A London Accent from the 14th to the 21st Centuries

[@Nudibranch_]

I’m from 14th century London I can confirm this is accurate

[@bobsmith5441]

It is great to have an actual testimonial from the time period to confirm. Thank you

[@Paul20661]

XD

[@thecamocampaindude5167]

Im from the 19th, how are you kind sir?

[@OakwiseBecoming]

Must break your heart to see the ethnocide of your people taking place in real time.

[@zakme5638]

😂

[@truthseeker9945]

Phenomenal talent. His voice went from the 14th to the 21st century whilst his side burns remained in the 17th Century

[@leventeszaffenauer4142]

underrated comment right here.

[@kiriakoz]

I appreciate this one.

[@Indlovu402]

😂😂

[@teodorfoks8921]

More like 19th century

[@laceandribbonsviolin]

Whilst😆🙃

[@EverydayCasualty]

Damn, this guy had to live for 7 centuries just to record this video. what a legend

[@slicksnewonenow]

😅😂🤣 EXCELLENT!

[@slaydog5102]

Wow such an original joke!

[@bruce8429]

Does anyone know where his fountain of youth is? I've been looking for it forever.

[@EverydayCasualty]

1k likes? You guys are crazy lol

[@technox8166]

Not through 7 centuries, more like the 70s. Horrible sideburns and extremely unmaintained hair as typical with someone who does a video like this.

[@alxmtncstudio2066]

NOW I understand why we say English has germanic roots. Earlier accents display just that

[@terrybull1534]

Uhhh and a lot of the words ate derived from german

[@pancakepop680]

​@@terrybull1534I think you need to look up the origins of Latin

[@terrybull1534]

@pancakepop680 I think you need to look up the origins of English bud

[@midnightriot2454]

It sounds more Scottish to me lol

[@grixxly2768]

@@midnightriot2454Scottish originated from a similar place that is modern day Germany and the netherlands

[@N0THANKY0U]

you always start your videos with "i'm not a linguist", how much linguistics do you have to do until you start accepting that you kind of are a bit of a linguist

[@fox_2312]

N0THANKY0U well I think officially he needs a degree

[@-haclong2366]

Hobby linguist or amateur linguist, as that would accurately describe him.

[@RobinDBanks-re9nz]

A cunning linguist perhaps

[@adams7637]

@@-haclong2366 his skills are certainly at a professional level

[@inigo137]

We live in a society in which you aren't shit until you have have a paper saying that you know what you know.

[@flyingorange4493]

You can really hear how Germanic English really is with the 1406 version.

[@bismanaufa5618]

11 days ago 111 likes

[@flyingorange4493]

@@bismanaufa5618 >11 hours ago

[@greathornedowl1783]

English still sounds really germanic and doesn't actually sound all that different today. Watch what english sounds like to foreigners.

[@flyingorange4493]

@@greathornedowl1783 Yeah that's a cool video. I think both are good demonstrations of that.

[@Ultrajamz]

Almost irish sounding

[@spaceonion4126]

I'd love to see a period drama set in England using the actual language of the time

[@christinawatkinsyoutube]

Me too! Fed up with all these posh accents haha

[@nimeshajayatunge4007]

The VVitch!

[@TheSatsumaman]

Akenfield is a drama from the 70s that is famous for having recorded dead dialects in suffolk

[@56postoffice]

If I remember, *"Ripper Street"* used language spoken by Victorian Londoners of the late 1880s.

[@focalpointsound]

Not quite what you asked for but The Witch by Robert Eggers uses New England language.

[@Rose_Nebula]

It’s crazy how you do all this and don’t consider yourself a linguist yet. This is incredible work.

[@scooterlibbie]

Well you can't just declare yourself a linguist. You gotta have a degree

[@snake_eater1963]

linguistics hire this man

[@WonkelDee]

@@scooterlibbiethat’s bullshit

[@scooterlibbie]

@@WonkelDee tell me more, Dr. Wonkel

[@WonkelDee]

@@scooterlibbieNot every title requires a degree. A linguist is anyone who studies languages or is skilled at one.

[@andersbodin1551]

as a swedish and english speaker, the 1406 accent is so trippy; my ears can't decide wether to process it as english or as swedish.

[@daviddesert3132]

Yes. I have been in Sweden 30 years and got the same trip!

[@andersbodin1551]

@@daviddesert3132 its kindof like one of thouse ilusions where you can ether see an old man or a young lady but not at the same time, but for your ears.

[@drott150]

Engage Swenglish mode and it'll be fine.

[@Annawe]

It reminded me of my Grandparents when they spoke (They were Dutch). Very trippy.

[@per6605]

To me it sounds like icelandic

[@minethegap]

This sounds like my Welsh uncle sobering up when he comes over on Christmas Day every year

[@babbabooey1176]

Lmao

[@unbabunga229]

😅😅😅😅

[@Josh-by8er]

as a welshman, i can confirm that we all sound like this through the course of a night out

[@jamiehinch9239]

😂😂

[@daniellevinson6975]

Are you talking about segment 1:25 - 2:22 ??

[@MakhalanyaneMotaung]

As an Aussie I can hear how the 1800s London accent influenced ours

[@treblerebel2362]

That's because it was all our London jails were full so they sent us cockneys to Australia

[@MakhalanyaneMotaung]

@@treblerebel2362 exactly right mate

[@stcovel]

Interesting - the late 1700s / 1800s sound a bit closer to American to me

[@haveyoumettess]

As an American, the 1706 one sound not far off from a “typical” American accent and I am SHOOK

[@MakhalanyaneMotaung]

@@haveyoumettess like our respective accents are frozen time capsules of England when they invaded these lands

[@kittykittybangbang000]

i love how he speaks in these accents and dialects naturally with stuttering or slips and tone changes rather than a robotic script like a lot of other language channels do it feels really real

[@DarkwaveDave]

I’m Scottish and understood the early accents quite well.

[@janfvideoblog]

As a non-native speaker, this is what hit me first. Earliest accents sound a lot like scottish english to me. Don't know why.

[@danielgriffin9986]

this is what i said 'As a scottish man, I guess this is how we sound to other english speakers lmao. From the early english i could understand most of what was being said because it sounds a lot like the slang we use today but still very difficult' it is funny how scottish the early language sounds

[@geordie114]

Same as here in Geordie Northumberland.

[@beslemeto]

@@geordie114 Probably they changed the pronunciation mostly in London...

[@jemima4242]

& here in Cumbria! Sounds like what we think ‘traveller’ accent. They have it right - want to become self sufficient miself!

[@t.c.bramblett617]

"He was SPOOKED and he RAN OFF into the WODES" I felt that

[@anatolydyatlov963]

Happens to me every damn time. It's like an instinct.

[@themountainsandthesea4121]

Yeah,me too.

[@ezzie9167]

Mood

[@hannahzwic5975]

Paul from 90 day fiance

[@hanz090]

@Hannah zwic 💀😂

[@scottcarroll9201]

The 1706 and 1766 accents give you an idea also of how the American colonists of the time sounded. I'm always amused when movies about the American Revolution depict the British soldiers with posh, non rhotic pronunciation. The reality is they wouldn't have sounded much different from the American colonists they were fighting.

[@j.franknorris2346]

I noticed that too. Absolutely mind blowing when you think about it

[@G1CAAAAEO]

Hollywood propaganda, as usual.

