Duration 10:32

How Much of Modern English Came from Shakespeare

by Langfocus

150 339 watched

9.6 K

Published 13 May 2020

This video is all about William Shakespeare's impressive impact on the English language, including words and idioms that we use on a daily basis without even realizing it ! The following champions and elites support Langfocus at http://patreon.com/langfocus : Ali Mametraimov, AmateurTextualCriticism, Anjo Barnes, Auguste Fields, Bennett Seacrist, Bill Walderman, Brandon Gonzalez, Brian King, Clark Roth, Jacob Madsen, JING LUO, John Moffat, Karl-Erik Wångstedt, Kenny, Leon Jiang, Marcelo Loureiro, Matthew Etter, Michael Arbagi, Michael Cuomo, Michael Regal, Nobbi Lampe-Strang, Paul Falstad, Rosalind Resnick, Ruben Sanchez Jr, ShadowCrossZero, Victoria Goh, Vincent David, Walter Moore, Yuko Sunda, 19jks94, Abdullah Al-Kazaz, Adam Powell, Adam Vanderpluym, Admir Soko, Alan Corley, Alen, Alex Hanselka, Alexandre Smirnov, Ali Muhammed Alshehri, Alvin Quiñones, Andrew Woods, Anthony Peter Swallow, Aous Mansouri, Ashley Dierolf, Atsushi Yoshida, Avital Levant, Bartosz Czarnotta, Ben, Benn M, Brent Warner, Brian Begnoche, Brian Morton, Bruce Stark, Chelsea Boudreau, chris brown, Christian Langreiter, Christopher Lowell, Covid Corona Simatupang, Daniel Young, Darek, David Eggleston, David LeCount, Debbie Willow, Diane Young, DickyBoa, Dieter Raber, divad, Divadrax, Don Ross, Donald Tilley, Ed B, Ed Heard, Edward Wilson, Eric Loewenthal, Erin Robinson Swink, Evolyzer, Fabio Martini, fatimahl, Fawad Quraishi, G Bot, Grace Wagner, Greg Boyarko, Gregory Garecki, Guillermo Jimenez, Harry Kek, Henri Saussure, Herr K, Howard Clark, Hugh AULT, Ina Mwanda, J Yang, Jack Jackson, Jaidyn Workman, Jakub Krajňanský, James and Amanda Soderling, James Lillis, JAMES ORR, Jay Bernard, Jens Aksel Takle, JESUS FERNANDO MIRANDA BARBOSA, Jim Wink, JK Nair, JL Bumgarner, joanna jansen, John Hyaduck, Justin Faist, Kirk Vistain, Klaw117, Konrad, Kristian Erickson, Krzysztof Dobrzanski, Kyle Ibarra, Laura Morland, Lee Dedmon, Leo Coyne, Leo Barudi, Lincoln Hutton, Lorraine Inez Lil, Louie dela Fuente, Louize Kowalski, Luke Jensen, M.Aqeel Afzal, Mahmoud Hashemi, maiku, Margaret Langendorf, Maria Comninou, Mark, Mark Grigoleit, Mark Kemp, Markzipan, Maurice Chou, Merrick Bobb, Merrick Bobb, Michael Poplin, Michael Sisson, Mike Frysinger, Mohammed A. Abahussain, Mário Pegado, Naama and Geoff Shang, Nadia B., Nicholas Gentry, Nicole Tovar, Oleksandr Ivanov, Oto Kohulák, ou_lyss, Panot, Papp Roland, Patrick smith, Patriot Nurse, Paul Shutler, Pauline Pavon, Paulla Fetzek, Peter Andersson, Peter Nikitin, Peter Scollar, Raymond Thomas, Renato Paroni de Castro, ReysDad, Robert Brockway, Robert Sheehan, Robert Williams, Roger Smith, Roland Seuhs, Ron McKinnon, Ronald Brady, Saffo Papantonopoulou, Sergio Pascalin, ShrrgDas, Sierra Rooney, Simon Blanchet, Spartak Kagramanyan, Stefan Reichenberger, Steven Severance, Suzanne Jacobs, Tara Pride, Theophagous, Thomas Chapel, thug rife, tommy dahill, Vinicius Marchezini, William MacKenzie, William O Beeman, Yagub Alserkal, yasmine jaafar, Yassine Ouarzazi, Yeshar Hadi, zhangyimo, Éric Martin. Two sources I used for this video were: "Brush Up on Your Shakespeare" by Michael Macrone. "The Encyclopedia of the English Language" by David Crystal. Music: Bass Walker - Film Noir by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1200071 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ Covert Affair - Film Noire by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100795 Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Category

Comments - 1117

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@Langfocus4 years ago I hope you like the new video! If you are wondering about my sources for the video, one of them is a book called "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" by Michael Macrone (see it here: US - , UK - ). The other is the Encyclopedia of the English Language by the legendary David Crystal (See it here: US - , UK - ).
