The Four-Year Degree Isn't Dying — It's Evolving

Class Central is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The Great Courses Plus

History of the English Language, 2nd Edition

via The Great Courses Plus

Go to class Write review
Scrimba Ad

Free courses from frontend to fullstack and AI

Learn More → University of the People Ad

Earn Your CS Degree, Tuition-Free, 100% Online!

Learn More →

Overview

Google, IBM & Meta Certificates — All 10,000+ Courses at 40% Off
One annual plan covers every course and certificate on Coursera. 40% off for a limited time.
Get Full Access
Investigate the remarkable history of English, from the powerful prose of King Alfred in the Middle Ages to the modern-day sermons of Martin Luther King, Jr. with the Dean of Arts and Humanities at the University of California, San Diego.

Syllabus

  • 01: Introduction to the Study of Language
  • 02: The Historical Study of Language
  • 03: Indo-European and the Prehistory of English
  • 04: Reconstructing Meaning and Sound
  • 05: Historical Linguistics and Studying Culture
  • 06: The Beginnings of English
  • 07: The Old English Worldview
  • 08: Did the Normans Really Conquer English?
  • 09: What Did the Normans Do to English?
  • 10: Chaucer's English
  • 11: Dialect Representations in Middle English
  • 12: Medieval Attitudes toward Language
  • 13: The Return of English as a Standard
  • 14: The Great Vowel Shift and Modern English
  • 15: The Expanding English Vocabulary
  • 16: Early Modern English Syntax and Grammar
  • 17: Renaissance Attitudes toward Teaching English
  • 18: Shakespeare-Drama, Grammar, Pronunciation
  • 19: Shakespeare-Poetry, Sound, Sense
  • 20: The Bible in English
  • 21: Samuel Johnson and His Dictionary
  • 22: New Standards in English
  • 23: Dictionaries and Word Histories
  • 24: Values, Words, and Modernity
  • 25: The Beginnings of American English
  • 26: American Language from Webster to Mencken
  • 27: American Rhetoric from Jefferson to Lincoln
  • 28: The Language of the American Self
  • 29: American Regionalism
  • 30: American Dialects in Literature
  • 31: The Impact of African-American English
  • 32: An Anglophone World
  • 33: The Language of Science
  • 34: The Science of Language
  • 35: Linguistics and Politics in Language Study
  • 36: Conclusions and Provocations
  • By This Professor

Taught by

Seth Lerer

Reviews

4.5 rating at The Great Courses Plus based on 119 ratings

Start your review of History of the English Language, 2nd Edition

Go to class

Never Stop Learning.

Get personalized course recommendations, track subjects and courses with reminders, and more.

Sign up for free
Someone learning on their laptop while sitting on the floor.