Why Do We Use The Term “the Queens English”?

1. Anonymous Says

   To describe the language as pronounced and used in the Court of Saint James, which has, naturally, the cachet of both social prestige and administrative approval. As QC’s become KC’s when the monarch is male, so the Queen’s English becomes the King’s English when the country has a King. It cannot precede the reign of Henry V, the first monarch since 1066 to have English rather than French as his mother tongue, but the OED ignores it and the first positive evidence I have found for its use is “The King’s English,” by the Fowler brothers in 1906, but when this book was reedited twenty years later its title was changed to “Modern English Usage” and contains no mention of the phrase, its origin or meaning. At a guess I would suggest it must go back at least to the early 18th century, and perhaps to the 16th.

2. ANGELA Says

   The problem here is that you have totally misunderstood the meaning and the use of the phrase”the Queen’s English”
   The Queen’s English refers to grammatically correct and coherent written expression in the English language. It does not refer to a specific accent, intonation or regional variation of the spoken language.
   example: “I wish the lawmakers would write laws in the Queens English instead of this incomprehensible legalese crap”http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.ph…
   ALSO, Queens English is the English language as it is written and spoken in the UK.
   Colour not color;
   Through not thru;
   Finally, the Queen’s English Society is a charity that aims to keep the English language safe from perceived declining standards. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen's_Eng…
   I hope I’ve helped you,
   Angela!!!

3. romanesq Says

   In addition to the above, please be aware that the Queen’s actual accent has changed over the decades. If you doubt this, go to Youtube and search for The Queen’s Speech (she makes this traditionally every year at Christmas). Listen for yourself to the differences between how she spoke in the 1950′s and 60′s and how she speaks now.

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