Customer Reviews

The Adventure of English

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a concise yet thorough presentation of the beginning and changes to the English language. It is concise because no word spoken on the DVD set's 405 minutes is wasted. Every statement is packed with valuable and interesting information regarding changes, alterations, mutations, and eliminations to English vocabulary and phrases. It is thorough because it begins with language prior to English, searches data from all over the world, and ends back in England with the knowledge that spoken & written English will likely be around for a long time, but ever changing.

This is an educational product, but the presentation is filled with on-location footage from around the world, making it a richly beautiful, historical, and travelogue-like documentary experience. It is captivating as it continues, minute by minute, presenting common and seldom-used vocabulary, their meanings, and origins. Many surprises, more than countable, will enlighten any viewer.

Who'd-a-thought that "bulldozer" originally referred to the full-measure of a whipping which a bull could take, but was administered to American slaves, often causing death? A far cry from a piece of heavy equipment. "Dr. Johnson" at one point was a name given to a body part only identifiable as male. And, "nip" is a word yet to be included into a dictionary, or completely defined the way youth in the UK are using it.

2000 of today's common words were first used by Shakespeare and the Oxford Dictionary now holds approximately 3/4 of a million words. Shakespeare's longest word was "honorificabilitudinitatibus" meaning with honor. William Tyndale's 1526 Bible translation from the original Hebrew and Greek provided readership for English reading common worshipers. The American Revolution and aftermath included America taking charge of preserving English perfection and then elaborating and "vocabularizing" it into the vernacular.

Other countries added their own local colour of pronunciation and spelling to their English. Wars added more changes. Industry and trade influence yet additional. Even art and culture plays a part in the continuing change to the growing world use of the English language.

This DVD set's 8 fifty-minute episodes provide a delightful romp through peoples, places, history, time, books, rulers, and every and all aspect that can make an alteration to a word or phrase. What a FUN learning experience. Quite usable in classrooms, on research shelves of libraries, or home for the pleasure of expanding one's own mind.

My wife and I both rate this DVD set 5-stars. So that equals a Perfect-10. After viewing "The Adventure of English", boldness allows me to coin a pair of new descriptive words: tenstremendous bo-derek-ous. Many people around the world, common and genius, have initiated new English words since this language's beginning.

One phrase pulled from among hundreds, thanks to the provided closed captioning, was: "vicious abundance of phrase and volubility of tongue" which summarizes this 8-part production.

Entertaining beyond expectation.
Educational beyond comparison.

"So our English, I think you will agree,
Is the trickiest language you ever did see." Anon

Each episode produces revelations such as the origin of the New England Primer and the Blueback Speller, which included strict pronunciation rules. So determined were our forebears to erase class distinctions of speech, that they taught schoolchildren common pronunciation intending that any child born and educated in the U.S., no matter how humbly born, could be elected president.

Quickly, whether you like history or the if the English language is of iterest to for any reason (ie.you speak the English languge) you must own this series! It is fun and fascinatiing You will be proud that you're an English speaker, especially if you are one who speaks the American version of this fabulous language. Recommended to all, with great enthusiasm!

This series traces the English language from its origins through the many cross pollinations with other languages that has resulted in a language that is both concise and eloquent. The series is loaded with little gems that reveal that our language, like cities of ancient origin such as London, is a living archeological site that can be sifted for the past even as we watch the future unfold. Every time we speak, though most of us are unaware of it, we record the history of English. Words like husband linger from the days of Alfred the Great when the Danes came. We call calf meat veal because of the Norman conquest. Feel the history in every word we speak.

I am sorry to say that the other excellent series on the subject The Story of English is not available on DVD at this time. Both are worth every minute of the hours of time to view them.

"Where did I come from?" is a question typically posed to young parents by their small child. Whatever way the parents choose to deal with this potentially explosive query is their option and/or problem; but if you're curious as to where your linguistic essence came from, this DVD set holds all the information you will ever need.
Using a very organized and easily understood approach, The Adventure of English describes how our language was born, grew and developed to become the standard in communication around the world. Throughout its evolution of over 1,500 years, English has endured the onslaught of battles and pestilence, bringing it many times to the brink of extinction; yet, it has managed to not only survive, but truly thrive among all other languages, due to its ability to absorb rather than repel its enemies. By offering us subtle variations in meaning, the ever-expanding English vocabulary provides us the tools to convey an extensive richness in our words, granting us the power to use the perfect word for the perfect occasion.
I highly recommend this DVD set, The Adventure of English, to those who would like to have a better sense of and respect for our verbal and written system of communication. By understanding where your English language came from, you can better appreciate your own history. As the small child mentioned above grows and develops, so too will his ability to handle his language, to effectively communicate with it, and in so doing contribute to its infinite evolution.

Fifteen hundred years ago, the Roman Empire had vacated Great Britain.

Germanic tribes stepped into the void, taking the land and subjugating the people to a new language.

But in one of those strange quirks with which history is so fond, the language of the tribes became only a part of the language their new land. While an excellent exploration of these early days can be found in John McWhorter's recent English Our Bastard Tongue, a vibrant and exciting treatment of this same time can also be found here in this series.

In the wake of this Germanic invasion Old English had a great Renaissance of sorts culminating in an age of scholarship and artistic expression best known today for the creation of the Beowulf story.

In 1066, another invasion by William the Conqueror, put English on ice for nearly three hundred years while French became the main language of the realm. We still see the impact of this French control in words like magistrate and arrest and other important terms still used in our legal system today.

By the 1380s the still prevalence of common English usage resulted in the creation of an English language Bible written by John Wycliffe. Even though it was banned by the church the Bible was a popular success and did much to start the process of standardizing a common written English.

This standardization got a hand from the crown itself when James I commissioned a royal Bible...the King James Edition (which drew from the Wycliffe edition and also one by Tyndale in the fourteen hundreds). It was also aided in no small measure by the work of William Shakespeare whose 38 plays still resonate through literary history serving as the gold standard for both great theatre and great writing. (Indeed today, calling someone a Shakespeare speaks to their writing ability in the same way that referring to them as an Einstein refers to their intellect.)

In the wake of this early Renaissance period, English travelled around the world with both British and then later American conquests. And where force of arms wasn't successful in drawing new English speakers, the force of Hollywood did the trick.

Today, some two billion people either speak English as a first or secondary language and the language of course remains prevalent in official correspondence between governments. One example of this later phenomenon is the fact over half of laws written by the European Union Parliament are in English. Another is that all officical correspondence of even OPEC is in English.

As can be seen from the foregoing material, there's a lot to the story of English and if you watch this document you will see the story unfold in breath taking, informative segments.

So, you might as well watch it. Since you already speak English, you might as well learn where it came from.

This is a very well written and produced video series that really gives you an appreciation for the guts, glory and good luck that went into creating this English language. The story is told from the British perspective but embraces the diversity of cultures that have combined to create and continue to grow this communication miracle.

BBC does it again with this interesting and well thought out history of English. The narration is very good, but I got sick of his pink shirt!! A great History Lesson.

It's not easy to be both engaging and educational, especially with something as dry as the development of a language. But this is an excellent series and rewards repeated viewings. Excellent.

This DVD is simply wonderful. I watched it three times before I lent it to a friend. Now I cannot wait to get it back.