The Story of English

"The Story of English" is the title of an Emmy Award winning nine-part television series, and a companion book, both produced in 1986, detailing the development of the English language.

The book and the television series were written by Robert MacNeil, Robert McCrum and William Cran. [cite book | last = McCrum | first = Robert | authorlink = Robert McCrum | coauthors = Robert MacNeil, William Cran | title = The Story of English | publisher = Viking | location = New York | year = 1986 | isbn = 0670804673 ] The book has been revised twice, once in 1993 (ISBN 0140154051), and again in 2002 (ISBN 0142002313).

The documentary series was directed by William Cran, [imdb title|0198245|The Story of English] and originally broadcast on BBC and PBS. It was co-produced by MacNeil-Lehrer Productions and the BBC, and was principally funded through a grant from General Foods. The third episode, "A Muse of Fire", won the 1987 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming - Writing. The series was released as a 5 tape box set in 2001, running 495 minutes.

The book and series have been used in University courses. [wayback|http://ling.cornell.edu/teachling/AV/story.html|The Story of English Video Series - contents listing, including timecode descriptions] [ [http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~grabe/syllabus121.html ENG 121: The Story of English] ]

Episode list

#An English Speaking World
#The Mother Tongue
#A Muse of Fire
#The Guid Scots Tongue
#Black on White
#Pioneer O Pioneer
#Muvver Tongue
#The Loaded Weapon
#Next Year's Words

References