This article is excerpted from the new book, "The Language Wars: A History of Proper English" from Farrar, Straus and Girous. No language has spread as widely as English, and it continues to spread.

Simon Horobin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...

As California voters head to the polls this Election Day, one of the propositions on their ballot will be a question with decades of history and conflict behind it: Should the state make it easier for ...