English Language FAQ

Not according to Henry Hitchings new book: ‘The Language Wars: A History of Proper English' in the 18th-century authors were sprinkling apostrophes over everything. Though you may think the shopkeeper is ignorant and wrong to advertise “CD’s & Video’s”, he has history on his side.   From the Economist Hitchings goes on to suggest that the apostrophe may be nearing its sell by date. Tell me this isn’t true, I can’t live in a world without contractions .... Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation The Language Wars: A History of Proper English

The discussions on how to save the euro were, bizarrely conducted in English, though there were not a Briton in sight .   The Sunday Times 14/02/10 Listen! More on this & related topics below. (English language level: Upper Intermediate CEF (B2) According to David Graddol's extensive survey for the British Council, the number of non-native or second language speakers of English now outnumbers those of primary or native speakers. At the same time there is an ever increasing need for speakers of different languages to communicate with each other: international tourism is growing, but the proportion of encounters involving a native English speaker is declining (1.9). There were around 763 million international travellers in 2004, but nearly 75% of visits involved visitors from a non-English-speaking country travelling to a non-English-speaking destination. This demonstrates the ... growing role for global English. (free)  Interview with Robert McCrum: The rise of Gl

The King James Bible 1611 The publication of the a translation of The Bible into English authorised by King James. Leading linguist David Crystal describes its impact: I think the King James Bible did something that nobody else had done ... and that is increase the idiomatic range of the language.   The Bible has had an enormous influence on the evolution of the English language. It not only expanded vocabulary but introduced new ways of  expressing complex ideas. Until recently most educated English-speaking people had at least some knowledge of  the Bible. Many words, phrases and idioms have entered the language. The translation with the greatest influence on modern English is the what is the translation authorized by King James in 1611 . This became the version used in Anglican (protestant) churches in England. It is widely admired for the beauty of its language. More on the role of The Bible in the evolution of English here : Audio interview with David Crystal about the KJB

Not according to millions of student of English as a foreign language! But English does have some 'user friendly features as an OUP lexicographer explains in this short extract from a BBC interview Easy English (ESL)

Because I accidentally restricted access! Have corrected - comments welcome!

There does not seem to be an agreed term as you can see from the number of Google references here: yankophile 945 americanophile 716 americophile 233 americaphile 150 usaphile 14 usphile 1 Contrast this with the situation for lovers of French, English, Chinese or Japanese culture anglophile 102,000, francophile 84,700, japanophile 20,400, sinophile 3450 Why is this? Snobbery, perhaps - a 'new' culture looked down on by traditional ones? Or is it just linguistically awkward - americaphile really isn't a pretty word. You might want to check out:  (audio) discussion about the relationship between British and American English here . Time Magazine piece on The Next American Century The New American Century Alistair Cooke's America