It might be a weird question or may have been asked a hundred times. I see so many stories and accounts of often uneducated people crossing boundaries that seem to be very hard even by today's standards. English, French, Spanish and Mandarin can get you almost anywhere nowadays. What was it like before we started to have what we know as modern languages? Specifically were there any similarities? How hard was it to cross a language barrier? Can you even realistically travel a significant distance in any direction without an interpreter?

I suppose pre 1600's. Correct me if I'm wrong but most modern languages go back about that far. Assume earlier, perhaps?