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Every episode
The History of English Podcast
30 episodes
Episode 190: Union, Division and Unusual U
Jun 30, 2026 · 1 hr 20 min
During the decade of the 1640s, England was divided by Civil War. At the same time, the sound of letter of U was also experiencing its own division, ultimately resulting in two distinct ‘long’ sounds and two distinct ‘short’ sounds. In this episode, we explore those developments and examine how the English Civil War shaped the English language. TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 190
Episode 189: Stressed Out
Apr 30, 2026 · 1 hr 23 min
As we conclude our look at the 1630s, we explore the events leading to Civil War in England and the expansion of the English colonies along the eastern coast of North America. We also examine the evolution of syllable stress in English and the variation in stress patterns in Modern English. TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 189
Episode 188: Old England and New England
Feb 27, 2026 · 1 hr 24 min
In this episode, we explore the first large-scale migration of English settlers to North America in the early 1600s. The settlers arrived in the newly established Massachusetts Bay Colony. We explore the events that led to this migration, and we also explore the linguistic connections between New England and East Anglia in eastern England. TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 188
Episode 187: Islands and Sea
Dec 31, 2025 · 1 hr 13 min
In this episode, we explore the influence of seafaring on the English language in the early 1600s. We also look at events in the latter half of the 1620s, which included the first permanent English settlements in the Caribbean. This period saw the arrival of Charles I as the new king of England and Scotland, so we also examine his early reign and his repeated conflicts with Parliament. TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 187
Episode 186: A Dutch Treat
Oct 31, 2025 · 1 hr 26 min
In this episode, we explore two important developments in North America. First, we examine the legendary story of the Pilgrims’ arrival in New England in 1620 and the establishment of the Plymouth Colony. Secondly, we examine the creation of the Dutch settlement in modern-day New York and New Jersey, and we explore how Dutch influenced early American English. We also examine several important developments in England in the early 1620s. TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 186
Episode 185: Spelling Says a Lot (Part 2)
Sep 1, 2025 · 1 hr 18 min
In the second part of our look at the sound of English in the early 1600s, we continue to explore the letters of the alphabet and the sounds that each letter represents. We explore the letters K through Z and examine how the sounds represented by those letters have evolved over the Modern English period. TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 185
Episode 184: Spelling Says a Lot (Part 1)
Jul 15, 2025 · 1 hr 21 min
Over the course of the 1500s, English spelling started to become standardized, but the pronunciation of the language continued to change. By the early 1600s, English scholars noticed that spellings no longer reflected the way words were pronounced, and they recommended phonetic reforms. In this episode, we examine how English spelling reformers described the pronunciation of English in the early 1600s, and we also explore how Modern English spellings reflect the phonetic history of words. TRANSC…
Episode 183: The Fabric of Our Lives
May 13, 2025 · 1 hr 17 min
In the early 1600s, cotton fabrics made in India were in high demand throughout Asia and Africa. When the English and Dutch arrived in India and Japan, they realized how popular the fabric was, and they soon began to ship it back to northern Europe. In this episode, we explore how the ‘cotton craze’ of the 1600s shaped the modern world, and shaped the English language. We also examine the end of the Shakespearean period and the second English dictionary. TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 183
Episode 182: World of Confusion
Mar 18, 2025 · 1 hr 16 min
In the early 1600s, English began to spread around the world as speakers searched for new trading partners and new places to settle. Through that process, English become an international language, but as English speakers encountered people and languages in distant places, they sometimes became confused. That confusion and uncertainty shaped the English language during this period. In this episode, we explore early English loanwords from North America, Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and the first Eng…
Episode 181: Heaven and Earth
Jan 30, 2025 · 1 hr 21 min
The invention of the telescope in the early 1600s laid the foundation for the scientific revolution, but it also disrupted the traditional view of the universe and led to a conflict with the Catholic Church. Meanwhile, the Anglican Church completed a translation of the Bible that became known as the King James or Authorized version. In this episode, we look at how these simultaneous developments changed the modern world and shaped the English language. TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 181
Episode 180: English on the Move
Nov 13, 2024 · 1 hr 14 min
