History of English Podcast
@englishhistpod
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Kevin Stroud presents the History of English Podcast for word lovers and history buffs.
Joined September 2012
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Thanks to listener Rich for this cartoon, which should make sense in light of the most recent episode.
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A quick update on the podcast. The next few episodes will focus on the pronunciation of English in the Elizabethan period. I'm doing a LOT of research, so the episodes are slightly delayed. The next ep will be posted next week or the week after.
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A quick update regarding the next episode. It is ready (and long!). But I currently have a chest cold and almost no voice, so it may be a few days before I can record it. Hopefully, it will be posted next week.
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For those of you waiting for more discussions about Middle English grammar and syntax, your wait is nearly over. The next episode will explore changes to Middle English sentence structure, and how 'be,' 'have,' and 'do' were used to create new verb phrases. Yaaay Grammar!
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FYI
@MerriamWebster
has a new feature called Time Traveler that lists words which entered English by 1st known date.
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I love it! A lot of people say that English is an incredibly weird and complicated language, but I never proclaim that in the podcast. Much of that perception stems from English spellings. English grammar is often quite simple compared to other European languages.
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Here's a great video by YouTuber Simon Roper who presents the evolution of a London accent from Middle English to Modern English in 60-year segments:
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So I did an episode on the King Arthur legend at the same time as a new Arthur film. Then I did an episode on Sir Gawain & Green Knight just before a movie version was announced. Today, as I'm working on a Robin Hood episode, this was announced. I'm starting to see a trend.
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Wow! It didn't really seem that complicated when I was describing it.😉
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 141: The Great Vowel Shift (Part 1)" is the first of three episodes that will break down the Great Vowel Shift and examine its impact on modern pronunciation and spelling.
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The petition should have read "Remove All French Words (That Are Not English Words Already) From the Cover of New British Passports."😃
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Just a quick note that I'm still running a bit behind schedule on the podcast. The next episode should be available next week and will look at the canting language of vagabonds, cheats and thieves in Tudor England.
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 176: All the World's a Playhouse" looks at how Elizabethan theaters shaped the English language. We also explore the global influence on English through several remarkable texts from the late 1500s.
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Thanks
@whatpods
for including the History of English Podcast on your list of best history podcasts. (And thanks for the prominent ranking as well.)👍
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 161: Y U and I Have a Problem" looks at the history of the letters Y, U and I, and examines how they gave birth to the letters W, V and J. Lots of sound shifts and spelling consequences in this one.
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Just a quick note that the website for the podcast is temporarily down. It's my fault. I literally clicked an 'update' button that I wasn't supposed to touch, and it crashed the site. Anyway, it should be back up shortly.
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For those of you who listened to the History of English Podcast at Google Podcasts before it moved to YouTube Music, I have now made the podcast available at YouTube. That means you can listen to the podcast there (whether you use their 'podcast' feature or not).
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This has nothing to do with the history of English, but I thought it worth noting that a unanimous US Supreme Court decision today regarding excessive fines cited Magna Carta as authority. Just shows how connected we still are to medieval history.
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I typically release a new episode at the end of each month, but the holidays have caused a slight delay this time. The next regular episode will be released next week when we'll look at the inkhorn debate and the reign of Queen Mary (aka, 'Bloody Mary').
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Kate Bush's 'Running Up That Hill' in Early Middle English. Check it out.
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OK folks. A new episode has posted! "Episode 129: Chaucer's Vulgar Tongue" looks at the history of vulgarities in the context of the Miller's Tale. WARNING: This episode has lots of profanity and obscenities. So have fun!
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A new episode had (finally) posted! "Episode 155: Back to Basics" looks at Queen Mary's attempt to turn back the clock on the Protestant Reformation, while English scholars tried to go 'back to basics' by removing fancy inkhorn terms from the language.
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Here's a great Nova documentary on the first horse warriors of the Eurasian steppe. It includes an extending section on the Yamnaya culture and the spread of Proto-Indo-European.
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 135: A House of Cards" looks at the history of printing and playing cards, the end of the Hundred Years' War, and the beginning of the end of the Middle Ages.
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A new episode has finally posted! "Episode 159: Elizabethan Voices" looks at the sound of Elizabethan English and how the voicing of certain consonants has shaped the English language.
