1. Being dropped 500 years ago into your ancestors’ community.
  2. Being dropped 500 years into the future in your community.

You have a day to source some clothing appropriate to the time period. Unfortunately, that’s not enough time to learn a dialect.

  • Pons_Aelius
    34•1 year ago

    Scenario 2 is where you would be outed as a time traveller.

    Scenario 1 is where you would be outed as a witch.

    Not sure witch would happen first.

    • ScottEnglish
      5•1 year ago

      Well with scenario 1, it would be fairly quick because people speak way different now than 500 years ago.

      • @[email protected]OP
        10•1 year ago

        They will also likely speak way different in 500 years than we do now. We have an idea what 1523 English sounded like. 2523 is uncharted territory.

        • BoozillaEnglish
          12•1 year ago

          Hell, I have trouble understanding young people right now. I’m not trying to dunk on them, I’m just old.

          • @OneStepAheadEnglish
            3•1 year ago

            Pretty neat. I think I caught about half of that. I’m now wondering what percentage of that was more difficult to understand than an average persons speech. I don’t generally talk in iambic pentameter or what-have-you. The flow of the words for something like this is likely making it harder to understand than “regular talk”

        • livus
          3•1 year ago

          I agree. Also, if the climate catastrophe unfolds as predicted, there will be a return to intense regionalization of dialects because people will live in smaller groups and have less contact with outsiders.

      • ℛ𝒶𝓋ℯ𝓃
        6•1 year ago

        That would be an interesting one, because I speak enough old norse and Latin to pass as a foreigner from the far east (until they realise I don’t speak Arabic). But 2523 English will be unrecognizable, and worse, they’d probably recognize our “old” English. It’s like if Shakespeare showed up today, vs some guy from the future who barely speaks English and pretends to only speak an uncommon foreign language.

      • Can_you_change_your_username
        4•1 year ago

        European colonization of America wouldn’t have started yet so a majority of Americans wouldn’t even be on the same continent. Most of us wouldn’t even speak the same language as our ancestors. My ancestors would most likely understand English but wouldn’t speak it as their primary language. That may somewhat disguise the dialect difference but would cause all sorts of other problems. They may be actively fighting a war with England or they may be in a period of uneasy peace getting ready for the next war with England.

        • Pons_Aelius
          3•1 year ago

          For real shits and giggles:

          You get dropped exactly where you are now, just 500 years ago. All the European descended people not living in Europe are (very likely) in for a bad time.

          • livus
            4•1 year ago

            Probably not a bad time in the places that had never seen them. It’s only the people who they’d already been dicks to by 1523 that you’d need to worry about.

            I actually looked this one up, there was no settlement of any kind right on this spot, so I’d have time to sort myself out before approaching a settlement a few days’ journey.

          • @[email protected]OP
            2•1 year ago

            Ya, that’s why I worded it that way. I wouldn’t survive a week landing in midwest North America in 1523. Assuming civilization somehow continues for 500 more years, you would attract much less attention in scenario 2.

          • Can_you_change_your_username
            2•1 year ago

            I’m in western Appalachia. There were no human settlements here but I might run into a group of hunters. I feel like I’m pretty decent in nature. I’ve been hunting, hiking, and camping in this area my whole life. With no modern equipment I give myself about a week. Most likely cause of death: Snakebite or eaten by wolves.