The English Project

The mission of the English Project is to deepen people’s understanding and knowledge of the English language, its history and continuing development (by providing a portal, both physical and virtual, to a wide range of facilities, resources and activities) so that all English speakers across the globe can better appreciate, use and enjoy the language. 

The English Project is a registered charity led by five Trustees: Edward Fennell, a journalist and writer, Dominic Hiscock, active in community affairs and a long-serving City Councillor, Bill Lucas, a best-selling author who founded two national charities, Professor Christopher Mulvey, Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Winchester and Evelyn Thurlby, a consultant who was the first Chief Executive of the English Project.  

To coincide with the 80th anniversary of the launch of the Oxford English Dictionary, the English Project announced in June that it was starting to collect Kitchen Table Lingo – that is, the private, non-dictionary language that is to be found in many small groups whether that be family, school friends, clubs, workmates and so on. The response from the media and the public was overwhelming and the first collection of Kitchen Table Lingo was published by Virgin Books in October 2008.