Due to current public health concerns, this event has been postponed and a future date is still to be decided. Please look out for further information.

A talk by a leading writer and lecturer on the English language, David Crystal.

The talk illustrates the development of pronunciation from Old English (Beowulf) through Middle English (Chaucer) to Early Modern English (Shakespeare), and explains the sources of evidence that have been used to reconstruct 'original pronunciations’. 

Tickets cost £10, and include a glass of wine or soft drink. Bursary places are available - please email [email protected]

Doors open at 7pm, with the talk starting at 7:30pm.

PLEASE NOTE: We are unable to offer refunds unless there are exceptional circumstances.

About the speaker

David Crystal OBE is the foremost writer and lecturer on the English language, with a worldwide reputation and over 100 books to his name. His authored works are mainly in the field of language, including several Penguin books, but he is perhaps best known for his two encyclopedias for Cambridge University Press, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language and The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (2018). His work on Shakespeare’s Original Pronunciation includes The Oxford Dictionary of Original Shakespearean Pronunciation 2016. Co-authored works, with his son Ben, include Shakespeare’s Words (2002), The Shakespeare Miscellany (2005), and The Oxford Illustrated Shakespeare Dictionary (2015).He is honorary professor of linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor He was Sam Wanamaker Fellow at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2003-4 and honorary president of the Johnson Society for 2005-6. He received an OBE for services to the English language in 1995, and was made a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) in 2000.