Kinda disagree. Somebody found out that if Shakespeare is read in the accent of the 'hillbillies' / mountain people of the southern Appalachian Range in the US, it \*rhymes\*. So we know that, at least.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Do you we know if anyone used an accent like the 'hillbillies' / mountain people of the southern Appalacian Range in the US 150 years ago? Also, I would very much appreciate a recording of someone doing that if you know a source. That's a fascinating observation.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

We have a surprisingly good idea, actually. We can look at things like rhymes and misspellings, and the occasional writing on pronunciation. There's also a whole branch of science about how languages evolve, which means that we can make decent guesses about what people sounded like even before writing.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Depends on where you live honestly, I'm from Europe and there's been times I heard people have fueds with a village a walking distance away, and making fun of how they pronounce a single word slightly differently. I can only deduce that this pettiness probably transcends a few generations. Going into the country is a bit of a form of time travel.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Not what I meant. The gramophone wasn't invented until 1887, meaning that the oldest recorded voice is only 136 years old

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Media is not the only form of recording history, oral tradition also goes a long way. There's a few lullabies that I know that I sing in an accent entirely differently from my normal speaking voice, same with some poems. Of course there is no 100% certainty that they are spoken exactly as when those were written, but chances are, it's pretty close.

by Anonymous 2 years ago