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S1 • E1
We are going to delve down to the roots of the language and deduce its history.
S1 • E2
We see how England was ruled for three centuries after the Conquest by a French-speaking king and court which used Latin for their official business. English was the language of the peasants; a third-class tongue in its own country.
S1 • E3
English fought to be the language of the Christian Bible through the efforts of theologian John Wycliffe, who opposed the church's use of a Latin scripture because it prevented most of the population from reading the bible for themselves.
S1 • E4
In Queen Elizabeth I's time, English began to expand to even greater depths. Overseas trade brought new words from France, as well as the now popular swearwords in the 16th century.
S1 • E5
English goes overseas to the New World. It displaces the native tongues and adopts new words from other European powers seeking to colonize the Americas.
S1 • E6
The 18th century Age of Enlightenment seeks to put a clamp on the ever changing nature of England, yet the language remains untamed.
S1 • E7
In India, scholar William Jones finds some English words already present in Sanskrit. Convicts land in Australia, blending London criminal slang and Aboriginal words into a new dialect. Jamaicans reclaim patois.
S1 • E8
As cultural influences affect the way people use English and new words come into everyday use, how does the Oxford English dictionary - the greatest repository of the language - keep up with developments.
Self - Presenter
Readings
Readings
Additional Voices
Self
Self
Self
Bible Readings
Anne Elliott
Self