[@NLSBLN]

@@j.franknorris2346 I am german, but i just thought about that right now. I`m so happy that i`ve just found a video about the sounds!! unbelievable (or however you write that xD)

[@NLSBLN]

Oh i wrote that right, lol

[@angelwings9500]

I hear how similarly Americans now sound a bit like the 1700s.

[@marthinlarsen1473]

1346: sounds more like a blend or scottish, irish, Welsh. 1406: sound a bit much like Norwegian, Danish and Swedish aswell, the pronunciation of the words. 1466: a bit Dutch 1526: more English from nowadays. Amazing work, this is incredible🙏👨‍🏫👨‍🌾

[@marieke6951]

Nothing Dutch about the 1466 one sorry. Nederlands heeft andere klanken.

[@Antaios632]

As an American, it's fascinating to hear it get closer to a North American accent through the late 1700s, and then diverge after that.

[@StratocastRS]

may be why tidewater accents and west/virginia accents sound very similar

[@StratocastRS]

also southern US and Western english accents

[@GreatGreebo]

After hearing this it now makes sense HOW Yanks ended up sounding like they do considering when the bulk of people emigrated from the UK to the USA…it’s fascinating! I love this video.

[@mausilw]

I genuinely don’t see how that sounds like a North American accent to be honest. It still sounds significantly British.

[@GreatGreebo]

@@mausilw I can see if you don’t hear UK accents very often then it probably does sound VERY British (or Irish to be exact) but if you’re exposed to British accents all day, every day then it sounds so VERY North American!

[@PositiveVibes94]

Everyone is talking about the amazing quality if the accents, but no one is talking about the amazing "time period appropriate" monologues being spoken! Maybe they were taken from diaries or something from real people of the time, but if these were written as scripts to be read from, then massive kudos. Each monologue felt like a real snapshot story from the past

[@BencsikZs]

Exactly same thoughts. My favourite one is the 1706.

[@gregorytrotter6657]

The accompanying text describes pronunciation practices for each time period and how they came to be. They seem mostly to have been arrived at from the ways words were spelled by representative writers from the different periods.

[@ThorfinnMacbeth]

@@gregorytrotter6657 agreed!

[@ZeR0W1]

I liked the one about the great London fire

[@Y-two-K]

@@BencsikZs the rhotic 'r's make it sound a bit American. which makes sense because British didn't ditch rhotic 'r's until later

[@adamd.philips7657]

As a non-native English speaker, this is an ultimate listening test

[@milesolszko2062]

As a native English speaker I can barely make sense of the first one without subtitles.

[@Youtube_Stole_My_Handle_Too]

@@milesolszko2062 For those who know Norwegian, this couldn't be a test unless it was woke and made to get only winners. Probably because of Viking influence five hundred years before.

[@flavanone9884]

As a native, I can’t really understand anything until the 1500s

[@giraffesinc.2193]

As a NATIVE English speaker, this is an ultimate listening test.

[@LydiaMoMydia]

as a native speaker i cant understand anything from the 1300s, i can vaguely understand the 1400s and can almost perfectly understand the 1460s

[@fishpie00]

What a ludicrous amount of character you've given these voices. I've just experienced their whole lives, each and every one.

[@aztro.99]

right? its so engaging

[@Marauder1981]

Linguist here; you ARE a linguist.

[@blllllllllllllllllllrlrlrl7059]

Fuckin' Tremendous.

[@lewishunt6133]

Blue cheese with wings

[@Laura-sg6ss]

@@lewishunt6133 with wingsss🤣🤣🤣 what does this meannn

[@lewishunt6133]

@@Laura-sg6ss type in Joey Diaz blue cheese

[@Laura-sg6ss]

@@lewishunt6133 eheheh okayyy

[@Growmetheus]

1400s: yiddish grandpa 1500s: nordic lad 1600s: german grandma/posh irishman 1700s: an american immigrant 1800s: an australian immigrant 1900s: an audio book

[@tander101]

Every one of the accents sounds Scandinavian to me, but I'm Canadian.

[@assassinaria]

@@tander101 I feel like it's just the intonation of the speaker's voice. Unfortunately, it's unavoidable. He sounds Irish in some instances. If you listen to some audio recordings from the mid-late 1800s, it doesn't sound very much like that.

[@eethvamp]

I heard German, Scottish, Irish, and Australian.

[@AbcdEfgh-sq2tf]

Lol so the current american accent is just 1700s british accent?

[@polinttalu7102]

@@AbcdEfgh-sq2tf yes

[@Notemug]

As a professional linguist I can vouchsafe that Simon is using reliable sources, is a discernible reader, but also has an undeniable talent for accent work. In short, I recommend his clips to my students and also delight in them myself.

[@Notemug]

@Onur I can assure you that I am.

[@alrightalright4585]

Why is every comment the same dudes talking smack? 🤣 just chill guys

[@TheLunnyBear]

@@Notemug you're not

[@remaincalm2]

I've decided not to time travel back beyond 1526 because I wouldn't have a clue what they're saying.

[@kutukteyiz408]

So my accent has nothing to do with my being Turkish. I just learnt the language in 1706.

[@hannyhawkins7804]

But I’ll bet it’s better English than my Turkish, or most other people on this YT.

[@kutukteyiz408]

@@hannyhawkins7804 Most probably but it’s definitely not your fault. :) Turkish is tough to learn for Native speakers of European languages. It is originated from Altai mountains and has a very different structure. İ.e. My Korean friends learn Turkish easier than they learn English.

[@-dogu-5231]

krallll

[@kab1r]

@@kutukteyiz408 that's interesting thanks for sharing

[@GorillaFlakes]

Yh ur white basically

[@patrickking9600]

You are a true amateur, from the original French word l’amour, meaning a lover of something. No one is paying you to do this, it’s not in your job description, you just love it. Good on you man, this is fantastic!

[@simonroper9218]

Thank you! That's very kind :)

[@diogeneslantern18]

I believe the great Bobby Jones was also once quoted as saying (and I paraphrase) "to be an amateur is to have a love of the game [golf], to play for money is to lose that love and replace it"

[@clairegranier2428]

L’amour means love, but it is close enough :)

[@clairegranier2428]

Lover is l’amant or l’amoureux

[@FannomacritaireSuomi]

Amateur comes through Old French yes, but not from the noun _amour_ (love), instead of the Italian verb _amare_ (or as they say "amatore"). Always check your sources.

[@MeHungy136]

Imagine having moths in your arms, elbows, shoulders, hair and head. Horrible. So glad I don't live in the 1300s

[@jambutty2218]

No internet either

[@alexanderfroebelzehl3825]

@@jambutty2218 lol

[@mosquitobight]

Wasn't the word "motes"?

[@thaddeusal-britani1099]

@@mosquitobight it was moths but he pronounced it as such

[@ieatgarbage8771]

So glad I don’t live in England

[@jenmdawg]

I take delight in the sheer number of people who find this fascinating. I’m going to guess that most don’t even know why (it’s just in our bones - this curiosity) but I’m so grateful to live in a time where refined/specific scholars can reach so many so easily. What a joy to listen to.

[@beek.4860]

My great-grandmother (born in the early 1920s) has lived in rural Tasmania all her life and was descended from London convicts of the mid-1800s, and I recognized the 1886 English accent immediately as the one she imitates when telling stories of her own grandparents or uncles or aunts born at that time.

