TEchnology2 - Info

There are over 6,000 languages in the world. We lose one every two weeks. Hundreds will be lost within the next generation. By the end of this century, half of the world's languages will have vanished. Language Matters with Bob Holman is a two hour documentary that asks: What do we lose when a language dies? What does it take to save a language?

Fry's Planet Word sees Stephen Fry finding out more about linguistic achievements and how our skills for the spoken word have changed. He dissects language in many of its guises.

Currently there are more than 6,000 languages spoken around the world. This five-part series traces the history and evolution of language and attendant theories and controversies while evaluating the scope of linguistic diversity, the dissemination of language, the expansion of language into written form, and the life cycle of language.

Journalist Robert MacNeil travels across the USA to observe the current state of the spoken American English language.

The history of the English language.

NOVA explores the common threads that link the more than 5,000 languages of Earth, including a controversial theory that claims to reconstruct words from a time when only a handful of languages were spoken.

A history of the English language from its early beginnings to present day English in all its variations.

Is trying to answer questions like: How do we learn to speak? What is the best way to learn languages?

Lydia Wilson explores the origins of early writing systems with historians and calligraphers, examining how writing materials influenced cultures over time and how ideology and technology reshaped writing in the 20th century.

Researchers uncover the evolution of writing and the story of the alphabet, dating back to millennia, old carvings in an Egyptian turquoise mine.

How the development of writing played a vital role in shaping world history, from the invention of paper to the printed book.

Out of Print draws us into the topsy-turvy world of the written word, illuminating the turbulent, exciting journey from the book through the digital revolution. Writers, publishers, readers all in flux. Booksellers closing shop. Librarians and teachers seeking new roles. Storytellers like Ray Bradbury, complemented by evocative visuals, weave a compelling tale. Scott Turow and Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon as an online bookstore, place us in the middle of their debate. People tell us they read snippets all day long, yet one of five Americans no longer reads a single book, in any format, in an entire year. Personal stories of parents and students take us into their worlds, highlighting how this revolution is changing every aspect of the printed word -- and changing us.

Through this three part series Art Historian Dr Janina Ramirez tells the story of the Medieval monarchy as preserved through stunning illuminated manuscripts from the British Library's Royal Manuscripts collection. Dr Ramirez uses her in depth expert knowledge to explore the extraordinary art and culture of the period and decode the manuscripts which remain as vibrant today as when they were first penned. Embellished with gold, painted in jewel-like colours, they took months, even years to produce, and were priceless beyond compare. The series runs chronologically beginning with the unification of England under King Athelstan in the 10th Century, covering the 100 Years War with France, and ending with the brutal magnificence of Henry VIII. Spanning 800 years these amazing documents capture the dynastic struggles each ruler faced.

Why has reading survived? Empire Of The Word is a four part television series that sets out to provide the answer to the question 'why has reading survived'? Empire Of The Word tells the story of how reading came about, how it has changed us and where it is going next.

A look at the story of Johann Gutenberg, inventor of the world's first printing press in the 15th century, and an exploration of how and why the machine was invented.

John Ogilby created the first roadmaps of Britain, measuring and describing them, and publishing them in the form of strip map itineraries, in 1675. Terry Jones of "Monty Python" fame, an Ogilby collector, investigate how and why he did it and sets out to see whether it is still possible to find and travel along Ogilby's roads in Wales.

In this short and compelling series, you'll learn just how important the art of mapmaking was when it came to shaping the history of humanity. Cartographers and historians will show you the most fundamental elements of the era of exploration, and how they have evolved over the centuries. Finally, you'll see how much more maps do for us today than just simply define our political boundaries.