Millions of people all over the world use the word okay.In fact，some people say the word is used more often than any other word in the world.

It may be common，but no one can seem to agree on how the“OK”came to be.

Okay means“all right”or“acceptable”.It expresses agreement or approval.You might ask your brother，“Is it okay if I borrow your car?”Or if someone asks you to do something，you might say，“Okay，I will.”Still，language experts do not agree about where the word came from.

Some people say it came from the Native American Indian tribe known as the Choctaw.The Choctaw word“okeh”means the same as the American word okay.Experts say early explorers in the American West spoke the Choctaw language in the nineteenth century.The language spread across the country.

But many people dispute(不同意)this.

Language expert Allen Walker Read wrote about the word okay in reports published in the 1960s.He said the word began being used in the 1830s.It was a short way of writing a different spelling of the words“all correct.”Some foreign-born people wrote“all correct”as“o-l-l k-o-r-r-e-c-t.”and used the letters O.K.

Other people say a railroad worker named Obadiah Kelly invented the word long ago.They said he put the first letters of his names—O and K—on each object people gave him to send on the train.

Still others say a political organization invented the word.The organization supported Martin Van Buren for president in 1840.They called their group，the O.K.Club.The letters were taken from the name of the town where Martin Van Buren was born—Old Kinderhook，New York.

Not everyone agrees with this explanation，either.But experts do agree that the word is purely American.And it has spread to almost every country on Earth.

“Shuan Q” is a meme(网络流行语)which can be used as a popular way to say “I’m speechless” with a matching emoji(表情包)at ached behind. No-one can deny the power of the Internet. Some believe it makes language weaker but some see a brighter side, believing it makes online communication easier between strangers.

An elementary school teacher in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, says that the evolution of Internet slang is not all fun and carefree. From his daily observations, he believes the “geographic boundary” between Internet slang and formal language is disappearing. On many occasions, the composition she has received from pupil have been flooded with abbreviated slangs(网络梗).

During last year’s Two Sessions, several representatives put forward proposals such as “regulating online language” and “banning vulgar(粗俗)words”, specifically to address this issue, expressing the need to reduce online language misuse and strengthen the protection of Chinese.

However, many experts and scholars of linguistics and communication including Feng Zhiwei disagree. Feng, believes that Internet language is a natural product of the dynamic development of language, and it is not necessary to ban it.

Years of research show that when a native English speaker enters a conversation among nonnative speakers, understanding goes down.Communication specialist Heather Hansen tells us that's because the native speaker doesn't know how to do what nonnative speakers do naturally: speak in ways that are understandable to everyone, using simple words and expressions.They unconsciously use unnecessarily confusing vocabulary, which makes language less understandable.

Ting Gong grew up in Shanghai and moved to the U.S.in her 20s. She ran up against this problem of confusing vocabulary at the doctor's one day. "The receptionist(接待员)gave me a form and asked me to write down my complaints,”she said.“I told her that I did not have any complaint，and she looked impatient and then she asked me to write down anything that I could think of.”

“I only realized that‘complaints' here refers to symptoms I have after I spoke to my husband when I got home. At the doctor's I actually wrote down 'the receptionist was not friendly' as one of my complaints."

So what can we do to improve communication between native and nonnative English speakers?

Hansen says the responsibility shouldn't be on nonnative speakers but rather on native English speakers. Take a page out of nonnative speakers' book, says Hansen, by changing your English to be more inclusive.That means no more confusing expressions. Small changes like this might allow native speakers to join in conversations with nonnative speakers.

Joseph Issam Harb, who was raised in the United States and Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates, said,"I am still learning about English from nonnative speakers.

"In emails, I've discovered an expression commonly used by some nonnative speakers 'please do the needful,' "Harb said."For years I have been interested in this expression and its use in formal work environment emails." Discovering it and wondering about the origins of the expression, which means "please do what needs to be done,"has been an enjoyable thing for Harb.