Adventures of English - Melvyn Bragg
The Adventure of English : Melvyn Bragg travels through England and abroad to tell the story of the English language.
Today, English is a worldwide language. What is its future?
Could it end up like Latin?
1 "Birth of a Language"
The modern Frisian language is the closest sounding language
to the English used approximately 2000 years ago, when the people from what is
now the north of the Netherlands travelled to what would become England, and
pushed the Celtic language - ancestor of modern Welsh - (Celts) to the western
side of the island. Words like "blue" can be recognised in the
Frisian language.
Bragg then discusses how English dialects in certain areas
of the United Kingdom were heavily influenced by historical events such as the
invasion of the Vikings in the east, contributing words such as "sky"
to the English language.
2 "English Goes Underground"
Bragg discusses how class also affected the use of English,
especially in the time of William the Conqueror and for approximately 300 years
after his reign; during this period, only the French language and Latin were
used in state affairs and by the aristocracy, while English remained in use
with the lower peasant classes.
3 "The Battle for the Language of the Bible"
In the early to mid 14th century, 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. Though
Wycliffe died before English became the official language of the bible, Bragg
discusses how his translation eventually led to the transition of various Latin
words into the English language, including "emperor," "justice,""profession,"
"suddenly" or "angel."
Eventually, Henry V of England would use his power to create
this English language bible in the early 15th century. However, the difficulty
of creating a common language for all the English dialects in the United
Kingdom had to be addressed since there was such an array of spellings and
pronunciations. Bragg explains, "The '-ing' participle, as in 'running,'
was said as '-and' in the North, '-end' in the East Midlands, and '-ind' in the
West Midlands. So 'running' could also be said as 'runnand,' 'runnind,' and
'runnend.'" The number of spellings was even greater, Bragg offers sixteen
different ways in which the word meaning "church" had been spelt at
the time, including "kerke," "kirc," "chirche,"
"cherge" and "schyrche."
The Chancery had the duty of creating an official spelling
for each spoken word, much of which is still used in modern English. Still, the
spelling was confusing because of the debates that went on during this period,
for example many words wound up being spelt as to their roots like the words "debt"
and "doubt" which came from the French language. The word "rhyme"
was given an "h" simply because the word "rhythm" already
had one. Around this time the Great Vowel Shift also took place, which altered
spoken English from the Old English pronunciation to a more modern sounding
form.
The possession of an English bible had become illegal once
more and William Tyndale left the country to write his translation of the bible
from the original Hebrew and Greek version, which he published in 1526. Many of
his sayings are still used today, including, "scapegoat," "the
apple of mine eye," "eat, drink and be merry," and words such as
"beautiful" and "zealous."
Eventually, Henry VIII of England wished for the creation of
an English bible and a new Church of England so that he could divorce his wife
Catherine of Aragon. In time, King James I would create an official version of
the bible which had become wide spread with various versions. This bible
deliberately used words like "ye" and "thou," which were no
longer in common use, to create the sense that the words written would appear
to be ancient, to have authority.
4 "This Earth, This Realm, This England"
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 "fokkinge," (fucking) "krappe," (crap)
and "bugger" from Dutch, in the 16th century. Sailors also brought
all kinds of produce like apricots, bananas, limes, yams, cocoa, potatoes, port
wine from Spain and Portugal, chocolate and tomatoes from France as well words
from 50 other languages including "coffee," "magazine," and
"alcohol" from Arabic countries.
"The decade on either side of the year 1600 saw
thousands of Latin words come into the English vocabulary of educated people,
words like 'excavate,' 'horrid,' 'radius,' 'cautionary,' 'pathetic,' 'pungent,'
'frugal' [...]," states Bragg in this episode. The Inkhorn Controversy, a
debate about the English language and where its new words should come from,
soon followed. A few scholars, including John Cheke, wished that the language
should not use Latin or Greek words to expand the English vocabulary, but
rather Anglo-Saxon ones.
English eventually obtained its own dictionary. Eight years
before Italian and 35 years before French. However, this is a huge difference
from the Arabic dictionary, which was made 800 years before and the Sanskrit,
which was created nearly 1000 years before the English.
Scholar Katherine Duncan-Jones informs on poet, courtier and
soldier Philip Sidney, who also had a large impact on the English language,
introducing phrases like "my better half," "far-fetched" and
words such as "conversation," which had previously had another
meaning.
William Shakespeare's contribution to the English vocabulary
is one of the most famous. Over 2000 words used in modern English were first
recorded in his writing, words such as "leapfrog," "assassination,"
"courtship" and "indistinguishable." Shakespeare's
vocabulary included over 21,000 words, his plays translated into 50 different
languages, and Bragg states, "The Oxford English dictionary lists a
stunning 33,000 Shakespeare quotations."
5 "English in America"
Upon landing in North America, settlers encountered Squanto,
a native man who had been captured and brought to England to learn English and
become a guide. After escaping, Squanto returned to his tribe, which happened
to live near the place that the English settlers had created their small
village. Among shockingly few other words, the settlers adopted "skunk"
and "squash" into their vocabulary from the local language, making
clear that they meant to impose their own culture, rather than adopt any other.
