How far back in time could you go and still understand English?

If you had a time machine, how far back could you go and still understand English?
AT what point in history would you not be able to understand the English language?
If you went back in time to the 1800's and 1700's, you'd probably still be okay.
This except is from the book 'Robinson Crusoe', in 1719:
"I, poor miserable Robinson Crusoe,
being shipwrecked during a dreadful storm in the offing,
came on shore on this dismal, unfortunate island,
which I called “The Island of Despair”
That's fairly easy to understand, but you might struggle with old slang words like 'batty fang' and 'kickerapoo'.
batty fang - a beating
kickerapoo - dead
land pirates - highway robbers
gutfoundered - very hungry
whapper - a big lie
Nitsqueeger - Hairdresser
Xantippe - an ill tempered wife
Abbess - a nun
Thornback - a spinster
Barber-monger - a vain man
Bleater - someone who complains a lot
Brabble - to quarrel loudly
Crapulous - the feeling of being too full
Hugger-mugger - secretly
Lettice-cap - a medical device like a hair net
Pigarlik - a bald head
Petty fogger - a dodgy lawyer
Mumpsimus - the act of sticking to old mistaken beliefs about language and customs simply out of habit
And now, your 'birthday suit' actually is a suit that you wear on your birthday.
The 1600s is the time of Shakespeare.
"Thy natural magic and dire property,
On wholesome life usurp immediately."
Here, Lucianus talking about the natural magic of poison. and how using it to kill the king will usurp the throne.
Trickier to follow, but not everyone spoke like that. You would hear lots of words you didn't understand though.
The bigger problem for you now is the pronunciation. The sound of the vowels has changed, and the accent is becoming much harder to understand.
For example, "tea" is pronounced "tay", and "gone" is pronounced "goan".
In the 1500s people essentially speak like the Bible.
"Now therefore thus saith the Lord,
Thou shalt not come down
from that bed on which thou
art gone up, but shalt surely die."
KJV 2 Kings 1:4
There are also hundreds of words that don't mean a thing to you.
Before about 1400 AD, you'd hear Middle English, and you would hardly understand anything, written or spoken.
"Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;"
The Canterbury Tales, 1389
If you went all the way back to one 1000 AD, you'd hear Old English:
Lord's Prayer
Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum;
Si þin nama gehalgod
to becume þin rice
gewurþe ðin willa
on eorðan swa swa
on heofonum.
Good luck explaining that you need 'one point twenty-one Jigawatts' to get home!
See more great vids like this on our channel!
/ yestervid
www.yestervid.com
/ yestervid
/ yestervid
Credits:
Audio
Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Dafoe
Read by Mark F. Smith, Librivox, 2010, PD-US
Hamlet, William Shakespeare
Read by Allex, Librivox, PD-US
King James Bible, 2 Kings Chapter 1
Read by Joy Chan, Librivox, PD-US
Canterbury Tales, lines 1-42
Geoffrey Chaucer
Read by KZbin user: pronuntiatio
CC-Attribution 3.0
Fæder Ūre - Lord's Prayer in Old English
Read by KZbin user: Hrothgar Simonus
CC-Attribution 3.0
With thanks to
Reddit: veritate_valeo, mearcstapa, johnnynono
Mental_floss & Erin McCarthy
Buzzfeed & Luke Lewis
Music
Audioblocks
Delorean Photo
"TeamTimeCar.com-BTTF DeLorean Time Machine-OtoGodfrey.com-JMortonPhoto.com-07" by Terabass - Own work. CC BY-SA 4.0
Produced by
Yestervid ©2015

[@HoV326]

Imagine being an english speaker and going back in that time and have someone talk to you and you reply "Sorry I don't speak english."

[@97CelticPredator]

Marcelo Saunders „scuse me?“

[@saguntum-iberian-greekkons7014]

"CRAPULOUS!" They will say

[@winterlove4750]

Thousandth like from me.

[@n.herbig7592]

🤣😂🤣😂🤣

[@AmeliaOak]

Chris P Bacon but the internet wouldn’t even exist

[@takels3115]

Finding people who speak old english isn't hard at all, just go to a pub in england after 10pm

[@nihilisticbarbie]

😂

[@gamingforaday5446]

My friend live in England and he's working as a videographer in pubs

[@malialaguisa4797]

Lmao

[@ruajavier7008]

😅

[@666madmetalhead]

Maybe I can be safe there from people who say yeet, g, sis and skree

[@worldmetallady]

Much respect to the guy who went back to the 1600's to record Shakespeare's voice

[@josephstalin133]

tHeRe wErE nO rEcoRdErS iN tHe 1600s, dUmMiE!

[@worldmetallady]

@@josephstalin133 I know it's a joke buddy

[@Xnoob545]

@@worldmetallady r/woooosh

[@isabellavasquez200]

@@josephstalin133 no shit sherlock

[@GHZGaming-ff6pv]

@@worldmetallady lol he obviusly sarcastic with the way he speak

[@gavinthecrafter]

Basically, from 1700-1900, you'd probably still understand everything from 1600-1700, you might struggle a bit, but you'll still understand most of it from 1500-1600, you would have a tough time but you'd still get the gist of what people were saying from 1000-1500, you'd barely understand anything at all, maybe a word here or there but it'd be about as hard to understand as German to a monolingual English speaker before 1000, you wouldn't understand anything, but it'd sound pretty cool

[@TJTroubleMaker]

I wonder how each would be able to understand us given you had an accent like the narrator and spoke clear and slow.

[@joelthorstensson2772]

Swedish speaker, I could understand "rice" and "þin willa" and "heofonum", I suspect that's because they are speaking in some mix of scandinavian and english

[@PaleontologyWeekly]

so id be able to talk to queen elizabeth over tea and basically have a coherent coversation?

[@matthewtopping2061]

@@joelthorstensson2772 What's featured in the video isn't a mix of Scandinavian and English. It's an earlier stage of English that retained more features shared with Scandinavian, because both are Germanic languages.

