The history of the English language presented by Melvyn Bragg; from its modest beginnings around 500 AD as a minor Germanic dialect to its rise as a global language.
Ended
The Adventure of English
November 6, 2003
November 27, 2003
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English
The concluding episode looks at how in the 20th century the rise of America as an industrial power has made it the driving force behind the global spread of English. The English language is now used by more people than ever before in history. As cultural influences affect the way people use English and new words come into everyday use, how does the Oxford English dictionary – the greatest repository of the language – keep up with developments.
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