Elements of Language

In this program, slang expert Jonathan Green explores the history of English slang and its use around the world. Wittingly revealed are the derivatives and sources of some of the more famous words, such as bimbo-a derivative of the 18th-century Italian word for baby-bambino, and the word slang itself, thought to have derived from the Scandinavian word sling, meaning throw or shot. (23 minutes)

English is a language spoken by two billion people, perhaps even more. This classic PBS program examines the prevalence of English in the world today and presents a historical overview of its rise. Focusing on the expansion of the British Empire and the emergence of English-language mass media, the program explains how widespread English usage survived Britain's post-WWII decolonization, particularly in India and Africa. It also examines the impact of American-and especially Californian-English, which has arguably become standard. Interviews with William Safire and Gloria Steinem provide insight into Americanization and the linguistic influence of feminism. (58 minutes)

Cerebellum Teaching Systems are simply the most effective method for students to learn and for teachers to teach. This innovative system covers the topics in a fun, fast-paced, and engaging manner. Each module includes a video program along with a digital workbook filled with teacher’s guides, classroom notes, quizzes, games, and discussion questions. The subject matter correlates directly to state standards and is produced and designed by the Cerebellum Academic Team of professional scriptwriters, students, professors, actors, comedians, and teachers. AP English Language & Composition Exam Prep This one-of-a-kind AP* video tutorial enables teachers to review essential foundations of English rhetoric to prepare students for collegiate English courses. This program encourages students to use critical thinking skills, improve writing techniques, and develop analysis skills for the AP* exam.

It is predicted that within a century more than half of the world's languages will become extinct, but as languages are lost, new ones emerge naturally or are constructed. In this program, Noam Chomsky; Esperantist Thomas Eccard; endangered languages researcher Peter Ladefoged, who has since passed away; and others provide insights into the language life cycle. Topics include constructed languages such as Esperanto, language endangerment and preservation, and the role of globalization in language obsolescence. The experts also discuss current language trends and offer their opinions on which languages may emerge as front-runners of the future. (48 minutes)

Melvyn Bragg begins the story of English in Holland, finding ancestral echoes in the Frisian dialect. What follows is a chapter on survival as the English language weathers Viking and Norman invasions, vying with and eventually absorbing rival tongues. Lively settings such as village pubs and markets bring home the lasting influence of Anglo-Saxon, Old Norse, and Old French. The connection between Christianity, Latin, and an alphabet is explored, as well as the role of the language's first champion, King Alfred the Great. Nobel prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney reads from and discusses the first epic in English, Beowulf. (52 minutes)

Writing is a relative latecomer to the history of language. This program tracks its emergence in Mesopotamia, China, and Mesoamerica and its spread down through the millennia via conquest-usually violent, sometimes benign-and colonization. The creation of creoles and pidgins resulting from the interaction of specific populations is also addressed, and speculation is made about the first things to be written down. Noam Chomsky; Peter Daniels, coeditor of The World's Writing Systems; the Manhattan Institute's John McWhorter; MIT's Michel DeGraff; and Salikoko Mufwene, of The University of Chicago, contribute. (48 minutes)

When should the red pen be wielded to the hilt, and when should writers and readers simply agree to disagree? Part one of this program deals with three unequivocal errors-sentence fragments, comma splices, and run-on sentences-and three major enemies of clarity-tense shifts, vague pronoun references, and faulty parallels. Contraction/possessive pronoun confusion is also sorted out. In part two, syntactical errors that many no longer consider unacceptable are examined: contractions, split infinitives, and dangling prepositions. (25 minutes)

In this program, John McWhorter, author of The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language; Lyle Campbell, of the University of Utah; Brian Joseph, of The Ohio State University; and population geneticist Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza examine factors that contributed to the diversification and spread of languages, including early migration, the introduction of agriculture, and genes. Language transfer from mother to child and from one population to the next is also investigated, along with the concept of dialects and commonalities among the world's more than 6,000 languages. (48 minutes)

Why is the English spoken by Maine lobstermen so different from the English spoken by Texas cowboys? What constitutes standard English" in the U.S. today? Will Spanish displace English altogether? And how is English linked to issues of race, gender, and class? In this three-part series, celebrated journalist and writer Robert MacNeil travels from north to south, east to west, to answer these and other sociolinguistic questions as he studies the ongoing evolution of American English-a language rich in regional variety, strong in global impact, and steeped in cultural controversy. Each Web-enabled disc also includes links to the PBS Web site, which reinforces and expands upon the crucial concepts and pivotal issues raised over the course of the series. Do You Speak American?-a follow-up to MacNeil's award-winning The Story of English-is an instant classic that merits a place in every academic library. 3-part series, 60 minutes each. All video is viewable on a DVD player, but a DVD-ROM drive is necessary to access the Web links."

This program follows Robert MacNeil down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to Appalachia, Louisiana Cajun country, and the Tex-Mex border to examine Southern dialects and accents and the influences of French and Spanish on American English. Linguist Walt Wolfram, columnist Molly Ivins, pop country singer Cody James, and others talk about regional differences in vernacular, the steady displacement of Southern coastal dialect by inland dialect, the accents of JFK and LBJ, and the Texas border town of El Cenizo, where Spanish is the official language. Recordings of Eudora Welty and Appalachian storyteller Ray Hicks are included, as well as WPA recordings from around 1940. Web links are included. All video is viewable on a DVD player, but a DVD-ROM drive is necessary to access the Web links. (60 minutes)

With the Norman invasion, English became a third language in its own country, behind French and Latin. In this program, Melvyn Bragg examines the impact of Old French on the development of English. Manuscripts, tapestries, and dozens of curious etymologies help illustrate a tremendous influx of vocabulary pertaining to romance, chivalry, and, of course, food. The influence of Eleanor of Aquitaine's patronage is heard in works of poets and troubadours as the cult of courtly love flourished in England. (52 minutes)

When Massasoit hailed the Plymouth settlers in their own language, they might have taken it for a sign that English would dominate the New World. Packed with surprising etymologies and intriguing stories, this program traces the dynamic relationship between English and America, exploring the linguistic influence of westward expansion, cowboy culture, slave culture, and encounters with the French and Spanish languages. Key works examined include The New England Primer and Webster's The American Spelling Book. (52 minutes)

When is a noun not a noun? And is improper agreement really like wearing plaid with stripes? Part one of this program summarizes the parts of speech and then looks at the ways in which one part of speech can be used syntactically as another. In part two, tiny animated dancers and other helpers provide examples of errors in subject/verb agreement and article/noun agreement. Idiom is also addressed. (28 minutes)

In this captivating program, Bill Moyers explores the vitality and diversity of contemporary poetry through intimate interviews and performance readings at the Biennial Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival-North America's largest. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, Amiri Baraka, Stanley Kunitz, Coleman Barks, Lucille Clifton, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Paul Muldoon, Marge Piercy, Shirley Geok-lin Lim, Deborah Garrison, and other leading poets share the rhythm, spirit, and passion of their art through dazzling performances before an audience of thousands. (2 parts, 1 hour each)

Can a noun have a number? What do demonstrative pronouns demonstrate? And is an article really an adjective? After a concise explanation of grammar and SEAE-Standard Edited American English-this program explains the ins and outs of common, proper, compound, and demonstrative nouns; personal, possessive, and demonstrative pronouns; and adjectives, including the tiny article. Singular and plural subjects are also covered. (26 minutes)