Disclosure: if you buy something through those links I get a tiny commission. Genuinely tiny. I really just used those links because they're shorter. lol .. ...Expand 158
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@Fummy0074 years ago He popularisedin macbeth, which was at the time as obsolete word. He used it to describe the " weird sisters" 220
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@toast23004 years ago As a greek person, work is all greek to me.
i' ll show my self out now. 497
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@KFCJones4 years ago Shakespeare coined " like andnot many people know that. 738
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@parallaxnick6374 years ago My all time favourite shakespearean word story is" weird" meansit has always meantgoing addresses the three witches as " weird sisters" he is comparing them to the three fates from greek mythology, not describing them as strange or unearthly. But because the dialog leading up to the confrontation with the witches is so loaded with terrified exposition about how, well, weird their situation is, readers got confused. ...Expand 145
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@ChessedGamon4 years ago Imagine writing such a banger drama you change the english language. 1023
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@anubisu10244 years ago I expected that the question of the day is like " for native speakers of early modern english" and " for the others" 162
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@Big_Tex4 years ago Shakespeare is the guy who wrote:
" if i could write the beauty of your eyes,
and in fresh numbers number all your graces,
the such heavenly touches never touched earthly faces. " . Lay that one on a chick, bros. ...Expand 196
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@noota4 years ago " too much of a good thing is not a good thing for anyone. " wow wubbzy. 129
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@sergea64464 years ago Last time i was this early, anglo-frisian hadn' t split yet! 400
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@thebenis31574 years ago I think the " it' s greek to me" idiom exists in many languages, even though with variations. In italian, for example, we say " it' s arabic for me" 259
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@AverytheCubanAmerican4 years ago To focus or not to focus, that is the lang. 144
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@adrianespinel77584 years ago When william shakespeare changes the english language, he' s hailed as a revolutionary genius, but when i do, i am mocked and ridiculed as an eccentric crank, life is just not fair. Smh. 60
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@FreakishSmilePA4 years ago Finally, the quality content i need for quarantine! 103
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@RobCamp-rmc_04 years ago I just like the idea that puke is shakespearean. 122
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@andrewbeane50444 years ago When he talked about the suffixit reminded me of this russian tour guide who would sayinstead of. 77
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@Je.rone_4 years ago best language channel in the game. 70
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@Naoko18754 years ago There is such a beauty in the way shakespeare played with the language of his time. Just amazing! 49
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@Vininn1264 years ago There needs to be more content like this for our poor boy, that and those fellas who showcase original pronunciation. Shakespeare' s work makes it 10x more enjoyable. 52
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@marcov56194 years ago Hello paul! You are definitely one of my favorite youtubers! I wanna congratulate you on getting almost to a million subs! 4
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@makisroumpas55124 years ago Short answer: shakespeare impacted the english language a lot. 132
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@Naoko18754 years ago Your videos are pure joy now during school shutdown. Thanks a lot!
i have to homeschool my kids and teach them kanji, even though im german a id="hidden8"nd still fighting with japanese. But its a good challenge and helps to improve my japanese language skills.