[@agneseditsstuff]

that's fantastic!

[@Bpl541]

That’s very interesting. Thankyou🙏

[@willem1113]

Fellow Tasmanian?

[@jaif7327]

god bless your great grandmother

[@bacicinvatteneaca]

One of the few languages in the world that lacks both m and n does use m, but only as an alternative for another sound when you want to sound ancient

[@_agent47_]

To me as a german, the older ones really do sound a bit closer to our language. Even sounds a little dutch from time to time. Super interesting.

[@jemand7488]

Dutch has always sounded like the bridge between English and german to me

[@joeynyesss1286]

That’s because old English’s closest relation is Frisian which is a Germanic lanagauge. I’m from England but speak some German and it was my first thought also. It has a German flow to it if that makes sense.

[@jorex6816]

Ja, klingt wirklich sehr stark nach Plattdeutsch

[@burn5011]

English is a Germanic language

[@Yow531]

True, the oldest ones sound Dutch

[@PikkaBite]

I don't know why KZbin put this in my recommendations but I'm glad it did.

[@cathjj840]

Join the club! See his number of subs? Half of them at least had your same thought.

[@alexhek]

Same here

[@cubedtothex]

Same

[@jamiejudd7146]

Me too!

[@bublechick]

Same here!

[@melodyvalentine8779]

Im from the North East of England and the first few of these sounded very much like our accent, mixed with some Welsh and the odd bit of Irish. Right up until the 1700s it sounded very similar, we still say hoose, fatha, nowt, etc.

[@Treyjacksxn]

Farmers in Northern Ireland still talk like it’s the 14th century, and I can understand this video better 😂

[@sebas4951]

Woat? That sounds hilarious

[@Cradien]

yup I thought that myself watching haha

[@PrisonBrain]

im an icelandic speaker and its really crazy how similar the 14th-17th century accents sound to what you can expect from alot of nordic languages

[@andyc9902]

Crazy innit

[@stephenfox6943]

I thought it sounds more dutch. Ya gett Mae bro

[@Sandorvdv]

I think when you go back a couple more centuries , Germanic languages all sounded the same

[@eternity68]

Viking heritage, im swedish and heard it too

[@Prince_Sharming]

That's William the Conqueror for you.

[@akcentz.accents2561]

As a gentleman growing up in the 1400's, one can confirm this is accurate to the most acute degree

[@tselengbotlhole750]

😂😂😂

[@jahermos]

Hahahaha

[@Oscuros]

Why would someone from the 15th Century use Victorian language like "acute"? You're clearly just a modern American.

[@tselengbotlhole750]

Oscuros jeez loosen up, this is a joke 😂😂😂 really man are you serious?😂😂😂

[@Eire_Aontaithe]

@@tselengbotlhole750 He is right.

[@Marlo_Strannik]

This is so informative and interesting. To hear the voices, two generations at a time, really makes historical people feel real.

[@danielasanchez4674]

I have a linguistics degree, but I'm not doing the work this man is doing. HE IS A TRUE LINGUIST

[@sylamy7457]

Did you get the degree because you actually enjoy linguistics? Just wondering

[@danielasanchez4674]

@@sylamy7457 yeah, I spend my free time learning about languages so linguistics was what I chose lol. You dont have to get a career based on your degree though lol

[@jessicaeasterlyfriel5699]

Same here. I have a degree in lit/linguistics and I'm not doing this work.

[@PettyMitch]

As someone born in 1683 I can confidently say you nailed them all. Edit: I had no idea this had so many likes😭 thank y’all for all of them lol.

[@RO-st8wh]

🤣🤣 underated comment

[@nialllambert3194]

I came to Europe from the Bronx in 1492, and you guys sure spoke some jive.

[@marinam1660]

It’s an idea of how people spoke

[@ois9]

Oh how nice. I was born in 1684 myself.

[@IErfanCN]

What...

[@neccodealer]

It is so incredibly interesting how groups that immigrated out of England somewhat bookmarked the London accent of the time they left

[@rastaisfuture8630]

Also slave plantion descendants everywhere. Like the carribean, simetimes a mix of 1600 english and some african tongue. Lool into Patois in Jamaica for example

[@TheOmniCuriousCanvas]

They came from all over the lower part of England, but mostly the middle and east of England/

[@Jurassic_Fart]

Yeah like Australians and South Africans

[@adenwellsmith6908]

I think that's correct. What also is interesting is you could very easily transition from 21st century, to 1350's English. Some word changes, but understandable. Grandsire - Grandson. Other's are purely accent but the grammar is there.

[@LewisCampbellTech]

Grandsire is 'Grandfather'... so there still is some gap!@@adenwellsmith6908

[@antelbow5270]

London accent 2024: *“wagwan my g. Mad ting yeah”*

[@amandamyers7382]

Crying 🤣🤣

[@aztro.99]

oi bruv

[@Cd5ssmffan]

usual suspects

[@RESIST_DIGITAL_ID_UK]

More like: “الله أكبر”

[@rai2423]

That’s actually Jamaican English. Young people from london have adopted the lingo from Jamaican Londoners and made it their own. It’s actually quite fascinating, kind of how many New Yorkers adopted the lingo from Italian and Jewish immigrants 80-70 years ago.

[@richardfinlayson1524]

The early ones sound Dutch, you can hear the similarity with Germanic languages

[@ainsleygritter7552]

Yes! I heard the same thing!

[@Likes_Trains]

sounds more Frisian than Dutch :)

[@JudgeJulieLit]

Anglo Saxon, Old English, was a Germanic language.

[@merlin2627]

@@Likes_Trains totally right, English is part of the Anglo-Frisian branch, so English is nearer to Frisian than Dutch.

[@lil_weasel219]

ot is a germanic language

[@kishaheena]

The older, the more it sounds Scandinavian, old'ish, mainly Swedish / Norwegian. Really interesting !

[@hadeurmom5796]

norse vikings would've been able to hold some simple conversations with the anglo saxons! so yes they were quite similar quite literally not just accent wise

[@englishmaninmedellin7294]

It sounded a bit Scottish/Irish to me, with the earlier speech around 1400-1600. Is that more similar to Scandinavian? Are scots and Irish easier to understand for you guys? Fascinating, if so.

[@VICKY08TZ]

I got the same feeling! And I am not Scandinavian nor English. I thought it sounded completely Swedish/Norwegian. You can finally hear the germanic origin of English language.

[@AngelofSin666666]

@@hadeurmom5796 Actually this is something I have been really wondering while watching these Vikings/Last Kingdom shows. Since the Saxons and Norse languages have a common root, is it known to what extent they were able to understand each other, and how long it would take a Saxon "captured by Vikings" to learn their language to some extent?

[@hadeurmom5796]

@@AngelofSin666666 they would’ve only really been able to just about understand. i wouldn’t say complex conversations would’ve been very common due to just cultural terms and words and pronunciation. saxons captured or even saxons living amongst vikings, which was common in a lot of places, would’ve slowly been able to understand each-other more and more accurately

[@TheSnyderWeb]

My favorite thing about this (besides your voice) is how instead of just talking randomly you made it like a story- each man talking is supposed to be the grandson of the previous man talking. That was just a really cool thing to do.