In the first decade of the 1600s, English speakers were on the move as they established the first permanent English settlement in North America. They also began a steady a migration to northern Ireland after an event known to history as the Flight of the Earls. As these English speakers relocated to regions outside of Britian, they took their regional accents and dialects with them. In this episode, we’ll examine how those settlement patterns shaped the way English is spoken around the world. TR…
Episode 179: Defining Moments
Sep 24, 2024 · 1 hr 26 min
In the early 1600s, several landmark events shaped the history of England and determined how and where the English language would be spoken in the centuries that followed. The period from 1602-1605 saw the end of the Elizabethan era, the unification of the crowns of England and Scotland, the authorization of the King James Version of the Bible, the Gunpowder Plot, and the first English description of New England. The period also produced a literal defining moment with the publication of the firs…
Episode 178: Much Ado About Hamlet
Aug 7, 2024 · 1 hr 17 min
In the first couple of years of the 1600s, several new Shakespeare plays appeared. Much Ado About Nothing and As You Like It were recorded in the Stationer’s Register, and a third play called The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark was likely performed on the stage for the first time. In this episode, we’ll look at those plays and examine how they influenced the English language. We also explore the creation of the East India Company in 1600 and the Essex Rebellion of 1601. Works discussed in t…
Episode 177: Dressed for Success
Jun 26, 2024 · 1 hr 25 min
In this episode, we look at clothing and fashion in the Elizabethan era, and we examine the connection between clothing, custom and language. We also examine Shakespeare’s plays about the lives of Julius Caesar and Henry V of England. Along the way, we also explore how Elizabethan clothing conventions influenced the structure and presentation of those plays. Works discussed in this episode include: Henry V – William Shakespeare Julius Caesar – William Shakespeare TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 177
Episode 176: All the World’s a Playhouse
May 9, 2024 · 1 hr 20 min
Theaters were an important part of cultural life in Elizabethan England, and they contributed many words to the English language. Those words joined thousands of other words that were pouring into English from around the world. In this episode, we look at how distant cultures were contributing to the growth of English and how Shakespeare’s acting company built a world-famous theater in the late 1500s. Works discussed in this episode include: Henry IV, Parts One and Two – William Shakespeare The…
Episode 175: The English of Romeo and Juliet
Mar 25, 2024 · 1 hr 33 min
Romeo and Juliet is one of William Shakespeare’s most popular plays and one of the most popular plays ever written. In this episode, we examine the language of the play to see how it reflects the English of Elizabethan England, and we identify evidence of emerging pronunciations that would become common over the following centuries. TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 175
Episode 174: Speak and Spell
Feb 8, 2024 · 1 hr 29 min
English spelling largely reflects the state of the language in the late 1500s. In this episode, we look at one of the first English spelling books, and we explore several plays by William Shakespeare to examine the way he rhymed words. We also explore the way modern spellings reflect the pronunciation of words during the Elizabethan period. Works discussed in this episode include: King John – William Shakespeare Richard II – William Shakespeare The English School-Maister – Edward Coote Haue With…
Episode 173: Fooling Around
Jan 2, 2024 · 1 hr 25 min
In this episode, we look at the development of English comedy in the early modern era. We examine some of William Shakespeare’s early comedies, and we also distinguish Shakespearean comedy from other types of comedic performances which had been popular for centuries. We also look to Italy to see how developments in literature and drama there had an influence on the theater of Elizabethan England. And, as always, we see how those developments shaped the English language. Works discussed in this e…
Episode 172: Succession
Nov 20, 2023 · 1 hr 35 min
In this episode, we explore the concept of a successful succession. During the early 1590s, France was divided by a bitter conflict over the succession of Henry of Navarre to the French throne. Meanwhile, William Shakespeare wrote a couple of plays that appear to make reference to the events in France. He also composed other plays that dealt with the theme of succession. And his plays also indicate that the pronunciation of words like “succession” were changing during the 1500s as several conson…
Episode 171: Shakespeare’s English (featuring Ben Crystal)
Oct 9, 2023 · 1 hr 7 min
In this episode, we turn our attention to the wordcraft of William Shakespeare. Today, many people have mixed opinions about his plays and poems. They know that he is widely regarded as the greatest English writer of all time, but they struggle with his language. This time, we explore what makes Shakespeare’s use of the English language so unique and why it is so challenging for modern speakers. Ben Crystal joins the discussion to provide insight into the Elizabethan theater, Shakespeare’s Origi…
Episode 170: Printers, Plague and Poets
