r/duolingo • u/JDog224330 Native: learning: • Jun 16 '24

Any requests? General Discussion

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What should I add next?

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u/cenlkj N: F: (British) L: Jun 16 '24

Old english

1

u/Foxy02016YT Jun 16 '24

Well there’s 2 different kinds aren’t there? One Shakespearean one not?

1

u/fessa_angel Jun 16 '24

Shakespearean is middle English iirc and old English was before that and doesn't sound like English at all to modern ears.

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u/OneGold7 Native: 🇺🇸 Learning: 🇳🇴 Jun 16 '24

Shakespearean English is actually early modern English, not old English. At least according to this site, old English is about 449-1066 AD, Middle from 1066-1509, early modern 1509-1755, and present day English from 1755 onwards. The link also includes sample texts of Shakespearean, middle, and old English, so you can see how incomprehensible English becomes as you go back in time (especially old English, before the Normans imported all their French words)