Quote:
Originally Posted by piperclassique
Why would you need a translation of the Canterbury Tales? Middle English is perfectly understandable, a few difficult words but nothing a dictionary can't solve.
|
And if you want the orginal words with modernized spelling plus glossary and commentary you can either download the PDFs from here
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/we...hy/canterbury/ or buy the kindle book
https://www.amazon.com/Canterbury-Ta.../dp/B00B13DK7K
Here's the editor's statement
The Language of this Edition
Some Chaucerians, act as if the works of the poet should be carefully kept away from the general reader and student, and reserved for those few who are willing to master the real difficulties of Middle English grammar and spelling, and the speculative subtleties of Middle English pronunciation. Others may read him in translation if they wish !
The text of this edition in modern English spelling is intended to subvert that misguided notion. It is designed for those readers in school, university, living room or commuter train who would like to read or re-read Chaucer as readily as they can read or re-read other classics in English; readers who do not want the vagaries of archaic Middle English spelling, nor yet a flat translation. Very few scholars now read Shakespeare in the spelling of his day, but all readers of Chaucer are forced to read him in the spelling of his day, and this is a great obstacle for most people. This edition is meant to supply a version of Chaucer that avoids both simple translation or scholarly archaism. This edition is not a translation. The grammar, the syntax, and the vocabulary of this modspell edition remain essentially unchanged from the language of the original. Everything is Chaucer’s except for the spelling. Hence it can also be used as an accompanying or preliminary text by those who wish to master Chaucer's dialect as it is displayed in scholarly editions.