# Who invented the English language?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/but-why-a-podcast-for-curious-kids-1011548/who-invented-the-english-language
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/but-why-a-podcast-for-curious-kids-1011548/who-invented-the-english-language.md
Podcast: [But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids](https://stenobird.com/podcast/but-why-a-podcast-for-curious-kids-1011548)
Published: 2025-08-08T13:00:00+00:00
Episode link: http://www.vermontpublic.org/podcast/but-why-a-podcast-for-curious-kids/2025-08-06/who-invented-the-english-language
Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/tracking.swap.fm/track/sblTq32fyWAjsHzze2LG/dovetail.prxu.org/_/326/7412559d-3fd9-4f09-a386-e72969a9694d/ButWhy_Words_Ep268.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/but-why-a-podcast-for-curious-kids-1011548/episodes/who-invented-the-english-language
Duration seconds: 2070

## Resource

Where did the English language come from? Why do words have silent letters? Why do some people have accents? Why do some words sound similar? Answers to all of your questions about English and words with sociolinguist Erica Brozovsky, host of a PBS digital show called Otherwords . Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/but-why-a-podcast-for-curious-kids-1011548/episodes/who-invented-the-english-language/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/but-why-a-podcast-for-curious-kids-1011548/who-invented-the-english-language.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.