Know how the growth of the British Empire influenced the growth of the English language
Learn about the concurrent growth of the British Empire and the English language.
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Transcript
The History of English in Ten Minutes. Chapter Six: English and Empire, or The Sun Never Sets on the English Language.
With English making its name as the language of science, the Bible, and Shakespeare, Britain decided to take it on tour, asking only for land, wealth, natural resources, total obedience to the crown, and a few local words in return. They went to the Caribbean looking for gold and a chance to really unwind, discovering the "barbecue," the "canoe," and a pretty good recipe for "rum punch." They also brought back the word "cannibal" to make their trip sound more exciting.
In India, there was something for everyone-- "yoga," to help you stay in shape while pretending to be spiritual. If that didn't work, there was the "cummerbund" to hide the paunch. And if you couldn't even make it up the stairs without turning crimson, they had the "bungalow."
Meanwhile in Africa, they picked up words like "voodoo" and "zombie," kicking off the teen horror film. From Australia, English took the words "nugget," "boomerang," and "walkabout," and in fact the whole concept of chain pubs. All in all, between toppling Napoleon and the First World War, the British Empire gobbled up around 10 million square miles, 400 million people, and nearly 100,000 gin and tonics, leaving new varieties of English to develop all over the globe.
With English making its name as the language of science, the Bible, and Shakespeare, Britain decided to take it on tour, asking only for land, wealth, natural resources, total obedience to the crown, and a few local words in return. They went to the Caribbean looking for gold and a chance to really unwind, discovering the "barbecue," the "canoe," and a pretty good recipe for "rum punch." They also brought back the word "cannibal" to make their trip sound more exciting.
In India, there was something for everyone-- "yoga," to help you stay in shape while pretending to be spiritual. If that didn't work, there was the "cummerbund" to hide the paunch. And if you couldn't even make it up the stairs without turning crimson, they had the "bungalow."
Meanwhile in Africa, they picked up words like "voodoo" and "zombie," kicking off the teen horror film. From Australia, English took the words "nugget," "boomerang," and "walkabout," and in fact the whole concept of chain pubs. All in all, between toppling Napoleon and the First World War, the British Empire gobbled up around 10 million square miles, 400 million people, and nearly 100,000 gin and tonics, leaving new varieties of English to develop all over the globe.