ABSTRACT
This chapter describes some key developments in the English language from the end of the fifteenth century to the nineteenth century. During this period that English became standardised, the idea of a 'standard' form of English, which Could serve as a 'national' language of first England, then Britain, arises. As international trade grew, so did banking and other financial services such as stock exchanges. The Reformation is the name given to the breaking away from the Roman Catholic faith and from the institutional authority of the Roman Catholic church in many parts of northern Europe. The Reformation led to a generally freer climate with regard to the pursuit of analytical studies involving the natural world.
