English
Let an agent handle English by variety, register, usage, learning and plain-language practice, respecting varieties and learners.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent handle English by variety, register, usage, learning and plain-language practice, respecting varieties and learners.
A West Germanic language originating in England, now a global lingua franca with many national varieties, spoken as a first or additional language by more than a billion people by most estimates.
What it is for: Communication in daily life, science, business, diplomacy and culture.
It can be choose a variety and spelling convention; write in plain English; learn and teach English; translate to and from English.
Distinguishing features
Global lingua franca
Many national varieties
Irregular spelling
Large vocabulary from many sources
What it looks like
Written in the Latin alphabet; spoken with many accents.
Physical character
speakers: about 1.5 billion people - first and additional language together; the count depends on who is counted as a speaker, so treat it as an estimate, not a census figure
How it is recognised
Varieties such as British, American, Indian, Nigerian English
Spelling differences such as -our and -or
Plain English guidelines
Related models
is a kind of - category
is written in - script
is described by - references
is related to - relatives
In practice
Families and kinds
British and Irish English
North American English
Australian and New Zealand English
South Asian and African Englishes
English-based creoles (related)
Identifiers
ISO 639-1 en language code
BCP 47 en-GB, en-US and others variety tags
Standards and regulation
No single regulator; style guides and dictionaries
Plain language laws in some countries
Failure modes and hazards
Treating one variety as the only correct one
Jargon and inaccessible writing
Mistranslation of idioms
Also called
+94
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Variety Which English.
Varieties differ.
Variety
Regional form.
Variety
Variety.
- Which variety of English is expected? definition
- Which spelling convention follows from it? definition
Register
Formal or informal.
Register
Register.
- Which register suits the audience? action
- Is jargon avoided? boundary
Usage Correctness.
Usage guides help.
Grammar
Rules.
Grammar
Grammar and usage.
- What do reputable usage guides say? provenance
- Is the rule prescriptive or descriptive? definition
Plain English
Clarity.
Plain
Plain English.
- How can the text be made clearer? action
- Is it readable for the intended audience? boundary
Learning Learners.
Many people learn English.
Levels
CEFR.
Levels
Proficiency levels.
- What proficiency level is needed? measurement
- Which test certifies it? provenance
Resources
Study.
Resources
Learning resources.
- Which resources suit the learner? action
- Are they accessible? boundary
Translation Other languages.
Translation needs care.
Equivalents
Meaning.
Equivalents
Translation.
- Does the translation keep the meaning and tone? boundary
- Are idioms handled? boundary
Respect
Varieties and accents.
Respect
Respect for varieties.
- Are all varieties and accents treated with respect? boundary
- Is native-speaker bias avoided? boundary
What the second pass must settle
- Should varieties be separate entries?
- How should language tags be linked?
- How should plain language guidance be linked?