Learning to write right

Abstract

English grammar compared to that of other European languages is simple, but some of this simplicity can be deceptive. In the 1920s two Cambridge scholars, I. A. Richards and C. K. Ogden, worked out a system they called Basic English. This consists of only 850 words with which you can make sense of anything that may be said in English. The New Testament, for example, has been written in Basic English and is clearer for some than the Authorised Version. Some of Bernard Shaw's plays have also been transposed into Basic; indeed, with some ingenuity you can express any ideas in this way. Some people are more skilled than others, but that is a different question.

Citation

Baker, E.C. (1985), "Learning to write right", Education + Training, Vol. 27 No. 9, pp. 283-283. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb017194