greetings from yokohama!. ...Expand 14
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@ronin6674 years ago It seemswritings had almost as much influence on the english language as martin luther' s bible translation had on german. 37
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@islamadam85024 years ago Hi paul! I' ve been following your videos for a while and i like them much. Thank you for them. As an egyptian i was impressed by the video about arabic as for shakespeare he had a great impact on theatre around the globe. I read once that he was the one who popularised the proverb: " all is well that ends well. ". ...Expand 6
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@daleb95914 years ago Guys who are learning english, never give up because you' re about to be so proud of yourself in the future yet. I' ve been learning english myself btw i really learnt the important points from you, very helpful lesson, thanks a lot. ...Expand 28
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@leonardocastilhone3994 years ago As a literary translator, i was amazed by some of the words and idioms you mentioned in this video because i didn' t know they were brought to light . ...Expand 7
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@shyasaturtle4 years ago I' m a simple man. I see english. I click. 55
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@nomadicmonkey31864 years ago As an esl speaker i' ve always found the phrase " the world is your oyster" amusing. It wasn' t until only recently i got to know it came from shakespeare. 10
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@pedrosegundo81094 years ago The " the_ _in question" amazed me that was something from shakespeare because i am a portuguese speaker and this is something that we the document in question
o documento em questo. ...Expand 56
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@abdallahradiy66514 years ago Even the non-english speaking world learns shakespeare. My parents in iraq learnt shakespeare in school. 49
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@pompadourdelinquent23364 years ago My english teacher (hes probably american though) introduced this video as a educational material. I learned a lot, thanks! I couldnt come up with any funny joke so i comment seriously. 11
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@pedrambabazadeh16763 years ago In persian, there are also lots of poets that have had great impacts on today speaking persian. One of the most famous poets in this field is called sa' adi shirazi. 5
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@jmannysantiago4 years ago If youre impressed with shakespeares influence in modern english, wait till you hear about cervantes influence in modern castellano! 29
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@ahmedyosry67704 years ago Amazing info, didn' t realize how strong the impact of shakespeare on english was like.
myself, i use almost all the adjectives created by adding thank you paul, that was very informative. ...Expand 7
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@odoacredacalcutta50853 years ago All languages have had their geniuses that forged them into what they are today, turning the dialect they wrote in, with their own prestige, into what . ...Expand 3
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@borismakarenko4 years ago I think russian was impacted too through borrowing likeandwe have the same second meanings for these words. 11
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@leisum76204 years ago I didn' t know about that exprssionall greek to me' #39; in spanish (atleast in spain) we use a similar expression but using #39; me suena a(#39; #39; sounds chinese to me' #39; orchino? #39; #39; #39; #39; do i speakthis last one is used, for example, when you have given anto someone and that person hasn' t done what he/she had to do, so you say: chino? #39; #39; like saying in an ironic (and maybe a little agressive) wayyou
great video as always, paul. Love langfocus!. ...Expand 2
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@LhousseineGuerwane4 years ago I love this channel j' adore cette chane amo este canal ich liebe diesen kanal! 38
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@luispeniche994 years ago Great! There is a great lesson plan by the british council about shakespeare. This video can go along it perfectly! 6
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@EnglishMadeSimple4 years ago Congratulations on reaching 1 million subscribers, well done! 2
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@Farmer_El4 years ago Thank you, mr. Lang. This is something people need reminding of every now and then. How one person' s influence has stayed with us for literally hundreds of years. 2
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@brapman36984 years ago I once read that isaac asimov had an interesting (yet probably unprovable theory) that english has stopped evolving as rapidly as it did once before in order for us to be able to keep understanding shakespear. 10
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@durban554 years ago I cannot believe that shakespeare created so many new compound-words in english. This is absolutely mind-blowing. One man contributed so much to the most spoken language on earth. 2
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@Naoko18754 years ago I know more than 1 million reasons to keep on with your awesome work on this channel. 3
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@Hvitserk674 years ago I notice that shakespeare via modern english has also influenced the scandinavian languages. For example, the phrase " too much of a good thing" . ...Expand 4
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@WebWebCero4 years ago Hey paul! I just wanted to thank you for sharing such inspiring information and that i hope you throw a langfocus party when you get to the 1m! So, heres a i went to shakespeares original house in stratford upon avon! It was completely phenomenal, such humble beginnings. He managed to do everything for himself! He did have a following to be honest, but he did come from a very difficult family. Love how nowadays english native speakers can give him full credit for his work. I just hope i can go back to the uk and revisit shakespeares humble house. Did you know that due to childhood nutrition, people from past centuries were shorter? If you go to shakespeares house youd be very surprised by how tiny his cradle was.
