Chaucer and Shakespeare are commonly cited milestones in the evolution of English, but the major change was far more compressed in time than 200 years. William Caxton:
And certaynly our langage now used varyeth ferre from that which was used and spoken when I was borne.
He was born about 1422, a generation after Chaucer died.
All languages change, except dead ones. Perhaps the most well-known change in contemporary English is the meaning of the word
gay. [This message has been edited by yaktx (edited 01-18-2006).]
