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The History of the English Language Podcast
The History of the English Language Podcast episodes
- The Birth of Canadian English: From Treaty to Accents
This episode traces the birth of Canadian English, from the 1763 Treaty of Paris through French and Indigenous contact, to American migration and modern phonological quirks like Canadian raising. We explore how political shifts, colonial policies, and linguistic borrowing forged a unique North‑American accent that bridges British formality and American casualness.
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15 min - From Norse Householder to Modern Married Man: The Etymology of ‘Husband’
In this episode we trace the word ‘husband’ back to its Old Norse roots, follow how Viking settlers introduced it into English, and examine how cultural shifts narrowed its meaning to the modern concept of a married man. Along the way we explore gender roles, legal changes, and linguistic contact that shaped the word’s journey.
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15 min - Geoffrey Chaucer and the Birth of Modern English
Geoffrey Chaucer’s London dialect laid the groundwork for what we now call Standard English.
His works shaped spelling conventions, grammatical norms, and set a precedent for literary prestige that echoes into modern usage.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
18 min - From Bridegroom to Algorithm: Word Journeys That Shape Modern English
In this episode we trace how folk etymology turned the Old English brydguma into bridegroom, how al‑Khwarizmi’s name morphed into the modern term algorithm, and how Latin left a lasting imprint on English after Roman Britain. We uncover the people, politics, and cultural forces that steered these linguistic shifts.
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16 min - Spellcheck Gatekeepers: The New Authority Over Written English
Explore how medieval scribes, Webster’s dictionaries, and today’s spell‑checking algorithms have shaped what we consider ‘correct’ English. From red squiggles to hidden biases, the episode traces the evolution of written‑language authority and its impact on learners, businesses, and culture.
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16 min - The Curious Journey of –ly: From Old English ‘lic’ to Modern Adverbs
Explore how the humble suffix –ly evolved from an Old English noun meaning "likeness" into a productive adverbial marker that shapes modern English. We trace its phonological shifts, printing‑era standardization, dictionary codification, and playful contemporary uses.
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18 min - The Radio Myth: How Mass Media Keeps Accents Alive
In this episode we dive into the long‑standing belief that radio and TV will erase regional accents, and examine surprising evidence that shows the opposite. From Ghanaian FM broadcasts to Swiss German commuting patterns, we uncover how media can amplify local speech while also encouraging selective levelling.
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16 min - Northern Middle English: How the North Became Early Modern
This episode traces how northern varieties of Middle English shed inflectional endings well before London’s dialect, creating a grammar that already felt modern. We look at Norse influence, monastic literacy patterns, and selective lexical adoption that pushed the North ahead on its linguistic journey.
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14 min - From Latin Roots to Modern Mandate: The Etymology of English ‘Tax’
Explore how the word ‘tax’ evolved from the Latin verb taxare through Norman French into medieval England, then spread across the British Empire and into modern digital finance. This episode traces its journey, influence on law, culture, and everyday life.
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14 min - The 'Needs Washed' Construction: Tracing a Midwestern Dialect Trail
Explore how the quirky construction ‘needs washed’ migrated from Scottish and Ulster Scots roots to American Midwest dialects, revealing patterns of language contact, migration, and resistance to standardization. The episode examines linguistic evidence, key scholars, and the social dynamics that keep this feature alive.
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20 min
About The History of the English Language Podcast
From the publisher's feed
The History of the English Language Podcast, hosted by Josh Linsk, explores how English developed from its earliest roots into one of the world’s most widely spoken languages. Each episode traces the people, migrations, invasions, cultures, technologies, and historical events that shaped English vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, spelling, and everyday speech.
The podcast follows the language through Old English, the Anglo-Saxon period, Viking influence, the Norman Conquest, Middle English, the Great Vowel Shift, Early Modern English, Shakespeare, the printing press, colonial expansion, American English, and the rise of English as a global language. Along the way, it examines where words came from, why meanings changed, how accents developed, and how English absorbed influences from Latin, French, Norse, Greek, and many other languages.
From ancient word origins to slang, dictionaries, dialects, literature, pronunciation, and modern language change, The History of the English Language Podcast brings together linguistics, history, etymology, culture, and the evolution of English for anyone fascinated by how the language became what it is today.