[@kaiabeatty9355]

And then there's the one man reciting nursery rhymes lmao

[@meganhartmann180]

@@kaiabeatty9355 That's my favorite! I'm like, "Hey, I know this one!" Lol

[@GargoyleBard]

And then the next guy talks about how his grandfather would read books and poems to them...loved that detail

[@kevinyoung42]

Creative, interesting and entertaining 👍🏽

[@TheRealShedLife]

And they seem relevant to the times depicted - the worries or problems of folk in each era. And it sounds like I went back in time and am standing there, listening to some dude talk to me and in the early ones there was little to understand. The listener also thinks: what's this dude from the 14th century going to think when I start talking? Not to mention the time machine.

[@MrsWilberforce2]

That's incredible. It wasn't until you got to 1706 that I could understand everything. Before that it was only maybe 3 words out of 10, and those other 7 sounded completely foreign.

[@alanhyt79]

Actors in period films can be more precise by research like this.

[@nostur4984]

If you're interested, a TV series named John Adams is set during early parts of American history and it does a good job of recreating accents from those times.

[@georgie3593]

They have no excuse when info like this is free on the internet lol

[@banjopink4409]

'Incomprehensible', you mean.

[@tarawhittington5686]

@@banjopink4409 I have to agree with Banjo Pink on this. I have no knowledge of linguistics. if I heard this, I'd not only fail to understand half of it but also think it was a butchered attempt at accents I better recognise. It sounds really inconsistent to me so I'd think the actor had done very little research and spliced together bits of everything

[@geekygalaxy4307]

I think it's like when you watch an English film set in France, for example. The actors are speaking English because the main audience will be able to understand it even though they should be speaking French. Same as if you have a film set in 1300s England, you're not really going to be able to understand it unless you're concentrating really hard

[@spike1927]

I'm hearing massive Welsh / Cymraeg / Celtic / Gaelic / Scottish in the earliest two sections. Absolutely incredible research and application. Well done Sir!

[@Unicorn-zb1mu]

I hear my Scottish accent 😮

[@AngryBulldogg]

I was getting Scottish and Geordie, with a Welsh twang on the end of words

[@ieuancilgwri3230]

Sounds germanic / north east to me - not welsh at all

[@I_Kan]

I hear Welsh a slight Plymouth accent too

[@Joolzratbag]

I heard Irish in the first one

[@Norvaal3]

Simon, you may be an amateur linguist in the sense of not having the coursework and credentials, but you're a very good amateur. You've proven what you can do with access to the university library, and it's amazing. I first saw this video the month you released it, and it's one that I have reviewed many times since then.

[@sonnyk8761]

Can’t believe you had to use a disclaimer when talking about accents from the 14 century.

[@adambrown3918]

Well, you never know if some immortals like Dracula or Duncan MacLeod might come across the video and get offended. LOL! 🤣

[@MrsSlocombesPuddyCat]

😂 Yes I was bamboozled by the need for a disclaimer too!

[@Biporian]

@@jupitorious7925 it’s English though?

[@jupitorious7925]

@@Biporian they speak English

[@skatergirlskatergirl2486]

You wouldn't believe how many people watch Mrs Crocombe's Victorian cookery videos on the English Heritage channel and say they had no idea there was television in the 1880s.

[@mimidoggo7167]

the way my grandmother sounded basically the exact same as 1946 has me deep in my feels

[@alfredestrada2729]

You remember a voice from 1946? 😳

[@redadamearth]

@@alfredestrada2729 If you want to know how people sounded in England in 1946, just watch a British movie made in '46.

[@alfredestrada2729]

@@redadamearth I know invisible man 1933

[@irishcountrygirl78]

@@redadamearth or news report .

[@brucetucker4847]

@@irishcountrygirl78 News reports would be RP, wouldn't they?

[@TMcB23]

I’m really confused how the London accent wavered around a Germanic-Celtic accent for 400 years and then, in the space of 50 years in the Victorian period, went from that to a recognisable east end accent!!

[@RazorEdge2006]

Industrial Revolution

[@KHANSTER1029]

Yup industrial revolution. To clarify it further, when the industrial revolution happened, people from many different cities with varying accents travelled to find work in big industrial cities like London and I think Birmingham. This intermingling of accents and speech styles rapidly changed the way the standard London accent was

[@mariekatherine5238]

Most likely globalization caused by the Industrial Revolution. We’re still on this trajectory with the internet. Worldwide and regional accents are disappearing.

[@riotgrrrrl167]

They started taking with Americans lol But tourists change accents do to pronunciation immigrants is really what im looking for.

[@carlosandleon]

@@mariekatherine5238 standard "american" is the accent most international students default to kinda

[@jdsthird]

I’m here from the 30th century. Great 👍🏾 info from this time capsule.

[@devonharris5936]

When the 1826 guy said "Your grandfather never had a reason to be inside, he was always out building wheels for work. I, on the other hand, always sought a reason to be inside and do something easy." I felt that.

[@monalisa3549]

This video is gonna hit millions and will be recommended five years later out of the blue.

[@trentyang6853]

Very optimistic the world will still have humans in 5 years.

[@triumphant5345]

💯🤣

[@patrickbasin9389]

See yall in 5 years.

[@EASTERBUNNY7772]

This video is gonna hit millions and will be recommended five years later out of the blue.

[@aliisaza5060]

Kkkkk

[@HAYDS510]

note to self... don't set the time machine any earlier than the 1600's, or you will not understand jack shit.

[@Molr026]

This is what i always think... will i be able to speak to english (or dutch) people if i go far back in time XP

[@glenamw]

LOL, omg, you are too funny

[@conciseenglish7486]

The trick is to just try to think of written English completely phonetically. For example, they used to pronounce "said" like "sah-eed" instead of "sed"

[@Why_did_YouTube_add_handles]

@@conciseenglish7486 ur actually smart ngl

[@InfernosReaper]

I could get the hang of it, but for awhile, I'd be a might bit sodded...

[@EL-gu8fv]

As a Scot, i had no trouble at all understanding the 1306 and 1406 dialects. Hoose, aboot, etc, are common parlance where I come from. Also, when those Swedish crime shows are on tv,vi can sometimes hear whole sentences, 'braw' , 'wean' etc. Fascinating.

[@moonchild2171]

Wow! I’m a 58 year old British woman who has lived in the South east of England for a huge part of my life. I could barely understand most of that until 1600,s! I initially thought I was listening to Danish or Norwegian dialect. Amazing how the accent has changed over the centuries.

[@Laura-kl7vi]

I'm American and I can understand most of it (can follow it well) back to 1466 and almost all but a couple of words in 1526. The difference between 1406 (can only pick out words) to 1466 is stark for me.

[@croatianwarmaster7872]

​@@Laura-kl7vigreat vowel shift. From about 1440s-1450s English started to change drastically. Same for me, 1406-1466 was a huge difference.

[@Scatterbrained_Watching]

Really? English isn’t my native language, and I’d say I understood most of it. I didn’t really try to understand the first two, but once I did try it went pretty easy. But maybe that’s because I’m Swedish, so I easily picked up on the more Norse sounding words, I dunno

[@thetempleoflove6966]

I'm Polish and I understood 40% of the 1300s and 1400s (after listening three times). Then I understood about 60% of the 1500s and 1600s, and from 1700s forward I understood just about everything. It's better to listen fully concentrated on the words, and sometimes to listen more than one time

[@thebecs80]

You are completely right about the Danish/Norwegian comparison. I am Norwegian, raised in Denmark, so i grew up with both languages. The medieval dialect sounded a lot like Danish and Norwegian. However, it is no surprise to me, considering how the vikings dominated a large part of England until around 1050. But this is just me speculating.

