Some useful Tips for Learning English well
According to the British Council data, around one and a half billion people around the world learn English and by the year 2023 this number may reach three billion.
Did you know that English is the most widely read language in the world?
According to the data of the British Council, around one and a half billion people around the world learn English and by the year 2023 this number may reach three billion.
Benjamin Dreyer, a well-known editor, says that he can only encourage all such people because ‘English is a very irregular language’.
But the difficulty of the language did not discourage many people. English has become the lingua franca of modern times and today it dominates publishing, internet, science, arts, finance, sports, politics and international tourism all over the world.
When French President ‘Edouard Philippe’ said that ‘English is now an international language’, at that time, he was not exaggerating.
According to linguist David Crystal, English is the mother tongue of 400 million people, and 70 to 800 million people learn English after learning their mother tongue because it is spoken in their country, such as India, Pakistan, Nigeria, etc.
There are six ‘principles’ whose basis is dubious. According to Dreyer, if someone has told you that these principles will improve your writing, they won’t.
And besides, there are millions of people from Chile to Russia who can speak English as a foreign language. That is, these people individually decided to learn the language even though the language is not spoken in those countries.
Now the only question is to agree on how to write it or at least good writing.
Hail Benjamin Dreyer who wrote Dreyer’s English, perhaps the only book on grammar and style that will make you laugh so hard that you cry.
And they have access to their subject. He has more than a decade of experience working as a copy chief at Random House, an American publishing house.
Who is in charge?
Nobody, English as a language lives in linguistic lawlessness. That is, it has no patron nor has it ever been organized.
There are formal bodies established to monitor the evolution of French or Spanish languages, in contrast, there is no body for English that lays down universal rules of grammar for users to follow.
Perhaps this is why, says Dreyer, “modern French readers can understand Moliere better and, conversely, English speakers find it difficult to understand Shakespeare.”
A language that evolved without a unified code makes spelling words a nightmare.
Does expression matter when people can understand each other?
In short, yes.
Dreyer says that writing in precise and clear prose is very important, especially if you are communicating in a professional capacity.
And the best way to impress others with your written words is to have ‘correct spelling’. Moreover, to consider words that ‘sound alike but have different meanings i.e. homophones’.
And the kind of English that has been called ‘correct’ or ‘standard English’ can be a fallacy.
Exercise #1: Start writing good English
Dreyer says that even if there is no universal rule, you can be a good writer by “avoiding the use of words that spoil the writing of ordinary people.”
For example, for one week you avoid using these words: very, rather, really, quite, just and in fact.
You should also add ‘Actually’ to this list. This is my biggest mistake and I am addicted to the word, actuality.
If you can do this, your writing will improve by 20%.
I can only encourage all such people, says the popular editor Benjamin Dreyer, because ‘English is a very irregular language’.
Exercise #2: Break old rules and move toward improvement
There are some ‘principles’ whose basis is dubious. According to Dreyer, if someone has told you that these principles will improve your writing, they won’t.
Some of these ‘outdated rules’ were instilled in our minds at school during childhood.
Dreyer’s advice in this regard is clear: remember them and then forget them.
You may have heard that starting sentences with ‘end’ and ‘but’ is wrong. Dreyer says, “Although it may be controversial, there is no particular justification for such a ban.”
“Show courage and embrace the different beautiful colors of the English language,” he said. It is not considered best to start a sentence in this way, but it is not wrong either.
Dreyer also wants to rid people of the outdated rule that you can never end a sentence with a conjunction.