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The next regular episode has just posted! "Episode 157: Highlands, Lowlands and Netherlands" looks at Protestant revolts in Scotland and the Netherlands, and the linguistic consequences for English and Scots.
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All you have to do is shift your vowels around and you're there.😉
@englishhistpod
logging in for a COVID test at the doctors this morning I was required to select the language I spoke (obviously I clicked on Middle English)
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 133: Breaking Bread With Companions" looks at mealtime in the Middle Ages and the important role of bread at the table and in the language. We also examine an early guide to table manners called the Boke of Curtasye.
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I have posted the 3rd and final episode in the Patreon series dedicated to the period before the original Indo-European language. Check it out!
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 151: Sick to Death" looks at sickness and disease in Tudor England, English as the official language of Wales, the dissolution of the monasteries, the execution of Anne Boleyn, and lots more.
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A new episode has posted! 'Episode 165: Glamorous Grammar' looks at the first English grammar book and the consequences of viewing English grammar through the lens of Latin.
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A new episode has posted: 'Episode 178: Much Ado About Hamlet' looks at how Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, and As You Like It influenced the English language. We also examine the creation of the East India Company and the Essex Rebellion of 1601.
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Episode 114 has posted! "The Craft of Numbering" looks at the English words for numbers and the introduction of Hindu-Arabic numerals to England in the 1300s.
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I'm still researching and organizing the material for the episodes dealing with Shakespeare et al. To pass the time, I have released a bonus Patreon ep in the regular feed. "The Rise and Fall of the Classic Movie Accent" looks at the Midatlantic accent.
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 121: English Ascent" looks at the rise of the peasants, the early life of Geoffrey Chaucer, and law that made English the official language of the govt for the first time since the Conquest.
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 139: The Business of Printing" looks at the introduction of the printing press to England and its effect on the development of the English language.
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A new episode has posted! (Better late than never.) "Episode 117: What's In a Name?" looks at the evolution of names and surnames in England after the Norman Conquest.
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A new (and super long) episode has posted! 'Episode 168: Witches, Demons and Fairies' looks at the Elizabethan fascination with witchcraft and supernatural creatures. We explore Doctor Faustus, The Faerie Queene, and Shakespeare's Henry VI plays.
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The next regular episode has been posted. "Episode 156: Beggars, Cheats and Thieves" looks at the criminal underworld of Elizabethan England. We also examine the criminal slang and canting jargon of the era, and the impact of that slang on Modern English.
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Just a quick FYI. On Monday, February 8 at 7:00pm EST, I am going to be giving a Zoom presentation about Old English riddles for the Greenwich (Connecticut) Library. It is free and anyone can attend online. Here is the registration link:
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Research for upcoming episodes. I guess I'm going to have to update the Resources page of the website.
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 131: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" looks at the 14th century poem and how it reflects the state of English at the time.
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 136: The Real Robin Hood" looks at the earliest references to the legendary outlaw and the oldest surviving ballads that tell the story of Robin Hood and his band of merry men.
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 125: The First English Bible" looks at the life of John Wycliffe and the events leading to the first English translation of the Bible. We also examine how the translation impacted the English language.
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I just posted the next regular episode (
#140
) on Patreon. It will be available on the regular feed on Friday.
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"New App Let's You Hear Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in the Original Middle English." (Thanks to listener Marianne for the link.)
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I just came across the fascinating video showing the development and expansion of the Germanic languages:
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A new episode has posted! 'Episode 146: A Brand New World' looks at the European discovery of the Americas in the late 1400s, and the impact of the discovery on the English language.
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 138: Family Matters" looks at the Wars of the Roses through the personal letters of the Paston family of Norfolk - the oldest collection of private letters in the English language.
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 142: The Great Vowel Shift (Part 2)" looks at how the changing pronunciation of the lower front vowels in the 1400s and 1500s shaped Modern English.
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Great summary of Arabic influence on English (though the OED traces 'Tally-Ho' to French and doesn't make a connection to Arabic).
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"Episode 118: Trade Names" has posted! My voice is still a little rough, but at least it's a new episode! We look at the rise of towns and cities, specialized occupations, and modern occupational surnames.
