The benefit of language experts and pedants has been to slow the rate of change in language. As a result we can read Shakespeare and other historical work in th

The benefit of language experts and pedants has been to slow the rate of change in language. As a result we can read Shakespeare and other historical work in the original. It could be argued that this is itself an elitest point, especially about Shakespeare; however the ability to access the past without special training means that historical knowledge is not restricted to the elite.