Exploring how the British Empire spread across the world bringing back many new words and phrases.

Transcript -- English and Empire

Where did the phrase ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing’ come from? And when did scientists finally get round to naming sexual body parts? Voiced by Clive Anderson, this entertaining romp through 'The History of English' squeezes 1600 years of history into 10 one-minute bites, uncovering the sources of English words and phrases from Shakespeare and the King James Bible to America and the Internet.  Bursting with fascinating facts, the series looks at how English grew from a small tongue into a major global language before reflecting on the future of English in the 21st century.

Education

Where did the phrase ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing’ come from? And when did scientists finally get round to naming sexual body parts? Voiced by Clive Anderson, this entertaining romp through 'The History of English' squeezes 1600 years of history into 10 one-minute bites, uncovering the sources of English words and phrases from Shakespeare and the King James Bible to America and the Internet. Bursting with fascinating facts, the series looks at how English grew from a small tongue into a major global language before reflecting on the future of English in the 21st century.

Share Transcript -- English and Empire

Sign up to save your podcasts

Transcript -- English and Empire

Transcript -- English and Empire

More shows like The History of English in Ten Minutes - for iPad/Mac/PC

Bon départ: beginners' French - Audio

Moons of the Solar System - for iPod/iPhone

Start writing essays - Audio

Rules, rights and justice: an introduction to law - Audio

Beginners’ Chinese - Audio

Rundblick: beginners' German - Audio

Andante: beginners' Italian - Audio

The History of English in Ten Minutes - for iPod/iPhone

The Final Cut - for iPad/Mac/PC

Inside the International Criminal Court - for iPod/iPhone