Sep 5, 2023 · 1 hr 17 min
In this episode, we examine the connection between poetry and plague in the early 1590s. An outbreak of the recurring sickness contributed to Shakespeare’s early career as a poet, and that poetry likely included his many sonnets. We also examine how an old acquaintance from Shakespeare’s hometown emerged as one of the leading printers in London and how his print shop influenced the development of English during the Elizabethan period. Works discussed in this episode include: Defensative Against…
Episode 169: Shakespeare Documented
Jul 25, 2023 · 1 hr 1 min
William Shakespeare is widely considered to be the most important writer in the history of the English language, but relatively little is known about his personal life. The desire to know more about the ‘Bard of Avon’ has led to much speculation and conjecture over the centuries. In this episode, we try to separate fact from fiction as we look at the surviving documentation to determine what we actually know about the poet from Stratford-upon-Avon. TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 169
Episode 168: Witches, Demons and Fairies
May 31, 2023 · 1 hr 56 min
In this episode, we explore the Elizabethan fascination with witchcraft and mysterious creatures like fairies and demons. Those subjects feature prominently in the literature of the period, and they reveal a lot about the world view of the people who lived in England in the late 1500s. Among the texts analyzed in this episode are Reginald Scot’s ‘Discoverie of Witchcraft,’ Christopher Marlowe’s ‘Doctor Faustus,’ Edmund Spenser’s ‘The Faerie Queene,’ and William Shakespeare’s three history plays…
Episode 167: The Rhythm of English
Apr 24, 2023 · 1 hr 8 min
All languages have their own rhythm and cadence, and English is no exception. That rhythm has actually shaped the language over time. It contributed to the structure of English poetry, and during the Elizabethan period, it shaped the way drama was composed. In this episode, we look at the beginning of Modern English drama through the patterns of sound in ordinary speech. Links to Videos in Episode: The Perfect French with Dylane: Word Stress The Rhythms of Latin Poetry: Hexameter TRANSCRIPT: EPI…
Bonus Episode: Rise and Fall of the Classic Movie Accent
Mar 31, 2023 · 41 min
In this episode from the Patreon archives, we examine the accent used by actors and actresses in very old movies. We look at the origin of that accent and examine why it was adopted by the film industry in the first few decades of sound in motion pictures.
Episode 166: The Arte of Warre
Mar 7, 2023 · 1 hr 16 min
In 1588, the Spanish Armada set sail for England in an attempt to depose Elizabeth I and replace her with a Spanish princess. In this episode, we examine how the English victory secured the status of English within the Church of England and ensured the spread of English as part of the nascent British Empire. We also explore how Spanish and Italian loanwords shaped the lexicon of modern warfare. TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 166
Episode 165: Glamorous Grammar
Jan 30, 2023 · 1 hr 2 min
William Bullokar composed the first formal grammar of the English language in 1586. Prior to that point, the concept of grammar had been largely restricted to Latin. Bullokar’s work extended the concept to English, but it did so by employing the Latin grammatical framework. This approach was followed by subsequent grammarians, and it has shaped the way scholars think about English grammar to this day. TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 165
Episode 164: Somewhere in the Middle
Dec 20, 2022 · 1 hr 19 min
Throughout her long reign, Queen Elizabeth I was faced with many difficult decisions, and she often chose a middle path when she could. In this episode, we explore the middle paths taken during her reign, and the consequences of those decisions. In the New World, Elizabeth decided to let Walter Raleigh establish an English colony along the Mid-Atlantic coast of North America – between Florida and Newfoundland. That middle path soon came to be known as ‘Virginia’ in her honor. It was the first En…
Episode 163: An Elementary Education
Nov 9, 2022 · 1 hr 10 min
By the second half of the Elizabethan period, the perception of English had changed significantly in England. It was increasingly perceived as a sophisticated language capable of matching the refinement of other European languages. One of the language’s most vocal advocates was a schoolmaster named Richard Mulcaster. His ‘Elementarie’ argued for the standardization of English spelling and established the foundation of many common spelling conventions used in Modern English. TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 1…
Episode 162: The Pirate Queen
Oct 6, 2022 · 1 hr 8 min
In the 1570s, Francis Drake plundered Spanish ships throughout the New World with the private permission of Elizabeth I. His actions marked the first direct challenge to Spanish naval supremacy in the region, and also marked the beginning the English embrace of empire. In this episode, we explore those developments and examine the impact they had on the English language. We also examine the first novel composed in English and the first permanent theater built in London. TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 162
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