20 episodes

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.

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

- Education
- 4.1 • 92 Ratings

- JUN 21, 2011
- video
Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxon

A look at what words the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings bought to the English language.
- 1 min
- JUN 21, 2011
Transcript -- Anglo-Saxon

Transcript -- Anglo-Saxon

A look at what words the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings bought to the English language.
- JUN 21, 2011
- video
The Norman Conquest

The Norman Conquest

In 1066, William the Conqueror invaded Britain and bought with him fancy French words to add to the English language.
- 1 min
- JUN 21, 2011
Transcript -- The Norman Conquest

Transcript -- The Norman Conquest

In 1066, William the Conqueror invaded Britain and bought with him fancy French words to add to the English language.
- JUN 21, 2011
- video
Shakespeare

Shakespeare

This video tells us that Shakespeare invented over 2000 new words and phrases like eyeball, anchovy and puppy.
- 1 min
- JUN 21, 2011
Transcript -- Shakespeare

Transcript -- Shakespeare

This video tells us that Shakespeare invented over 2000 new words and phrases like eyeball, anchovy and puppy.

4.1 out of 5

92 Ratings

Fun!

Both the videos and the text are hilarious and surprisingly true. Love it. The whole thing IS just 10 minutes.

Simply fantastic

A humorous self deprecating but humorous way of providing how English has evolved and formed throughout history. This is without a doubt 10 minutes well spent.

Humorous, informative, but poor resolution.

The title of this review really says everything I want to say, but I'll elaborate a bit down here. These miniature language classes tell lots about the English language, while keeping it fun! The animation style is pretty cool, and the OU keep it funny while not going overboard.
My one gripe is the video quality: it's only a couple hundred pixels tall, and bits of text close to the edge are sometimes clipped off.

Regardless of this, I highly recommend downloading this immediately!