How far back in time would you still understand English?

The Bard did much to shape the English language and how people express themselves and invented many words and figures of speech in common use today. So, we could probably go back to around 1500 or so and communicate with contemporary English speakers — and they with us.

Could you understand English in the 1700s?

Would people from the 1700s understand our modern English? – Quora. Yes, with some big caveats. English grammar, spelling, and pronunciation have remained pretty steady since the 1700s. You have no problem reading the original text of the Declaration of Independence, for example.

What language was spoken in 16th century England?

Early Modern English
William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 132 in the 1609 Quarto
Region	England, Southern Scotland, Ireland, Wales and British colonies
Era	developed into Modern English in the late 17th century
Language family	Indo-European Germanic West Germanic North Sea Germanic Anglo-Frisian Anglic Early Modern English

Did they speak English in medieval England?

Three main languages were in use in England in the later medieval period – Middle English, Anglo-Norman (or French) and Latin. Eventually English emerged as the standard literary medium, but it was not until the eighteenth century that Latin disappeared from legal documents. …

Is Chaucer Middle English?

Chaucer wrote during the final decades of the fourteenth century; hence, his language belongs to the later Middle English period. Since he was a Londoner by birth, Chaucer’s works are written in the dialect of that city.

How did Old English change to Middle English?

The event that began the transition from Old English to Middle English was the Norman Conquest of 1066, when William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy and, later, William I of England) invaded the island of Britain from his home base in northern France, and settled in his new acquisition along with his nobles and court.