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2016 ‫מועד אפריל‬ - 41 - ‫ פרק ראשון‬- ‫ אנגלית‬

Text II (Questions 18-22)

(1) If, in England, you came across a sign outside a bakery that said "Ye Olde Bake
Shoppe", you would probably guess that "olde" and "shoppe" are old-fashioned
spellings. However, you might puzzle over the "ye" at the beginning. While it is true
that long ago, "ye" was used instead of "you", that would not make sense in the sign.

(5) So what does it mean?

An expert on the history of the English language would explain that the "ye" in the
sign means "the" and should be pronounced that way. In other words, the letter "y"
represents the "th" sound. This "y" is the remnant of a letter called thorn, which was
part of an ancient alphabet known as Elder Futhark. Thorn represented the sound "th"

(10) and looked somewhat like a "y". The letter was later incorporated into the English
alphabet and was used until the late fifteenth century.

At that time, England began importing printing presses from Germany and France.
Because the letter thorn did not exist in the German and French languages, there was no
character for it in the printing fonts of the imported presses. At first, English printers

(15) used either "th" or "y" for thorn but eventually "th" won out. Today, "ye" for "the" has
almost completely disappeared. It can be seen only in the names of establishments that
want to suggest that they offer an old-time atmosphere and a level of quality that many
people associate with bygone days.

Questions

18. An appropriate title for this text would be -

(1) A Short History of the English Language
(2) Thorn: The Story of a Letter
(3) Elder Futhark: An Ancient Alphabet
(4) "Ye Olde Bake Shoppe": A Sign of Quality

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