The Modern Scholar: A History of the English Language

I taught a similar course and we actually used the same program - phonetics, history, and then discussions about present day English. I found some of the discussion about code switching appealing (politically) but not always convincing. Drout prefaced the section by saying that many linguists don't agree and I appreciated that honesty. I found the explanations of the Great Vowel Shift and Norman Conquest particularly interesting. More than anything, the lectures were compelling, conversational in tone, and interesting -- this is not your typical boring history class! Great intro course for students and anyone interested in our fascinating language!

The professor has a quiet but enthusiastic way of presenting his material. He held my interest throughout the course. Fortunately I was alone when I practiced my sounds, but I feel I learned a lot about a language I take for granted. I recommend this book to anyone curious about English and about language in general. Not a definitive piece, but one that will please people who just want to know.

The first few lectures on phonelogy basics can be fairly boring, but this is one of the few Modern Scholar courses that become progressively more interesting as each lecture goes by. I learned a great deal and I am sure I'd revisit it time and again.

What a fascinating story of the development of language. To hear it read added immensely to my enjoyment. Why does English have so many silent 'e's? Why are there silent 'k's before 'en's?

It explained the language I call my own and gave me an appreciation--or greater appreciation--about the connectivity of humankind.

Attila the Hun. Who knew he was just a big papabear?

as a trained psycholinguist, I found the author's frequent misstatements about psychology and neuroscience annoying. Hopefully he understood the history of language better than he understood these peripheral parts of his course. But it made me wonder...

Michael Drout's enthusiasm and love for the subject made this series a lot of fun. I plan to listen to the lectures again.

Drout is great as always in explaining how the English language has evolved to become the international of today. He is a terrific speaker.