The Adventure of English: A Biography of a Language
An 8 part series on the development of the English language over 1500 years.
The Great Vowel Shift
Davis, M (2019). The great vowel shift. Harvard Extension School. Youtube video (7min). This video explains the progressive shift in vowel pronunciation from 1450-around 1700 using a grid representing a stylised cross section of a mouth and help from a raven, sheep, goat, seal, tiger, goose and a mouse!
The adventure of English: the biography of a language by 
A history of the English language in 100 places by 
Making sense: the glamorous story of English grammar by 
Quid Pro Quo: what the Romans really gave the English language by 
The Story of English: how an obscure dialect became the world's most-spoken language by 
The story of English in 100 words by Oxford Languages (2020). The language of Covid-19: a special OED update (65min.). Youtube video. "Great social change tends to bring great linguistic change, and this has never been truer than in the Covid-19 crisis. We have seen new coinages; the adaptation of existing terms to talk about the pandemic and its social and economic impacts; and the widespread use of terms previously restricted to fields such as epidemiology and medicine. In order to take account of these developments, the OED has been updated outside of our regular quarterly releases."
Timeline - World History Documentaries (2018). The medieval invention that changed the course of history: the machine that made us. Youtube (59min.). Stephen Fry takes a look inside the story of Johann Gutenberg, inventor of the world's first printing press in the 15th century, and an exploration of how and why the machine was invented.
Huyett, S (2014). How a Gutenberg printing press works. Youtube video (7min.). Demonstration on the only working model of a Gutenberg printing press--Crandall Historical Printing Museum.
The Museum of the Bible (2020). Storytime episode 17: The Gutenberg press. Youtube video (6min.).
Robert Cawdrey, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
OpenLearn from The Open University (2011). The history of English: The age of the dictionary. Youtube video (2min.). This episode is one of 10 that "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." View the entire playlist.
Crystal, D (2013). World Englishes. Youtube video (10min). An engaging talk on how countries develop their own distinct English language through developing a vocabulary of shared understanding which reflects their culture, flora and fauna, politics, history, food, beliefs, daily life etc.
Pidgins and Creoles
Abby B - Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics (2014). Week 3 lecture: Pidgins and creoles. Youtube video (8min). This video summarises the characteristics and differences between pidgin and creole languages.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (2022). What is Kriol? Youtube video (4min).
This episode in the Little J and Big Cuz series is in Noongar language. You can also view episodes in Gija and Djambarrpuyngu.
Meigim Kriol Strongbala
Meigim Kriol Strongbala is a project from Ngukurr aimed at strengthening the place of Kriol. Resources on this website include:
