Language & Literature

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

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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

NEW - Ramayana Workshops

Inspiring workshops and tours, using the exhibition to explore the connections between history, myth and faith and the relevance of the texts to modern Hinduism.

Accents and dialects competition

Calling all English language students: help us collect the young voices of the 'naughties'