But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids Who invented the English language?
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Aug 8, 2025 Join sociolinguist Erica Brozovsky, host of PBS's Other Words, as she unravels the fascinating evolution of the English language. Discover how accents and silent letters emerged, and why spelling can be a mess. Erica shares the origins of our alphabet from ancient hieroglyphs and explains the quirky reasons behind words like 'cookie' vs. 'biscuit.' Learn why some plurals are strange and the magic of creating new words. Plus, Erica encourages kids that language is fluid, and they can help shape its future!
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English Is A Global Word Bank
- English words come from many languages and from invention by speakers.
- Borrowings like coffee (Arabic) and slang or jokes (okay) shaped English vocabulary.
Use Conventions To Navigate Spelling
- Accept that English spelling became standardized through dictionaries and printing.
- Rely on conventions because changing global spelling would be a major, slow shift.
Printing And Sound Shifts Locked Odd Spelling
- English spelling is a jumble of Germanic, Latin and French influences plus sound shifts.
- The Great Vowel Shift and printing press solidified odd spellings versus pronunciation.