Uncultured philistine who does not enjoy arts and literature. Sit through a Shakespeare play, don’t be hard on yourself thinking you are an So, the next time you see yourself struggling to Watching a Shakespeare’s play in other languages. Speakers of English have had an easier and more enjoyable experience of Translated into the modern versions of their mother languages. Paradoxically, foreign speakers do not have Shakespeare is difficult to understand because his language is different.

Learn more about dialect representations in Middle English. The reason is that the language that Shakespeare spoke and wrote in is different from what we speak and write in today. If someone has to process the language of Shakespeare at a different pace from their everyday normal English, it is not because they are ignorant or do not have a proficient grasp of their mother tongue. ForĮxample, the word silly originally meant blessed, but now itĮven educated people, though it’s hard for them to admit, have a difficult time grasping the meaning of Shakespeare’s language. Phrases that he used have different meanings in the English of our age. As speakers of modernĮnglish, sometimes we even misunderstand Shakespeare because the words or That we have difficulty understanding Shakespeare. Including semantics, pronunciation, and grammar. Language change can happen in various aspects, (Image: JasaShmasa/Shutterstock) SemanticĬhanges in English Since the Time of Shakespeare Shakespeare’s language is different from Modern English. We might think that the changes in the English language happened a very long time ago and will not happen again. But as speakers of English, these changes might not be tangible or perceivable to us. These historical changes have turned Old English into Middle English and then to Modern English. By John McWhorter, Ph.D., Columbia University Language as a human phenomenon is subject to change over time.

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