[@saph100]

The Dutch and Icelandic still understand Old English quite well without reading these, and before 1000 is it’s own vowel shifts, you’d be hearing this until 1150

[@lokesk9938]

1900 brother 2000 bro 2017 bruh

[@bluelambo5]

2027 Brazzier

[@randombuzz8491]

Bruv

[@bigshepherd3127]

3017 B

[@grips7813]

Brah

[@nidia1930]

1800 brethren

[@giaa3756]

I tried speaking old English and my bed started levitating.

[@ordinaryguy6654]

Lol. 😂

[@Carlinisalive]

I summoned a demon

[@kibo98764]

lol really sounds like the latin formulas in harry potter, right!

[@vaahtobileet]

@@kibo98764 wouldn't Latin sound like the Latin spells in Harry Potter? They don't make those sounds in Harry Potter or Latin.

[@philomenacappabianca7636]

Funnee

[@antonlossev3302]

As a Swede I actually understood the old english "Lord´s prayer quite well. You really get the feeling how English and the northen languages are connected.

[@El6Magico6Arlequin6]

if im not mistaken, your people (as in the nordics in general) invaded the british isles

[@1mercantolga]

Those are all Germanic languages. Thats why

[@ReubenSempleJones]

Yeah this was before the Normans so there was basically no French influence on the English language

[@randomwatcher8419]

As a native English speaker who doesn't really speak any other Germanic language, having a rudimentary knowledge of the Germanic family's grammatical structure + a basic understanding of how Germanic vowels sound, it really isn't that difficult to at least "predict" or "gist out" what is being said. Sure, you won't know all the words, but you know enough to be able to piece it together.

[@CraftsmanOfAwsomenes]

@@randomwatcher8419 I’ve studied Germanic languages a bit so it’s probably cheating but yeah as a native English speaker that passage is incredibly easy to discern. It would have to be a less recognizable text to really throw me for a loop.

[@caitlinkuykendall6529]

As someone who speaks some swedish I am AMAZED at how similar old english sounds to it! holy crapulous!

[@takeurpills6024]

Cool

[@XELAKION]

you should watch some videos on the history of the English language. They both are Germanic languages

[@allymog5228]

That'll be thanks to the Vikings

[@caitlinkuykendall6529]

@@allymog5228 youre totally right but also because of English originally being a germanic language its just basically become more latin thanks to the Norman invasion and being an island.

[@JHulse29]

I heard people who speak Dutch can also follow it

[@ki6eki]

The 1600s had some shitty microphones

[@purenrg4life]

+Michael Choe damn you for winning the internet today!

[@itstayaaa8280]

Michael Choe 😁😁😁😁😁😁

[@joseluisblanco8074]

:) :)

[@xGARIDx]

"King of troll" award winner

[@dhatchbernier]

Michael Choe you win the internet, sir.

[@mvs6380]

I’m fluent in Middle English when I’m drunk.

[@saguntum-iberian-greekkons7014]

Dude... we all speak old english (anglo-saxon language) when we are ze drunk!!!!!! hips

[@joanngumeta8937]

lol nice

[@samirnawrozada6685]

Hi

[@MKMK-bj2sk]

Which make sense pretty sure most of them were drunk then. Like alcohol was more readily available than clean/potable drinking water

[@MrMoOomoOo91]

🤔 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@bdevs.760]

Props to the guy who went back in time to record a man saying the lord's prayer

[@oreotheuser]

hE dIdN't AcTuAlLy Go BaCk In TiMe YoU kNoW

[@Tiger12098b]

@@oreotheuser you don't know the joke

[@oreotheuser]

@@Tiger12098b that was a joke

[@aaronlycan6595]

@@Tiger12098b reverse uno card

[@Tiger12098b]

@@aaronlycan6595 A-

[@sorrynotsorryxoxo]

my mom had to learn old english and middle english in college to be an english teacher. i have a new found respect for her 😀

[@xogirlbossxo2316]

Gurl what 😀

[@masteryoda394]

Be careful of Henry the VIII, He's not to be trusted.

[@PrinceAkaiVtuber]

Wow, your mom's college made my college look like an elementary school.

[@stansmith4054]

I think you are mistaken. I am a linguist and the only way that you would learn to speak Old English is if you were in some kind of ancient language graduate program. Old English is basically a whole nother language. Not sure why an English teacher would have to study and learn OE. You may be mistaken. What college was this?

[@user-qo5eg7ly5u]

@stansmith4054 Agreed. Middle English is more likely.

[@alonevera9622]

the oldest english version sounds like they're calling satan lmao

[@misakarancevic8901]

Wrong. It was made by a firm Fred & Barney on a high quality wooden plank using a well fed woodpecker. Of course the warrant period expired in 1250 that's why it sounds this harsh

[@edu_c]

And thus you got Trump

[@carlosmarte3154]

Eduardo Córdova Hilary and her emails must’ve climbed out along with him lol.

[@eriklindhurst5793]

Funny that it was actually the Lord's Prayer.

[@thehoneyeffect]

They did, hence them committing genocide, rape, pillage, enslavement and colonising most of the globe

[@flaminghulaballoo]

This is exactly why I gave up time travel.

[@dw4353]

Bill I gave it up last year It was a bad habit so I stopped

[@daymi7300]

I was thinking about it but I read some documents on a time travel experiment gone wrong and changed my mind

[@IXSuperRadGamerXI]

I'm just a bill, yes I'm only a bill, and I'm sitting here on capitol hill!

