English back then was spoken quite differently. I know that, at the Globe Theater in London, they give some performances in what is considered to be an historically-accurate accent and dialect for Shakespeare’s time (early-mid 17th century, aka Elizabethan English), and it can be difficult to understand at times, but some of Shakespeare’s puns and jokes work better due to the change in pronunciation. IIRC, there’s a video of a father and son team who worked it all out explaining it on YouTube. Sorry, I’m on mobile, or I’d link it.
A good three quarters of Shakespeare (and most contemporaries) is topical humour and references to current events. The puns and toilet humour are eternal though
Beowulf was somewhere between 700 and 1000, so that’s Old English.
Shakespeare lived from 1564 to 1616, so he used Early Modern English.
The King James Bible is from 1611 and it’s counted as Early Modern English.
And the Epic of Gilgamesh was written between 2100-1200 BC in Mesopotamia which is on a different continent than England (today it’s mostly Syria and Iraq).
I doubt it would quite be Chaucer style middle English, though if you try that’s quite readable and understandable to modern English speakers.
Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote,
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licóur
Of which vertú engendred is the flour;
About the only hard parts are soote for sweet, and the last line pretty much saying the rain’s power begets flowers.
I particularly like
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye,
A frogge biþ a smale beaste wiþ foure leggys, whiche liueþ boþe in water and on londe. Hit biþ ofte tyme broune or grene or yelowe; or be hit tropyckal, hit may hauen dyuers coloures lyk reed, blewe, and blak. Tropyckalle frogges liuyn in trewes. Hit haþ longys and guilles boþe. Þe frogges skyn lokeþ glossi bi cause of his secrecioun, whiche may been poisounous. Moste frogges nauen nought a tayl, an þeire lymes ben yfolden under þeire likame. His frounte two feet hauen foure tos and his bak two feet hauen fif tos. Þes tos stiken wele to wode, rocke and glas. Froggen moste ben in þe watere to spawnen. Þe frogge haccheþ from an ey and hit þanne becomeþ a tadpolle. Hit groweþ to þanne a frogge, yef hit ne be nought eten. Some male frogges maken loude souns wiþ þeire mouþys for to maken þeim selven knowen to femmelles. Some þe femmelles refusen.
Wouldn’t they just speak renaissance English?
English back then was spoken quite differently. I know that, at the Globe Theater in London, they give some performances in what is considered to be an historically-accurate accent and dialect for Shakespeare’s time (early-mid 17th century, aka Elizabethan English), and it can be difficult to understand at times, but some of Shakespeare’s puns and jokes work better due to the change in pronunciation. IIRC, there’s a video of a father and son team who worked it all out explaining it on YouTube. Sorry, I’m on mobile, or I’d link it.
A good three quarters of Shakespeare (and most contemporaries) is topical humour and references to current events. The puns and toilet humour are eternal though
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uQc5ZpAoU4c
Middle or old english?
Old English is ~650-1066
Middle English is ~1066-1500
Early Modern English is ~1500-1650
Modern English is ~1650-now
Beowulf was somewhere between 700 and 1000, so that’s Old English.
Shakespeare lived from 1564 to 1616, so he used Early Modern English.
The King James Bible is from 1611 and it’s counted as Early Modern English.
And the Epic of Gilgamesh was written between 2100-1200 BC in Mesopotamia which is on a different continent than England (today it’s mostly Syria and Iraq).
People must have been so confused when the languages switched after the Battle of Hastings.
All these cut-offs between different stages of a language are lines drawn in the sand, centuries after the fact.
And the Normans invading England had a massive influence on the language. Of course not immediately, but really fast.
I didn’t invent that, I just took that from Wikipedia. According to Wiki, some people put the cut-off at ~1100, which would make sense too.
Ok, well then I won’t have to ask who the first human mated with, then.
Body.
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The epic of Gilgamesh was written in Akkadian like 2000bc. Old English would be more like Beowulf.
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I can’t tell if you’re joking, but Gilgamesh predates Old English by like 2,500 years.
Guys, I think this comment is probably just confusing Gilgamesh with Beowulf. Mistakes happen
I doubt it would quite be Chaucer style middle English, though if you try that’s quite readable and understandable to modern English speakers.
About the only hard parts are soote for sweet, and the last line pretty much saying the rain’s power begets flowers.
I particularly like
A frogge biþ a smale beaste wiþ foure leggys, whiche liueþ boþe in water and on londe. Hit biþ ofte tyme broune or grene or yelowe; or be hit tropyckal, hit may hauen dyuers coloures lyk reed, blewe, and blak. Tropyckalle frogges liuyn in trewes. Hit haþ longys and guilles boþe. Þe frogges skyn lokeþ glossi bi cause of his secrecioun, whiche may been poisounous. Moste frogges nauen nought a tayl, an þeire lymes ben yfolden under þeire likame. His frounte two feet hauen foure tos and his bak two feet hauen fif tos. Þes tos stiken wele to wode, rocke and glas. Froggen moste ben in þe watere to spawnen. Þe frogge haccheþ from an ey and hit þanne becomeþ a tadpolle. Hit groweþ to þanne a frogge, yef hit ne be nought eten. Some male frogges maken loude souns wiþ þeire mouþys for to maken þeim selven knowen to femmelles. Some þe femmelles refusen.