The surprisingly subtle ways Microsoft Word has changed the way we use language (opens in new tab)

The author seems a little confused herself

"Word may not recognise vocabulary or grammar conventions that are part of local dialects, and will try to correct them," she says. This can effectively marginalise regional nuance, she adds.

The Cambridge spelling of recognise, marginalise indicates BE, but the comma inside the quote ... correct them," she says. is a pure AEism. Pick a team!

This doesn't seem to have any evidence, and just says Word _may_ have changed English.

> As Microsoft Word turns 40, we look at the role the software has played in four decades of language and communication evolution

Dear Victoria, Microsoft Word played the following roles in the last 4 decades: taking normal people at the edge of insanity, showing that even if you are close to make a good product (Word 97), there always must be an idiot who breaks something (ribbon).

But don't care about losers like me. Keep up the good work, because Microsoft pays well for articles like yours.

Huh?

The only thing I see there that's actually relevant is the ability to easily make minor changes, thus making writing much easier to polish. It's part of why I prefer articles to podcasts--the language use is much more polished and so you get more information for a given amount of time/attention.

This just in: Using English may have changed English.