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different ways of saying the same thing.

As time goes on and things 'change', so the English language evolves and no longer can we rely on the 'Queen's English' as a 'benchmark'.

A what?

The good thing about the English language is that it accepts or adopts words from other languages readily and with such great ease. This is primarily because English is itself a composite language. The Germans, the Anglo-Saxons and the Romans all added to the language in its formative stages. To that foundation came words from science, violent wars, and evolution of all kinds which brings us to this day.

Each of us understands more than we actually speak. It has been said that Shakespeare used 15,000 words and Milton about 7,500. I have no idea of how large my vocabulary is.

Do you?

While I was in China, I noticed that many people used small electronic translation devices complete with 'correct English' voice pronunciation. Perhaps these devices will become the key to the future standardization of the English language for all of us.

Now, will that be 'British English', or 'American English', or 'Chinese English'?

In summary, I believe I have a fairly decent command of the English language, as I have been told by many different 'Canadian' people from various walks of life and different educational disciplines with differing levels of understanding. But I know for a fact, that if you are British, in your mind, you will hear these words entirely differently from the way I would pronounce them, or for example, would an individual native to Sri Lanka, or Australia, or the southern or eastern United States.

The ability to speak good English is best summed up by Francis Quarles (1592-1644):

"If thy words be too luxuriant, confine them lest they confine thee. He that thinks he can never speak enough may easily speak too much. A full tongue and an empty brain are seldom parted."

Learn more about this author, Forman Skidsdon.
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