Medieval Speech
I see a lot of characters out there who talk in Medieval-style speech... and usually mangle it. Sure, it may sound cool to the average Joe, but I cringe at the sight. So, here's my contribution to the solution:
Thou/Thee/Thy/Thine, etc.
The "Thou" form is an informal way of saying "you". It's something you'd use with someone of inferior or equal ranking, or with someone you're close to. If you're talking with someone of higher status, you should stick with the "you" form.
But when do you use "thou," as opposed to "thee" or "thy"? That's pretty easy to figure out- they correspond to first-person speech. So...
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First Person
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"Thou" Form
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I
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Thou
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Me
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Thee
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My
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Thy
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Mine
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Thine
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Addition from Kimberly Warthman:
Ye - it's plural for You (as in Hear Ye! Hear Ye! --meaning everybody) If you say, "Sir Michael, would ye hand me yon lance?" you're really just slurring your words. ("...would y' hand me...")
[Thanks, Kim!]
Easy enough, ne? Now, what about those awkward verbs?
Verbs in the Thou form usually end in -t or -st. Examples:
Dost (do)
Art (are)
Hast (have)
Basically, take the "you" form and add "-st" to the end. You can put an "e" in front of the "st" if it'd be awkward to say other wise (ex: "talk" becomes "talkest") or you can simply say "dost (verb)". ("Thou dost talk.")
-eth verbs:
Verbs ending in -th are basically lisps. Take any present third-person verb (runs, jumps, stinks, hears) and change the "s" to a "th". (Runneth, jumpeth, stinketh, heareth.) This only happens in third person (he/she/it) verbs.
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