Stories of the English Language, the title of an Emmy Award-winning nine-part television series and accompanying book, both produced in 1986, chronicled the development of the English language. A bit dated but fine.
The book and TV series were co-written by Robert McNeill, Robert McCram and William Crane. The book has been revised twice, once in 1993 and once in 2002.
Directed by William Cran, the documentary series originally aired on the BBC and PBS. It is co-produced by MacNeil-Lehrer Productions and the BBC, with major funding from General Foods. The third episode, “Muse of Fire,” won the 1987 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement – Information Programming – Writing. The series was released in 2001 as a 5-cassette with a running time of 495 minutes. This book and series are used in university courses.
Covering history, geography, sociology, drama, language, art, etc., the story of English takes the audience on an unforgettable journey of English history. Host Robert MacNeil travels the world to illustrate the language’s global reach. Part travelogue, part linguistics, part history, all engrossing, this series is a unique blend of solid science and engaging entertainment.
