For nearly 500 years the kings and queens of England ruled over an empire that at its height reached all around the world, from the green meadows of Ireland to the lush jungles along the Nile River, in the hot and dusty streets of New Delhi and across the wide red plains of the Australian desert, with opium traders in Hong Kong and fur traders in Canada, and far out in the Pacific Ocean on the remote Pitcairn Islands, home to the descendants of the sailors on the Bounty. The English language followed the settlers, explorers, conquerors and colonizers, but because in most of these lands there were people there already, with their own native languages, the English spoken by the colonizers became mingled with the language of the colonies, and different dialects of English evolved, each with their own vocabulary and pronunciation. Depending on where a person was born and educated in the British Empire, the version of English they spoke could be quite different, yet each would think their way was correct.

Back in England at the beginning of the 20th century, Henry and Frances Fowler wrote The King’s English and in it attempted to set the definition for the “truly correct” way to speak. While much of what they tried to standardize has changed – because a living language will always change, no matter how many standards are set – it’s not a book that today’s student of English can go to for the most recent rules on vocabulary and pronunciation. However, the book had a great impact on how the upper class in England learned to speak, and that in turn influenced how the English language was taught and spoken around the world. Even today, the phrase “speaking the King’s English” is used to refer to someone whose diction and vocabulary is precise and accurate, with little or no regional dialect.

Even today there are people who believe that the English language can still be held to a higher standard. The Queen’s English Society try to keep the rules of grammar and pronunciation fixed and accurate, and encourage the media to follow them. There is no comparable national organization in the United States, which may explain this famous quote attributed to George Bernard Shaw: “The United States and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common language.”