The Internet offers endangered languages a chance to have a public voice in a way that would not have been possible before.

When we look at the specific effect of the Internet on language, languages asking the question, 'Has English become a different language as a result of the Internet?' the answer has to be no.

A feature of English that makes it different compared with all other languages is its global spread.

Spellings are made by people. Dictionaries eventually reflect popular choices. And the Internet is allowing more people to influence spelling than ever before.

One of the places the full stop is really being revised in a really fundamental way is on the Internet. You look at the Internet or any instant messaging exchange - anything that is a fast dialogue taking place. People simply do not put full stops in unless they want to make a point.

Language itself changes slowly, but the Internet has speeded up the process of those changes so you notice them more quickly.