Product Details

• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Athena
• DVD Release Date: June 2, 2009
• Run Time: 405 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001O7R75E
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,524 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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Editorial Reviews

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The life story of a remarkable language

Join Melvyn Bragg and a host of experts as they explore the vibrant 1,500-year history of the English language. How did it grow from a relatively insignificant Germanic dialect to become the premier language of culture, commerce, and diplomacy around the globe? The answer involves bloody conquest, political intrigue, and plenty of creativity.

Renowned authorities such as Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney, cofounder of the Royal Shakespeare Company John Barton, and Elizabethan scholar Katherine Duncan-Jones explain the development of English in entertaining detail. In this fascinating, eight-part documentary, Bragg and his colleagues examine the life of the language, showing how diverse forces--from Beowulf to the Bible, from Shakespeare to American slang--shaped the way we communicate today.

BONUS FEATURES

• 20-page viewer’s guide includes key points, discussion questions, avenues for further learning, "The Evolution of the English Alphabet" essay, and more.
• "Architects of the Language" biographies
• Exclusive web extras

A prolific author, screenwriter, and broadcaster, Melvyn Bragg serves as president of Great Britain’s National Campaign for the Arts and chair of the Arts Council Literature Panel. He has hosted The South Bank Show, Britain’s leading arts program, for over 30 years.

View an Excerpt from the Guide Included with The Adventure of English

The Adventure of English

Product Description

Studio: Acorn Media Release Date: 06/02/2009

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE EQUIVALENT OF A UNIVERSITY COURSE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ORIGIN, May 17, 2009

By	Harold Wolf "Doc" (Wells, IN United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly an Adventure!, September 12, 2009

By	Aunt Ruthie "RSJ" (Scarsdale, New York United States) - See all my reviews

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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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Adventure Is Spectacular!, September 11, 2009

By	G. W. Turner "Critic" (Eugene, Oregon) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!