[@flaminghulaballoo]

Sanfew There is no such thing as “Only a Bill”.😉

[@IXSuperRadGamerXI]

@@flaminghulaballoo Lolz

[@sugarv0id]

1600s: "Abbess, thornback, barber-monger..." 21st century: "gtg, ttyl, oml, wtf, pfp, smh, istg..." edit: ty for 1k likes 👀

[@rusnas2376]

@Alivingoreo706 Its bad rn. Imagine saying k instead of ok, or ? instead of what or huh. SPOOOOOOOOOIIILEDDDDDDDDDD

[@HenryAnimate]

So true

[@MrWittzHD]

@@rusnas2376 you literally just said rn instead of right now

[@gaminglegend]

@TheDaffiestDandelion xD is already a thing

[@atree9284]

oml I love your pfp but smh, if you keep puttng new idioms down I'll yeet you off a cliff, like wtf. anyways, I gtg, ttyl

[@yokiryuchan7655]

Makes you think 1000 years from now. The english language will sound totally different from how it sounds now.

[@user-nq6hy2tm2z]

If you go back 1500 years ago you will still understand Arabic that’s amazing

[@B_uttcrumbs]

Swa swa.

[@seansimcoe4781]

My rofl copter makes that noise

[@RaymondAlexisPuentes90-70-100]

Swa swa.

[@petop3]

it sounds like the danish ending of 'our father who art in heaven' which is 'du som er i himlene' that 'som er' is pronounced 'suhm ehr' could be related to the swa swa?

[@kevinbyrne4538]

@ petop3 -- In Old English "swa" means "so, therefore" or "as" ; "swa swa" means "just as". Thus "on eordan swa swa on heofonum" means "on Earth just as in Heaven".

[@petop3]

Kevin Byrne ah ok. Thanks :)

[@thompson_papa]

Crapulous should make a comeback

[@Belikel]

So should child labor.

[@minhkhoitranle4276]

野島デンジ _I'll have to stop you right there_

[@edu_c]

That's the most crapulous idea i've read today.

[@JerryS2485]

It’s a nice way of saying “shitfaced”

[@thompson_papa]

Son, thou room is very crapulous and thou shalt clean it at once!

[@bryanshi1059]

21th Century: Bruh 20th Century: Brother 18th Century: 𝖇𝖗𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗

[@Thuggwaffen]

16th century: břœthěř

[@jameeztherandomguy5418]

10th Century: *broðor*

[@carrotizgud9222]

@@jameeztherandomguy5418 1st Century: Бřouethěř

[@ambasfamily]

5000 BCE: *GrrrahHHHHH!*

[@aryyancarman705]

Any one about pie

[@abbylee8971]

1600's: what the teacher says will be on the test 1400's: i went to a different classroom help

[@VenomTwisted]

The Bible dialect seems easier to comprehend than Shakespeare tbh

[@hjw5838]

Woke American I agree

[@Calikid331]

Most English speakers don't know what an Abbess is, that shot at America was totally unnecessary.

[@hjw5838]

AMERICAN DUMB! DOYY!

[@Thor.Jorgensen]

Probably because the bible has been retranslated hundreds if not thousands of times. The original bible was in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. It was then translated into Vetus Latina, then Latin Vulgate, where it wasn't translated again before the reformation since the church considered translating it blasphemy and that non-clergy should not be allowed to read the bible. But since then.. Lots of translations.

[@BerenddeBoer]

That's true, because that Bible translation (the 1611 Authorised Version) is dated well after Shakespeare :-)

[@Eronoc13]

"You would hear plenty of words you didn't understand, though." "Abbess"

[@YangSing1]

Aermachrael I don't understand it

[@Eronoc13]

It's just the feminine form of abbot.

[@jonasgreylindley2002]

Aermachrael I don't understand abbot either.

[@HarryBillyBobGeorge]

Reverend Mother. Mother superior. Chief nun in charge.

[@David-qi1ys]

+Jonas Lindley Look, it's not that hard. "Who" is the NAME of the guy that is playing first.

[@Kee715]

Also worth noting that what is documented of the language from the time period is largely how nobles spoke, not necessarily the commoners. The language of the common folk varied quite a lot more, people often just made up their own words for many things and pronunciation could vary greatly.

[@rboigobrr1489]

looking at it logically your probably right. There's no way some random guy at the pub in the 17th century's gonna start talking like he's in a Shakespeare play.

[@stevethepirate2875]

Being born in the Southern US my normal "English" is an older version. Trapped behind the Appalachian Mountains for centuries my Southern Drawl is closer to 1700's English than modern. I could still understand the Canterbury Tales without too much difficulty at all. This is changing with time, but Shakspear read in the Southern Vernacular is a truly lovely thing to experience.

[@bloqk16]

Interesting you tell of Southern Drawl to 1700 English, as I recall a half-century ago in a high school drama class I took, where the drama teacher said that English actors/actresses have a knack to speaking the parts of American Southerners in movie period pieces, such as in "Gone With The Wind" and other movie productions and TV dramas.

[@loganwallace5854]

​@@bloqk16yeah Southern English is closer to what was spoken in Great Britain previously. That's why British actors can do a better southern accent than Northerners.

[@pineapplepizza8639]

Old English is basically Icelandic.... and in about 1000 years, nobody would understand current English. "Y'all'd've'f'i'd've"

[@xXxSkyViperxXx]

Zuramaru lol and in 1000 years icelandic will be english hurhuehueheuehue

[@flyingskyward2153]

Zuramaru You all would have if I had have?

[@connerclark3678]

Kesh me outsaide, how'bow'dah

[@cellowood1198]

HANAMARU

[@KimiHayashi]

Zuramama I highly doubt it will change. Today's globalization will probably prevent modern English from changing since English is being spoken by non English speakers and turning a specific English word into a new word or form would be too troublesome for other countries to adapt so it would most likely stay the same forever now. New slangs will come and go though like how the word "fly" is now replaced by "lit"

[@johannesgh90]

If you speak Icelandic, it got easier to understand there at the very end.

[@MrEiliv]

Lucky Icelandics. You have a real pure language. Here in Norway it's almost German. :(

[@MrAmi69]

Well, Iceland was created by Norwegian immigrants over 1000 years ago, so basically all the people on Iceland are Norwegians with less influence of other european languages :)

[@owenernst7768]

what did it say?

