The History of English in Ten Minutes - for iPod/iPhone

by The Open University
91

Where did the phrase ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing’ come from? And when did scientists finally get round to naming sexual body parts? Voiced by Clive Anderson, this entertaining romp through 'The History of English' squeezes 1600 years of history into 10 one-minute bites, uncovering the sources of English words and phrases from Shakespeare and the King James Bible to America and the Internet. Bursting with fascinating facts, the series looks at how English grew from a small tongue into a major global language before reflecting on the future of English in the 21st century.

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Recent Reviews
  • EkatKAN13
    Fun!
    Both the videos and the text are hilarious and surprisingly true. Love it. The whole thing IS just 10 minutes.
  • ShaguarWKL
    Simply fantastic
    A humorous self deprecating but humorous way of providing how English has evolved and formed throughout history. This is without a doubt 10 minutes well spent.
  • Agnes Nutter, Witch
    Humorous, informative, but poor resolution.
    The title of this review really says everything I want to say, but I'll elaborate a bit down here. These miniature language classes tell lots about the English language, while keeping it fun! The animation style is pretty cool, and the OU keep it funny while not going overboard. My one gripe is the video quality: it's only a couple hundred pixels tall, and bits of text close to the edge are sometimes clipped off. Regardless of this, I highly recommend downloading this immediately!
  • Rose-z
    Love it!
    Absolutely a hoot AND educational--a perfect combo for someone like me, an English teacher, albeit one or two may be perceived as rated "R." Nonetheless, quite entertaining!
  • turtlegirl13
    Funny and educational!!!
    I liked it a lot!
  • Hamyojo
    this was
    awesome!
  • Cassanovella
    English AND History? I Approve.
    This is laugh-out-loud funny and historically accurate. I love the snarky take on word origins and frenzied pace- I wish this took longer than ten minutes!
  • Spunknugget
    Incredibly awesome
    Fast, and clever (and the British clever, meaning brilliant and genius - not the american meaning of merely streetwise) this little series gave me more laughs than minutes of info, and I managed to learn something! I know stuffs now!
  • Bagheera67810
    Very entertaining & informative
    Amazing how they are able to condense the history of the English language and make it accessible for everyone!
  • Alh9190
    Quick entertaining & hilarious
    Not made for the average simpleton, but it's very entertaining educational value.
  • ExplorerDad
    Fengormative
    Fun Engaging Informative... Not to mention creative. Thanks.
  • Rara von Ooh-Lala
    Wonderful knowledge
    Lovely someone decided to encapsulate the history of the English language in 10 minutes - but I wouldn't mind 12, 13 or 15 minutes if the narrator slows down a bit :)
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