The History of English: The Biography of a Language
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The History of English: The Biography of a Language
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Narrated by:
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Chris R. Fee
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By:
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Chris R. Fee
About this listen
Named one of America’s best professors by Princeton Review, Christopher R. Fee invites you to explore your heritage from an unconventional angle: through the origin and development of the English language.
Professor Fee is an award-winning professor and medievalist whose expertise spans Old English, Old Norse, and historical linguistics. With flair and gusto, he draws from this well of knowledge to help you trace the evolution of English across a fascinating range of cultures.
In liberal-arts fashion, this series of 24 lectures mixes the study of technical subjects (like phonetics, linguistics, and historical grammar) with cultural and historic topics, such as the impact of the Norman Invasion on Old English, the advent of the printing press, the place of Ebonics in the modern public-school curriculum, how English became a world language, and how close the Vikings came to ensuring that this course might have been about Danish instead of English.
Prof. Fee has a knack for combining scholarly insight with great storytelling. Expect to enjoy his account of the characters “worthy of a seamy soap opera” tasked with writing a dictionary.
Language is a cornerstone - arguably the very foundation - of human culture. It is a vital part of who we are and a subject invaluable to anyone interested in the humanities.
This course is part of the Learn25 Collection.
©2019 Now You Know Media Inc. (P)2019 Now You Know Media Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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3 out of 5 stars
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"Pretty Good"
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Ancient Writing and the History of the Alphabet
- By: John McWhorter, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 62
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 62
Embark on a journey to the very beginning of writing as a tool of language and see how the many threads of history and linguistics came together to create the alphabet that forms the foundation of English writing. Your guide is Professor John McWhorter of Columbia University and in the 16 lectures of Ancient Writing and the History of the Alphabet, he will help you navigate the complex linguistic and cultural history behind one of our most crucial tools of communication.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic narration & interesting content
- By Shelby on 06-06-23
By: John McWhorter, and others
-
The Adventure of English
- The Biography of a Language
- By: Melvyn Bragg
- Narrated by: Robert Powell
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,924
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,630
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,634
This is the remarkable story of the English language; from its beginnings as a minor guttural Germanic dialect to its position today as a truly established global language. The Adventure of English is not only an enthralling story of power, religion, and trade, but also the story of people, and how their lives continue to change the extraordinary language that is English.
-
5 out of 5 stars
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Many Of Course monments
- By Leigh A on 10-21-05
By: Melvyn Bragg
-
The Story of Human Language
- By: John McWhorter, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 18 hrs and 15 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7,994
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7,047
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6,936
Language defines us as a species, placing humans head and shoulders above even the most proficient animal communicators. But it also beguiles us with its endless mysteries, allowing us to ponder why different languages emerged, why there isn't simply a single language, how languages change over time and whether that's good or bad, and how languages die out and become extinct.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
You'll Never Look at Languages the Same Way Again
- By SAMA on 03-11-14
By: John McWhorter, and others
-
The Etymologicon
- A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
- By: Mark Forsyth
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,387
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,159
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,131
The Etymologicon is a completely unauthorized guide to the strange underpinnings of the English language. It explains: How you get from “gruntled” to “disgruntled”; why you are absolutely right to believe that your meager salary barely covers “money for salt”; how the biggest chain of coffee shops in the world (hint: Seattle) connects to whaling in Nantucket; and what precisely the Rolling Stones have to do with gardening.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Maddening! Does not work as an audiobook!
- By James on 01-05-16
By: Mark Forsyth
-
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue
- The Untold History of English
- By: John McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4,024
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,400
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 3,376
A survey of the quirks and quandaries of the English language, focusing on our strange and wonderful grammar. Why do we say "I am reading a catalog" instead of "I read a catalog"? Why do we say "do" at all? Is the way we speak a reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these provocative topics and more, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue distills hundreds of years of fascinating lore into one lively history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great for casual linguists
- By Bertie on 01-11-10
By: John McWhorter
-
The Anglo-Saxons
- A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 - 1066
- By: Marc Morris
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 917
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 808
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 804
Sixteen hundred years ago Britain left the Roman Empire and swiftly fell into ruin. Grand cities and luxurious villas were deserted and left to crumble, and civil society collapsed into chaos. Into this violent and unstable world came foreign invaders from across the sea, and established themselves as its new masters. The Anglo-Saxons traces the turbulent history of these people across the next six centuries. It explains how their earliest rulers fought relentlessly against each other for glory and supremacy, and then were almost destroyed by the onslaught of the vikings.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
"Pretty Good"
- By Stephen on 05-30-21
By: Marc Morris
What listeners say about The History of English: The Biography of a Language
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tom McGowan
- 10-09-19
Amazing professor!
Chris Fee delivers again! Chris is one of my favorite Learn25 professors. This is clearly one of his best subjects. The course is both a history of a language and the story of how English shaped the lives and creativity of a people. Fascinating, well organized, funny, and well presented.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 01-31-20
A Great Guide to the Evolution of English Language
Do you know that we are not supposed to talk? When a child is born, he/she is not born with language; he/she hears words, learns them, and then start talking. Before listening to this course, I had many questions. For example, why does the world include that number of languages? Why did we invent the language? How did English evolve throughout history? Why is English so common? Why are there many accents? What is the difference between modern and old English? What are the effects of language on people, cultures, and history? All these questions and more are answered in this course.
I love old English poems and poets; that is why I got this course. I am glad to find a course that comprehensive about a topic I am very interested in.
It is not easy to simplify the topics in this course. In fact, I don’t know how professor Chris managed to make it possible for everyone to understand the nature of language. We read and write all the time; have we ever contemplated what we are doing? This course will make you contemplate everything literally when it comes to languages, especially English. If you are dealing with tourists or people from different countries, you will find this course GREAT.
Languages evolve, develop, die, and live longer than others. It is a purely human artifact. Professor Chris has shown me the history of English from its beginning up till now in different places and times. It is full of information that will make you contemplate every English word you speak or write. Now, I know why they bring a specialist in language when they make a show about a certain place or period of time.
Get it if you want to learn A LOT about the most common language on Earth. Thank you, Professor Chris, for this great effort.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Joe Zoller
- 04-29-21
Wonderful
Great content presented in an interesting and enjoyable format. Author has great voice. Will listen to more titles by Chris Fee.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Glenda Nichols
- 12-18-19
Uh, uh, uh.
I hate to be so negative, but when the author uttered his 10th “uh” by the 4
minute mark I just had to stop. I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand so many pauses filled with “Uh”.
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3 people found this helpful