[@jonareisen]

Owen Ernst It's Lord's Prayer

[@killere2009]

Eiliv Ulvestad Henschien it is not that being pure is actually catching up in information rate which is the most important aspect for today

[@suzannewagner852]

So basically, the more marbles I shove in my mouth, the older my English will sound. Cool!

[@thatyoudliketoknow1628]

Bring 40 marbles and youre time travel ready.

[@aleidpalentinos1256]

Can you you fit something long and hard aside from marbles in your mouth?

[@JacobHollis96]

My brain: *thinking in modern english* What I sound like when I try to speak: 1:42

[@aramiyunstaley9514]

Lightningstone2u lol omg

[@JacobHollis96]

@@aramiyunstaley9514 That does happen to me sometimes. Maybe I need to cut back on the caffeine.

[@haydencrawford8552]

HOLY CRAP HI, WHAT ARE THE ODDS

[@JacobHollis96]

@@haydencrawford8552 you seem familiar. Sorry for the late reply been really busy.

[@haydencrawford8552]

@@JacobHollis96 I'm atom lel

[@officialpeppermint8638]

English in 1619: *Wherefore art thou my woe?* English in 2019: *Lmfao yesss queen I’m sister shook, my wig is snatched and that’s the tea sis*

[@poolplexer]

Fail

[@xPoeticx]

Rotfl I'm crying

[@isabelofcastile9470]

hahahahaha

[@isabelofcastile9470]

English 2019 da best 😂😂😂😂

[@philipfry9436]

English, not Ebonics...

[@AzakielRuns]

Me speaking English inside my head: "Wow, my English is pretty good actually!" Me speaking English in front of the class: 1:42

[@helpnoname7588]

or 2:03

[@crystallui9421]

😂😂

[@danielled108]

@@helpnoname7588 😂😂😂😂

[@Cassxowary]

Kenneth Pettersen it’s still understandable English

[@ThiagoOliveira-bc1gv]

🤣🤣🤣

[@guilhermeteixeira7095]

It is quite interesting for me (a non-native English speaker) to know how far in human history I can get connected to just by having learned English as my second language.

[@michaelsrowland]

English is a new language. We spoke different languages in Britain depending on which tribe you came from.

[@charlottepeukert9095]

What would Elizabeth the First sounded like and would a native speaker understand her and vice versa?

[@thesciencegenius1237]

This is what it is usually like for me... Mid 19th cen. (around 1850) onwards = perfectly understand it. 1500s to mid 19th century = mostly understand it. 1066 - 1500 = understand the majority of it with some difficulty. Before 1066 = somewhat understand it, with a huge amount of difficulty (the language is even harder before the viking era). Anglo-Frisian = *brain explodes*

[@carlgharis7948]

Actually I'd say 1700s onwards understand 90%. 1500/ early 1700s. You understand a good 2/3. And people you meet they'd understand the main point of what you're saying however still have difficulty deciphering the whole thing. Much before 1500 going back into middle English you'd hear what sounds like a foreign language however you'd recognize many words familiar too you. Really I'm not sure you could really get into a conversation with anyone you 1st meet before 1650. Old English of course. I recognized 2 words of that entire thing.

[@IamshinyCM]

I tried to speak old English, buf I kept accidentally summoning ancient spirits snd demons

[@eduardusedward5810]

damn me too ,now i lived in a house full of ancient demon

[@timeoftheend9516]

Yeah, cus nobody will tell you it really originally comes from ancient Egypt...ever

[@timeoftheend9516]

Look up Sean Hross - The pharaoh show" here on YouT...

[@slayerslayer7623]

@@timeoftheend9516 ?

[@LaceTicket]

More ancient becomes Latin

[@walkuro7384]

1880: yeehaw 2080: the yee'st of all haw's, mine'st gendersn't.

[@jaworskij]

I used to say "Yee how'r" to my country gal supervisor 10 yrs. ago.

[@dutchvanderlinde5004]

Doublespeak 2080

[@Ivan-td7kb]

2019: YEET

[@degeneratesquid5873]

@@Ivan-td7kb 2045: Yeeth'nt

[@DayZeroGaming]

My kangaroo is in the pouch

[@connorconnor2421]

"jiggawatts"

[@RexoryByzaboo]

Kids in 2020: "Bro, ur video is funny XD. Uh, gtg!" Kids in 4020: "Thos kids werr spking Shkspr!"

[@elysienne8475]

Ne'r will give thou up ne'r will let thou down ne'r will run around and desert thou ne'r will causes thee cry ne'r will say godbwye ne'r will say to a lie and hurt thou

[@thomasbyrne2879]

Shit I got Rick rolled

[@hersh511]

Didn't notice I got Rick rolled until the third line

[@sassialane]

This deserves so much more attention

[@CCT3]

I got Rick rolled. didnt even notice

[@kristinerivera6637]

Lolll

[@frudlemax]

I wanna learn anglo-saxon English so I can say things like "swa swa" and be completely serious.

[@mysteriumvitae5338]

Befriend user Leornende Eald Englisc, he will be glad to help you.

[@unaellanguages6746]

I second this, I know him well, and he is very helpful.

[@unknownmf2599]

Go to the local Master of acquaintance, Sir Aerlif the knower. He the master will increase your speechcraft

[@alwinpriven2400]

what does that mean?

[@peabodie4liife]

what swa swa means?

[@calfiger]

Ta sae muckle fur posting, ah loue thae leid evolution videos! 🙏🏾

[@hongpingmike]

love this video..I keep coming back to it every few months.

[@BrandonCuringtonOfficial]

1600s: “Thy natural magic and dire property...” 2019: gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang Gucci gang

[@gamingforaday5446]

Juvenal_37 I don't cares and shit

[@pwrovr9k731]

@Juvenal_37 Yeah it was 2017 not 2019 nobody even listens to that song anymore

[@big_sad_wolf]

Mikhail gorbachev r/ihavereddit

[@perc30]

cursed doggo don’t use reddit on anything other than reddit you fucking fool

[@HawkinaBox]

XD

[@YHChiu-jy2yi]

Would you like to have a cup of Tay?

