Tatoeba sentences — language code: enm
And whan I had aduysed me in this sayd boke, I delybered and concluded to translate it in to englyssche, and forthwyth toke a penne & ynke and wrote a leef or tweyne, whyche I ouersawe agayn to corecte it. And whan I saue the fayr & straunge termes therin, I doubted that it sholde not please some gentylmen whiche late blamed me sayeng yt in my translacyons I had ouer curyous termes, whiche coude not be vnderstande of comyn peple, and desired me to vse olde and homely termes in my translacyons. And fayn wolde I satysfye euery man, and so to doo toke an olde boke and redde therin; and certaynly the englysshe was so rude and brood that I coude not wele vnderstande it. And also my lorde abbot of westmynster ded do shewe to me late certayn euydences wryton in olde englyssche for to reduce it in to our englyssche now vsid, and certaynly it was wreton in suche wyse that it was more lyke to dutche than englyssche I coude not reduce ne brynge it to be vnderstonden.
And certaynly our langage now vsed varyeth ferre from that whiche was vsed and spoken whan I was borne. For we englysshe men ben borne vnder the domynacyon of the mone, which is neuer stedfaste but euer wauerynge, wexynge one season and waneth & dyscreaseth one season. And that comyn englyssche that is spoken in one shyre varies from a nother. In so moche that in my dayes happened that certayn marchauntes were in a ship in tamyse for to haue sayled ouer the see into zelande, and for lacke of wynde thei taryed atte forlond, and wente to lande for to refreshe them. And one of theym named sheffelde, a mercer, cam in to an hows and axed for mete, and specyally he axed after eggys. And the goode wyf answerde that she coude speke no frenche. And the marchaunt was angry, for he also coude speke no frenche, but wolde haue hadde egges, and she vnderstode hym not. And thenne at laste a nother sayd that he wolde haue eyren, then the good wyf sayd that she vnderstod hym wel. Loo! what sholde a man in thyse dayes now wryte, egges or eyren? Certaynly it is harde to playse euery man by cause of dyuersite & chaunge of langage.
For in these dayes euery man that is in ony reputacyon in his countre wyll vtter his comynycacyon and maters in suche maners & termes that fewe men shall vnderstonde them. And som honest and grete clerkes haue ben wyth me and desired me to wryte the moste curyous termes that I coude fynde, and thus bytwene playn, rude, & curyous I stande abasshed; but in my Iudgemente the comyn termes that be dayli vsed ben lyghter to be vnderstonde than the olde and auncyent englysshe.