Here's a breakdown of what we can say:
1. No single "language" of 1500: There were thousands of languages spoken in 1500, just like today. Some of the most prominent included:
* Latin: Used in scholarship, religion, and government in many parts of Europe.
* Spanish: The language of Spain, spreading rapidly across the Americas through colonization.
* French: Used in France and parts of Canada.
* English: The language of England, gaining importance through its colonial ventures.
* Arabic: Widespread across the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Spain.
* Chinese: Various dialects spoken across China.
* Sanskrit: An important language for religion and scholarship in India.
* Nahuatl: The language of the Aztecs, dominant in Mesoamerica.
* Quechua: The language of the Incan Empire, dominant in the Andes.
2. Regional variations: Each of these languages had regional variations, just like we see in English today (think American vs. British English).
3. Differences in pronunciation and grammar: Languages evolve over time, and the pronunciation and grammar of languages spoken in 1500 would have been different from how they are spoken today.
4. No recordings: We don't have any recordings of how people spoke in 1500. To understand the sounds, we rely on historical documents, linguistic analysis, and reconstructions based on the development of languages over time.
5. Importance of context: To understand how someone spoke in 1500, we need to consider their social status, geographic location, and the specific language they were using.
To learn more about how people spoke in 1500, it's best to focus on specific regions, languages, or individuals. You can consult historical texts, linguistic studies, and other resources to get a better sense of the sounds and structures of speech in the past.