Course Summary

The History and Spread of the English Language - Course Leader

Unit 1 - Origins

In this Unit, we will be looking at the origins of both language in general, and English in particular.

Unit 2 - Old English

In this Unit, we shall be looking at Old English - which used to be called "Anglo-Saxon".

Unit 3 - Middle English 1150-1500ad

In this Unit, we'll look at Middle English, as it developed during the Twelfth to Fifteenth centuries.

Unit 4 - Early Modern English

Between 1500AD and 1650AD, the English language both flourished and became more settled.  We are still able to read and understand the language of the time, five hundred years later.

Unit 5 - The Enlightenment 1650-1800

In this Unit, we shall look more briefly than usual at the developments which affected the English language between roughly 1650 and 1800 - the period of The Enlightenment.

Unit 6 - Modern English Since 1750 (1)

In this Unit, we shall examine briefly the development of Modern English since 1750, especially in the UK and the English-Speaking Commonwealth, including Australia, NZ and Canada.

Unit 7 - Modern English Since 1750 (2)

In this Unit we shall look at Modern English since 1750 in the USA and in countries where English is commonly used, but not always learned or spoken as a first language.

Unit 8 - English In Society (1)

In this Unit, we shall look briefly at:Taboo and EuphemismRegisters and JargonDouble Speak

Unit 9 - English In Society (2)

In this Unit we shall look at a wide range of issues including political correctness, catch phrases, slogans, graffiti, slang, proverbs, idioms and clichés.

Unit 10 - English As An International Language

In this Unit, we shall consider the spread of English in China, movies and television and the Internet.  Finally, we shall return in more detail to the topic of Pidgins and Creoles.