The Story of English

This PBS multi-part series whose view of the English language embraced practically every spot where it is spoken was a sheer masterpiece yielding endless fascinating insights (like how much of American culture and idiom derived from poker. Fair deal. Square deal. Double dealing. Fold. Underhanded. Stacked deck. Overplay a hand. Stand pat. Wild card. Ace up your sleeve. Call a bluff. Which happens to say a lot about how Americans view life as more influenced by luck, people skills, and the right mix of patience and boldness than the master plans and brilliant concentration of a chess master. How much American idiom comes from chess ?).

The first of eight parts dealt with a basic history of the English language up to Chaucer, starting with Celtic languages like Breton, Welsh and Cornish, and explaining why Danish and Saxon merged instead of half of England becoming part of Scandinavia. Subsequent episodes detail the national standardization of the language of Shakespeare and the King James Bible and how East Anglia English became Yankee English while Yorkshire English became the Southern drawl. How colonial Hudson Valley American English was taken north by Tory refugees to become Canadian English. The episode on Scottish romps from the still Celtic Orkneys to Edinburgh to the Scotch Irish to the Appalachians to the Texas twang. Then we get episodes on Black English, Irish English to the New Yawk accent, Cockney vs Oxbridge-BBC (Received Pronunciation) English to Australian, Pidgin, etc.

How I wish this was available on DVD.

This TV mini-series is about the origins of the English language. Spanning from the 5th century AD to the language spoken today. The history of a language effect on cultures through the ages and being the a language spoken around the world. You will not learn how to speak the language, but you will understand how it change the world.

This mini-series is the PBS at its best. The Story of English is the only documentary mini-series that I watched and taped in its entirety. Since I live on the coastal area of North Carolina, USA and know some people who live on the outer banks(such as Harker's Island), I thought it rather amusing that "translations" were provided at the bottom of the screen for speakers from the Virginia barrier island of Tangier. These people sound exactly like the residents of Harker's Island, so I could understand everything that was said! This is a must-see for anyone who is interested in linguistics and/or history. I heard that it is not yet out on DVD. What a pity!

There is no better resource for teaching the history of the English language. Unfortunately, this 1986 series has become sadly dated. The creators correctly honed in on the future of Asia and technology as driving factors in the ongoing creation of the English language. Yet the creators could not have known that the Internet and our ability for instant communication were right around the corner. What percentage of the world's websites are now published in English? E- mail? Tweets? Text messages? Now when I show this series to my students, I generally skip the technology episode because it is so dated (otherwise, I have to take time out from the lesson to explain telexes and telegrams).

I would love to see this series revised and updated for it's upcoming 30th anniversary.

I have watched this several times since its first broadcast, now nearly a quarter century ago! You can still find the VHS tapes in local libraries, but this is becoming a rare thing. I seem to recall that it is now released as DVDs, but I could be wrong. Hunt this one down, in whatever form. It's fascinating from its opening scenes right through to the end. For me, as a history buff, it ranks in the top ten best documentary series ever made, right up there with Ken Burns and Richard Attenborough. No joke.

A quick note: there is a 2002 similarly named documentary series called "The *Adventure* of English". It is also a great series, but not as comprehensive nor as entertaining as "The Story of English".

I'm glad to have had the opportunity to finally post comments about this series. An oldie but very goodie.