[@noblestsavage1742]

Can’t believe you actually needed to tell folk they are not actually recordings of folk from before recording existed😂😂

[@twiglet2214]

Yep - i saw one recently where the narrator said " ...and of course there was no electricity then.." referring back to 600 years ago ! And then there was the plastic self assembly dog kennel for sale with a picture on the box it came in of a retriever by the kennel and the caveat " dog not included " !

[@tamsinwood2]

🤣

[@bigsteve6729]

They've actually played back sounds that were accidentally etched into clay pots as the sounds made at the time etched sound waves into the clay as they were moulding them with some sort of brush tool on the wheel and the vibrations were etched into it. Google it pretty interesting, so there kind of is recordings that exist before recordings 😁👍😂

[@twiglet2214]

@@bigsteve6729 Absolutely correct - they discovered small engines fitted to the clay receptacles and they think they were discarded because it drove them potty.They used them in Colchester where i live - Britains oldest recorded town - so yet again factually correct - they were known as clayers which is where the word players has it's origins.

[@SubrosaJoe]

Folk

[@clayton7463]

I feel like the earlier accents are what English would sound like if I didn’t know it

[@bigfenix8272]

I can pick out words and generally follow what's going on, but, it feels like I am on the "beginner conversation" bit of the language

[@465marko]

It's llike 'name one thing in this picture' - it sounds right, but I can't pick out any words

[@paigerasmussen5212]

I'm from DC. The earlier ones are what a guy whom I knew in college up North sounded like when drunk (to ME, minus the trilled Rs and sing-songyness). A lot of kids would let their hyper-local accents out when drunk; he'd spent his summers working on the docks somewhere in Maine. There were other Northern kids who had no problem understanding what he said but I felt like I was just barely making out that it was English he was speaking vs. a Norwegian tongue. So while I was blown away by how similar the 1806 clip sounds to what I and most of the US speaks, it's those very early ones that represent whatever is going on in our more cloistered areas -- and we have a few.

[@JimmyDropout]

Simon, this is a work of art. Congrats from Italy!

[@elsakristina2689]

I love how it’s spoken in an everyday, conversational tone and not an exaggerated, performative tone. This is wonderful.

[@jangtheconqueror]

Simon is REALLY good at that

[@elsakristina2689]

@@jangtheconqueror ^^

[@raychumon]

Can I just say, not only is this a brilliant way to show the evolution of a language, but such a difficult concept to pull off? I can hardly imitate an Australian accent even with the ability to listen to clips of Australians speaking as much as I want. To do this with just study and books? To move through time with your speech and be able to do so consistently enough to tell a unique story in each pronunciation? That's some crazy impressive stuff right there, mate. Kudos!

[@simonroper9218]

I'll definitely have made some mistakes, but thank you! :)

[@glakshay2475]

@@simonroper9218 that is some serious modesty level Simon.

[@alickroberts5194]

@@glakshay2475 well it is slighly easier to imitate an accent when no one actually currently uses it and can gainsay your guess.

[@iwontlikeyourcomment5487]

I’m Australian and even I can’t intimidate the one of those stereotypical Australian accents

[@Ublivion01]

@@iwontlikeyourcomment5487 well when I try to sound Australian I make my voice more nasally and less deep alongside the accent itself. Maybe try to deepen your voice a bit not too much and open your mouth more roundly instead of horizontally, but nothing extremely noticeable. This may not work at all, but I’m an American so I have no idea how I make my accent.

[@EllieJadeOke]

So strange. I'm hearing Scottish, Welsh, Irish, Geordie, South African dialect, French and so much more. It's amazing!

[@ainsleygritter7552]

I hear Dutch too!

[@mirajane3019]

Dutch

[@antigen4]

all are time capsules or remnants of earlier english, much like quebecois is a depiction of the french spoken in the middle ages etc

[@EllieJadeOke]

@Jackson’s Account you're ridiculous.

[@laoch5658]

Irish didnt speak English back then

[@joewilliams3919]

Lots of “cute” modern comments - I couldn’t think one up, but I think this is an admirable and terrific effort to capture the rhythms of the evolution of English - VERY WELL DONE!

[@kalinystazvoruna8702]

I laughed at the disclaimer that said, "these are reconstructions and not actual recordings from the time." Anyone who thinks there are actual recordings of 14th Century people speaking English have been watching too much Doctor Who!

[@russell_szabados]

Kalinysta Zvoruna those are the same people who’ll spend lots of money on an “ancient” coin dated 56 BC.

[@kalinystazvoruna8702]

@@russell_szabados Yep. Although a former boss of mine had gone to Jerusalem and came back with a "present" for me. It was a piece of pottery he said dated to the Roman era. He said he just picked it up off the ground as stuff like that was just lying around. Don't know if it's real or not, but I still have it. Reminded me of a Mayan friend I had who told me that in her ancestral homeland, which she occasionally visited to see relatives, they'd find Mayan artefacts lying around their backyard. ::shrugs::

[@thisisme2681]

🤣🤣

[@ayla5930]

@@kalinystazvoruna8702 don’t know about the people you know but there are places that just have artifacts lying around in fact there’s places like that to this day out west in the desert and in some of the National parks although if you were to remove anything I’m sure you’d be given an extremely large fine

[@kalinystazvoruna8702]

@@ayla5930 Wouldn't be surprised in the least. I met my Mayan friend back in the 1970s and, as I said, when she went back to her ancestral home, she'd find these artefacts in the backyard. Unfortunately, I lost touch with her in the late 1970s.

[@MamaMac_]

I find it so interesting how so many of the current English words that are not pronounced like they are spelled, were historically much closer in pronunciation to their spelling. It’s good to know that their spellings weren’t randomly decided upon by sadists just trying to make spelling bees more difficult. 😂

[@leod-sigefast]

Of course, written language imitated spoken language, not the other way round. So, letters and clusters were chosen to reflect the sounds utter by people in that region st that time of history. So, since English hasn't really changed its spelling much, it is a handy time capsule for how English was probably spoken way back when. Which is a great help in linguistic reconstruction, such as this.

[@thatperformer3879]

Technically the English written language was really all over the place for the longest time, there was no official universal spellings for any words, it was open strictly to interpretation back then. It was Shakespeare who actually standardized written English as we know it today when he wrote his plays.

[@aoikemono6414]

There's a video by langfocus about weird English spelling. In short, English underwent a great vowel shift but never had that "rejigging" that other languages had with their writing system. You would also need a strong totalitarian state of some kind to force it on all the various different regions. Spelling bees would not exist without the weird spellings, so you should look on the bright side.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

Unlike French, apparently.

[@Scottishenglish]

Most words with bizarre spellings are spelled that way precisely because they used to be pronounced that way. The silent -gh- in words like 'night', 'through' and 'cough' is an excellent example

[@TexKimball]

The 1766 accent sounds the most similar to the modern North American accent, which makes a lot of sense.

[@paulryan94]

Sounds nothing like the north American accent. What are you guys all on about.

[@anglishbookcraft1516]

@@paulryan94 I think you’re the one missing it, sounds just like American speech.

