Today, English has spread to the four corners of the earth. Since 1500 i.e. after the rise of Standard English, English has grown as an analytic language, once it was a synthetic language, with changes and modifications. The loss of inflections and inflected grammatical gender are the greatest changes in Modern English. Even pronunciation and spelling have been changed to some extent. The treasure of words (vocabulary) is another feature of Modern English. From time to time, English borrows words from other languages across the world and it has universal appeal in this way. Modern English is comparatively flexible and soft. It is free from dry lexicography, literal pedantry and other cumbersome adumbrations. English has become a global language today and it plays a vital role in international organizations, business, trade, education, tourism, communications, medicine, science and technology, information technology, internet and what not.
This paper examines the growth of English language, after the rise of Standard English, in terms of vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and spelling, literature etc. So the journey of English language from Middle English period to Modern English period is significant in the history of English Language because English has grown to be a global language.
Characteristics, Modern English, global language, grammar, pronunciation, spelling, Standard English, vocabulary