[@djh4min59]

i would, but when i come back it'll be goan

[@TalexxAltava]

Stanley Chiu Besides, I have a meeting with the abbess-the old thornback. No doubt that barber-monger will be with her. I'm not looking forward to the brabble, but I'd best get going.

[@Mafila]

Yyyyeeeeaaaaaaasssssss! Flourish the pinky.

[@alecrosewell6959]

yea sure mate.

[@MrFox-ih9vp]

Woold Yew loike ay coup oof tay?

[@MrDemoncrusher]

You don't need to travel back in time. Just be a guy in your 70's listening to a group of 20 year olds.

[@professional.commentator]

Omg this reminds me of some embarrassing situations I've been in with elderly people. 😅

[@Xnoob545]

1:15 Makes much more sense Phone and gone both have the same ending but don't rhyme But in the old pronunciation they do rhyme

[@AbrahamLincoln4]

"Petty-fogger" this is what people use to diss eachother in medieval times.

[@jmitterii2]

Sounds the equivalent of "crop-duster".

[@originallegendz8325]

@@jmitterii2 and Barber-monger

[@davidlipman8093]

I like Crapulous. I'm guessing it's meaning

[@adolforodolfo6929]

Pettyfogger isn't obsolete in modern English, just not much used. Same with crapulous, which basically means being in a drunken mess. There are quite few "obsolete" words that flash up in this video that aren't obsolete at all - "abbess" for instance.

[@OcarinaSapphr-]

adolfo rodolfo Post-Reformation, it was slang for ‘prostitute’

[@user-nt4rq5ml4m]

"Thou mother art homosexual" "Nay thee"

[@saguntum-iberian-greekkons7014]

LMAO!

[@alyssasjeans]

FizzyElf “Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!!”

[@zaidkhan6296]

Gay meant happy

[@zaidkhan6296]

Also if the mother was actually gay, she would be burned at the stake as that was the punishment for heretical behaviour in midieval times

[@user-nt4rq5ml4m]

Oh yeah should have been homosexual

[@brandonrunkel6554]

That last part was the Lord’s Prayer. It’s amazing how Germanic English was before the French invasion!

[@geisaune793]

Can't believe I found this video again! You can't hardly find anything on youtube that was posted before like 2016 from the search bar these days. It's been a while!

[@cameranriley479]

2017: whom'st'd'y'all'dve

[@espalorp3286]

ｗｈｏｍｓｔ＇ｄ＇ｖｅ＇ｌｙ＇ｙａｉｎｔ＇ｎｔ＇ｅｄ＇ｉｅｓ＇ｓ＇ｙ＇ｅｓ

[@stylomojo]

Sorry is that English Slang? I'm asian so I wish someone teach me that word meaning plz

[@evag8716]

Cashme'ousside'how'bou'dah

[@ivanjimenez2575]

Cameran Riley LMAOOO

[@lorenzlin6898]

Lol what's that supposed to mean??

[@danigolightly799]

Should have been a much longer video. Too interesting a subject to go over in just 2 minutes.

[@tylonahambrick2837]

Exactly what I was thinking 🤔

[@kylebos6442]

Yeah

[@handyman4192]

Lol I thought that.

[@missjade2940]

Yeah where's the rest of it ☹️

[@firmman4505]

yes

[@seangallagher1947]

The older the English, the more German it becomes.

[@elacomedido]

Man that Shakespeare English gave me goosebumps. It's like as if someone literally got on a time machine and recorded Shakespeare reading Hamlet.

[@user-xt3gt7gg9h]

0:44 Damn Shakespear got better mic quality than me

[@rayenbenfatma5452]

Was that really him? I feel I’m gonna be wooshed

[@Christiancepedaa]

Rayen Ben fatma R/woooosh

[@adriana-ll8vj]

Rayen Ben fatma yeah dude! we had audio recordings of jesus even!

[@ingriddubbel8468]

Learn to spell Shakespeare.

[@nomorevideos5118]

he sounds like a smoker

[@JamesLawner]

Old English is WILD!

[@MMBNMalternateaccoun]

Old English was an actual unique language. Now English is just spewing hot garbage anywhere and takes very little skills to understand or use.

[@jasonpyre8572]

MMBNMalternateaccoun "very little skills to understand or use" Are those not good things? Since when does being difficult to speak and learn make one language better than another?

[@MMBNMalternateaccoun]

Higher intelligence to use and understand daily life. Modern life is basically being idiot proofed to the point that most humans fail to perform daily functions let alone communicate to one another on a daily basis. You'll have 400 facebook friends but talk to maybe three people in real life.

[@ladythalia227]

MMBNMalternateaccoun Unique? Hmmm, how unique could it be when it was said that Scandinavians and Britons could speak to - and understand - one another when both parties spoke in their own languages.

[@SammyBirdTheGreat]

MMBNMalternateaccoun maybe chill?? you’d probably have like 3 people you liked in your Old English village if you lived back then

[@grwuk]

Very interesting, great video. Thank you!

[@leod-sigefast]

Why do all readers of old and middle English make it sound overly dramatic. The Anglo-Saxons were probably not living in a permanant Beowulf epic saga!

[@FroyimGratch]

+Leode Siefast Hwaet!?

[@sarban1653]

How did you come to that conclusion?

[@Felixxxxxxxxx]

Icelandic has not changed much since year 900. The further back in the video they got the pronunciation and vocabulary got closer to Icelandic. it is obviously very hard to tell how people spoke back then, but I would say that they gave it a fair try

[@reidcircuits826]

ownya8 kinda makes sense. icelandic was a viking language and the viking took over england at one point.

[@frakkintoasterluvva7920]

David Reid Actually, it doesn't have much to do with Danish/viking conquests in the 9th century and occasionally later (which had a minor influence on Old English in the form of some borrowed Old Norse words) but with the fact that Anglo-Saxons already spoke a language similar to Norse languages, because that's where they were originally from.

