First, a couple of little facts about English, the language we speak. Did you know that the word “husband” is from the Vikings, while “wife” is of Germanic origin? The television documentary The Story of English was an Emmy Award-winning nine-part series that was produced in 1986 for BBC and PBS television. The series details the development of the English language from early times in English history to the present, with its influence throughout the world during modern time. I vividly recall when I first saw the series in 1986; it made such an impression me that decades later, I would relay to my daughter and others what impact it made on me in understanding the language and how we speak it today. The Story of English was originally broadcast with a companion book, and the series was released as a 5-tape box set in 2001, running 495 minutes. The book and series have been used in University courses. Now, thanks to the information age and the internet we can see this great documentary once more. Of course, you will find some of it is a little dated since it’s from the 1980’s, but history is history. It is definitely my favorite documentary and is a must-see in my opinion.
Here is the video of the documentary in its entirety:

[youtube 7FtSUPAM-uA&list=PL6D54D1C7DAE31B36 nolink]