A work of profound scholarship and powerful storytelling from host Robert MacNeil, this classic nine-part PBS series remains one of the great narratives of linguistic studies—and is now available on digitally re-mastered, menu-driven DVD. Steeped in history, geography, sociology, and political drama, The Story of English has little to do with dictionaries, official documents, or highbrow literature. It is a tale of language used for immediate needs—in street talk, popular entertainment, war, and trade—and it covers more than a millennium of civilization’s ebb and flow. Vividly capturing a sense of global dynamics, the series travels to 16 countries and across 5 continents as it follows the evolutionary path of the first worldwide language. 9-part series, 58–59 minutes each.

Written and presented by Melvyn Bragg, this eight-part series tells the story of how English became a global language. Along the way, each episode uses location footage, rare manuscripts, linguistic experts, and fascinating etymologies to chart the growth of English, its encounters with other languages, its history, and its far-reaching influence. This link shows the record for the full series, but you can also look up individual episodes in Primo (look at Contents section for titles).

"In this program, Dr. Joseph Gallagher brings language to life by reciting examples of Old, Middle, and Early Modern English in their original dialects. In addition, he discusses the evolution of English syntax and morphology. A dramatization of a portion of Beowulf is also included.

Currently there are more than 6,000 languages spoken around the world. This five-part series traces the history and evolution of language and attendant theories and controversies while evaluating the scope of linguistic diversity, the dissemination of language, the expansion of language into written form, and the life cycle of language.