[@trollcommando2]

I don't know, "Land pirates" seems like it'd be easy to figure out.

[@RoninCatholic]

And I think it's pretty transparent what an "abbess" is.

[@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820]

Even the Chaucer isn't that hard to figure out. Awkwardly worded by our standards, but makes sense.

[@Billaxle]

Adam The Gr8 We prefer the term "Butt Pirates"

[@ineffablemars]

huggermugger

[@paulmartin8100]

This is a brilliant video! Well put together and a great intro to the subject! Thanks

[@abumulla4606]

I remember doing this and covering the topic whilst doing applied linguistics.. Thanks for the trip down the memory lane..

[@Jalapablo]

So basically if I lived in 14th century England everyone would sound like Willie the groundskeeper from the Simpsons.

[@noneofhourbusiness]

Paul West, No because Willi has a pure Scottish accent.

[@Jalapablo]

Aye ye dumbass. Tis' what I mean. Sounds like Scots I tell ya! Scots! Arrrgggh! Ye stoopid dumbass

[@fabianfischer4229]

Damn those Scots! They ruined Scotland!

[@dyread]

The scottish language is a celtic language, not Germanic like English.

[@AdhocHoopla]

dyread Depends what you mean. Scots is definitely from old to middle English.

[@thevinnymaster]

So basically a drunk Scotch is our best bet if we want to send someone 1000 years in the past.

[@lisaca76]

SCOT not scotch. Scotch is a drink, not a person.

[@stevenwinnen9104]

Or a mad Scottish Grandmother. My Grandma Dean was something when she got mad or excited.

[@stevenwinnen9104]

But how would a Drunk Scotsman sound after drinking Scotch?

[@palepilgrim1174]

@@lisaca76 Why does Scotch offend you? From here myself and don't understand it. Is it just to be awkward and difficult? What is actually offensive about Scotch...

[@moonmelodies8974]

@@palepilgrim1174 we just don't like it. that should be enough if you're a respectful person.

[@marinahansen5964]

This is fascinating! I’m watching it over and over…

[@mohammadmakram7429]

I clapped at the end of the vid as I did a BA in English with one course on English history - but through this vid, you make me listen to what I have studied theoretically. So brilliant!

[@maxheadroom3839]

If you visit Newcastle you can stop understanding English today.

[@maxheadroom3839]

Reef Campbell Newcastle in England 😉👍.

[@starski1982]

yee waant fillin in? :)

[@chonkyadventures4930]

Wha ya mean ya lil mug

[@user-oy6is7ry8n]

And Liverpool too...

[@firstnamesurname3899]

Ηλίας Παπαδάτος well along of people seem to understand The Beatles...

[@nhgfdjuytre3785]

Shakespeare invented many words and phrases we still use today such as "Break the ice". "Fair play". "A laughing stock"..words such as Fashionable, Bedazzled. Addiction. Lets see if Bromance, Chillax and Amazeballs are still around in 500 hundred years.

[@Krytern]

Bromance probably will be. Chillax and amazeballs probably not. Slang comes and goes and some sticks it is just how it is. Like how we Brits have said 'mate' for centuries and now Australians say it too.

[@lillyann2818]

I think 'bromance' will last; it's a clever combo that refers to something real that deserves a name. Chillax and amazeballs are just the latest versions of terms that already exist.

[@tenerife_sea]

nhgfd juytre the difference is unlike shakespeare's, we'll never know who created those words lol poor guy

[@lillyann2818]

good point tenerife =)

[@Sigira0]

What's bromance???

[@fredvaladez3542]

Fascinating. Gives a person a lot to think about. Well done.

[@jacobs851]

I respect that you made this video in two minutes thirty six seconds, that’s awesome, you could’ve easily stretched it to 10-12 minutes whatever it is. But yeah, awesome job!

[@ultimatewarrior733]

petition to bring back the word "kickerapoo"

[@chuckritola]

It's a perfectly cromulent word

[@babbabooey1176]

FUCK YEAH!!!

[@kukenkarlsson3607]

From the "Grose 1811 Dictionary" Kickerapoo =Dead. (NEGRO WORD).

[@cliffsofmoher4220]

Should we bring back the word thou

[@ultimatewarrior733]

@@cliffsofmoher4220 absolutely

[@EverythingWright]

This video is actually really interesting and not ridiculous. Haven't felt like this on KZbin for a while.

[@RockItProductions]

+EverythingWright Wish the video was longer though.

[@SadikBoom]

i come back to watch this amazing video every single year

[@adolforodolfo6929]

Languages change gradually, so it's really hard to find a cut-off point in the past where they become unintelligible - and that point will vary for individuals depending on their natural linguistic abilities and their education - for example, if you have studied French and, particularly, German, you will find Middle English more understandable than someone who has not. And, of course, we generally only encounter older forms of English as written languages, not as spoken ones. There are three main stages in the development of English. Old English, which goes up to the beginning of the 12th Century; Middle English which goes from about 1100 to 1500; "Modern English" from 1500 on. But these aren't leaps, they are milestones along a path of constant, gradual change. A bit of obscure vocabulary aside, a modern English speaker would be able to understand everyday speech from 1500 onwards without any great difficulty. With modernised spelling, Shakespeare is perfectly intelligible - if he wasn't, we wouldn't still be watching his plays. And Shakespeare's language is often removed from everyday speech - a lot of it is poetic and formal, and his vocabulary is much wider than that used in everyday circumstances. By the time of the Civil War (1640's) written English is very little different from what it is today. Middle English is more difficult for a modern English person to understand without making a significant effort. For most of us, if we do encounter Middle English at all, it is Chaucer, so late 14th century. After a while, it's not that difficult to understand, especially if you have knowledge of German and French - and it is easier to understand when read out loud than it is as a written language, where the spellings can sometimes disguise words that are actually still in use. But Old English is a different kettle of fish and completely unintelligible to a modern English speaker. It has to be learned in the same way that a foreign language does. So where is the cut off date? Different for different people, but for a lot of us, I would say it lies somewhere towards the end of the Middle English period.

