Language & Literature

Explore literary treasures, everyday ephemera, and the complex history of the English language, with unique texts from the British Library.

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Sounds Familiar?

Sounds Familiar?

Travel through the country in this website, and discover the UK’s rich landscape of diverse accents and dialects.
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Changing Language

Changing Language

See how the English language has been altered, expanded, subverted and experimented with for hundreds of years.
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Books for Cooks

Books for Cooks

Rifle through six hundred years of recipes and remedies, from medieval potions and pies to 1920s cocktails.
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Texts in Context

Texts in Context

From recipes and adverts to logbooks and songs, explore the many ways in which language is used and produced.
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Dictionaries and Meanings

Trace the history of dictionaries, from scoundrels’ slang books to Caribbean lexicons.
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Literature Treasures Gallery

English Literature

From Shakespeare to Alice, take a tour of some of the British Library’s finest literary treasures.
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Learning news

Evolving English: One Language, Many Voices

Evolving English: One Language, Many Voices explores the English language in all its national and international diversity.

History Timeline wins Innovation Award

Timelines: Sources from History has been announced winner of the Innovation Award at the 2010 Museums & Heritage Awards.