English for Students

Official Committee

Is there An Official Committee which regulates the English language, like the Académie française does for French?


No. There never has been any group or body with this authority and it is not the purpose of the Oxford English Dictionary Department to act in this way. There was considerable interest in the standardization of English in the 17th and 18th centuries which among other things resulted in the publication of Samuel Johnson's famous dictionary in 1755. However, despite the support of writers such as Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift, efforts to improve the language or to establish an English Academy were unsuccessful.


English is now used in so many countries and in so many contexts. That it is doubtful whether anyone would take much notice of an Academy even if one existed, though there are organizations dedicated to maintaining or improving standards of English usage such as the Plain English Campaign which tries to encourage the use of clear English rather than jargon especially in commercial, legal and official publications and the Queen's English Society which aims to counteract the perceived misuse and debasement of English.


Related Links:


• Is there An Official Committee which regulates the English language?
• Do you include words used on the Internet?
• Are Lexicographers good spellers?
• Are Dictionaries really necessary?
• Are dictionaries always in Alphabetical Order?
• What is a Dictionary?

• What are the Oxford Dictionary?
• Are other languages recorded in huge Multi-Volume Dictionaries?
• Do Dictionary-Makers ever make mistakes?
• What is the chronology of events relevant to the history of the OED?
• How can I access Dictionary Online?

• How do you decide What To Include in a dictionary?
• How do you decide If a New Word should go in an Oxford Dictionary?
• Will the Dictionary-Makers put MT NEW WORD into their dictionaries?
• How will be a Dictionary In 2050?
• How has Computer Technology affected dictionary-making?

• How do you know what a word means?
• Dictionaries have changed over the years. How?
• When will the Third Edition of the OED be published?
• What skills and talents does a Lexicographer need?
• How will The Revision affect the size of the OED?