[@FromNothing]

Middle English literally sounds like a mix of German and French.

[@Krytern]

English is a Germanic language and after the Norman Conquest about 29% of English is French so that makes sense.

[@Krytern]

John Jaeger - Typos at 3 in the morning will be typos.

[@moshow93]

And old English sounds more German.

[@johnjaeger2968]

Krytern UK it's just some friendly bantz, bro. It happens to the best of us

[@benlucas3625]

It doesn't sound like French at all. It sounds like a blend of modern English and Nordic Languages. It sounds poetic because what he read was from The Canterbury Tales. Written language in many languages often isn't how most people regularly speak on a daily basis.

[@ghettoblaster36]

art thou feeling it now mr krabs?

[@potamusgains362]

ghettoblaster36 10/10 would meme again

[@MrsSasukeUchiha]

ghettoblaster36 😂😂😂

[@mrcastillo4240]

ghettoblaster36 😂😂😂😂

[@albertmerlew]

ghettoblaster36 Feelest thou it now mr. Krabs?

[@Wilsbourne]

Dost thou even hoist?

[@Annibals]

I didn't realize how much I wanted to know this until I saw this on my feed

[@swashbuckler9640]

I’ve been asking myself this question forever, thank you.

[@RobertGuilman]

old english sounded like elvish to me

[@lorierush8205]

Yes. It probably served as one of the inspirations

[@jasonmcdaniel345]

Elvish Preshley?

[@silversoul9683]

Tolkien took inspiration from it.

[@MaestroRigale]

kestrel archer The very earliest name that could be considered to be "Elvish" is Earendil, adapted from the word "earendel," believed to be the name of the morning/evening star in an Old-English religious poem. Tolkien thought the word beautiful and uncharacteristic of typical Old-English sound, so he took it and adapted it. Many of the unique words found in his constructed languages were words he thought unique and aesthetically pleasing from Germanic languages, Finnish, Welsh, Greek, Spanish, and others...

[@richdigiacomo3820]

kestrel archer That's because Tolkein studied ancient Norse and based Elvish on it.

[@deanolaurence3932]

This was literally the most interesting thing I’ve ever see on the Internet 🤔

[@johnclayton4946]

I've ever seen on the internet! Be careful with your English Sir Robard!

[@Mii.2.0]

69 LIKES! 🤣

[@jasonmccormack8993]

Literally?

[@idk27212]

@@Mii.2.0 169 likes now, and I am going to ruin it.

[@Mii.2.0]

@@idk27212 😡

[@TheSaltydog07]

Fascinating! Thank you.

[@philipmoore1357]

Hello, Brenda! how are you doing? yes ,forever respect and love for the native american. where are you chatting from? hope you don't mind me texting.

[@theabyssofthoughts]

This is just fascinating. Great video folks.

[@anti7890]

1500's: saoush shall shracas seihl 2019: thats the tea sis

[@jameeztherandomguy5418]

Old English: thæt sy sé drenc, sweostor so, how the hell did you get that Middle English one? that wasn't actually what it was in Middle English if the *Old English version* of that is closer to modern

[@f2hw6]

holy shit the last one sounded like some other language entirely

[@Redheadsmiles23]

+Ashley somebody I believe that was when it was transitioning out of Old English into Modern English, which I find interesting that it is still classified as English. If your interested the language before Old English was Anglo-Frisian, then West Germanic (or a sub language of West Germanic to be specific) Proto-West Germanic (proto means before, ie prototype), Germanic and finally Proto-Indo-European, all of which are pretty much unspeakable by native speakers of the descendent languages unless said speaker has study the language. :P

[@shinmusashi44]

+Ashley somebody Because it is. Very first English comes from North Germany. Remember "England" was Celtic. North Germans brought their language that became English. Anglo people are from North Germany.

[@BritishBeachcomber]

Sabrina - Frisian is actually one of the easiest languages for a native English speaker to learn.

[@bookmouse770]

I think you're right. There was an old program called The Story of English where it showed how it changed though history.

[@KyleP133]

It mostly is. English as we know it is mixed up low-German (as in German low-lands - by the sea, the ones who went out on boats and conquered coastal areas and islands, like Brittania) mixed with French (thanks to the Norman invasion - you know, from Normandy, France) which basically came from Latin.

[@humanscales1492]

Why do I keep watching this over and over?

[@jamesjohnson1050]

The way they pronounced "gone" in Shakespeare's time is the way people down South pronounce it now.

[@alvarosanabria216]

Midwest also lol 😂

[@Galidorquest]

@Alvaro Sanabria Facts. Especially here in Chicago since most black people's ancestors migrated from the South to the North after slavery.

[@mr.balloffur]

They wouldn't understand English in 2019 either.

[@Niinamythe75xNiinsShalashaska]

"sksksksksk"

[@lukamaslesa6531]

Ok boomer

[@Sogood869]

@@lukamaslesa6531 They really wouldn't though....

[@Xnoob545]

@@Sogood869 lmao ye bro

[@NoCluYT]

Go to Toronto or London, UK. You won't understand a single thing from London roadman.

[@Stone815]

woke up from a 2 year coma... 2017: "Cash me oussid howbow dah!"

[@ricardocastaneda875]

Michael Maxime wasnt much better 2 years ago anyway.

[@gregoriysharapov1936]

Michael Maxime Eee gay

[@kerrickgunn8557]

1500: how thus far can thi travel and still understand thy englishiwini? When they get to 2020: *ok boomer*

[@kck9742]

Such a moronic phrase. Right up there with "Karen."

[@misterpoopnose6547]

It’s good to know that youtube has videos explaining nonsensical questions I pondered about from time to time

[@mekomaxxing]

*gen z in 2019* : “when the tea is served but it’s none of your business but then sis snaps and you’re a skinny legend” (good for you if you know the reference) *people from 4069* : is this shakespeare?

