William Bullokar composed the first formal grammar of the English language in 1586. Prior to that point, the concept of grammar had been largely restricted to Latin. Bullokars work extended the conce

Throughout her long reign, Queen Elizabeth I was faced with many difficult decisions, and she often chose a middle path when she could. In this episode, we explore the middle paths taken during her re

By the second half of the Elizabethan period, the perception of English had changed significantly in England. It was increasingly perceived as a sophisticated language capable of matching the refineme

In the 1570s, Francis Drake plundered Spanish ships throughout the New World with the private permission of Elizabeth I. His actions marked the first direct challenge to Spanish naval supremacy in the

In this episode, we explore the complicated history of the letters Y, U and I, and we examine how they gave birth to the letters W, V and J. We also look at the Gothic script of the Middle Ages Cont

In this episode, we explore the sounds represented by the letters L and R. Linguists refer to these sounds as approximants, and they are some of the most challenging sounds in the English language.

In 1569, an English scholar named John Hart published a manuscript called An Orthographie. The text argued for a phonetic spelling system, and it provided one of the earliest detailed descriptions o

In the mid-1500s, England attempted to expand its influence in Ireland by establishing plantations there. This same process would soon be applied to North America. In this episode, we explore those ea

During the first decade of the reign of Elizabeth I, Protestants in Scotland and the Netherlands rebelled against the Catholic authorities who controlled those countries. Those rebellions were support

In the 1500s, England saw a significant rise in the number of beggars and vagabonds. Those who couldnt survive by begging often turned to thievery, gambling and fraud. By the mid-1500s, books and pam