[@nick15684]

@@paulryan94 It sounds quite similar to a standard North American accent, a little different, no doubt, but by far the closest.

[@willjackson6522]

I think a funny thing to take from this is that the claim of many Americans knowing this information that they are speaking the “original English” is bullshit. The American-sounding era of British English was just that, a phase. Just as the German, Welsh and Scottish eras were. So they have just as much validity in saying they are speaking it correctly as Scottish people do. The British English accent never stops changing, the other English-speaking countries are essentially time capsules of what the then-British English accent sounded like.

[@agitatorjr]

@@willjackson6522 nice strawman. Who's saying original English?

[@sondose5447]

It’s crazy how much more germanic it sounds

[@MarijeK]

As a Dutch person, I feel the medieval pronunciations sound a lot more like Frisian than modern day English. I know they're related, but now, it really hit me. So interesting, thank you!

[@BlackPorscheVibes]

The medieval accent sounds like an Italian speaking english

[@olegwiththeknowledge1729]

@@BlackPorscheVibes Just no.

[@richsackett3423]

The Frisians: Famous for selling brown cows.

[@Giandujaz]

@@BlackPorscheVibes That's exactly what I thought 🤣

[@Behold-the-Florist]

I thought the same 😊

[@eurowestgirl]

It’s amazing how the standard American accent has a lot more in common with the 1706 accent than any other.

[@iceomistar4302]

Makes sense, Colonial America was settled in this time, Londoners still spoke with a post vocalic /r/ and the great vowel shift was still taking place so the vowels show more phonemic contrasts than let's say the modern London accents.

[@frost1183]

It’s so crazy it’s awesome once I heard the old accents of the 1700s I was like. WHAT? That sounds like my grandparents here in America! This is why I’ve heard that American and Irish English sounds like original English.

[@danielavelar4109]

I believe they were the same but after the Industrial Revolution, there were a small amount of rich folks who wanted to distinguish themselves. They ended up emphasizing their accents in order to distinguish themselves from “commoners”

[@thomsboys77]

@@frost1183It still isn’t “original English”. There are many regional English accents that predate the discovery of America

[@MikehMike01]

1766 sounds significantly more American but neither sounds American

[@RagingCanuck]

My father was born in east London in 1908. He came to Canada in 1947. I heard his voice in your 1886 example. It’s uncanny. Having grown up listening to that accent, and as someone who loves to try mimicking different accents, this is what comes out of my mouth when I try to “sound English”.

[@Retro-Future-Land]

The acid test had been passed indeed!

[@ya.thegoat8795]

are you eighty

[@kayfrancis377]

How old are you 😳

[@RagingCanuck]

Nigga Dreams: no. What difference would it make if I were? Kay Francis: why do you care? Be gone, trolls. This channel is above your pay grade.

[@englishexpert1989]

@@kayfrancis377 100

[@redmoonvenus7327]

Wow that was instructive ! As a non-english--first-language person, I had to start by the 2006 accent and go backway, to understand what was talked about. But I am amazed at the amount of research that went into this ! Bravo.

[@50shekels]

For every 2-3 shots of vodka my English appears to travel 50 years back in time, and around the 15th I start speaking Indo-European

[@brihqnnq]

😂

[@Logined85]

If you were not squatting it wasn’t vodka

[@hwlsgrl]

@@Logined85 lmaooo

[@fifacolourcommentary2332]

I used to speak my own language as a kid, don't ask me why but I did, yes it's weird

[@mpgnz73]

My drinking is even worse. I start speaking "cave man" dialect.

[@pjstatenisland1575]

The 1706 voice reminds me of the american new england accent...easy to see how the American accent came from an earlier version of uk English! Fascinating!

[@eljones930]

As languages spread, the accents further away from the source change more slowly. Elizabethan English was still being used in West Virginia long after that time in England. Mel Gibson's movie The Patriot has Americans speaking the way we do today while the British soldiers speak like they would today. In reality, their accents should have been relatively similar.

[@RealBadGaming52]

@@eljones930 and what’s funny is , people complain about old Hollywood films set in olde England and day that the accents sound silly LOL

[@Ricky.Z]

Yeah I thought the 1706 accent sounds the closest to mine; I am American. However, there were still some strong differences.

[@sce2aux464]

“if we wished to find a modern-day model for British and American speech of the late eighteenth century, we could probably do no better than Yosemite Sam.” ― Bill Bryson, Made in America

[@gusspinochet9685]

@Benny 😐

[@ad_astraperaspera]

I'm a Norwegian, and it's so fun to listen to these recordings because I can hear a lot of Norwegian sounds in the accents, but as time passes, there are less and less of them. It just goes to show that languages are always changing, and that languages influence each other, but not permanently.

[@mickeypearce244]

Maybe would have been more Norwegian sounding in the North East rather than London, where it was viking. My dad got dna tested and there is 16% Norwegian.

[@elin_]

@@mickeypearce244 you know that there were Norwegian vikings too right?

[@mickeypearce244]

@@elin_ Hi Elin, Yes that's why my dad and me have some Norwegian dna. Name is Lofthus, which is a place in Norway and on the north east coast of Yorkshire.

[@elin_]

@@mickeypearce244 oh I think I misunderstood your comment

[@mickeypearce244]

@@elin_ no worries

[@eat.food.not.friends]

This is so amazing.... Thank you, it was so interresting to listen.... Not just how they spoke, but also the stories they told were so interresting...

[@MAYK1NG]

As a Jamaican, I can definitely hear how the native patios was formed by this early English. Facinating

[@Ds2Wavy11]

Thought the same thing. From the Geechee culture in the south all the way to the Caribbean islands, you can hear a bit of everyone in these recreations.

[@mshafer1021]

The Jamaican accent always struck me as having sort of an old English “pirate” flair to it

[@MrScotthulme1]

If you go to Cornwall in the south of england they sound very similar to the barbados accent.

[@healinggrounds19]

I can hear much Louisiana patois in this too.

[@violetsrayreikishop2]

@@Ds2Wavy11 wring geechee has African language in it most people can't understand it the geechee were able to hold on to much of the language and culture than any other enslaved Africans.

[@andersaxmark5871]

Thrice-conferred linguistics degree-holder here: you don't need a degree to be a linguist.

[@guillermoalejandrogonzalez5160]

What do you do for a living? If you don’t mind me asking. I’m currently starting in Linguistics after recently changing Majors.

[@erikwinsor5540]

I have a linguistics degree myself, and I absolutely agree. I thoroughly enjoy his videos, and I'd say that his area of interest certainly makes him a linguist. It crosses so many other fields of study -- heck, my initial interest in linguistics came from an anthropology course I took!

[@guillermoalejandrogonzalez5160]

@@erikwinsor5540 Nice! I was contemplating Anthropology too for a while. But eventually decided on Linguistics. I hear some of the most common career opportunities for this are things such as Speech-Language Pathology, TESOL or ESL and Lexicology I believe it was called. Are any of these accurate ?

[@lorigetz4489]

Guillermo Alejandro Gonzalez I have friend with a Masters degree in linguistics and works in executive finance. I’ve also known a guy with a linguistics background who works in tech.

[@guillermoalejandrogonzalez5160]

@@lorigetz4489 Huh. Well to each their own I suppose. Guess it's a reality of the world that a lot of people do indeed end up working in a profession unrelated to their degree. Wish that weren't the case.

