The History of the English Language in Ten Animated Minutes

in Animation, English Language | June 29th, 2011 3 Comments

Yesterday, the Open University released ‘The History of English in 10 Minutes,’ a witty animated sequence that takes you through 1600 years of linguistic history. The Vikings gave us “give” and “take.” Shakespeare added another 2,000 words and expressions to the mix. The British Empire (see video above) then brought the evolving English language to new lands, creating new varieties of English worldwide. And so the story continues. You can find this series featuring the voice of Clive Anderson on iTunes or YouTube. We’ve included links to each YouTube chapter right below. Many thanks to Catherine for the heads up…

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    1. Nathalie says . . . | June 29, 2011 / 8:12 am

      This is cool, thanks for sharing it!

    2. Penelope Maclachlan says . . . | August 3, 2011 / 3:10 am

      Thank you for making me laugh – very witty

    3. Brotleonix says . . . | December 9, 2011 / 3:40 am

      I cracked a smile every now and then, but this just comes off as too tryhard.

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      Open Culture editor Dan Colman scours the web for the best educational media. He finds the free courses and audio books you need, the language lessons & movies you want, and plenty of enlightenment in between.

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