Uploaded September 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Get my book:
Middlechester Chronicles and the Story of Idioms: A witty and satirical look at 347 English idioms and their origins told through stories
To read the first chapter free and purchase the book go to aunty.co.uk
===
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eepurl.com/izRKww The pronunciation of tomato and potato tells us a lot about the history of English and its irregular spelling. In this video we'll look at the great vowel shift and other influences on English pronunciation.
00:00 What do you call it?
01:41 You say tomayto I say tomahto
03:36 Tomatoes, potatoes a history
06:35 The Great Vowel Shift
13:08 Why did the Great Vowel Shift happen?
15:33 A mini vowel shift in London
16:38 What about tobacco?
.If you are a grammar lover you might be interested in our new range of grammarian merchandise exclusive to LetThemTalkTV
teespring.com/stores/my-store-10219664
Credits
By Ivar Leidus - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=98363772
By Gary Francisco Keller, artwork created under supervision of Bernardino de Sahagún between 1540 and 1585. - The Digital Edition of the Florentine Codex, CC BY 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15124157
Par Samuel austin — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29404939
By Diego Rivera - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26352023
Subscribe here
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Learn English in Paris or join an online class.
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Get my book:
Middlechester Chronicles and the Story of Idioms: A witty and satirical look at 347 English idioms and their origins told through stories
To read the first chapter free and purchase the book go to aunty.co.uk
===
- Love the English language? Get the LetThemTalkTV newsletter here - IT'S FREE!
eepurl.com/izRKww The pronunciation of tomato and potato tells us a lot about the history of English and its irregular spelling. In this video we'll look at the great vowel shift and other influences on English pronunciation.
00:00 What do you call it?
01:41 You say tomayto I say tomahto
03:36 Tomatoes, potatoes a history
06:35 The Great Vowel Shift
13:08 Why did the Great Vowel Shift happen?
15:33 A mini vowel shift in London
16:38 What about tobacco?
.If you are a grammar lover you might be interested in our new range of grammarian merchandise exclusive to LetThemTalkTV
teespring.com/stores/my-store-10219664
Credits
By Ivar Leidus - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=98363772
By Gary Francisco Keller, artwork created under supervision of Bernardino de Sahagún between 1540 and 1585. - The Digital Edition of the Florentine Codex, CC BY 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15124157
Par Samuel austin — Travail personnel, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29404939
By Diego Rivera - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26352023
Subscribe here
youtube.com/user/letthemtalkparis?sub_confirmation=1
Learn English in Paris or join an online class.
www.letthemtalk.fr
instagram @LetThemTalkParis








![Whats the plural of OCTOPUS? Its more complicated than you think [Tales from the English language]
Get my book:
Middlechester Chronicles and the Story of Idioms: A witty and satirical look at 347 English idioms and their origins told through stories
To read the first chapter free and purchase the book go to www.aunty.co.uk
- LetThemTalkTV presents a new series Tales From the English Language. In this episode we look at why and how the word octopus has four correct plurals. It something you might not know and it has an interesting history going all the way back to the early 18th century when octopus replaced the English words poulp and preke.
Intermediate and advanced English lessons with subtitles on our YouTube channel. Brought to you by LetThemTalk language school in Paris
#LetThemTalkTV
#LearnEnglish
#Octopus
We go deeper
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Learn English in Paris
www.letthemtalk.fr
instagram @LetThemTalkParis Whats the plural of OCTOPUS? Its more complicated than you think [Tales from the English language]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/otfXdRYJGl8/mqdefault.jpg)