[@brianmessemer2973]

You may not have degrees or professional qualifications in linguists but you're DOING THE WORK, SIR. I sincerely hope that professional linguists take delight in your enthusiastic and quite scholarly, if technically amateur, contributions to society's understanding of the field. Viewers with no notion of linguistics whatsoever will stumble on your videos, become intrigued, and some percentage of those people may actually get into linguistics professionally. You're a great contributor to the field of study in that way. This is absolutely lovely. Bravo and Merry Christmas.

[@jamiel6005]

For someone who is in secondary school, and looking to get into (probably historical?) linguistics, what would be beneficial to study/what paths can I take? Sorry if it’s a hard question, I just have absolutely no idea how to go into linguistics professionally.

[@swevixeh]

"People ask not what you know but what you have studied" -Some famous ethnic German statesman

[@joewood487]

@@jamiel6005 I have no idea but the best place to start if you don't get a reply on here would be to look at a few different linguistics degrees and see what entry requirements they have. Also don't be shy to phone up a university linguistics department and just ask them. Ask to speak to the course head. You'll find many of them are friendly people very happy to talk about their course. Sorry I couldn't be more useful! Good luck!

[@AngelEarth2011]

@@jamiel6005 You might consider starting with a degree in literature, or history (or a joint degree in literature and history), with your final dissertation focusing on historical linguistics in relation to some historical period or literature of a historical period. After that, you could do a Masters degree in linguistics, if possible one that has historical linguistics as a key component, and ending in a thesis that focuses on historical linguistics. And if you want to pursue an academic career, or simply want the intellectual challenge, you could commit 3-4 years to doing a PhD.

[@Matty002]

i wish there was more citizen science in the field of linguistics. the only one that comes to mind is the fourth floor stuff with labov but that of course doesnt technically count

[@muttcrewmusic]

Your voice travels through the centuries showing remarkable knowledge and skill. And the anecdotes are right pleasurable, too. Well done, son. Now if you could give me back my time machine...

[@koffeewitch]

This is hands down one of the coolest things I have seen on the internet ever. Delightful! Thank you!

[@simonroper9218]

Thank you! :) I'm glad you found value in it

[@Fern635]

Agreed 😁

[@martham5898]

This clip has me spellbound. How in the world did you do this? The use of the word: blue is fascinating. I want more people to listen, so I am going to share this. Thank you!

[@ilovepickle]

Ikr, that's why I immediately subscribed when I saw one of his videos a few years ago!!!

[@annecasserstedt4749]

This was a wonderful video. Just great. I will start going through all of your videos now. Great job!

[@countalma9800]

1706 is perfectly understandable. Sounds surprisingly modern.

[@raihantahmid7272]

The 1700's sound a lot irish and American and the 1800's Aussie back in 1970's British accent also sounded different and more beautiful imo idk how or what caused the changes throughout the years

[@godlovesyou1995]

American edition

[@Nick-mb7wc]

hehe - thats because it is - 1 person reading writings from the early time periods, with, it seems, only one other actual switch - so sounds like 2 people recorded these, and they were not recorded centuries ago... The detail of the time periods is great which tells me they have taken old writings for the scripts... However, i can hear the efforts to force particular things, that would be more naturally articulated for those of that time period. Still fun to map the changes. Just not the long term study it claims to be either, which means we are hearing the best efforts to replicate those accents....

[@bocolatebhipbookie]

yes because it is the closest one to the american accent. the irish are the reason americans speak the way they do today.

[@tiko4621]

@@bocolatebhipbookie that is an interesting take. Do you have any good readings about this?

[@aubynfresh9434]

The fact you had to clarify to some people that they weren't actual recordings from the Anglo-Saxon times had me dying! WOW! (Love your videos!)

[@yanet_052]

I’m always fascinated by how clueless people can be 😂 it would’ve been nice to have an original Grendel audiobook though

[@RichardDCook]

I laughed out loud! It reminds me of the US High School history teacher who had a student who asked one day "when did the world start being in colour?" "What do you mean?" "You know, look at all the old movies and photographs, there's no colour." The teacher didn't know what to say, but I wouldn't have hesitated with an answer: "1939. You can see it in the film Wizard Of Oz! Halfway through filming the world became in colour."

[@johnalden5821]

Yes, all the original Anglo-Saxon recordings were lost decades ago.

[@johnjohntv1195]

@@RichardDCook wtf 😳🤦‍♂️🤣🤣🤣

[@sool-varley9425]

😂😂😂

[@onetrueslave]

This is precisely why I've yearned for a time machine. Thank you, Simon, this is gold.

[@timmowbray6784]

I can’t believe how much the earliest accents sound like northern/Yorkshire and quite strongly geordie…. The northern accent especially geordie has always held onto its original Germanic/ Viking roots

[@acidpunker1]

That's because it's from Anglo-Saxon. Same as the whole country. Language changed the most from Victorian times when people had affected accents. The North is not unique.

[@seanreed69]

@@acidpunker1 The North is unique, it has kept its accent.

[@deumevet]

​@@acidpunker1 because big changes happen in very active cities like capitals or big industrialized/touristic cities, migrations, exterior influences affect them small towns away from economical centers tend to be more conservative (in many aspects not only linguistically)

[@MarkHogan994]

The earliest accents don't sound Yorkshire at all. Geordie maybe, a bit.

[@Geordiehc]

@@MarkHogan994 As a Geordie, they are very familiar, many of the words used are still used today.

[@olanorwegian4052]

The effortless delivery of these monologues is what's the most astonishing here. Pure mastery

[@toninunns1181]

I grew up in south east London in the 70s and there were a lot of Great War veterans still around and they all pronounced war with two syllables, a bit like wa’er.

[@simonroper9218]

My grandmother (b. 1938) still does! I don't know if I've heard it outside of the south-east

[@jasperfk]

Likewise my 88yo grandfather born in Greenwich, which he insists should be pronounced Grinitch!

[@kriddz]

@@jasperfk Yeah Grinitch isn't heard too often thesedays, along with pronouncing Monday, Tuesday or anyday like "Mundee, Chewzdee".

[@brittakriep2938]

@@kriddz : Also in german language Montag or Dienstag is dfferently spoken in dialect, in my swabian dialect it is Meedich and Daischdich.

[@AmarthwenNarmacil]

In Switzerland (the German speaking part) Monday/Montag is Mentig or Mäntig and Tuesday/Dienstag is Zystig/Zistig.

[@rominiyi1385]

I started to very gradually understand what was being said from 1466 up until 1586 where I could understand a significant amount. After that I could understand most of it up until 1706 from where I could understand everything being said from there on in ... so the time leading immediately up to 1706 is the most important for me personally in the context of this historical video clip. Well done for making this!

[@Junnelayos]

So all those historical movies we've seen have wrong accents.

[@SparrowValentine]

Yeah ofc. They're filmed with the 1946+ accents

[@ocdplaylistmaker7032]

This is one example why I wish there was more interdisciplinary interaction between scientists, because they probably miss things too

[@ocdplaylistmaker7032]

But also with movies and games - it immerses you while also bringing a level of authenticity you can really appreciate but also you can trust it more - if that makes sense

[@toriw4103]

To be fair. I wouldn’t understand a lick of what they’d say if they used authentic accents/dialects for the times

[@arrow1414]

True but if they did use the correct versions of English according to time period 99.7% of people would not understand. Subtitles would be neccesary.