stay strong!. ...Expand 1
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@climatechangeisrealyoubast32314 years ago Congradulation for 1 million subscribers! 2
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@JamonIndiana4 years ago I can only imagine what english literature is gonna be like after authors start usingandin their books, not sayin its bad or anything, i legit just wanna know. 10
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@friattmoooo4 years ago We need a second episode of this subject, paul! 2
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@diegosantiago12794 years ago I love your channel! I like to learn about languages from different countries and you are the perfect channel to watch and learn how those languages get . ...Expand 5
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@alwaysuseless4 years ago I use all the idioms you covered. Great job, by the way! When in doubt, I assume an expression or idiom is from Shakespeare. It's hard to overestimate his influence. Btw, at we see onscreen: "(ie. What happened in the dream most certainly happened in real life)" This could benefit from two more periods: "i.e." instead of "ie." That's because "i.e." stands for two words "id est," Latin for "that is." The other period would be at the end of the sentence. Sorry, if I'm being an obsessive proofreader. Thanks for the download offer! This will help increase my vocabulary in Spanish, French, and German? Wow! I'll give that a try. In any case, I'm sure your newsletters will be interesting, because your videos are always the best! .. ...Expand 2
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@adamoconell48044 years ago Love this type of video! Loved it! You should do the same in spanish ( miguel de cervantes and lope de vega) 6
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@elissonsilvasantos97164 years ago In portuguese, that idea of speaking greek also are correlated with situations someone doesn' t understand the other person. 4
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@oumaroudia4 years ago I have a passion for languages. Well done! I have learned a lot from your videos and especially from this one! Keep it up! 2
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@stefanogabbani33994 years ago High quality and well researched as always, well done again paul! 1
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@krebkrebkreb4 years ago Oh man. Every time you said the name of the scottish play, myspine bristled uncomfortably. What about a video on the superstitions in language? 2
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@gonzalolabrinquiroga29974 years ago Thanks for the amazing and useful videos, paul! Everytime i watch them, i learn more and more! That is priceless! 2
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@estrafalario56124 years ago Dear paul, let me apologize for not following your channel during the last months. It' s gold!
i don' t understand why youtube stopped sending notifications to me.
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@interfear14 years ago Dang! I had no idea it was that deep with shakespeare and his works. I will always be a fan of the o beware, my lord, of jealousy quote by iago in othello, my first time reading one of his works. 2
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@lorilumax68504 years ago This is a great video. I like them all but this is a fun twist. I use many of the phrases that were listed, although i am canadian and very british in teachings. Well done. I shared it. 4
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@aidanharrison38884 years ago We have the sonnets, the poems, the comedies, the tragedies, and the rest is history. 6
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@jetwaffle11164 years ago I live in rural northern ireland, and there are a lot of older english words and phrases that we use informally.
