here are some basic translations and usage's.

• Aye: yes
• Nay: no
• Hail: hello
• Well met: response to Hail

Joseph's the scholar has written a great essay on the subject, I find it most useful. You may read it if you wish, but I highly recommend that you do. It is VERY well written.

When you travel to Madrid or Paris or Florence or Amsterdam or Bandar Seri Begawan or any city where you don't speak the native tongue, you might bring a phrase book or take a quick lesson in how to speak the language "conversationally." This guide is intended to serve that purpose for those players of Ultima Online who are interested in speaking as the natives do.

Hardly a day goes by in the Ultima Online world when I'm not asked by someone I've encountered, "Hey, are you an NPC?" More often than not, the person who asks is a newbie, who has not yet figured out that the comma between the name and profession in a character's paper doll is a dead giveaway that the character is a PC, but a few times a confused veteran has asked.

They ask, not because I walk around randomly and wait for people to talk to me, nor because I turn to face them instantly when they call my name, but because of my speech. Most of the characters in the Ultima games have traditionally spoken with something akin to the Elizabethan language Shakespeare used, and I choose to do the same. (There are, of course, regional dialects in Ultima Online, adding a richness I've not seen in other games; more on that later.)

This certainly adds something to the game for me, and I hope it does the same for those with whom I speak.

Of course, I've noticed that many people choose not to speak that way, and although I will occasionally comment in game that "I am having difficulty understand thee, friend," I really don't object. People should play the game as they please, and if that means dotting their speech with dudes and bite mes and the like, who am I to object?

I suspect, though, that there are some who would prefer to speak as the natives of Britannia do. Also, there are people who make a good effort, but do not fully understand the grammar�after all, Elizabethan English is the ancestral tongue of English speakers, not the mother tongue.

I invite comments and criticism, rants and raves, follow-ups and corrections, and any other words people care to throw at me.

Disclaimer

Also, as I've stated in the introduction, I don't think anyone should be required to speak this way. This document is intended to serve those who wish to.

That is all.

Basic Grammar

Pronouns

In particular, thee and thou are misused. This is easy to understand. In modern English, we do not distinguish between the subject and object case of the second person. In other words, it doesn't make a difference whether the you is doing something or having something done to him or her. Only the second person has lost this distinction, having been replaced with a simplified version of the second person plural. There are also some niceties of the use of possessives that do not appear in modern English but are common in Britannian.

What follows is a list of guidelines for using pronouns properly. (Don't worry about the verb forms yet; they're discussed in the next section.) At the end of the list is a table which formally outlines pronoun usage, a useful quick reference for grammarians.

• Thou is the Britannian pronoun used for the person to whom you are speaking when that person is the subject of your sentence.
• Example: Thou art a knave and a lout, and thou shouldst not anger me.
You cannot use thou as the object of a sentence.
• Incorrect: I see thou hiding behind that tree!
It may help to think of thou as the second-person equivalent of I.

•  Thee is the Britannian pronoun used when the person you are speaking to is the object of the verb of your sentence.
• Example: Whilst thy head was turned, the dragon did attack thee.
You cannot use thee as the subject of a sentence.
• Incorrect: Thee smellest as foul as a sewer doth smell!
It may help to think of thee as the second-person equivalent of me.

Note: There are some dialects in which thee serves as both the object and subject case of the second person pronoun. In the real world, the old-style Quakers spoke this way�particularly to one another. I don't know if I've ever met a Britannian who used thee as a subject, but there may be a region in which people speak that way. If so, let me know! More on dialect later.

• Ye is a tricky word, and should be used with caution. In the most formal Britannian, it is used as the second-person plural subject pronoun (the second-person equivalent of we). However, most Britannians do not use the word, instead preferring to use you for both the subject and object second-person plural.
• Example: [When speaking to a group.] Ye adventurers are heading toward Britain and did miss the turn for Skara Brae. Hear ye! Hear ye!
Ye can also be used as the singular second-person subject pronoun, but usually only in extremely formal (that is, Biblical) speech.

Ye and you are also somtimes used as "polite" second-person subject and object pronouns in some dialects. Thus, you can use thee and thou when you would use tu in Spanish or French, and ye and you as you would the Spanish Usted or French vous. (It is from this usage that Quakers adopted using thee, the familiar, when addressing everybody�to show that they held all in equal esteem.)

