Modern English

:For the '80s pop band, see Modern English (band).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Modern English is the term used for the contemporary use of the English language. In terms of historical linguistics, it covers the English language after the Middle English period; that is, roughly, after the Great Vowel Shift, which was largely concluded after 1550.

Related Topics:
English language - Linguistics - Middle English - Great Vowel Shift - 1550

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Despite some differences in vocabulary, material from the early 17th century, such as the works of William Shakespeare and the King James Bible, is considered to be in Modern English, or more specifically, they are referred to as Early Modern English, and most people who are fluent in the English of the early 21st century can read these books with little difficulty.

Related Topics:
17th century - William Shakespeare - King James Bible - Early Modern English

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Modern English has a large number of idioms, spoken in diverse countries throughout the world. Most of these, however, are mutually comprehensible. This includes American English, Australian English, British English, Canadian English, Caribbean English, Hiberno-English, Indian English, and Pakistani English.

Related Topics:
American English - Australian English - British English - Canadian English - Caribbean English - Hiberno-English - Indian English - Pakistani English

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

According to Ethnologue, there are over 508 million speakers of English as a first or second language as of 1999, a number dwarfed only by Chinese in terms of the number of speakers. However, Chinese has a smaller geographical range: it is spoken primarily in mainland China and Taiwan, and by a sizable immigrant community in the United States. In contrast, English is spoken in a vast number of territories, including Great Britain, Canada, the United States of America, Australia, and India. Its large number of speakers, plus its worldwide presence, have made English a common language for use in such diverse applications as controlling airplanes and developing software.

Related Topics:
Great Britain - Canada - United States of America - Australia - India

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~