Welcome to English Project
The English Project promotes awareness and understanding of the unfolding global story of the English language in all its varieties – past, present and future. We try to present ideas about English in an intelligent, entertaining, inclusive and interactive way. Our hope is that a greater understanding and enjoyment of English can enrich people’s lives and enable them to make more of the exceptional cultural and communications phenomenon which English has become. We intend to reach a broadly-based audience, globally, socially, ethnically and by age amongst English’s two billion speakers worldwide (that's as a first or second language).
The English Project, launched the world’s first English Language Day in 2009 to mark the first occasion on which English was used in Parliament and to raise awareness of the estimated 7,000 varieties of English spoken in 100 countries worldwide. This first Parliamentary speech in English, rather than in French, was made on 13th October 1362. In the same Parliament, a Statute of Pleading was approved that also permitted debate and law-making in English.
ELD Patron Philip Pullman comments: "Every speaker of English has the right to bring new words or expressions into being, or give new meanings to old ones. I hope The English Project will help many people to realise what a treasure we have in our language." ELD Patron Susie Dent adds: “Our language has never been richer, stronger, or more diverse. There can be no better time to celebrate its vitality; the English Project is giving us the chance to do just that."
