Editing Modern English (section)

{{Short description|Stage of the English language from the contemporary period}}
{{For|the English band|Modern English (band)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Modern English
| altname          = New English<br>present-day English
| nativename       = English
| era              = 17th century – present<ref>Terttu Nevalainen: ''An Introduction to Early Modern English'', Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 1</ref>
| region           = [[English-speaking world]]
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
| fam3             = [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]]
| fam4             = [[North Sea Germanic]]
| fam5             = [[Anglo-Frisian languages|Anglo-Frisian]]
| fam6             = [[Anglic languages|Anglic]]
| fam7             = [[English language|English]]
| ancestor         = [[Proto-Indo-European]]
| ancestor2        = [[Proto-Germanic]]
| ancestor3        = [[Proto-West Germanic]]
| ancestor4        = [[Proto-English]]
| ancestor5        = [[Old English]]
| ancestor6        = [[Middle English]]
| ancestor7        = [[Early Modern English]]
| script           = [[Latin script]] ([[English alphabet]])<br />[[English Braille]], [[Unified English Braille]]
| iso1             = en
| iso2             = eng
| iso3             = eng
| lingua           = 52-ABA
| glotto           = stan1293
| glottorefname    = English
}}

'''Modern English''', sometimes called '''New English''' ('''NE'''){{sfn|Sihler|2000|p=xvi}} or '''present-day English''' ('''PDE''') as opposed to [[Middle English|Middle]] and [[Old English]], is the form of the [[English language]] that has been spoken since the [[Great Vowel Shift]] in [[England]], which began in the late 14th century and was completed by the 17th century.

With some differences in vocabulary, texts that date from the early 17th century, such as the works of [[William Shakespeare]] and the [[King James Bible]], are considered Modern English, or more specifically, [[Early Modern English]] or [[Elizabethan era|Elizabethan]] English. Through colonization, English was adopted in many regions of the world by the [[British Empire]], such as [[Anglo-America]], the [[Indian subcontinent]], [[Africa]], [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]].

Modern English has many [[List of dialects of the English language|dialects]] spoken in many countries throughout the world, sometimes collectively referred to as the [[English-speaking world]]. These dialects include [[American English|American]], [[Australian English|Australian]], [[British English|British]] (containing [[English language in England|Anglo-English]], [[Scottish English]] and [[Welsh English]]), [[Canadian English|Canadian]], [[New Zealand English|New Zealand]], [[Caribbean English|Caribbean]], [[Hiberno-English]] (including [[Ulster English]]), [[Indian English|Indian]], [[Sri Lankan English|Sri Lankan]], [[Pakistani English|Pakistani]], [[Nigerian English|Nigerian]], [[Philippine English|Philippine]], [[Singaporean English|Singaporean]], and [[South African English]].

According to the ''[[Ethnologue]]'', there are almost one billion speakers of English as a first or second language.<ref>{{cite web|editor-last1=Lewis|editor-first1=M. Paul|editor-last2=Simons|editor-first2=Gary F.|editor-last3=Fennig|editor-first3=Charles D.|title=English|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/eng|website=Ethnologue|publisher=SIL International|access-date=22 February 2016|date=2016|quote=Total users in all countries: 942,533,930 (as L1: 339,370,920; as L2: 603,163,010)}}</ref> English is spoken as a first or a second language in many countries, with most native speakers being in the [[United States]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[Australia]], [[Canada]], [[New Zealand]] and [[Ireland]]. It "has more non-native speakers than any other language, is more widely dispersed around the world and is used for more purposes than any other language". Its large number of speakers, plus its worldwide presence, have made English a [[lingua franca|common language]] (lingua franca) "of the airlines, of the sea and shipping, of computer technology, of science and indeed of (global) communication generally".{{sfn|Algeo|Pyles|2004|p=222}}