[@deletebilderberg]

This is insanely impressive.

[@danielmatthews5759]

seriously

[@TheJamator]

I wonder how accurate it is...

[@LaFlaneuse0]

@@TheJamator as accurate as current linguistic research affords, so not fully accurate, but closer than a guess.

[@Dreyno]

It’s quite a modern thing that we can’t call ourselves something without a degree or some other qualification. In the past, a keen interest, some reading and a have-a-go attitude was enough to call yourself an ornithologist, botanist, archaeologist, historian, linguist etc.

[@mirrorreality7172]

I know this is going off the point but the way society now respects the opinions of "experts" over all other opinions is becoming a big problem. Even experts who have bad track records are listened to more than intelligent wise people with good track records

[@TheRKae]

@@mirrorreality7172 The current destruction of our economies by the advice of "experts" is proving your comment true indeed.

[@peachesandcream8753]

@@mirrorreality7172 I completely agree. Degrees aren't a measure of intelligence nor how well someone knows the subject. Anyone who starts off their disagreement with "well I'm a ____ / I work in ____" and then go on to make an incorrect statement makes me roll my eyes. This worship of science is another worrying trend because it mimics the fanaticism of religions.

[@themoneyman8011]

The term "expert" has been soured over the years due to overzealous usage by the mainstream media.

[@noahfranks984]

I needed to see this comment. I’m saving this. Thank you 🙏

[@tanyamyrillas7552]

Fascinating ! You can actually imagine the characters talking and the scene they are describing ...excellent and beautifully read

[@paulpaulsen7245]

As a German I have seen the deep relationship between English and German, it is really incredible!

[@paulpaulsen7245]

@Benedict Hampus, :-)))

[@Eire_Aontaithe]

@Pikey Haze What ?

[@Eire_Aontaithe]

@Pikey Haze What is a lampard ?

[@Eire_Aontaithe]

@Pikey Haze Look mate, i'm not a native english speaker, i never heard this word before. I looked on Google translator and it didn't translate to me.

[@Eire_Aontaithe]

@Pikey Haze Very funny ass you got, i'm laughing a lot.

[@sean668]

I love how if you get the 1706 variation and isolate it you can hear exactly where North American English dialects diverged

[@aerobolt256]

As long as he doesn’t say short o or diphthongs he sounded pretty damn American there

[@maryannebrown2385]

Indeed. I thought so too.

[@sweiland75]

As a Canadian, I have been curious about when and how the way we speak diverged from English accents.

[@slichtyler]

Yeah, to my U.S. ear, the accents from around 1800 sound the most similar to standard modern U.S. English.

[@patriciaadams3010]

I was thinking the same thing!

[@AndrewVanBeekOttawa]

As a kid of Dutch immigrants who spoke 1940s style Dutch, I can finally hear how these languages have the same root.

[@jennifermcnish8867]

Swaledale!

[@chrishoggett1375]

From which region in the Netherlands? I grew up in Belgium with the West-Flemish dialect. Combined with the fast speech of my Nothern English mother tongue I really need to watch out that I pronounce properly at times. West-Flemish is very similar to Zeeuws.

[@englishmaninmedellin7294]

@@chrishoggett1375 I've always assumed that Flemish/Dutch are two dialects of the same language. A bit like Brit/US english. IS that a good analogy, or do they diverge more than that?

[@jcreativespace8162]

@@englishmaninmedellin7294 No that's actually a very good analogy. I'm Dutch and I've lived here in the Netherlands my whole life but I never had any trouble hearing or even speaking flemish because although it's different (Like the British and American accent) it's really similar

[@AndrewVanBeekOttawa]

@@chrishoggett1375 My family came from the central part of the country, east of Utrecht.

[@sandragoodman2059]

Mr. Roper, I want to commend your acting. The way you speak is so natural that it has taught me a lot about telling a story. Thank you!

[@samueltphillips]

up until 1600 the accents sound like a geordie 5 pints deep

[@neonskyline1]

yeh i've just commented that, anglo saxon

[@leahjsmith5484]

🤣🤣😂😂

[@claredyson9936]

Damn I thought I would be smart and comment like that! I live above Newcastle and they do talk like that 🤣

[@ShiloStorm]

😂😂😂😂

[@sarahfender8400]

especially 1346 ... to be honest doens't sound much different from the older blokes in my family

[@Likes_Trains]

As a Geordie who speaks Dutch, German and Frisian, I could understand all of them very well. It feels like it's a secret language made by combining everything I know. You're amazing to be able to do all the accents so well, they manage to sound so different.

[@aumelb]

As a Russian native speaker living in Australia for whom English is a second language, I could understand everything in this video without any trouble at all. All of it, even 1300s pronounciation, is definitely much easier to understand than some American accents.

[@Mullkaw]

@@aumelb Well, as an Ecclesiastical Latin native speaker living in Belarus who doesn't even speak English, I could understand every generation in the video, even the ones in the 1200s and 1100s despite the fact that those centuries weren't even in the video.

[@KingDomIV]

Frisian? Like the horse (among other things)? I'm sure you're more of an expert that me but just call it Flemish. Its not about accuracy. You may be right, but we call it Flemish and if you don't say Flemish most people won't know what you mean. Stop trying to be too clever. Also, if you speak Dutch and French then I'd hope you can speak Flemish too. That's like saying you speak English and American.

[@KingDomIV]

Oh wait, you didn't say French. Still if you speak Dutch then of course you speak Flemish. WTF is Frisian when it's not a horse/region of Belgium/celtic tribe/etc.

[@Likes_Trains]

@@KingDomIV not sure if troll but they speak Flemish in Flanders (Belgium) and Frisian in Frisia (northern Netherlands). They're completely different geographical areas - Flemish is a dialect. Frisian is a separate language.

[@shaelisenberg8533]

It’s Amazing how in the span of 66 years I understand English. 1406 makes no sense. 1466 now I understand everything being said. I’m astonished

[@tiffanyaa]

really? i didn't get fluent understanding until the 1586

[@daninelli-98]

@@tiffanyaa honestly being a non-english native speaker help me alot understanding 1466 as it look like a bad english like mine :D

[@starzwoo]

yeah!!! me too

[@shaelisenberg8533]

@@tiffanyaa yea it’s not full English but you can easily make out what’s being said if u focus on it lol

[@cocobrown7564]

Am I the only one who understood all of it? Even the first one?

[@mtinkerton]

This video just popped up on my page and thought id have a wee nosy. Im so glad I did. I have no idea what any of the notes were about, but found the recordings really interesting. Thank you fir sharing this

[@Survivethejive]

16th century really reminds me of some irish dialects

[@SM_zzz]

Which dialects?

[@andyhall7032]

@@hairsstandonend see the 1706 section...perhaps the author just wished to add some variation...I'm not sure we see any great irish immigration until the 19th century

[@andyhall7032]

@De Bergin oh I'm sure they'd love that story !! take on cromwell's accent ?? unlikely...

[@Mikamichae]

@Seamus Mac Cathmhaoil the problem is you can break your penis. If the penis is violently twisted when erect, it can break. ... Men have several night-time erections. ... Penis length is not linked to foot size. ... Small penises make big erections. ... The penis is not a muscle.

[@jackpants1832]

Ye we left em behind haha lol