Middle English through about 1150.)

As much of the more modern people (1150 - 1200) would be alive when the earlier ones were dead, and as people generally seem to be more oriented toward learning new words than leaning old ones, I would lean to Middle English as having been primary. But as in all things, it's the GM's call.

[Þorkell]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow

How well do you understand this? https://youtu.be/oFX1nbD3dV0

Probably I am getting more of this than the average native English speaker.

[Donny Brook]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow

Since the Banestorm happened in 1050, the "medieval English" mentioned is Old English, just prior to the Norman Conquest.

How well do you understand this? https://youtu.be/oFX1nbD3dV0

As a native English speaker and having somewhere between Broken and Accented Danish, I think I'd have Broken level in understanding (though not speaking) that Medieval English. If Anglish has Norman French influences, that would bring it just a bit closer to something like Modern English. So I'd give the OPs characters Broken in Anglish.'

[Plane]

Originally Posted by Rupert

French might if you land in just the right place.

The trick is to be a native French speaker to get Broken skill in Aralaise for free, then buy that up to native, and then you get Accented skill in Anglish for free, then can buy that up.

No idea how Niall managed things. B25 says 4x as hard without a teacher. Not sure if that modifies B292 from "2 in 1 out" for Self-Teaching up to 4:1 (4x harder than being taught) or up to 8:1 (4x harder than self-teaching)

... ah Blake used magic! so he had a teacher, lucky.

It's weird how they don't list all the defaults. Niall should have "Aralaise (Accented; Free from Anglish) [0];" just like the Baron (BS145) but doesn't... and neither of them have "Northland (Broken; Free from Anglish) [0] (ie worth 2 perks: 1 for speak 1 for read) either

BS172 Blind Lars also seems kinda mispriced... his Native skill in speaking Northland illiterately should mean a default "Broken" use in yet he pays the full price for speaking Anglish illiterately: 3 points! Since broken is free I think he should only pay 2 points to buy it up, they forgot his perks!