Stephen Fry has an all new TV show this month. Given his current job hosting Q.I., regular lead acting role on Kingdom and commitments to making The Hobbit in New Zealand, you can’t help but wonder when he had the time to go off and film a five part documentary series, but he has.
Join Fry as he delves into his all time favourite topic, language. Fry begins by meeting a nomadic North African tribe and exploring the wonder of when babies learn to speak. Upon asking a matriach at what age babies learn to speak she replies ‘Summer, Winter, Summer, Winter’, for which the translator relays, ‘she says two years.’ It’s the perfect moment not only revealing the cross-cultural phenomenon of babies learning to talk at a rapid rate but also revealing the beautiful phrasing of the woman’s dialect.
As he investigates the biological development of language, Fry springs around the globe meeting animal researchers, scientists investigating the human DNA and leading theorists in language development. Fry finds fun ways to demonstrate the concepts of being presented, like taking part in a performance of Hamlet delivered entirely in Klingon.
Throughout the show Fry continually visits Ruby, a British toddler whose own language skills are rapidly developing. Each time Fry returns from an international sojourn, Ruby’s language skills have grown considerably, providing an insight into how quickly we learn and adapt.
In the second episode the range of material becomes incredibly interesting as the notion of language providing identity is explored and Fry investigates how some languages are booming and others are in decline. In Ireland soap operas have been credited with keeping the Irish dialects in use, in Israel Hebrew is having a resurgence in popularity and internationally Globlish- Global English is taking hold.
One of the challenges in this show is keeping up with the host as he ping pongs across the globe-one minute he’s in Africa, then he’s in Europe, back home in England and in the blink of an eye somewhere else. The concepts and ideas come flying at you pretty fast too, so this is a show to watch sitting forward with your brain switched on, but it’s the perfect vehicle for Stephen Fry, the great lover of language and learning.
Fry’s Planet Word starts 9:30pm Sunday March 11 on ABC1.
Written by Graeme Watson
