Product Details

• Actors: John Barton, Richard Bebb, Penny Downie, Peter Hall, Michael Hordern
• Directors: William Cran
• Writers: Robert MacNeil, Robert McCrum
• Format: Box set, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 5
• Studio: Homevision
• VHS Release Date: September 21, 2001
• Run Time: 495 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302892058
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,067 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Encompassing history, geography, sociology, drama, language, arts, and more, The Story of English takes viewers on an unforgettable journey through the history of the English language. Host Robert MacNeil travels the world to illustrate the language's global influence. Part travelogue, part linguistics, part history, and all fascinating, the series is a unique blend of solid scholarship and engrossing entertainment.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT, October 15, 2003

By 

P. J. Ricci "managerman" (Glassboro, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Story of English, Programs 1-9 [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This series treats English seriously and intelligently. It regards English (in all of its forms) as flowers. All different but beautiful. Wonderful historical and cultural info too. I have used this with 6th graders and high school students(grades 9 to 12). Regardless of level there is something for everyone.
The Irish and Scottish sections are first rate.( Did you know that Jimi Hendrix was Irish? Cool. ) I learned more about British English than I thought possible. Shakespeare and Joyce and Mark Twain are treated royally. The section that presents info on the powerful contributions of African-Americans throughout history is superb. Nothing is left out. Etymologies abound!
Run...don't walk to snare this series. I have watched this perhaps 50 times (with and w/o students) since its debut on PBS and know how valuable this tool is for a teacher of English.

ps A very unique feature is that they go to the workplace to hear each variety of English speaker. The common man tells his story and you learn "how" he tells the story. The sub-titles are used to help us make sense of the dialect and "slanguage" as it exists. It is a living oral-biography of the language and the people. This is a loving tribute from start to finish.

pps Don't listen to that mook from the not-so great white north.
He knows not of what he speaks.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction and analysis of varieties of English., December 4, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Story of English, Programs 1-9 [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I have been using these films for ten years in my linguistics and hisotry of English courses. The information is absolutely invaluable. The portion called, "The Loaded Weapon" concerns the relationship between Irish and English in the Irish Republic. Even though it is somewhat dated, the episode contains wonderful Joycean materials read and performed by David Norris of Dublin and the James Joyce Center. Not to be missed!

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vestatile and Intelligent, March 1, 2000

By 

Tim W. Jollymore (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Story of English, Programs 1-9 [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The McNeil tapes are an invaluable tool in the teaching of high school English. I have used the tapes in several segments of my American Literature class to introduce topics which are difficult to otherwise grasp. For a unit on etymology, the series forms an excellent discussion of the roots of English and how language changes over time and through political, social and cultural influences. The "Black on White" segment provides a scholarly discussion of black English and allows the speakers of Gullah and Plantation Creole to demonstrate the roots of vernacular black English. That discussion of dialect is a wonderful introduction to Zora Neale Hurston's, Their Eyes Were Watching God, much of which is written in turn of the century Floridian dialect. These films are an investment well worth making.