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Fig. 1. Origins: Rap Battle

You can fault it; Joffre doesn't have a word. And George V had nothing to do with taking the British Empire to war 100 years ago. He was a constitutional monarch; we should look to the cabinet and Foreign Minister earl Grey in particular. Kaiser Wilhlem II, also a constitutional monarch had far more influence over the appointment of senior officials, though it is Reich's Chancellor Hoffman Hollweg with Moltke we ought to lampoon as the German rascals who went on the offensive in a drive to build a more substantial German Empire. While Tsar Nicholas II is represented by a bear of a man, while the Tsar was short and slight. Franz Josef, the elderly Austro-Hungary Emperor, signed what his officials put in front of him. 

A great way to introduce the subject? Humour gets your attention. Or overly simplistic?

Remember the lines and you might have the basics of the origins too. Schools won't permit because of the language, though young people will watch it anyway.

You've only got 17 days left to view or download.

Inspired? Controversial? 

The First World War: Origins: The Movie?

Just search 'English language' and there are dozen of references to the use of words. I'm used to massive tomes on the subject, from the Cambridge Encyclopeadie of the English Language to the heft books by Henry Hitchings.

This therefore is a wonder, the whole thing in ten, one minute pieces.

The History of English…in just a minute x10

Could lectures be reduced to 45 single miunte pieces too?

A bite-sized comedic though academically sound-bite sized approach to learning – think “Just A Minute (BBC Radio 4) meets ‘The Reduced Shakespeare Company.’ Think Dr Who having to explain his prefernce for these Isles in a 60 second count down to the end of the universe. Which words we leave you discombobulated? Which ones tickled pink?

‘The History of English…in ten minutes’

Voiced by Clive Anderson, Scripted by Jon Hunter (R4 Mock the Week/The News Quiz)

“When did English speaking scientists get round to naming the  most intimate of the sexual body parts?

Voiced by Clive Anderson, this entertaining romp through 'The History of English' squeezes 1600 years of history into 10 one-minute bites, uncovering the sources of English words and phrases from Shakespeare and the King James Bible to America and the Internet.

Bursting with fascinating facts, the series 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. “

Philip Sergeant (FELS) was the academic consultant.

The idea is based on the Open University course 'Worlds of English'.

The History of English
Jon Hunter

Dr Phil Searegeant
Phil has contributed to U211 Exploring the English Language, A150 Voices and Texts, EA300 Children's Literature, and E854 Investigating Language in Action.

Phil is currently working on the production of U214 Worlds of English and am on the presentation team of A150 Voices and Texts.