Ye is also used in some dialects rather loosely, as you in both singular and plural, subject and object. This usage has more to do with accent than grammar; imagine pirates who just say ye when we would say you.

Finally, a note on the word ye in the phrase "Ye Olde Weapons Shoppe." In this case, it does not mean "Your Old Weapons Shop." The thorn, þ (a letter which is not part of our modern alphabet), represents the letters th. The word "the" was often abbreviated "þe" on signs, and was later corrupted to "ye." Ye in this case has nothing to do with pronouns.

• Possessives in Britannian are pretty much the same as possessives in modern English, with the addition of thy and thine for the second-person singular (to go along with thee and thou).


My and thy indicate that the following noun belongs to me or you respectively.

• Examples: My sword is sharp, but thy dagger is sharper. Thou dost make my [or mine, depending on your accent] heart beat with passion, for thy smile doth affect me as strong drink.
Mine and thine serve as possessive pronouns, referring to that which belongs to me (in the case of mine) or you (in the case of thine), used without a following noun as a pronoun.
• Examples: The gold in this ettin's pack is mine ; but the bread and ale are thine.
Mine and thine are also used whenever the following word starts with a vowel (or the letter h, if you speak in a dialect in which the h is not pronounced, as most Britannians do).
• Examples: With mine arrows I slew a wretched orc. To thine own self be true.

Verb Forms

• First person: Pretty much exactly the same as in modern English. There are some peculiar Britannian constructions�for example, "I needs must improve mine ability to craft bows"�but such constructions are more a matter of vocabulary and diction than grammar.


You should not add funny endings to first person verbs in any tense. This is one of the most common mistakes. Just remember, when you're talking about something you did, the verb in Britainnian is the same as in Modern English.

• Examples: I want gold. I walk to Despise. I plan to kill many harpies and ettins.
• Incorrect: I wantest gold. I walketh to Despise. I planst to kill many harpies and ettins.
• Second person: Here's where most of the trouble arises. Fortunately, it only really arises in the present tense, and only for second-person singular subject. Unfortunately, most conversation takes place in the present tense in Britannia, and almost always involves the second-person singular to some degree, so you have to learn to do it right.


With regular verbs in the present tense, add -est or -st to the end of the root to make it agree with a second-person singular subject. Add the -est if the root ends in a consonant; add the -st if the root ends in a vowel.

• Examples: Thou eatest as a pig eats, knave. Seest thou that city yonder? Whither walkest thou? And whence comest?
Remember, you don't need to do this for second-person plural subjects. And be sure to use the second-person endings (-est and -st), not the third-person endings.
 
• Third Person: When speaking very formally, with regular verbs in the present tense, you must add -eth or -th to the root (depending on whether the root ends in a consonant or a vowel) to make it agree with third-person singular subjects. This is often very cumbersome, and was one of the first things to go as English got modernized, so you needn't worry about it too much. You will certainly be understood by any Britannian if you ignore the "ething," but if you have the time, you might want to give it a try.
• Example: She that walketh in stealth findeth safety.
Because this is so cumbersome, other constructions are often used. Thus, the above example might more likely be rendered, "She that doth walk in stealth shall find safety." One would also more likely say, "Thou didst have much wealth," rather than, "Thou hadst much wealth."

Remember, you don't need to do this for third-person plural subjects.
 

• The imperative mood in Britannian is identical to that of modern English.

Here are the conjugations of three extraordinarily useful irregular verbs: be, have, and do.

Vocabulary

I've included a few insulting terms in the table, although there are many that don't fit the scope of this section. In the section on addressing others, below, is a fuller discussion of insults, as well as a link to a web site with a veritable wealth of insulting terms.
 

Contractions

Thus, be sure to write 'twas instead of t'was, and 'tis instead of t'is. Thou'rt is a very common and useful contraction, meaning "you are."

Addressing Others

How you address others is based on your relative positions in Britannian society. Social structures in Britannia differ from those in our world, so it can be difficult to judge exactly where you fit in. Of course, if you've decided that your character is a noble, then so she is. If you've decided that your character is a ranger who remains largely outside the social structures, then so he is. That's entirely up to you to decide.

