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A Journal into the Foreign Language Phrasebook

Posted on 16 November 2014

Dr Helen Smith discusses the early modern book trade, as part of John Gallagher's engaging documentary.

This Radio 3 Sunday Feature documentary, presented by New Generation thinker John Gallagher, focuses on the history of a long-overlooked form of literature: the foreign language phrase book.

The British often assume that most people we meet abroad will speak English - and many of them do. This was not the case three or four centuries ago, when the Grand Tour became a rite of passage and an increasing number of entrepreneurs forged trade links across Europe and beyond. At that time English was a minority language.

Phrase books and travel guides of the time reveal the preoccupations of the day and, in the varied dialogues and phrases they offered, reflect the needs of a variety of travellers, be they tourists keen to visit the art of Italy or the salons of Paris, merchants seeking to make deals in Dutch marketplaces, or spies intent on learning the secrets of continental powers.

Listen to the programme on the BBC R3 website.