[@hollowhoagie6441]

It's 2019 and I can't even read this

[@Ghenny3030]

izzoneay _ ok boomer

[@mayman4255]

"Tea is served" "sis snaps" "skinny legend" What the fuck does this mean

[@jellsjells5501]

Mayman that the tea is served, Good sis literally snapped, and so skinny she’s a legend is what it means

[@PENSDYNASTY]

This is only for teen girls lmao...

[@MegaDurand1]

A better question is how far back in time must you go to start understanding english

[@videogamebomer]

Late 1600s

[@thatwhichsmashes8261]

Well, the period just after old engish, I think I could get by, just by following what I could understand then their usage of the words I don't. But basically towards the end of old english, when words we still use today (or close) start being used.

[@twitchypaper1391]

David Frigault english came from old english which the anglo saxons spoke not the frisians.

[@johnjaeger2968]

Durand Robert Litchfield just stay out of the black areas and you will be fine

[@moab2935]

This was such a good video

[@Rogerthatx10]

It’s not impossible to adapt to any of that. We learn new words all the time so those random words we’d ascribe meaning to after a while.

[@Yestervid]

batty fang = a beating kickerapoo = dead land pirates = highway robbers gutfoundered = very hungry whapper = a big lie nitsqueeger = a hairdresser xantippe = an ill tempered wife abbess = a nun thornback = a spinster barber-monger = a vain man bleater = someone who complains a lot brabble = to quarrel loudly crapulous = the feeling of being too full hugger-mugger = secretly lettice-cap = a medical device like a hair net pigarlik = a bald head petty fogger = a dodgy lawyer mumpsimus = the act of sticking to old mistaken beliefs about language and customs simply out of habit

[@0ManPiano0]

So is there any book that was left untranslated and is now almost can't be understood at all?

[@LisaCupcake]

+Yestervid So, a whapper is like a whopper. That one hasn't changed a whole lot. :)

[@gesus44]

+Yestervid Still use bleating here in NZ, not much but have heard it and said it A few times.

[@carmend1665]

+Yestervid Let me add to this list by translating some black names Shaniqueea = Sarah Yaquisha = Jill Reigh rey = Rachel Oniqueya = Olivia

[@hardoff]

+Oskar yes, he was quite the cunning linguist

[@christopherbonanno1120]

1700s. Top of the morning to you my good sir 2019. Sup man

[@Kmn2]

Vince Black 2019:wys bruv

[@Mii.2.0]

2099: 🅱️us 🅱️oppin 🅱️

[@michaelstafford2845]

2200: Sup’m, u teach lil’s old lit, yeah?

[@AvitalShtap]

Michael Stafford 2005 Dang ol English I tell you what man I'm a dang ol I'm talking dialects, talkin' bout dang ol Olde

[@michaelstafford2845]

Mag Magnet 2005? Dam’m, 2200 takeaway 2005... restplace got my calc in the freezemode, so to clutch dat, can’t. But dam’m, back digits lil bit, n’its shoveltalk. 1800 peeps warble funny, u-kno’m, I guess’m u-kno?

[@justananimeweeb6696]

Once I listened to old English I knew that I will not survive there

[@NewNicator]

2:01 I understand the first line as “Our father of earth and heaven” from the sound and spelling, but the rest is gibberish to me lol.

[@adolforodolfo6929]

Except it doesn't say quite that: 'eart' is second person singular of the verb to be, i.e. 'thu eart' = 'thou art', but, of course, we don't use that form in modern English, so we would say 'you are'. Word for word, in the same order, that first line says 'Father our you that are in heaven'. And, yep, after that it gets harder and harder. If you remember the Book of Common Prayer version of the Lord's Prayer that, certainly in my day, we had to say at school every day, it says just about exactly the same, and so you can piece it out line by line, especially if you know German,but even so it's hard. And I'm not going to pretend that I can read Old English, it's gibberish to me as well if I haven't got a translation to match up against it.

[@NewNicator]

😲

[@hweiktomeyto]

Nope. This is a common mistake with other languages. You relate the wrong word. "Eart" evolved to "art" which evolved to "are." It's "our father who are in heaven."

[@minecraftion25565]

It isn't so much how much you could understand that's the question, but how well they could understand modern English. Communication is a two-way street.

[@JoeCampione0]

Aguila701 you could go back 30 years and people would look at you funny

[@commonsense3921]

30 years ago would be 1987 english is pretty much the same idiot.

[@JoeCampione0]

Common Sense 133T speak is a modern form of english from the internet, which wasn't even around in 1987. Idiot

[@commonsense3921]

Joe Campione modern computer talk is not "speaking" it's writing you dumbfuck, This video is based on SPEAK, 30 years ago the internet didn't exist which makes your statement completely idiotic, Smh

[@JoeCampione0]

Common Sense the title of the video says "understand English". That includes speaking and writing. You are really offended by this and I'm not really sure why. Where did I hurt you? Can you point out for me? Thanks

[@luca5818]

0:43 When devil reads Shakespeare I bet he sounds like that.

[@rastacafiatownsend4451]

I still watch this mini video 2022 and still amazed Love this video

[@joshwalls9923]

Informative and simple 👍🏻

[@highgroundproductions8590]

All the way back to 1700 - British Accent 1600 - West Country Accent 1500 - Scottish Accent 1400 - French/German accent

[@tremmort2794]

Fuck you. English is just the accent of French and nothing more!!!

[@hancodyby]

how on fucking earth does anyone get upset at a comment like that? *says some random things, not directed at anyone* *soon, two different people(or maybe the same one) angrily approach with insults*

[@neilgriffiths6427]

tremmor 1 - troll.

[@Danimal77]

A very angry and frustrated person in life who releases those miss-channeled emotions onto people they don't know over the internet.

[@hoennnoodle]

1700 - US accent. The modern ‘British’ accent is an invention of the industrial revolution-era’s upper class society