An online 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’.
Originally planned as a face-to-face event at Bell House in March, it's our pleasure to bring this talk to you online on Thursday 18th June.
Tickets for this event are by donation to support Bell House's work as educational charity. For the original event, tickets cost £10 and so for the online event, the suggested donation is also £10. All donations are appreciated.
This event will be delivered via Zoom. After registration, this link to access the session will be available on the Online Link page as well as in reminder emails sent closer to the date.
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.
Note for ticket holders to the original 20th March event
All original ticket holders have been contacted regarding the new date for the online event. If you wish to transfer your ticket to the new event, please respond to the email sent on 26th May or email [email protected] to inform us that you wish to do so.