English (language)
English was the language originally spoken in England. It was also spoken over much of Earth. Though there were many speakers of English, it was not always the most common language. In the early 21st century, Mandarin was most widely spoken. (TV: Children of Earth: Day One) It was said to be easier for the Eurozone to know English than to teach the world other languages. (PROSE: Trading Futures)
The Doctor's favourite language was English. (AUDIO: ...ish) The First Doctor told Dodo Chaplet that he would teach her proper English after she said "okay." (TV: The Ark) Edward Waterfield, being from 1866, had to be explained that "okay" meant something was "good" or that it would be taken care of. (TV: The Evil of the Daleks)
The Celestial Toymaker asked Charlotte Pollard about possible code words to a puzzle he'd set for her: "Do you know how many four-letter words there are in the English language? How many in all languages? Approximately 400,000." (AUDIO: Solitaire)
The language was used both in Great Britain and in the United States of America, but each culture had their own variations of certain words or phrases. The letter 'Z' was pronounced "zee" in America and "zed" in Britain, (TV: Vengeance on Varos) while words like "grey/gray" and "checkerboard/chequerboard" had different spellings. (AUDIO: The Reaping, PROSE: Deceit) Additionally, the English and Americans had different words for the same thing, such as the "bumper" or "fender" of a car. (AUDIO: 1963: The Space Race)
American English was also a wholly different dialect to Oxford English[source needed] or Cockney English. (PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy, TV: The Unicorn and the Wasp) Accents also differed between those mentioned and Scottish (TV: The Eleventh Hour, Deep Breath) or Northern English, (TV: Rose) or, outside of the UK, between New Zealand ("Kiwi") English, and that which spoken by South Africans. (PROSE: The Comet's Tail)
Shanquis was terraformed by English-speaking humans. The terraforming device was left online after the humans on the planet died out, allowing anyone who spoke English to control the structure of Shanquis. (AUDIO: Bernice Summerfield and the Criminal Code)
After World War II, Winston Churchill began writing a history of the English-speaking peoples. The earliest volume was about the period of Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain in the 1st century BC. (AUDIO: Living History)
When Doña Arana heard the Androgum Shockeye speak in Seville in 1985, she recognised his words as English. (TV: The Two Doctors)
Tegan Jovanka's father William Jovanka used to say that "if" was the most powerful word in the English language. (TV: Castrovalva; AUDIO: Psychodrome)
When he began learning English, Matteusz Andrzejewski would read books in the language, including a book about a place called Narnia, at his mother's suggestion. (TV: Detained)
Leela could not read English. (AUDIO: Beautiful Things)
By the 50th century, phonetic spelling was common in English. For instance, "Emergency Exit" was spelled "Emergensee Eggsit" and "Service Elevator" was spelled "Servis Ellyvater". (AUDIO: Revenge of the Swarm)
English as a subject
English was also a subject taught in schools.
English teachers at Coal Hill School included Mr Foster, (PROSE: The Edge of Destruction) Miss Ireland, (AUDIO: All Hands on Deck) and Clara Oswald (TV: The Time of the Doctor) According to one account, Barbara Wright was an English teacher. (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus)
Ace hated her English teacher. (PROSE: Conundrum) He once told her "This is all flowery nonsense." (PROSE: Love and War)
David Wiles was the English teacher at Melissa's school. (PROSE: Spookasem)
Miss Telfer was the English teacher at Sally Sparrow's school. (PROSE: What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow)
Mr Grant was the English teacher at Ogmore-by-Sea's high school. (PROSE: Curse of the Mirror Clowns)
Miss Rafferty was Imogen Quaye's English teacher. (PROSE: Artificial Intelligence)
| British word/phrase | American word/phrase |
|---|---|
| Z (zed) | Z (zee) |
| Bumper | Fender |
| Lift | Elevator |
| Grey | Gray |
| Chequerboard | Checkerboard |
