Melvyn Bragg - The Adventure of English. The Biography of a Language [2002, DVDRip,MP3,DOC]

September 18. Program 1: BIRTH OF A LANGUAGE

Melvyn Bragg begins the story of English in Holland, finding ancestral echoes in the Frisian dialect. What follows is a chapter on survival as the English language weathers Viking and Norman invasions, vying with and eventually absorbing rival tongues. Lively settings such as village pubs and markets bring home the lasting influence of Anglo-Saxon, Old Norse, and Old French. The connection between Christianity, Latin, and an alphabet is explored, as well as the role of the language's first champion, King Alfred the Great. Nobel prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney reads from and discusses the first epic in English, Beowulf .

September 25. Program 2: ENGLISH GOES UNDERGROUND

With the Norman invasion, English became a third language in its own country, behind French and Latin. In this program, Melvyn Bragg examines the impact of Old French on the development of English. Manuscripts, tapestries, and dozens of curious etymologies help illustrate a tremendous influx of vocabulary pertaining to romance, chivalry, and, of course, food. The influence of Eleanor of Aquitaine's patronage is heard in works of poets and troubadours as the cult of courtly love flourished in England.

October 2. Program 3: THE BATTLE FOR THE LANGUAGE OF THE BIBLE

In late medieval England, English quietly ousted French in law and government, but the move to make it God's language meant bloodshed. This film looks at the battle for a Bible in English, a struggle with huge impact on the language itself. Dramatic readings from successive English Bibles show the language's evolution. Location footage and original manuscripts illustrate key figures and events, such as John Wycliffe, the Lollards, and the first English Bible; William Langland's Piers Plowman ; Henry V's official letters, the role of the Chancery or the English civil service; William Caxton's printing press; William Tyndale's translation; and the King James Bible.

October 9. Program 4: THIS EARTH, THIS REALM, THIS ENGLAND

No single person has shaped English more than William Shakespeare. This program uses unparalleled access to some of the greatest English texts, including the first English dictionary and a rare first folio of Shakespeare's plays, to illustrate the great Bard's influence. John Barton, honorary associate director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, discusses the sound and accessibility of Shakespeare's words. Shakespeare's impact is also examined in the larger context of Elizabethan England and the Renaissance.

October 16. Program 5: ENGLISH IN AMERICA

When Massasoit hailed the Plymouth settlers in their own language, they might have taken it as a sign that English would dominate the New World. Packed with surprising etymologies and intriguing stories, this program traces the dynamic relationship between English and America, exploring the linguistic influence of westward expansion, cowboy culture, slave culture, and encounters with the French and Spanish languages. The New England Primer and Webster's The American Spelling Book are among the key works examined.

October 23. Program 6: SPEAKING PROPER

This program follows English through the 18th and 19th centuries, from attempts at reforming and standardizing the tongue in the Age of Reason to the soaring verse of Romanticism and the verbal prudishness of the Victorian era. Linguistic milestones are highlighted by original editions of critical texts, including Newton's Opticks , Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language , Thomas Sheridan's British Education , and George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion . Other key figures discussed include Jonathan Swift, Robert Burns, Jane Austen, and William Wordsworth.

October 30. Program 7: THE LANGUAGE OF EMPIRE

"Amok," "boomerang," "bungalow," "bangle," "dumdum," "plonk," "assassin" -- These are some of the many words that have entered English by way of colonial expansion. This program explores how the British Empire exported its language around the globe and how different forms of speech and vocabulary, as well as different attitudes to English, developed out of colonial expansion. Rich variations of dialect, accent, and slang are heard in many samples from India, the Caribbean, and Australia.

November 6. Program 8: MANY TONGUES CALLED ENGLISH, ONE WORLD LANGUAGE

This final program in the series shows how America's rise as an economic power made it the driving force behind the spread of English in the 20th century. A world tour illustrates how English has mixed with other languages -- from "Franglais" in France to "Singlish" in Singapore -- and how the dollar's power, coupled with the lure of consumerism, has made English the international trade language. Bringing the series full circle, host Melvyn Bragg returns to the British Isles to survey English as it is spoken now, measuring the influence of American slang and vocabulary from other languages.

Содержание аудио:
Chapter 01 - The Common Tongue
Chapter 02 - The Great Escape
Chapter 03 – Conquest
Chapter 04 - Calling On
Chapter 05 - The Speech Of Kings
Chapter 06 – Chaucer
Chapter 07 - God's English
Chapter 08 - English And The Language Of The State
Chapter 09 - William Tyndale's Bible
Chapter 10 - The Renaissance Of Words
Chapter 11 - Preparing The Ground
Chapter 12 - Shakespeare's English
Chapter 13 - My America
Chapter 14 - Wild West Words
Chapter 15 - Soul Down The River
Chapter 16 - Mastering The Language
Chapter 17 - The Proper Way To Talk
Chapter 18 - Steam, Streets, And Slang
Chapter 19 - Indian Takeover
Chapter 20 - The West Indies
Chapter 21 - Advance Australia
Chapter 22 - Warts And All
Chapter 23 - All Over The World
Chapter 24 - And Now