An odd question as usual. Does any one know if the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer have ever been translated into Esperanto from Middle English? I know for sure that it's beyond me.

NJ Esperantist:An odd question as usual. Does any one know if the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer have ever been translated into Esperanto from Middle English? I know for sure that it's beyond me.

Interesting you mention this. I was reading Canterbury Tales (in modern English with the old English beside it) over the weekend. According to my rudimentary google search, Wilfred Bickley Johnson (1903-?) published La Prologo al la Rakontoj de Canterbury in 1980 but I don't find any evidence of the whole poem being translated by anyone. It would be quite an undertaking for sure and although I would enjoy translating parts of it, getting it scan and rhyme would be a real challenge for an expert of both Esperanto and poetry.

Ironchef:

NJ Esperantist:An odd question as usual. Does any one know if the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer have ever been translated into Esperanto from Middle English? I know for sure that it's beyond me.

Interesting you mention this. I was reading Canterbury Tales (in modern English with the old English beside it) over the weekend. According to my rudimentary google search, Wilfred Bickley Johnson (1903-?) published La Prologo al la Rakontoj de Canterbury in 1980 but I don't find any evidence of the whole poem being translated by anyone. It would be quite an undertaking for sure and although I would enjoy translating parts of it, getting it scan and rhyme would be a real challenge for an expert of both Esperanto and poetry.

What a wonderful project! The Canterbury Tales are timeless and should have universal appeal. The meter of the original Middle English should be transferable to Esperanto in the hands of a translator proficient in both languages. Are there any volunteers?

I'd be interested in seeing this too. I know that such a translation is far beyond my Esperanto ability... I'm still working my way though Teach Yourself Esperanto and posting misc. Esperanto questions to this site.

If someone (or a "crowd" of several someones) of sufficient skill want to attempt translating it, a copy of The Canterbury Tales is available on Project Gutenberg for free. I think the PG edition would make an excellent basis for an Esperanto translation. It's a critical edition and has lots of scholarly notes and variant manuscript readings.

If anyone does make an attempt, feel free to ask me typesetting questions as I know a fair bit about typesetting in XeLaTeX.