[sionnsar]

I imagine a modern Romanian might have little difficulty communicating with an ancient Roman--provided they're both alive at the time!

Interesting discussion in Gaelic class years ago. Go back, say, to the time of Old English and you'd have difficult communications with an "English speaker."

At the same time, you'd only be back to "middle Gaelic," fairly understandable to a modern speaker of Scots Gaelic. (The Irish would note the absence of the present tense, developed after the Gaels moved over to Scotland but not in Scots Gaelic.)

[Das Outsider]

Interesting discussion in Gaelic class years ago. Go back, say, to the time of Old English and you'd have difficult communications with an "English speaker."

Three lines in the original Old English of Beowulf would do in most of the uninitiated. Contrary to popular perception, English is a truly Germanic language. Case in point: the tongue of the Anglo-Saxons. Sure, add a plethora of French, Latin, and--to a lesser extent--Dutch loan words, a thousand years of development (notably, the Great Vowel Shift) and interaction with other language groups, and BAM!--you've got a crude form of today's Modern English.

At the same time, you'd only be back to "middle Gaelic," fairly understandable to a modern speaker of Scots Gaelic. (The Irish would note the absence of the present tense, developed after the Gaels moved over to Scotland but not in Scots Gaelic.)

I have noted some of the little quirks between the Irish and Scottish forms of Gaelic, pointing towards the development where the aforementioned split occurs. There is even something to be said for the regional differences in the Irish form, as one would expect--though I think a tourist could probably call for the police regardless of whether they're in Dublin or Cork! ;)