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For centuries, many people have called for language reforms of English, which vary in approach from the radical (completely overhauling existing conventions) to the conservative (preserving most while removing irregularities). Phonetic alphabets limited to English do not belong here. See Category:Phonetic alphabets.
A formal system (also called a logical calculus, or a logical system) consists of a formal language together with a deductive apparatus (also called a deductive system). The deductive apparatus may consist of a set of transformation rules , which may be interpreted as valid rules of inference, or a set of axioms , or have both.
By far the most common language reform is simplification. The most common simplification is spelling reform, but inflection, syntax, vocabulary and word formation can also be targets for simplification. For example, in English, there are many prefixes which mean "the opposite of", e.g. un-, in-, a(n)-, dis-, and de-.
amaze from Middle English amased [1] ambivalent from ambivalence [1] ameliorate perhaps from amelioration in some cases [1] annunciate perhaps from annunciation in some cases [1] anticline from anticlinal [5] antipode from antipodes (non-standard) appeal (n.) from Old French apel, back-formation from apeler [1] apperceive (in modern ...
Modern English, sometimes called New English (NE) [2] or present-day English (PDE) as opposed to Middle and Old English, is the form of the English language that has been spoken since the Great Vowel Shift in England, which began in the late 14th century and was completed by the 17th century.
Rudolph Carnap defined the meaning of the adjective formal in 1934 as follows: "A theory, a rule, a definition, or the like is to be called formal when no reference is made in it either to the meaning of the symbols (for example, the words) or to the sense of the expressions (e.g. the sentences), but simply and solely to the kinds and order of the symbols from which the expressions are ...
For example, in English spelling, most past participles are spelled with -ed, even though its pronunciation can vary (compare raised and lifted). One of the difficulties in introducing a spelling reform is how to reflect different pronunciations, often linked to regions or classes.
The English language descends from Old English, the West Germanic language of the Anglo-Saxons. Most of its grammar, its core vocabulary and the most common words are Germanic. [1] However, the percentage of loans in everyday conversation varies by dialect and idiolect, even if English vocabulary at large has a greater Romance influence.