The Story of English (History), why English is the way it is

The Story of English, Episode 2 Links to an external site., The Mother Tongue

Surveys the history of the English language from the Anglo-Saxon invasion and its impact on the language to the Norman French influence on Chaucer and the English language as a whole. The impact of Old Norse and Scandinavian place names is discussed. The impact of William Caxton's first printing press in England is discussed, especially with respect to standardization of spelling.