Episode 16 - The Future of English

We love words here at Jack To The Future🌍  - language is fun isn’t it !

Jack begins the episode with a riddle game for you and contemplates the future of English following his research on this topic. 

Will the future of the English language be a combination of languages?

Will 'text' speak and acronyms  seep into the spoken word?

Are  emojis words?

Do you know what an emordnilap is?

How about the etymology of spoonerisms or portmanteaus?

Jack and  his guest speaker this week,   Simon Horobin, Professor of English Language and Literature at The University of Oxford,  discuss all of the above,   their favourite words and and all manor of other lexical topics, finishing with Jack  testing Simon's skills and knowledge of modern day slang! Will you dare to have a go?!

A fun-filled episode learning about both the future and history of the English language. 

Mentions/Links

The Future of English -The British Council

The Future of English- Article by Simon Horobin in Babel: The Language Magazine 

Simon Horobin on You Tube : The Future of English

A Very Short Introduction to the English Language | Simon Horobin | Talks at Google

A Very Short Introduction to the English Language: Book by Simon Horobin