It does not translate into Anglo-Saxon, the language of Beowulf. It does not conjugate verbs it has not been given. Words outside the list stay exactly as you typed them.
How to use
- Type a modern sentence.
- Press Restyle and read the result plus how many words changed.
- If a verb looks modern, it was not in the list. Reset restores Hello my friend.
Formula / how it works
The two “Old English” names. Linguists use Old English for the West Saxon and related dialects written before the Norman Conquest. That language is not readable as a light restyle of modern spelling: ic, þu, and a different verb system. What most people want from an old english translator on the web is the Early Modern flavour: thou, thee, prithee, ere, anon. This page is that second thing, and the result says so, so it is not mistaken for a Beowulf homework answer. The case converter changes capitals. It does not change vocabulary.
Phrases first, then words. “Will you” is replaced as a pair, becoming “wilt thou”, before the single word “you” can become “thou” and leave “will” stranded. “Thank you”, “good morning”, “you are”, “are you” and “do you” are the same kind of pair. After the phrases, each remaining word is looked up. Hello becomes “well met”. Friend becomes “companion”. Go becomes “hie”. The first letter’s case is copied onto the replacement, so a capital Hello stays capitalised. A whole word in capitals stays in capitals.
What is deliberately not done. “Are” is not globally turned into “art”, because “they are” is not “they art”. Only the phrase “you are” becomes “thou art”. Verbs such as “walk”, “eat” and “make” are left alone. Adding -est or -eth by rule would be wrong as often as it was right, and a wrong ending looks more scholarly than it is. The count of words changed is the number of replacements, so you can see how much of the sentence was actually touched. A sentence with no listed words comes back identical, with a count of zero. That is a successful run, not a failure.
Spelling. Early Modern spelling was not fixed. This list picks one familiar form: ne'er, o'er, wherefore, prithee, gramercy, anon. It does not sprinkle random extra e’s onto every noun. If you want that costume spelling, do it by hand on top of the result, knowing it is decoration.
Limits. Four hundred characters. No second language. No attempt to match a folio line. Use it for a sign, a joke or a first draft of dialogue, then read it aloud. If it sounds like a modern sentence with three old words dropped in, that is what the tool did, and the honest next step is to rewrite the verbs yourself.
Worked examples
A greeting and a noun
Inputs: Sentence: Hello my friend
Leave the sentence as Hello my friend and press Restyle. Hello and friend are both in the list.
Result: Style: Shakespearean word swap
Result: Well met my companion
Words changed: 2
This is not Anglo-Saxon. It replaces some modern words with Early Modern ones and leaves the rest, including verbs it does not know how to conjugate.
A phrase before the single words
Inputs: Sentence: Will you go with your friend
Type Will you go with your friend and press Restyle. Will you is swapped as a phrase, then go and your and friend.
Result: Style: Shakespearean word swap
Result: Wilt thou hie with thy companion
Words changed: 4
This is not Anglo-Saxon. It replaces some modern words with Early Modern ones and leaves the rest, including verbs it does not know how to conjugate.
Use cases
- A line of dialogue that should sound Early Modern without pretending to be a critical edition.
- Seeing which words in a sentence the list actually knows.
- Teaching the difference between Anglo-Saxon and Shakespearean English.
- Drafting a sign that says wherefore rather than why.
Tips & limitations
- Read the verb. If it looks modern, rewrite it yourself.
- Do not cite the result as Old English in the linguistic sense.
- Phrases are replaced before single words, so “will you” stays a pair.
- A count of zero means nothing in that sentence was on the list.
FAQ
Is this Anglo-Saxon?
No. Anglo-Saxon is a different language. This page uses Early Modern words such as thou, thy and wherefore.
Why did “are” survive in “they are”?
Because “they art” would be wrong. Only the phrase “you are” becomes “thou art”.
Will every verb gain an -eth?
No. Inventing endings is how these tools sound fake. Unknown verbs are left alone on purpose.
Does capitalisation survive?
The first letter follows the word you typed. A fully capital word stays fully capital in the replacement.
What if nothing changes?
The words were not on the list. The count stays zero and the sentence is returned as typed.
Is the sentence uploaded?
No. The lookup runs in the browser.
Runs entirely in your browser; your text is not uploaded. Counts and scores are heuristics, so review the output before you publish it.