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I'm running a little behind on this month's episode. It looks like Episode 153 will have an unusual weekend release. I'm trying to squeeze it in before the month ends and trick-or-treating comes to an end.🎃
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 174: Speak and Spell" looks at one of the first English spelling books and how Shakespeare's rhymes reflect 16th century pronunciation. We also examine the bard's King John, Richard II, and A Midsummer Night's Dream.
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'Episode 143: The Great Vowel Shift (Part 3)' has posted. We explore the movement of the back vowels during the Great Vowel Shift and the impact of those shifts on Modern English pronunciation and spelling.
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For those of you interested in transcripts of the older episodes, I just added the transcripts for Episodes 41-50 to the website. I continue to work on the ones that are still missing (Ep 51-85), and I hope to have them available over the next few weeks.
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Question for US listeners. Where I grew up (eastern NC), the trunk of a car is often called the "boot." That term is common outside of the US, but I've never heard other Americans use it. Are there any other parts of the US where "boot" is used to refer to the trunk of a car?
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The next episode will be a short bonus episode illustrating the way the Great Vowel Shift changed the pronunciation of English. I'll read Chaucer's final poem in different stages of English. The ep is available on Patreon today and will be on the regular feed on Thursday.
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 115: The Measure of a Person" looks as the standardization of measurements in the early 1300s and the history of common measurement terms in English.
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A podcast listener has created a Wordle-style game based on etymology and word origins called Rootl. Check it out.
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 123: A Material Change" looks at the history of paper and the connection between texts and textiles.
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The next episode has posted! "Episode 158: Planting Seeds" looks at English plantations in Ireland and early English accounts of North America. We also explore attempts to make English spelling more consistent in the late 1560s.
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What if English was Phonetically Consistent? (Thanks to listener Michael for the link.)
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The next episode is ready, but a chest cold and strep throat are preventing me from recording. If the meds kick in, I'll try to record and post over the weekend.
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Enjoy a holiday feast of etymology with the latest episode. "Episode 132: Food for Thought" looks at the first English cookbook called 'The Forme of Cury' and the impact of medieval cooking on the English language.
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I just posted the next regular episode on Patreon. The episode is the first of three episodes dedicated to the Great Vowel Shift. It will post on the regular feed on Thursday.
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 140: You Say To-may-to" looks at the vowel sounds used in English and the way small shifts in those sounds have shaped English spelling and contributed to differences in modern English accents.
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 175: The English of Romeo and Juliet" looks at one of Shakespeare's most popular plays. We examine the language of the play to see how if reflects Elizabethan English, as well as the language we speak today.
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According to French linguist, "English is not a language. It's just badly spoken French."
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A new episode has posted! 'Episode 170: Printers, Plague and Poets' looks at how an outbreak of the plague contributed to Shakespeare's early poetry and how a Stratford acquaintance became one of the most important printers in London.
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Thanks to everyone who has sent me a link to the new Canterbury Tales app where you can listen to portions of the tales in Middle English. Here is the press release regarding the app for those who are interested:
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I just posted the next regular episode at Patreon. 'Episode 146: A Brand New World' looks at the European discovery of the Americas in the late 1400s, and the linguistic impacts of that discovery. The episode will post to the regular feed on Wednesday.
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 124: Piers Plowman and the Peasant Revolt" looks at the important 14th century poem and the peasant uprising of 1381.
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Finish the year with a bang! I've post another new episode of the podcast. "Ep 106: An Illuminating Development" looks at the birth of the book industry and the role of color in Medieval books and in Middle English.
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I have posted a bonus episode, "Chaucer's Purse and the Great Vowel Shift.' The episode uses Chaucer's final poem to illustrate the changing sounds of English from the 1300s, to the 1600s, to today.
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Merry Christmas! I have posted the new episode about suffixes in early Middle English - "Suffix Summary." Check it out between food and presents.
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I've posted a new bonus episode at Patreon about the ordering of adjectives in Modern English. We examine why you might refer to your "favorite big old red wagon" and not your "red old big favorite wagon."
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I just posted the second part of The Great Vowel Shift series on Patreon. The episode will be posted on the regular feed on Thursday.
