Episodes
| Series | Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Very Like a Whale | 20090914 | Contemporary writers reflect on the linguistic shadow cast today by Samuel Johnson, the compiler of the first great dictionary of the English language. His monumental dictionary set the standard, and English would never be the same again.
First Philip Hoare, winner of the 2009 prestigious Samuel Johnson prize for Leviathan, his non-fiction Moby Dick-inspired study of the whale, ponders the similarities between these mammals and words, and the disparities between Melville and Johnson.
Philip Hoare ponders the similarities between Melville and Johnson, and whales and words. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. | ||
| 02 | Johnson, the Dictionary, the Wiki and the Web | 20090915 | Four contemporary writers reflect on the mighty linguistic shadow left by the compiler of the first great dictionary of the English language, Samuel Johnson. Johnson's monumental Dictionary set the standard; after Johnson had pronounced, English could never be the same again.
In this series four very different writers from across the world reflect on the Johnsonian linguistic heritage as it plays out in their own world and their own lives. David Crystal, acclaimed writer on the English language, ponders Johnson's reaction to contemporary word-gathering machinery.
Producer: Marya Burgess
Writer David Crystal wonders what Samuel Johnson's reaction would be to the internet. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. | ||
| 02 | Johnson, the Dictionary, the Wiki and the Web | 20090915 | 20100823 (R3) | Four contemporary writers reflect on the mighty linguistic shadow left by the compiler of the first great dictionary of the English language, Samuel Johnson. Johnson's monumental Dictionary set the standard; after Johnson had pronounced, English could never be the same again.
In this series four very different writers from across the world reflect on the Johnsonian linguistic heritage as it plays out in their own world and their own lives. David Crystal, acclaimed writer on the English language, ponders Johnson's reaction to contemporary word-gathering machinery.
Producer: Marya Burgess
Writer David Crystal wonders what Samuel Johnson's reaction would be to the internet. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. | |
| 03 | Telling It Like It Is | 20090916 | Four contemporary writers reflect on the mighty linguistic shadow left by the compiler of the first great dictionary of the English language, Samuel Johnson. Johnson's monumental Dictionary set the standard; after Johnson had pronounced, English could never be the same again.
In this series four very different writers from across the world reflect on the Johnsonian linguistic heritage as it plays out in their own world and their own lives...
Freya Johnston, lecturer in English at St Anne's College Oxford and author of Samuel Johnson and the Art of Sinking 1709-1791, engages with the language Johnson used which still influences our every day use of English.
Producer: Marya Burgess
(repeat).
Freya Johnston reflects on how Johnson's direct approach to language lives on even today. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. | ||
| 03 | Telling It Like It Is | 20090916 | 20100824 (R3) | Four contemporary writers reflect on the mighty linguistic shadow left by the compiler of the first great dictionary of the English language, Samuel Johnson. Johnson's monumental Dictionary set the standard; after Johnson had pronounced, English could never be the same again.
In this series four very different writers from across the world reflect on the Johnsonian linguistic heritage as it plays out in their own world and their own lives...
Freya Johnston, lecturer in English at St Anne's College Oxford and author of Samuel Johnson and the Art of Sinking 1709-1791, engages with the language Johnson used which still influences our every day use of English.
Producer: Marya Burgess
(repeat).
Freya Johnston reflects on how Johnson's direct approach to language lives on even today. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. | |
| 04 | Johnson's Virtual Shadow | 20090917 | Four contemporary writers reflect on the mighty linguistic shadow cast by the compiler of the first great dictionary of the English language, Samuel Johnson. Johnson's monumental Dictionary set the standard; after Johnson had pronounced, English could never be the same again.
In this series four very different writers from across the world reflect on the Johnsonian linguistic heritage as it plays out in their own world and their own lives...
Pam Peters, eminent Australian lexicographer and Emeritus Professor of Linguistics at Macquarie University, reflects on the dictionary since Johnson, especially in the New World.
Producer: Marya Burgess
Lexicographer Pam Peters discusses Samuel Johnson's impact on language in the New World. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. | ||
| 04 | Johnson's Virtual Shadow | 20090917 | 20100825 (R3) | Four contemporary writers reflect on the mighty linguistic shadow cast by the compiler of the first great dictionary of the English language, Samuel Johnson. Johnson's monumental Dictionary set the standard; after Johnson had pronounced, English could never be the same again.
In this series four very different writers from across the world reflect on the Johnsonian linguistic heritage as it plays out in their own world and their own lives...
Pam Peters, eminent Australian lexicographer and Emeritus Professor of Linguistics at Macquarie University, reflects on the dictionary since Johnson, especially in the New World.
Producer: Marya Burgess
Lexicographer Pam Peters discusses Samuel Johnson's impact on language in the New World. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. | |
| 05 | Post-Colonial Johnson | 20090918 | Four contemporary writers reflect on the mighty linguistic shadow cast by the compiler of the first great dictionary of the English language, Samuel Johnson. Johnson's monumental Dictionary set the standard; after Johnson had pronounced, English could never be the same again.
In this series four very different writers from across the world reflect on the Johnsonian linguistic heritage as it plays out in their own world and their own lives...
Rudrangshu Mukherjee - Senior Editor of the Calcutta Telegraph - on how Johnson's shadow plays across Indian English.
Producer: Marya Burgess
Rudrangshu Mukherjee reflects on the linguistic shadow Samuel Johnson casts over India. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. | ||
| 05 | Post-Colonial Johnson | 20090918 | 20100827 (R3) | Four contemporary writers reflect on the mighty linguistic shadow cast by the compiler of the first great dictionary of the English language, Samuel Johnson. Johnson's monumental Dictionary set the standard; after Johnson had pronounced, English could never be the same again.
In this series four very different writers from across the world reflect on the Johnsonian linguistic heritage as it plays out in their own world and their own lives...
Rudrangshu Mukherjee - Senior Editor of the Calcutta Telegraph - on how Johnson's shadow plays across Indian English.
Producer: Marya Burgess
Rudrangshu Mukherjee reflects on the linguistic shadow Samuel Johnson casts over India. Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond. |