Before 1762, there was no influential prescribed English grammar rules, but a desire within the middle class to teach their children to speak like the upperclass prompted Bishop Robert Lowth to publish the prescriptive grammar book which has been the foundation of current English grammar.
English Language
The “Pirate speak” from movies and books was an actual…
The “Pirate speak” from movies and books was an actual distinct dialect of English which was spoken until the 19th century in the west country. It became associated with pirates due to the strong seafaring tradition from the area.
There is a movement to create new gender neutral pronouns…
There is a movement to create new gender neutral pronouns: ze, zir, zir, hir, hirs, and xe, xem, and xyr. The University of Tennessee is encouraging students to use gender-neutral pronouns to help students feel more welcome.
Mastering just 3,000 words in English will make you able to understand…
Mastering just 3,000 words in English will make you able to understand around 95% of common texts.
Many words used to be spelled phonetically (e.g. debt was ‘det’) until some…
Many words used to be spelled phonetically (e.g. debt was ‘det’) until some scholars purposely added silent letters to make them look more like Greek or Latin words, sometimes erroneously.
There is a completely unique English dia …
There is a completely unique English dialect spoken only on Tangier Island, Virginia. It is said to be almost the same as when the island was settled in 1686 and can be unintelligible even to native English speakers.
There are up to 24 dialects of American …
There are up to 24 dialects of American English.
Most Southern U.S. English speakers make …
Most Southern U.S. English speakers make no phonic distinction between “pen” and “pin” and this is one of the most widely recognized features of Southern speech today.
There was an early 70’s #1 Italian song …
There was an early 70’s #1 Italian song written entirely in English gibberish to mimic what English sounds like to a non-English speaker.
Many phrases in English come from litera …
Many phrases in English come from literal translations of Chinese phrases, such as “long time no see”, “no go”, “lose face” and “no can do”.
90% of Dutch, 89% of Norwegians, 86% of …
90% of Dutch, 89% of Norwegians, 86% of Swedes, and 86% of Danes can speak English, while only 85.18% of Canadians can.
“Go!” is the shortest, grammatically c …
“Go!” is the shortest, grammatically correct sentence in the English Language.