This is a cool idea, I hope your thesis goes well! I sometimes wish I majored in English but I only have two classes left in my undergrad program so oh well, I will live vicariously through you and this assignment!

1. 21

2. Full-time college student, senior year undergrad currently.

3. Yes. Late modern era if I had to choose a main era (1750-present), but if I’m allowed to be more specific and choose smaller eras/turning points within the late modern era, I’d definitely say the contemporary period (1945-present). I see myself usually reading books written 1990s or later but occasionally I’ll dabble in some earlier 20th century books.

4. Yes, very much so, though the definition of “earlier” is broad. The language is very very different up until I’d say mid-1650s or so (and hard to decipher unless you’re knowledgeable in how to do so) and then it starts to slowly become more decipherable in the modern tongue after that.

5. Although this is something you can’t really measure and thus can’t ever say for certain, I’d say that in my opinion, 100%.Language evolves slowly but in the modern period we’ve ramped it up quite a bit (I’m talking about English specifically at least). We can now read, hear, or see anything within seconds, hence why new language “trends” or different slangs become viral on TikTok, everyone knows about it in like three days, and then authors start using it in their books to seem “relatable.” I believe if modern slang is used to fit who the character is as a person in dialogue or something then it’s fine because it’s the language we use (so in 60 years someone will be like “Oh, they talked like that? That’s weird”), but if the author is trying to do it to be “in with the times” or funny then it’s usually going to miss, now and later. That was just a side note, but yes, social media and the internet are changing the way books are written and the way language is used, both that is used in books and in actual speaking.

6. I don’t necessarily believe this to be a positive or a negative change, but rather, just a change (though if I had to select one, I’d say positive). Language has to evolve, and we cannot change the way we speak and communicate in real life without changing the way we write; think about how fucking confused everyone would be if we spoke like we do currently but still wrote like people spoke in the early (1500-1750ish) modern era. I see great positives in how many authors modernize their writing today, especially because I feel like it enforces a love of reading that has been shoved out of so many people. Most children love to read but few turn into adults that still do because the school system constantly shoves old book after old book at students and makes them decipher the meanings until they can’t see straight, and this kills the love of reading. Authors trying to write in ways that will make people more inclined to read due to familiar and relatable plot lines, slang, informal speaking, etc. is a great way to keep the language evolving, make it relevant to who we are as a current society, and get those people who have been beaten down by the Odyssey and Shakespeare back into reading. However, a worry some have is that some older books that are very important to our history could be lost due to being pushed to the back burner and forgotten about because although lots of people enjoy a good classic, most people are reaching for a newer book a good 80-100% of the time. I do not necessarily see this happening as long as we still put in conscious effort to keep old books relevant, which we are doing, so I don’t really see this as a negative but rather just something to watch out for. All in all, I’d say I’m perhaps leaning toward these things being positive changes if I had to choose. One of the most important things about reading is that people are enjoying themselves and the book, and since all the stuff you mentioned in question six regarding contemporary books is what makes a lot of people enjoy them, then I have absolutely no issue. :)