The document discusses the development of the English language from 1900 to present day. It notes that a large number of scientific and technological words have been added to the vocabulary in a short period of time, using Greek and Latin roots. World Wars I and II helped reduce differences between regional accents. The rise of technology and the British Empire were two key factors that contributed many new words to the language.

1. Module (3)
The Development of English
Late Modern English

2. *Since 1900, a very large amount of vocabulary
words has been added to English in a relatively
short period.
*The majority of these words are related to
science and technology, and use Greek and Latin
roots.

3. *A proposal for an Academy of the English
Language was first brought forth by
Jonathan Swift in 1712, but the Parliament
voted against it.
*A more scientifically minded attitude took
hold by the 19th century when the Oxford
English Dictionary was proposed in 1859.
*Samuel Johnson's dictionary, published in
1755 in England, was influential in
establishing a standard form of spelling.

4. *World War I and World War II threw
together people from different
backgrounds, and the greater social
mobility afterwards helped to lessen
the differences between social
accents.
*The development of radio
broadcasting in the early 20th
century familiarised the population
with accents and vocabulary from
outside their own localities.

5. * The principal distinction between early- and late-modern
English is vocabulary.
* Pronunciation, grammar, and spelling are largely the
same, but Late-Modern English has many more words.
* These words are the result of two historical factors:
1. The Industrial Revolution and the rise of the
technological society
2. The rise of the British Empire

6. *The Industrial Revolution and the rise of the
technological society
* The industrial and scientific revolutions created a need for
new words to describe the new creations and discoveries.
* This process of coining new words is called neologism: a
neologism is a newly coined term, word, or phrase.

7. *The rise of the British Empire
* The rise of the British Empire and the growth of global trade
served not only to introduce English to the world, but to
introduce words into English.