Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Trevor Peterson <06PETERSON AT cua.edu>]

>===== Original Message From Jim West <jwest AT highland.net> =====
>one question-- what on earth does MODERN english have to do with
>shakespeare?  he didnt write modern english.  who cares if someone can read
>modern english if they are teaching russian students.  they would want to
>read middle english wouldnt they- if they wished to read billy's stuff and
>modern english and middle english are leagues apart!

Well, for one thing, they should probably be able to interact with the work 
that has been done in Shakespeare studies by English writers. For another, 
there is a level of fluency that is only possible with a living language. If 
there is anything to be gained by such a level of fluency, it is generally 
possible only through the current, living stage of any language.

Trevor Peterson
CUA/Semitics