So I'm a native English speaker and am very well versed in Norwegian, and being a Canadian I can understand French a little bit. I'm curious how far back in time I could go until I ran into some serious language barriers and would no longer be able to understand those around me.
According to this post the 1400s or so is as far back as you can go before having significant difficulties. http://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/25c3t1/what_is_the_furthest_year_i_can_go_back_in_time/
hi! you'll find some additional info in the FAQ (link on sidebar)
.. and these posts
French, and a few others So we've heard the question asked many times about English. But what about other languages? How far back could you go and still be able to communicate in, say, French?
I'll leave Norwegian for someone else, but here's Icelandic What language is more similar to Old Norse? and AskHistorians, I'm interested in the Old Norse languages. Where can I learn about the Sagas, evolution of the language, and how to speak some of it?
I want to add something important.
Every time this question is asked, people provide literary examples--in written form. However, judging based on written forms is misleading. Do not assume that because you can understand the written form, that you would be able to understand the spoken form.
English spelling is more conservative than its pronunciation. In addition, processing of written language isn't the same as processing of spoken language. For one thing, you can read completely at your own pace!
Links to detailed answers have been provided but I wanted to emphasise this point.
i wonder with which language you could 'go back' the furthest. for example, i heard that modern greek is remarkably similar to medieval greek. is that true?
Do you speak a northern dialect of Norwegian, or a southern one?