The History of the English Language Podcast

This episode traces the journey of the pronoun *whom*, from its Old English roots through Middle and Early Modern English to its survival in formal writing today. We explore how printing, dictionaries, style guides, and everyday speech shaped its fate, revealing why one case marker outlived the rest of English’s inflectional system.

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This episode traces how English was introduced to the Philippines by American colonists and the Thomasites, became an official language and media lingua franca, and evolved into a distinctive code‑switched variety blending Tagalog and English. We explore its phonological quirks, lexical borrowings, and the ongoing debate over language policy that shapes identity in a multilingual nation.

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This episode traces how words like "nice" and "awesome" have shifted meaning over centuries, illustrating the broader processes of lexical change in English. We explore the role of culture, literature, and dictionaries in recording and shaping these transformations.

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Explore how the late‑seventh‑century Danelaw carved a linguistic map that still echoes in today’s place‑names, vocabulary, and accents across Northern England. From Norse loanwords to phonological shifts, this episode unpacks the cultural, legal, and social forces that left an indelible mark on English.

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Explore how the word sofa traveled from an Arabic raised bench through Moorish Spain and French commerce into English, shaping furniture design and everyday speech. The episode traces its lexicographic debut, colonial adaptations, industrial democratization, and modern meme‑age usage.

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In this episode we explore the world of eggcorns—creative mishearings that stick because they sound right—and how they reveal the living, shifting nature of English. From Shakespeare‑inspired twists to meme‑age phrases, we trace their journey into dictionaries and social media, uncovering what makes a linguistic joke become a standard expression.

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Explore how medieval scribes carved dots and dashes into vellum—known as punctus—to guide readers before modern punctuation evolved, and why that early practice still echoes in the way we write today. The episode traces the transition from hand‑written manuscripts to printed texts, revealing how these tiny symbols shaped English orthography.

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Explore how Dutch maritime commerce introduced words like "yacht", "skipper" and even "cookie" into English, while the mysterious term "sterling" reflects centuries of trade influence. The episode traces linguistic contact, loanword adoption, and the lasting impact on today’s global language.

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Explore how the everyday work of fulling, weaving, and dyeing gave rise to some of England’s most common surnames—Fuller, Weaver, Dyer—and how these names map the medieval textile industry. The episode also follows the layered history of English place‑names, from Celtic river terms to Roman forts, Anglo‑Saxon settlements, Norse farms, and Norman French polish. Together they reveal a linguistic trail of conquest, migration, and cultural change that still echoes across Britain and the world.

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Explore how English swear words have journeyed from sacred oaths in medieval courts, through Shakespearean stages and Victorian censorship, into today’s digital memes and social‑media slang. The episode uncovers the cultural, technological, and political forces that shape what we consider taboo.

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