We look at the history of the alphabet and some of the historical events and linguistic changes that have resulted in the complicated spelling system in English, from Viking & Norman invasions to the Great Vowel Shift and the printing press.
The Endless Knot: Music
The origins of “music”, and connections to language and the brain
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wjsH1ry8aQ[/embedyt]
The Endless Knot: Who are Santa’s Reindeer?
Why does Santa drive a team of reindeer, and where did their names come from? This trip through the etymology of reindeer and their most famous names explains some of the history of Santa Claus, and lots more besides!
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBXfCa97itM[/embedyt]
The Endless Knot: Does English have a Future Tense
Does English have a future? Find out the history of the language’s tense system, and how it was influenced by Latin, philosophy, and an Anglo-Saxon king, as we explore some of the many aspects of our conception of the Future and the debate between free will, determinism, and relativity!
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_8EHxQshEI[/embedyt]
The Endless Knot: Words for Ghost to Ghostwords
The etymology of Ghost and other spooky words leads to ghost stories, Shakespeare, curmudgeonly linguists, dictionary mistakes, and grammar rules that won’t die.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td5FtoKWWTI[/embedyt]
The Endless Knot: Average
A new series of videos about the etymology of the word “Average” and the history of insurance, probability math, and astronomy.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/embed?listType=playlist&list=PLlDwZNRMgsJIyxPeTHncKNVhBZZa38gLV[/embedyt]
The Endless Knot: Education
From ancient Greece to the origins of the university, we trace the history of education through the etymology of educational vocabulary.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fR0YVsr8QhU[/embedyt]
The Endless Knot: Widow
The etymology of ‘grass widow’ takes us from the game of golf to the Sepoy Mutiny, the British Raj, the Partition of India, and Lord Mountbatten.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX1bFAs7MdM[/embedyt]
The Endless Knot: The Etymology of the Potato Battery
The history and etymology of the potato–and the battery–and the potato battery!
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdPQ8zFUipw[/embedyt]
The Endless Knot: What’s the Earliest English Word?
We’re looking for the earliest surviving written English word–is it in Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, on artifacts from the migration period, or in Latin?
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5QxjzaL1Wc[/embedyt]