“Evolving English: One Language, Many Voices” is a new exhibit at the British Library in London featuring the earliest printed versions of Beowulf, the Wycliffe and King James Bible, and the oldest known example of written English. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “One Language, Many Voices Exhibit”
You’re listening to A Way with Words. I’m Grant Barrett.
And I’m Martha Barnette.
It’s not every day that I read about a museum exhibit that makes me think that I need to book a flight immediately to another country to go see it. This is the one at the British Library in London called Evolving English: One Language, Many Voices. It just opened and I swear it has me looking at the flight schedule because it just sounds fantastic.
Well, book me a window seat because I want to go too.
All right. We’ll go together then.
One of the reasons I’m so excited about it is it’s curated by the linguist David Crystal, fan of his. Second, it’s a look at English through the ages and some of the greatest icons of the entire language are right there. Actual icons and metaphorical icons. The real things right there under one roof.
We’re talking about original editions of Beowulf and Wycliffe’s translation of the Bible and the original massive King James Bible. Fantastic. No matter what your religion, if you speak English, you owe a debt to that book. You speak some things from that Bible, which, by the way, turns 400 next year, you know, 1611. And there are all kinds of other things like Johnson’s Dictionary. It goes all the way up to text messaging. There are old slang dictionaries, which I know you’d be crazy about.
But, you know, I think the most moving object in that whole exhibit is a gold medallion that’s about the size of a penny. And it’s inscribed with the words Gagoga Magomedu.
What does that mean?
Well, we’re not completely sure, but supposedly it’s the earliest example of very, very, very early English from the 5th century. And this is just so thrilling to think that, you know, you could be there and see that thing. They think that maybe it means this she-wolf is a reward to my kinsmen because there’s an engraving of a she-wolf there with little Romulus and Remus underneath her.
But, I mean, this thing just sounds like the English Hall of Fame. It sounds like, you know, I don’t know, the equivalent of a baseball fan going to Cooperstown or something. I don’t know. It just sounds so exciting.
So this is wonderful. So this is in London. It’s at the British Museum.
British Library.
British Library. And it’s when? It’s going on now. It just opened. It’s going through April 3rd. Fantastic. So start racking up the freaking fire miles on your credit card and go.
Do you think they have replicas of that medallion? I’d love to have one.
Oh, wow. What does the gift shop look like?
Oh, my gosh. I hadn’t even thought about that. Grant, we’ve got to go. We have to go.
Well, while we’re doing that, give us a call at 877-929-9673 or send your emails to words@waywordradio.org. Questions about words and language. This is the place.
