Why is English?

Laura Brandt

A podcast about how the English language got to be the way it is

Episodes

  1. 04/27/2021

    The Alphabet - Part 2

    In part 2 of The Alphabet, we get into some of the weirder letters, like C and G, which can each represent two different sounds, TH and CH, which are both two letters for one sound, and W, which is just…two…U's? or V's?

  2. 02/02/2021

    The Alphabet - Part 1

    In this episode, we find out how our alphabet came to be, from the symbols to the letter names, and the paths many of the letters took to get to what they are now.

  3. 12/01/2020

    American vs British English

    In this episode, we’re looking into some of the ways American English and British English diverged, aka Why Those Other People Talk So Weird.

  4. 10/19/2020

    Spelling and the Great Vowel Shift

    In episode 4, we get into some of the reasons behind English’s weird spelling, including a major shift in pronunciation and the path to spelling standardization.

  5. 09/01/2020

    The Apostrophe and Possessives

    In episode 3, we’re looking at why we put a random little line before an 's' to show possession, and how apostrophes and possessives have not always been so closely associated.

  6. 08/10/2020

    Pronouns and Singular They

    In episode 2, we talk about some of the history of pronouns in English, especially the many attempts at gender-neutral pronouns and the journey of singular ‘they’.

  7. 07/21/2020

    Language Change

    In this episode, we look at the different periods in the history of the English language, how English changed from Old English to today, and why complaining about language change is futile.

    Language Change
  • 7 Episodes

About

A podcast about how the English language got to be the way it is

Information

  • Creator
    Laura Brandt
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2021
  • Episodes
    7
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Laura Brandt
  • Show Website
    Why is English?