A Dictionary of Modern English Usage

A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (1926), by Henry Watson Fowler (1858–1933), is a style guide to British English usage, pronunciation, and writing. Covering topics including plurals and literary technique, distinctions among like words (such as homonyms and synonyms), and the use of foreign terms, it became the standard for most style guides that followed. Thus, the 1926 first edition remains in print, despite the existence of the 1965 second edition (edited by Ernest Gowers, and reprinted in 1983 and 1987), and later versions. The 1996 third edition, as The New Fowler's Modern English Usage (with a revised third in 2004) was mostly rewritten by Robert W. Burchfield, as a usage dictionary incorporating corpus linguistics data; the 2015 fourth edition (Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage, edited by Jeremy Butterfield) follows similar principles to the third. In whatever edition, the work is informally known as Fowler’s Modern English Usage, Fowler, and Fowler’s.

Linguistic prescription

Linguistic prescription (or prescriptivism) is the practice of elevating one variety or manner of language use over another. It may imply some forms are incorrect, improper, illogical, lack communicative effect, or are of low aesthetic value. Sometimes informed by linguistic purism, these normative practices may address such linguistics aspects as spelling, grammar, semantics, pronunciation, and syntax. They may also include judgments on socially proper and politically correct language use.

Linguistic prescriptivism may aim to establish a standard language, teach what a particular society perceives as a correct form, or advise on effective communication. If usage preferences are conservative, prescription might appear resistant to language change; if radical, it may produce neologisms.

Prescriptive approaches to language are often contrasted with descriptive linguistics, which observes and records how language actually is used. The basis of linguistic research is text (corpus) analysis and field study, both of which are descriptive activities. Description, however, may include researchers' observations of their own language usage.

Modern English

Modern English (sometimes New English or NE as opposed to Middle English and Old English) is the form of the English language spoken since the Great Vowel Shift in England, which began in the late 14th century and was completed in roughly 1550.

With some differences in vocabulary, texts from the early 17th century, such as the works of William Shakespeare and the King James Bible, are considered to be in Modern English, or more specifically, are referred to as using Early Modern English or Elizabethan English. English was adopted in regions around the world, such as North America, the Indian subcontinent, Africa, Australia and New Zealand through colonisation by the British Empire.

Modern English has a large number of dialects spoken in diverse countries throughout the world. This includes American English, Australian English, British English (containing English English, Welsh English and Scottish English), Canadian English, Caribbean English, Hiberno-English, Indo-Pakistani English, Nigerian English, New Zealand English, Philippine English, Singaporean English, and South African English.

Modern English (band)

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Modern English are a new wave band from Colchester, Essex, England best remembered for their songs "I Melt with You", "Hands Across the Sea", and "Ink and Paper". The group disbanded twice, in 1987 and 1991, but reunited again in 1989 and 1995.

History

Formed in Colchester, Essex, England, in 1979 by Robbie Grey (vocals), Gary McDowell (guitar, vocals), and Michael Conroy (bass, vocals), Modern English were originally known as The Lepers. The group expanded to "Modern English" when Richard Brown (drums) and Stephen Walker (keyboards) were subsequently added to the lineup of the band.