20 episodes

Where did the phrase ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing’ come from? And when did scientists finally get round to naming sexual body parts? Voiced by Clive Anderson, this entertaining romp through 'The History of English' squeezes 1600 years of history into 10 one-minute bites, uncovering the sources of English words and phrases from Shakespeare and the King James Bible to America and the Internet. Bursting with fascinating facts, the series looks at how English grew from a small tongue into a major global language before reflecting on the future of English in the 21st century.

The History of English in Ten Minutes - for iPad/Mac/PC The Open University

- Education
- 4.1 • 21 Ratings

- JUN 21, 2011
- video
Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxon

A look at what words the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings bought to the English language.
- 1 min
- JUN 21, 2011
Transcript -- Anglo-Saxon

Transcript -- Anglo-Saxon

A look at what words the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings bought to the English language.
- JUN 21, 2011
- video
The Norman Conquest

The Norman Conquest

In 1066, William the Conqueror invaded Britain and bought with him fancy French words to add to the English language.
- 1 min
- JUN 21, 2011
Transcript -- The Norman Conquest

Transcript -- The Norman Conquest

In 1066, William the Conqueror invaded Britain and bought with him fancy French words to add to the English language.
- JUN 21, 2011
- video
Shakespeare

Shakespeare

This video tells us that Shakespeare invented over 2000 new words and phrases like eyeball, anchovy and puppy.
- 1 min
- JUN 21, 2011
Transcript -- Shakespeare

Transcript -- Shakespeare

This video tells us that Shakespeare invented over 2000 new words and phrases like eyeball, anchovy and puppy.

4.1 out of 5

21 Ratings

why sit through hours of a bad podcast when you can have this

Says more in a mere 10 minutes than a certain other one - and without all errors.

palatable animated knowledge

I feel bad using the word palatable to describe this "knowledge," but I must admit that more people will give this abbreviated course about the English-language a chance simply because they see the thumbnail that is of a cartoon image. It is actually pretty well done, and there's good, accurate research put into these I do also like that they included the transcripts of each of the 10 episodes as well. Well done.
--PhotoJoe (Anchorage, Alaska)
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