It also explains why English vowel letters have very different pronunciations from the same letters in other languages. English began to rise in reputation during the reign of the Court of Chancery in Westminster began using English in its official documents. It also started a new standard form of Middle English, known as Chancery Standard, developed from the dialects of London and the East Midlands. In 1476, William Caxton introduced the printing press to England and began publishing the foremost printed books in London, expanding the influence of this form of English. Literature from the Early Modern period includes the works of William Shakespeare and the translation of the Bible commissioned by King James I. Even after the vowel shift the language still sounded different from Modern English: for example, the consonant clusters in knight, gnat, and sword were still pronounced. Many of the grammatical features that a modern reader of Shakespeare might find quaint or archaic represent the distinct characteristics of early modern English. By the late 18th century, the British Empire had facilitated the spread of English through its colonies and geopolitical dominance. Commerce, science & technology, diplomacy, art and formal education contributed to English becoming the first truly global language. English also facilitated worldwide international communications. England continued to form new colonies, these in turn became independent and developed its own norms for how to speak and write the language. English was adopted in North America, India, part of Africa, Australia and many other regions. In the post-colonial period, a number of the newly created nations that had multiple indigenous languages had opted to continue using English as the official language. They had to avoid the political difficulties inherent in promoting any one home-grown language above the others. In the 20th century the growing economic and cultural influence of the United Kingdom.