Do you think so?

I think English belongs to the world today - it is spoken as a 'foreign' or 'second' language more often than as a mother tongue.

Clarence Darrow, a famous American lawyer, said: "Even if you do learn to speak correct English, whom are you going to speak it to?"

and

Winston Churchill said: "England and America are two countries divided by a common language."

Accent, pronounciation, word stress, emphasis, rythum, etc. Whose English is correct? If you speak BBC English people in New York will know instantly that you are not a 'native' speaker of New York-English.

Work very hard then, and perfect your American English and suddenly you will be localized (localised?) again - CBS English is actually Canadian English, New York English is spoken by millions, but only in a small geographical area. This problem never ends! Australia, Jamaica, Singapore... London, Liverpool, Dublin... New York, Atlanta, Toronto...

When I teach English, I work hard to present a variety of accents to my students and I stress over and over again that they cannot win the accent game. Why even try? Variety is part of the charm of the English language, it is what allows it to move so easily around the world.

Vocabulary presents a similar kind of problem, or, knowing the right/rite/write/wright words can be hard too. Which is correct? Which is better? Is the meaning clear? Then the words are good words.

Polysyllabic expression is unnecessary in the majority of situations, or, Most of the time you do not need big words. Which is easier to understand? The statement using small words is easier, and more powerful. Unless you have made a promise to become a Nobel Prize winning author in (English) literature, simple, clear direct vocabulary is always best...

What a writer must try to do is to write as truly as he can. Ernest Hemingway, Winner, 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature. Note: No big words!

Oh! Wait! Maybe even Nobel Laureates know that easy language is not bad language...

Finally, and I apologize/apologise for this little rant, native speakers of English are LAZY! We do not learn other languages the same way speakers of other languages learn additional languages, we trust that there will be an English speaker wherever we go.

But, we are very good at understanding our own language - in all of its forms.

It's just an old war,
Not even a cold war,
Don't say it in Russian,
Don't say it in German,
Say it in broken English,
Say it in broken English.
Broken English, by Marianne Faithfull