The trick comes in judging how you relate to others. Once you've decided that you're a lesser noble, you have to decide if the person you're talking to is your equal, your "better," or your "inferior"�and you have to decide how you feel about that.

You can use notoriety, if you want. If someone is a Great Lord, and you consider yourself of good alignment, then you should probably treat that person as your better (unless you, yourself have earned the title, in which case you still may want to show respect). If someone is Dishonorable, and you're neutral, you may want to treat the person politely . . . but warily.

Clothing can also be an indication of rank. Someone bedecked in finery should be considered of substantial rank�even if he's a fisherman. Someone clad in rags�be she the greatest swordswoman who ever lived�is but a knave to those who seem themselves as nobility (though maybe a knave deserving of pity).

Obviously, you just have to roleplay as you see fit. Using titles and proper address, though, will enhance the roleplaying. Here are some titles and how to use them appropriately:

• Lord/Lady    Term for addressing people of greater rank than yourself. People of equal nobility, while expecting a Lord or Lady from the lesser classes, will probably talk about each other without such honorifics except on officious occasions. Thus, Lord British might say "We shall wait until Blackthorn gets here," but a peasant on the street will never fail to speak of "Lord British." Technically, Lord and Lady should be saved for people of actual noble rank, not just people whom you see as your social betters.
• Milord/Milady     When speaking directly to someone who deserves the honor of a Lord or Lady , you can address them as Milord or Milady without using their names.
• Sir/Lady      Traditionally the terms used to address those who are considered knights of the king, they are used by Britannians when speaking to people who deserve respect, but are not of truly noble rank. In other words, if you want to show respect, but you don't think the person quite qualifies for Lord or Lady , use Sir or Lady.

That's right, there's no distinction between forms of address for women deserving of respect and truly noble women. Sure, there are female Britannians in all professions, but the language doesn't accommodate this.
 
• Leige    Someone who has the right to command another. When you address someone as "my liege," you imply that she has the right to tell you what to do, that she is your commander.
• Maiden    You're better off not using this term unless invited to do so. It is impolite to assume anything about a woman's sexual history in Britannia.
• Sirrah    A polite form of address that does not imply anything about the relative ranks of the speaker and the one he is addressing.
• Your Highness     A term of utmost respect, to be used for people whose high rank is widely recognized, like a prince or a king.

• Your Majesty     A term reserved exclusively for the reigning sovereign of a kingdom. In Britannia, the only person worthy of this title is Lord British himself.

Britannians won't know what you mean if you use words like f@#k and s^%t (although such words did exist in Shakespeare's day), so s^%head and f@#k you won't go over very well. Instead, swear and insult as the Britannians do.

Instead of cursing at someone, really curse them. That is, wish aloud for evil things to happen to them. "A pox on thee and thy family" is a common curse. You can get really creative, too. For example, if you're really angry, you might say, "Knave! May thy hair fall out and thy teeth all rot; and may thy well-known ugliness be visited upon thy children, and their children, unto the tenth generation; and mayst thou find that the purses of the beast thou dost slay are empty; and, most of all, may orcs and lizardmen always look upon thee with lust in their eyes!"

Rather than plagiarize an already excellent source, I refer you to the insults page maintained by some people who put on Renaissance Faires. The curses and insults found there were the inspiration for Xena Dragon to create the UO Curse Tool.
 

Dialects

The most important thing to remember when speaking in a dialect is to be consistent. If you use "ye" in one sentence, "you" in the next, and "thou" in a third, you won't sound convincing. You can learn something of the common Britannian dialects by finding NPCs who speak that way and engaging them in conversation. Or you can make up your own. Just be consistent.

Also, if you're making up your own, try to avoid anachronisms. A dialect in Britannia will be a sort of variation on the language outlined in this document, not a mysterious transplant of modern English into Britannia.

Of course, you'll encounter many who do speak in a tongue that greatly resembles our own, although the second-person pronoun has been shortened to u, the words to and for are represented numerically as 2 and 4 [I do think that such abbreviations can be useful in combat situations where you have to talk fast], and the speech is rife with insults and swear words which make your ears burn. When someone addresses you thus, you can smile, and nod, and maybe they'll go away. Or you can chide them and try to correct them. Or you can do your best to understand their speech and ignore their strange dialects.

Or you can adopt it yourself. As I said, I speak as I please, and I hope you all will do the same.
 

Phrasebook