# If Jesus, Buddha, etc returned who'd find it easiest to be understood?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-jesus-buddha-etc-returned-whod-find-it-easiest-to-be-understood/777628>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 20, 2017, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-jesus-buddha-etc-returned-whod-find-it-easiest-to-be-understood/777628 "2017-01-20T15:16:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2017, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-jesus-buddha-etc-returned-whod-find-it-easiest-to-be-understood/777628/41 "2017-01-23T07:11:30Z")

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> [@markn\_1](#):
>
> [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NB2Z6pZBNA) is a medievalist reading a passage in Old English (Beowulf obviously, one of the very few examples of Old English that still exists), and Middle English (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight). For my part, I think it’s fair to say I couldn’t understand a word of the Old English just listening to the recitation, and only got a word or two of the Middle English. I got a bit more from reading them.

A quibble: _Beowulf_ is by no means “one of the very few examples of Old English that still exists…” The _Dictionary of Old English Corpus_ contains [3,060 Anglo-Saxon texts](http://www.helsinki.fi/varieng/CoRD/corpora/DOEC/).

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**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2017, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-jesus-buddha-etc-returned-whod-find-it-easiest-to-be-understood/777628/42 "2017-01-23T10:13:29Z")

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> [@Kobal2](#):
>
> Yes, you and I can maybe hunt and peck a word here, a word there (and even then I have no idea how many false friends there could be). But this is the salient part : would you be able to ask where the loo is in that language, or understand when they ask you the same ? Non beode luðley. 🙂

I think “Where is the shitter” would be perfectly understandable to even an Anglo-Saxon.

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