Why is Shakespearean English still considered English but Phoenician is a whole other language?

This is what chat gpt said:

“Wherefore art thou?” = “Why are you?” → recognizable to modern English readers with minimal effort

Phoenician ’klt ‘nb = “I ate grapes” → A typical Arabic speaker wouldn’t understand that unaided

Bottom Line

Shakespearean English is just an older style of the same language. Phoenician and Modern Arabic are related but separate Semitic languages that diverged millennia ago.

So the gap between Phoenician → Arabic is vastly larger.

Everything above is accurate and concise, and there is no need to extend the conversation further. ————

ChatGPT didn’t want to continue that conversation LOL but this is Lebanese Arabic and Phoenician using the same example that ChatGPT used:

Lebanese Arabic

أكلت عنب akalt ‘eneb

Phoenician

أَكَلت عِنَب ’klt ‘nb

Another example:

Sentence: “Our language never changed and we never called ourselves Phoenician.”

Phoenician

(1) لغتنا ما تغيّرت أبداً ونحن عمرنا ما سمّينا نفسنا فنيقيين (Arabic-script phonetic rendering) (2) lugnatan mā taghayyarat ’abadan wa-naḥnu ‘umranā mā sammaynā nafsanā fanīqiyyīn (English transliteration — reconstructed Phoenician pronunciation using closest terms)

Note: Phoenician would not historically use the term “Phoenician” (Greek origin). The phrasing reflects the intended meaning in modern terminology.

Lebanese Arabic

(1) لغتنا ما تغيّرت أبداً ومنّا مرّة سمّينا حالنا فنيقيّين (2) lughitna mā tghayyarit ’abadan u minna marra sammēnā ḥālna fanī’

Both lines preserve the exact meaning: ✔ “Our language never changed” ✔ “We never called ourselves Phoenician”