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Title: The Modern Scholar

Subtitle: A History of the English Language

Author: Michael Drout

Narrator: Michael Drout

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-22-09

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 290 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

One of the most interesting aspects of the English language lies in its variants, such as the "soda" vs. "pop" debate and the place of African-American English in modern culture. These and other dialectual curiosities are looked at in detail and placed in the context of today's world. Finally, Professor Drout examines the future, not only of the English language, but of all the world's languages.

Members Reviews:

Hits all the right marks

I taught a similar course and we actually used the same program - phonetics, history, and then discussions about present day English. I found some of the discussion about code switching appealing (politically) but not always convincing. Drout prefaced the section by saying that many linguists don't agree and I appreciated that honesty. I found the explanations of the Great Vowel Shift and Norman Conquest particularly interesting. More than anything, the lectures were compelling, conversational in tone, and interesting -- this is not your typical boring history class! Great intro course for students and anyone interested in our fascinating language!

Quite enjoyable

The professor has a quiet but enthusiastic way of presenting his material. He held my interest throughout the course. Fortunately I was alone when I practiced my sounds, but I feel I learned a lot about a language I take for granted. I recommend this book to anyone curious about English and about language in general. Not a definitive piece, but one that will please people who just want to know.

A great set of lecture

The first few lectures on phonelogy basics can be fairly boring, but this is one of the few Modern Scholar courses that become progressively more interesting as each lecture goes by. I learned a great deal and I am sure I'd revisit it time and again.

Actually 3 hrs on Linguistics before any English

This was another interesting subject, but I found this course to be lacking overall... Perhaps it is partly because I expected a full course on the origins and evolution of English - in fact what it is is half a course on introductory linguistics and the history of language in general, and then half of a course on English more specifically. Being familiar as I am with linguistics (my undergraduate minor), the first six lectures was much like getting my several semesters of ling summed up in a 3 hour survey course. And thus I was disappointed also that there was not as much time spent on English, and it felt cursory much of the time.

I think he might have found a way to work the course without the extended primer on linguistics, but he built on the basics and used them to give better explanations on the development and evolution of language (which are not just applicable to English).

What I did like was when he took the time to give examples of text from Gothic, Old English, and Chaucer's English. It helped demonstrate the developments and alterations being discussed, and gave a point of reference for comparison (since, most of us don't encounter untranslated Old English and Medieval texts on a regular basis, after all). It was a good series, and Drout is a good lecturer (whose course on the Anglo-Saxon world I enjoyed), it just wasn't what I had expected or hoped for.

But for someone new to the topics, and not requiring as much in depth discussion, this is a great introduction with a variety of interesting highlights.