“English is a first language for many different language communities across the world, and is changing all the time. So many people use English for so many different purposes every day that it is not at all surprising that at any one point in time there is massive linguistic variation. Indeed, ‘Englishes’ rather than ‘English’ is the name of the game, and anyone responsible for preparing English texts ready for publication needs to be aware of this variation in usage, so as to be able to make appropriate decisions and produce stylistically balanced texts which are fit for purpose. Often, however, people are uncertain and conflicting stories abound.”

“At the same time, there are also matters of usage that seem to be a perennial source of contention. They may relate to opinions about what is correct and not correct, in whatever form of the language, or they may relate to what is considered stylistically preferable, in terms of readability. What are these issues, and is it really clear what is correct and incorrect, and what is good?”