Modern English
Modern English (sometimes New English or NE as opposed to Middle English and Old English) is the form of the English language spoken since the Great Vowel Shift in England, which began in the late 14th century and was completed in roughly 1550.
History of English
English underwent extensive sound changes during the 15th century, while its spelling conventions remained largely constant. Modern English is often dated from the Great Vowel Shift, which took place mainly during the 15th century. The language was further transformed by the spread of a standardized London-based dialect in government and administration and by the standardizing effect of printing, which also tended to regularize capitalization. As a result, the language acquired self-conscious terms such as "accent" and "dialect". As most early presses come from continental Europe, a few native English letters such as þ and ð die out; for some time "þe" is written as "ye." By the time of William Shakespeare (mid 16th - early 17th century), the language had become clearly recognizable as Modern English. In 1604, the first English dictionary was published, the "Table Alphabeticall".