ABSTRACT
The past 400 years have seen an exponential growth in the number of English speakers worldwide. As fields such as education, entertainment, business, science, technology and the internet have become globalised, knowledge of English has become essential, and today around two billion people, or almost one third of the world's population, have some knowledge of the language. Dictionaries such as the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) tend to reflect how words are actually used, rather than how they should be used, and grammar books tend to also reflect current usage and habits. Most people in Britain respect political correctness. It is embedded in the law, and restricts those who may discriminate against, insult and marginalise others. Although Britain is a predominantly Anglo-Saxon country, ethnic diversity is a major characteristic of many large towns and cities. Britain's global expansion over the past 500 years has resulted in a steady flow of immigration, which increased substantially in the twentieth century.
