The History of the English Language Podcast

This episode unpacks the origin of the idiom ‘curry favor,’ tracing it back to a 14th‑century French satire about a horse named Fauvel and the medieval practice of currying horses. We explore how folk etymology reshaped the phrase, turning a literal grooming act into an abstract strategy for gaining influence in English. Along the way we see how language change mirrors social power dynamics across centuries.

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In this episode we trace the journey of English spelling from the silent "b" in ‘doubt’ to the vanished pronoun ‘whom’, and explore how modern texting reshapes everyday language. We uncover the roles of Latin‑French influence, Renaissance scholars, legal tradition, and digital media in shaping orthography and grammar. From medieval manuscripts to AI‑driven chatbots, discover why English remains stubborn yet adaptable.

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In this episode we dive deep into the cloistered scriptoriums that kept early English alive—exploring how monks copied Latin, added Old‑English glosses, and illuminated manuscripts to preserve a language that would otherwise have faded. We trace the network of manuscript exchange, the role of Caxton’s press, and how these medieval scribal practices laid the groundwork for modern English.

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Discover how William Caxton’s 1476 printing press froze orthography, promoted the Chancery Standard, and laid the groundwork for modern English spelling—while reshaping the economics of language and influencing later dictionaries.

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We trace the journey of the particle "finna"—how it descended from Old English ‘fixing to’, morphed in African American speech, and finally exploded across Twitter, TikTok, and memes. Scholars like John R. Rickford mapped its spread, while digital platforms turned it into a global shorthand.

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In this episode we trace how Tudor‑era schoolmasters, early printed grammar books, and Caxton’s press quietly slipped English into Latin‑centric classrooms. From handwritten lesson plans to the first printed English grammars, discover how these innovations seeded the standardization that would later make English a global lingua franca.

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From Old English roots to modern internet slang, this episode traces how nouns are turned into verbs—showing the linguistic shifts that made it possible and the key figures who recorded it in early dictionaries. We examine the role of printing, Samuel Johnson’s first dictionary, Steven Pinker’s research on zero‑derivation, and today’s digital culture.

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This episode traces the Latin root dis‑aster through Old French and Middle English, watching it shed its celestial connotations to become today’s generic term for calamity. We’ll see how printing standardized the word, how the Oxford English Dictionary documented its shift, and why modern emergency agencies still rely on it.

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The episode traces the word ‘umpire’ from its medieval French roots meaning “not a peer” through phonological rebracketing to become an English term for impartial judge. We explore how it migrated into sports officiating and remains a symbol of neutrality across centuries.

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From the first surviving English word recorded by Gildas to the borrowing of the term “telescope,” and the culinary lexicon that maps England’s global reach, this episode unpacks how words travel, transform, and reveal cultural shifts. We trace the paths of etymology, printing, and digital diffusion that have shaped modern English.

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