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 130: Dialect Dialogues" looks at the first attempts to render regional dialects by English writers. We focus on the language of Chaucer's northern students in the Reeve's Tale.
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"139 Old Norse Words That Invaded the English Language"
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A new episode has posted! 'Episode 169: Shakespeare Documented' looks at the surviving documentation to determine what is actually known about the 'Bard of Avon.'
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I have posted the next regular episode and transcript a few days early at Patreon. The episode will be available to everyone on Thursday. The episode will explore the emergence of a standard form of written English and the rise of the House of Lancaster.
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A new episode has posted! 'Episode 163: An Elementary Education' looks at the improved perception of English in the Elizabethan period and Richard Mulcaster's contributions to Modern English spelling conventions.
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 127: The Road to Canterbury" explores the background of the most well-known poem in Middle English and examines the opening lines of the General Prologue of the poem.
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The latest episode of Patrick Wyman's 'Tides of History' podcast has a great interview with David Anthony about the Yamnaya and the first PIE speakers. Anthony's book was a primary resource for much of my early discussion about PIE origins and migrations.
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The most recent episode (Episode 158: Planting Seeds) should be available on most podcast providers at this point. But for some reason,
@ApplePodcasts
has not updated its feed. I have tried everything on my end, so hopefully, it will be update shortly.
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A new episode has posted! Who needs a new King Arthur movie when you can listen to the first English version here?
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 162: The Pirate Queen" looks at the piracy of Francis Drake and Queen Elizabeth's private support. We examine words related to piracy, the first novel composed in English, and the first permanent theater in London.
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 113: A Zouthern Accent" looks at the southern dialects of Middle English. The modern north-south lingustic divide is also examined through accent samples provided by listeners.
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"Episode 171: Shakespeare's English" has posted. We look at the flexibility of Elizabethan English and Shakespeare as both playwright and 'playful writer.' Ben Crystal (
@bencrystal
) joins the discussion to talk about Shakespeare's Original Pronunciation.
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Thanks to everyone who has forwarded links to the most recent DNA study involving the connection between ancient South Asians and Indo-European steppe herders.
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A new episode has posted! 'Episode 166: The Arte of Warre' looks at the threat of the Spanish Armada, the Lost Colony of Roanoke, a 16th century book called 'The Arte of Warre' and the influence of Spanish and Italian on the lexicon of warfare.
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 177: Dressed for Success" looks at Elizabethan clothing, the link between clothing and language, and Shakespeare's plays about Henry V and Julius Caesar.
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If you're overwhelmed by the total number of podcasts out there and don't know how to find something new, check out
@lyceum
. It's a new podcast app with hand-picked educational podcasts, discussion rooms for each podcast - and it includes The History of English Podcast!
We’re excited to announce the launch of Lyceum, a platform that creates, curates, and builds communities around the best educational audio. Our catalogue features 700 hand-picked podcasts, so you can learn something new every day. Download the app at .
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A new episode has posted! "Episode 116" The Celtic Fringe" explores the state of English beyond the English border, the fight for Scottish independence, and the 13th century poem called "The Bruce."
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I just posted the final episode in my series about the history of legalese on Patreon. "Bonus Episode 83: A History of Legalese (Part 5)" looks at the Modern English period and examines legislative reforms designed to make legal documents easier to read.
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I just posted the next episode on Patreon. 'Ep 152: As the Saying Goes' looks at popular proverb collections, early Tudor drama, terms associated with comedic performance, and the Italian commedia dell'arte. The ep will be on the regular feed on Wednesday.
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Oh brother. I'm not sure I would take financial advice from these 'experts.' For the record, the Republic of Ireland is actually its own country - and not part of the UK.
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@BritishPodcast
Good question. My sources suggest no relation. nāþing is literally 'not one thing' (modern 'nothing') from ne (not) + an (one) + þing (thing). niðing is based on OE nið (envy, malice) + 'ing' (a person having that characteristic). nið has no clear root beyond Proto-Germanic.
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A new episode has finally posted! "Episode 110: Dyed In the Wool" looks at how the English wool and cloth industries shaped the English language. (A week of meds cleared up my strep, but my voice is still rough. I may re-record this ep at some point.)
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