How/When did English transform to the modern version we use today?



I know that a language evolves with time and constantly keeps itself up to people's needs. But when I read a bible or a poem of Shakespeare, I can see English was very different by then with sentences like:



  • "I love thee."

  • "O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name! Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet."

  • "Draw, if you be men. Gregory, remember thy swashing blow."

  • "Such is my love, to thee I so belong."

  • "Come, night; come, Romeo; come, thou day in night; For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night Whiter than new snow upon a raven's back. Come, gentle night; come, loving, black-brow'd night; Give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night And pay no worship to the garish sun."


I concur that "Thou" is a single version of "You". Maybe I'm wrong but what happened to it? How did it get lost? Bible is relatively old but not Shakespeare. So how did English transformed that much in such a short time? Or were there any official attempts like governments enforcing some grammatical rules at schools?



Answer



The short answer is: Always.


Languages evolve all the time, very gradualy, as usage changes, words fall out of favor, and new words get used that had never before existed. The fact that new words are added to dictionaries every year (and certain unused words are taken out) is a part of this, but more representative of the larger evolution that language undergoes.


And it is still happening today. You may complain about the words "twerk" and "selfie" being added to the Oxford English Dictionary, but formerly-slang words fall into common use all the time, and this will continue to go on for as long as the English Language (and languages in general) exists.


Letters are dropped for simplicity, new words are added to represent modern ideas, and they fall in and out of favor with English speakers. There is no one 'event' that caused this.


Also, if you think the shift from Shakespearian English is drastic, look at Beowulf, which literally requires a translation into modern English.


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