On 4/28/2012 9:25 AM, Warp wrote:
>    I have been wondering: How can we know how languages, even our own
> languages, were spoken before the earliest surviving audio recordings?
> Back then there weren't any meticulous (if any) pronounciation guides
> for any language.
>
>    For instance, how can we know if English was spoken in the 1500's even
> close to what it is today?

You might be interested in this reading of Beowulf: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y13cES7MMd8&t=25  You can read on 
Wikipedia about what our state of knowledge about the pronunciation ff 
old English is.  You'll also be able to find plenty of readings of the 
Canterbury Tales if you want to hear Middle English.

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