English began to change, not only in meaning, with "shops"
becoming "stores," but also with the variety of accents becoming
considerably less in number than in England. In the last 18th and early 19th
centuries, Noah Webster wrote what was known as the American Spelling Book, or
the Blue Backed Speller, which would become one of the most influential books
in the history of the English language, Webster's Dictionary. This dictionary
created simpler spellings, eliminating the "u" in words like "colour"
and "honour," reducing "axe" to "ax" and reducing
double letters to single ones, like in the word "traveller," now
spelt "traveler" in the United States. Words with "re" endings
became "er," and other spellings changed include "defence,"
which became "defense." Interestingly, some words that England had
dropped were kept in by Americans, such as "deft," "scant,"
"talented," "likely" and "fall" instead of the
newer "autumn."
Two-thousand words were created in journals of the Lewis and
Clark Expedition toward the West, including "rapids," which came from
the adjective "rapid." New words to the English language, such as "hickory,"
"moose," "pecan" and "toboggan" are derived from
Indigenous languages. "There are hundreds of names made by combining
existing English words," states Bragg, such as "black bear,"
"bullfrog," "blue jay" and "rednecks," who got
their name from the sunburned necks they got from working in the fields. Rednecks
couldn't afford steamboat fare, they travelled the water on rafts, using
paddles called riffs, and they became known as the "riffraff."
Alcohol also added a great deal of words to the English
language, "bootlegging" referred to hiding a flat bottle of alcohol
in the leg of a boot. "And there were literally hundreds of terms from
drunk," says Bragg. "Benjamin Franklin listed 229 of them minted in
America, including... 'He's wamble-cropped,' 'He's halfway to concord,' 'He's
ate a toad and a half for breakfast,' 'He's groatable,' 'He's globular,' [and] 'He's
loose in the hilts.'"
Irish settlers brought words like "smithereens,"
"speakeasy," "Yes, indeedy" and "No, sirree."
Joseph McCoy had the idea to drive his cattle to trains and
sell them to the Eastern states, creating a new meaning for the word "cowboy,"
and he made a lot of money in the process. Because of this, travellers would
sometimes introduce themselves with his name, and in turn, he began to
introduce himself as "the real McCoy."
The Gullah language is a mixture of English and other
languages that is thought to be the closest to the one that slaves, brought
over from various countries in West Africa and the Caribbean, spoke in the 18th
and early 19th centuries. Words like "banana," "zebra,"
"gorilla," "samba" and "banjo" were incorporated
into English from the slaves living on plantations. The stripped-down grammar
used in variations of English, like Gullah, is common when different languages
come together. However, slave-owners took this to mean that they had lesser
intelligence, when in reality their slaves were ultimately contributing words
to the English language.
6 "Speaking Proper"
The Age of Reason began, and English scholars of mathematics
and science like Isaac Newton started publishing their books in English instead
of Latin. Jonathan Swift would attempt to save the English language from
perpetual change, followed by Samuel Johnson who would write the A Dictionary
of the English Language, made up of 43000 words and definitions, written in
seven years and published in 1755.
Though the upper and lower classes found no reason to change
or improve their grammar, the middle class used it to their advantage in
joining polite society. William Cobbett, a son of the lower middle class and
writer of Rural Rides, advising those who wish to rise above their station that
writing and speaking properly was essential.
As English began to replace Gaelic in Scotland it took on
its own character, using "bonnie" from the French "bon" and
"kolf" from the Dutch for "club", the probable origin for "golf".
Several other words came from Gaelic, including "ceilidh", "glen",
"loch", and "whisky". Pronunciation became an issue all
over the United Kingdom, as some sounds could be spelt in several different
ways, while one spelling could have several articulations. Irish actor Thomas
Sheridan wrote British Education, a book that attempted to educate all English
speakers in the proper pronunciation of words. However, some Scots were
offended that their speech might be considered second-class and the Scottish
poet Robert Burns, son of a poor farmer, became the hero of the Scottish
language. William Wordsworth also became a champion of the ordinary peoples'
English, suggesting that poetry need not be written using haughty vocabulary.
The turn of the 19th century marked a period when women were
more educated and their speech and literacy improved. Novels were thought to be
a frivolous occupation for females until Jane Austen wrote about the
capabilities of such works in her own novels; her works were highly proper,
often using words like "agreeable", "appropriate", "discretion",
and "propriety".
Then came the Industrial Revolution and the language that
came along with it. The steam engine changed the meaning of words like "train",
"locomotive", and "tracks" to be associated with the new
technology. Along with this age came a change of social situation; the term "slum"
came into use, and Cockney rhyming slang became a new form of speech for those
in the lower class.
7 "The Language of Empire"
British trade and colonisation spread the English language. 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.
8 "Many Tongues Called English, One World Language"
English Language - Anglo-Saxon - Beowulf
English Language - Anglo-Saxon - Adventure Story playlist .
Michael Wood - In Search of Beowulf,
Shakespeare - Original Pronunciation,
History of English Language,
Old English,
Old Norse,
Middle English
The Story of English,
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,
In Search of Shakespeare.
Michael Wood - In Search of Beowulf,
Shakespeare - Original Pronunciation,
History of English Language,
Old English,
Old Norse,
Middle English
The Story of English,
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,
In Search of Shakespeare.
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