for example, we may use the words ulster scots is quite a wide dialect and it doesnt sound the same everywhere, but it does use a fair amount of shakespearean vocabulary with a few irish lone words thrown in to the mix, especially in the western regions
this essentially means that the rest of the uk, particularly england, dont have a damn clue about what were saying!. ...Expand 39
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@user-kc9yi3ro6n4 years ago I just want to say that i really appreciate your channel! I love languages haha! 2
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@climatechangeisrealyoubast32314 years ago Funny how paul makes a video about the impact of shakespeares work on the english language just 2 days after i started reading hamlet: d. 9
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@alidea204 years ago Ive also read that shakespeare introduced (or popularized? The phrase catching a cold" to refer to someone falling ill. Interestingly, only a f id="hidden32"ew years ago scientists couldnt explain why cold weather tended to make people sick until a yale study in 2015 found that lower temperatures weaken the noses first line of immune defenses. Yet shakespeare coined this very fitting expression more than 400 years ago. ...Expand 3
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@learnenglishvocabulary70594 years ago Howdy, langfocus. It is surprisingly enchanting video. Thank.
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@elizabethmerin74894 years ago 1600s: if thy shan' t be good, thee shan' t get reward.
2020: do you are have stupid? 99
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@mrramdom44064 years ago Congratulations! After 2 years of watching your videaos! You finall hit 1m. 2
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@DetectiveAndrey4 years ago I like the fact, that you used the england' s flag in the thumbnail and not the one of great britain - that' s very respectfull (and just right) 2
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@vector.z40654 years ago As french, i use a lot the expression " the [something] in question" which is a common one in my native language. As a result, i tend to use it . ...Expand 2
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@Paul181924 years ago This is really valuable and informative. Many thanks. 2
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@andriimakukha69864 years ago cheers for the passion! Too many people don't have any passion these d ays, except maybe for passionately watching Netflix or playing computer games .. ...Expand 3
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@pc86924 years ago Mr. Paul happy to watch your video, after quarantine. It' s quite informative and interesting.
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@erenparla38694 years ago Paul with the quality content as usual: 1
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@Vero_la_fea4 years ago Woow! I love this new way of presenting information! 1
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@ginniem97794 years ago Other words created by Shakespeare are "besmirch," "lacklustre" "dauntless" "hobnob," "alligator." Other sayings he created are "flesh and blood," "eat someone out of house and home," "green-eyed monster," "break the ice," "dead as a doornail," "short shrift," "lay it on with a trowel," "hoist by one's own petard." Here's a clip that explains this: .. ...Expand 46
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@Maurice-Navel4 years ago Lovely to see the examples shown! I had known of the general effect s had on the language, but now i see it clearly! 1
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@MrShadowThief4 years ago " it' s greek to me" is also used in portuguese with the same meaning. 7
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@NoOne-gk4lf4 years ago Langfocus is the be-all and end-all of youtube channel. 1
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@willemkossen4 years ago Dutch person here. I read a few shakespeare plays during my school years and have read a few more since. It' s a pretty involved process for a non-native . ...Expand 1
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@Just4Kixs4 years ago I like this video - it helped me appreciate the english language more. 3
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@mtheinvincible41562 years ago I use practically all of them. The idioms display a good shorthand for talking about common patterns in real-life situations. So, not only poetic, they' re both pithy and extremely useful.
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@Raheem_1412-4 years ago The first video of yours in ramadan. Really i missed your video. I hope you make videos about mozarabic and distinct african latin. 2
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@TiffanyHallmark4 years ago I love shakespeare. I appreciate that he wrote both for the royalty and the common man. I learned to enjyoy his plays while studying twelfth night, my i thought of a couple of phrases that come fromplays that are quoted somewhat often: " neither a borrower, nor a lenderact 1, scene 3. " some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust uponnight, act 2, scene 5. ...Expand
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@keithstarkey55844 years ago That was cool! Very, very cool! I wonder if anyone else has had such an influence on the english language. Thanks for the video. 1
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@freddykrueger7094 years ago Fun fact: In Spanish we say: Me suena a chino"
"It sounds Chinese to me" 12
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@donaldwycoff41544 years ago The sooth ye seke, the sooth ye fynd, yn shakespear. Thank ye for the video! 2
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@markdonovan15404 years ago Excellent research and superb presentation as always.
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@mexicounexplained4 years ago Paul, you almost have a million subscribers now. You could have a bigger impact on english than shakespeare, so how about making up some new words for . ...Expand 2