Richard Verstegan A Restitution of Decayed Intelligence 1608

Since the tyme of Chucer, more Latin & French, hath bin mingled with our toung than

left out of it, but of late we haue falne to ſuch borowing of woords from, Latin, French,

and other toungs, that it had bin beyond all ſtay and limit, which albeit ſome of vs do

lyke wel and think our toung thereby much bettred, yet do ſtrangers therefore carry the

farre leſſe opinion thereof, some saying that it is of it self no language at all, but the

ſcum of many langauges, others that it is most barren and that wee are dayly faine to

borrow woords for it (as though it yet lacked making) out of other languages to patche it

vp withall, and that yf wee were put to repay our borrowed ſpeech back again, to the

langauges that may lay claim vnto it; wee ſhould bee left litle better then dumb, or

ſcarſly able to speak any thing that should bee ſensible.

This is a thing that eaſily may happen in ſo ſpatious a toung as this, it beeing ſpoken in ſo

many different countries and regions, when wee ſee that in ſome ſeueral partes of

England it ſelf, both the names of things and pronountiations of woords are ſomwhat

different, and that among the countrey people that neuer borrow any woords out of the

Lain or French, and o fhtis different pronountiation one example in ſteed of many ſhall

ſuffice, as this: for pronouncing according as one would ſay in London, I would eat more

cheeſe of I had it/the northern main ſaith, Ay ſud eat mare cheee gin ay hadet/and the

westerne man ſaith: Chud eat more cheeſe an chad it. Lo heer three different

pronountiations in our own countrey in one thing, &heerof many the lyke examples

might be alleaged.

My comment:

He believes that Anglo-Saxon is the essence of English Language. He also thinks that all those borrowings have transformed their language beyond recognition. He also asserts that in the hypothetical case of giving all those words back they would not be able to speak.