The Cambridge Guide to English Usage

American and British English in the twenty-first century are still divided by a common language. Now in its second edition, this highly readable guide provides an authoritative reference to English usage, covering the differences, and some emerging similarities, between British, American and international English. It has been thoroughly updated and expanded to document hundreds of variable points of usage for the benefit of British and American readers, and for those seeking international forms of English for written communication, as first- or second-language users. It discusses the current status of each usage item with quantitative evidence from the NOW (News on the Web) corpus and contemporary research. Lively examples of usage are provided to capture aspects of twenty-first century culture world-wide. It also discusses issues in the use of personal names and ethnic naming practices, as well as sexist and homophobic words, and person-centred words for those living with a disability.

• Provides an up-to-date account of differences between British and American usage
• Uses large-scale data from a very large (c. 2 billion-word) corpus of current newswriting from British and American writers to compare and evaluate alternatives
• Includes lively examples of usage to capture aspects of twenty-first century culture and international English