And words like thee and thy.. doeth.. etc.. Middle English? Old English?
2006-11-21 15:31:32 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Every single previous answer is WRONG. The correct Linguistic term for Shakespeare's English is EARLY MODERN ENGLISH. This is the term used in all texts on the history of the English language. Old English dates from 500-1100, Middle English dates from 1100-1500, Early Modern English from 1500-1700, Modern English from 1700 to the present.
2006-11-21 16:31:35 · answer #1 · answered by Taivo 7 · 7⤊ 0⤋
English
2006-11-21 15:49:29 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
At the time Shakespeare wrote the language was called English, as the language has evolved and we are obliged to place it in a time frame due to the evolution of the language we now call it Early Modern English. So you can choose depending upon the context of the discussion you are involved in. For example you can say that WS is one of the greatest English authors, this is in the context of all writers without reference to a particular period or you can say he was the foremost Early Modern English author in which case you are only comparing him to his contemporaries.
2006-11-21 20:32:19 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The King's English
2006-11-21 15:36:51 · answer #4 · answered by a_phantoms_rose 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Actually it is modern English. Middle English would be Chaucer and Old English Beowulf. Gads! I read some of the other entries and it just shows how old I am. When I studied English in college it was called Modern English. he he he
My understand is that the name changes every 500 years or so.
2006-11-22 04:14:17 · answer #5 · answered by madchriscross 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Old English- 1558 (Reign of Elizabeth I, 1558-1603) was known at the Age of Elizabeth or the Elibethan Period, a time many events influence Shakepeare and 1598-1603 was the time of Shakepeare’s plays on stage such as AsYou Like It, Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Troilus and Cressida.
The Elizabethan alphabet contained just 24 old English letters as opposed to the 26 letters used in the modern English alphabet.
"Thou", "thee", "thine" and "thy" are pronouns that have dropped out of the main dialects of Modern English. During the period of Early Modern English (~1470-1700) they formed the Second Person Singular of the language, and were standardized by the time of the King James Bible.
2006-11-22 00:10:11 · answer #6 · answered by VelvetRose 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Elizabethan English
2006-11-21 18:30:08 · answer #7 · answered by Basil P 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Old English.
2006-11-21 15:47:47 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Old English a good book to use is David Crystal's Encyclopedia of English Language if you wanna differentiate between the different era's and periods of English.
2006-11-22 05:10:45 · answer #9 · answered by laydeeheartless 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Taivo is right!
Early Modern English!
2006-11-21 17:51:53 · answer #10 · answered by Gary H 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