It is estimated that more than 840 million people speak English as a first or second language, which makes it the second most-spoken language right after Mandarin. It is an official language of a whopping 67 countries as well as 27 non-sovereign entities such as Hong Kong or Puerto Rico. It would also be interesting to know that English is not the official language of the United States of America. However, The United States is a nation of immigrants, with a large percentage of citizens for whom English is a second language.
William Caxton, a British writer, introduced the printing press in England. As the English language was rapidly transforming and there were no set rules, Caxton tried to bring some organisation. He came up with a spelling system but faced additional problems. For example, many people still had weak English which led them to misspell certain words. Moreover, as more printing presses emerged each used to print a new spelling or introduce a new word. Typesetters spelt words longer on purpose as they were paid per line.
In 1828, an American named Noah Webster published an official dictionary of American English whose spellings are still used today. After the introduction of the dictionary, new American words appeared constantly, and the British had no clue what many of them meant.
Webster, the influential American lexicographer, it has to be said, was a bit of a zealot. According to Bill Bryson's "Mother Tongue", Webster lobbied Congress to make simplified spelling a legal requirement, which would have turned "America into the only country in history where deviant spelling would be a punishable offence". Thankfully, spelling stayed off federal law-books and no one has been put in gaol or indeed jail for using "u" in "colour". Still, he had a point. The variety in spelling can muddle even native speakers.
