The Adventure Of English - Birth of a Language - Episode 1

The modern Frisian language is the closest sounding language to the English used approximately 2000 years ago, when the people from what is now the north of the Netherlands travelled to what would become England, and pushed the Celtic language - ancestor of modern Welsh - (Celts) to the western side of the island. Words like "blue" can be recognised in the Frisian language.

Bragg then discusses how English dialects in certain areas of the United Kingdom were heavily influenced by historical events such as the invasion of the Vikings in the east, contributing words such as "sky" to the English language.

Short video clips of discussions with language expert Kathryn A. Lowe appear a number of times during the episode; she offers wonderful insight into the evolution of Anglo-Saxon and Old English.