Join us online for a lively presentation by local linguist and Shakespeare aficionado Joel Angiolillo! Sign up to receive the ZOOM info via email.
The English we speak today diverges more and more from Elizabethan English by the day. Words and expressions have disappeared or changed meaning and cultural references have been lost. If you were transported to 17th century London, the locals would not be able to easily understand you, nor you them. These language changes can baffle, and worse, mislead, the modern playgoer.
So should we translate Shakespeare into modern English?
Using examples from The Tempest, Joel Angiolillo will trace some of the language changes that have occurred since Shakespeare’s time, discuss the pros and cons of translating Shakespeare, and give examples of how we could create such a translation. Please join us to learn how our language has evolved, and enhance your appreciation of The Tempest.
Joel Angiolillo has a BA in linguistics at Amherst College and a PhD in Cognition and Communication at the University of Chicago. He applied his interest in how we understand and use speech as a telecommunications engineer at AT&T and Verizon.