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Early Modern English

The Renaissance (1475–1650) brought many new ideas and places into the world of English speakers. English borrowed words from the Americas (tomato, tobacco, alligator, squash) and from new learning (thermometer, hydrant, algebra). The printing press made two great works of Early Modern English available to many English speakers: the English Bible (especially the King James Version) and the plays of William Shakespeare (1590–1616).

William Shakespeare had a tremendous vocabulary. He used words in new ways (assassinate) and created more than 1,700 new words (obscene, submerged) and phrases like “vanished into thin air.”

Modern English

English continues to grow and to change. (English has the largest vocabulary of any modern language.) In the United States, Modern English has been influenced by every aspect of the American experience. This experience includes the contribution of African Americans: Today, Black English Vernacular is an important variety of English. It also includes the contributions of a constant flow of immigrants and their languages (including Spanish, Yiddish, and many other languages) and modern technology (cybersecurity, cryptocurrency, AI).