The History of English: The Biography of a Language

In liberal-arts fashion, this series of twenty-four 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. With flair and gusto, Professor Fee, an award-winning professor and medievalist whose expertise spans Old English, Old Norse, and historical linguistics, draws from his well of knowledge to help you trace the evolution of English across a fascinating range of cultures. With his knack for combining scholarly insight with great storytelling, you can expect to enjoy his account of the characters "worthy of a seamy soap opera" tasked with writing a dictionary. As the foundation of human culture, language is a vital part of who we are and a subject invaluable to anyone interested in the humanities.