Since there is a central authority for the French language, does that mean it changes less over time?
Less than English, I mean. France has the Académie Française, created in 1635, to determine what is and isn't proper French.
English doesn't have anything like that, and it changes a lot over time. Go back 245 years, and the writing is hard to read. Go back 422 years and the writing is hard to understand for a modern speaker. Go back 621 years, and the writing requires serious study and explanation to understand. Go back 1000 years, and it's a different language.
Can French speakers pick up a book written 400 years ago and read it as well as they can a modern novel? How far can they go back before it becomes hard to read?
Posted Jan 8, 2021, 8:45 PM UTC
31
Am French, imo the evolution rate seems to be pretty similar to what you're describing. The Academy just writes dictionnaries and other rulebook for how to speak/write and takes a long time to recognize stuff that's been used by every one for years. Anyhow there's no way a few old people are gonna stop anyone saying "wesh" or whatever ^^'.