The English-language crossed the Million Word Mark

kgun · #1 (**permalink**) 06-10-2009, 03:43 PM

The English Language WordClock: 1,000,001

As expected, with a new word created about every 98 minutes (14.7 per day) the English-language crossed the Million Word Mark on June 10th, 2009 at 10:22 am (Stratford-on Avon Time)

Link: The Global Language Monitor

**Tubby** · #2 (**permalink**) 06-10-2009, 08:13 PM

I remember when I was at school, I used the word 'ain't ' The English teacher was constantly telling me
"Ain't, ain't in the English language ain't ain't."
I read somewhere that year (probably 1959) That the Oxford Dictionary had included the word 'ain't '- because of common usage.
The following week I deliberately exaggerated my regular usage, "I ain't got a pencil Miss. I ain't done my homework"
I desperately wanted to tell her "Ain't is in the English language ain't is"

No wonder the price of Dictionaries is sky rocketing. I use an illustrated Oxford dictionary, it has plenty of pictures. When you open a page it always has something interesting to look at. I have given them as birthday presents, it is a good format and people browse them.

deepsand · #3 (**permalink**) 06-12-2009, 11:04 PM

Any stats. on how many are judged to be obsolescent/obsolete/archaic, and at what rate?

Or, what percent of the population's static and/or dynamic vocabularies contain any given word?

**cw1865** · #4 (**permalink**) 06-14-2009, 02:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tubby

I remember when I was at school, I used the word 'ain't ' The English teacher was constantly telling me
"Ain't, ain't in the English language ain't ain't."
I read somewhere that year (probably 1959) That the Oxford Dictionary had included the word 'ain't '- because of common usage.
The following week I deliberately exaggerated my regular usage, "I ain't got a pencil Miss. I ain't done my homework"
I desperately wanted to tell her "Ain't is in the English language ain't is"

No wonder the price of Dictionaries is sky rocketing. I use an illustrated Oxford dictionary, it has plenty of pictures. When you open a page it always has something interesting to look at. I have given them as birthday presents, it is a good format and people browse them.

I remember being in elementary school and asking the teacher what a certain word meant that I hadn't learned yet. She directed me to look it up in the dictionary. While I wanted to know what it meant, to be frank, I really just wasn't THAT interested to stop reading, get up and go over to the massive Webster's dictionary to look it up. The teacher insisted that I go and look it up. So, naturally I had to, but I learned my lesson, never asked a teacher what a word meant again.

In the late 70s to early 80s there was a 'push' to go metric (which of course we should do), but of course growing up in the US, we 'grew up' with the English system, pounds, feet, inches, miles, ounces, gallons, etc, so we had absolutely no familiarity with the metric system. But the word simple math 'word' problems purposely put 'centimeters' / 'kilometers' - sometimes spelled out and sometimes abbreviated. Spelled out, the word is just too long to sound out for a 6 year old unfamiliar with the metric system and abbreviated just caused outright confusion. At that age, the teacher would typically call on a student to 'read out loud' and these things were major stumbling blocks, looking back on it now, its quite humorous:

3 cm becomes 3...c....m or 3 seem, or perhaps cream. If spelled out, centimeter would start out ok, because we would know 'cent', so it would be 'cent' I - [pause] met - er

**cw1865** · #5 (**permalink**) 06-14-2009, 02:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepsand

Any stats. on how many are judged to be obsolescent/obsolete/archaic, and at what rate?

Or, what percent of the population's static and/or dynamic vocabularies contain any given word?

There was a good article on that and I can't find it. I read the 'Story of English' a while back which was really quite interesting and, if I recall, hypothesized that, as a result of standardization, mass literacy and a national media that the language was harmonizing resulting in less divergence in pronounciation.

deepsand · #6 (**permalink**) 06-14-2009, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cw1865

I remember being in elementary school and asking the teacher what a certain word meant that I hadn't learned yet. She directed me to look it up in the dictionary. While I wanted to know what it meant, to be frank, I really just wasn't THAT interested to stop reading, get up and go over to the massive Webster's dictionary to look it up. The teacher insisted that I go and look it up. So, naturally I had to, but I learned my lesson, never asked a teacher what a word meant again.

Looking things up never bothered me; in fact, I enjoyed it. What did bother me to no end were those occasions when I'd little to no idea re. the correct spelling of the word that I was trying to find in a dictionary, encyclopedia, etc., and the teacher insisted that I just keep trying, particularly when it was the spelling itself that I was trying to determine!

deepsand · #7 (**permalink**) 06-14-2009, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tubby

I remember when I was at school, I used the word 'ain't ' The English teacher was constantly telling me
"Ain't, ain't in the English language ain't ain't."
I read somewhere that year (probably 1959) That the Oxford Dictionary had included the word 'ain't '- because of common usage.

American teachers could, and did, then still correctly say that it wasn't in the dictionary, owing to our reliance on Websters.

deepsand · #8 (**permalink**) 06-14-2009, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cw1865

There was a good article on that and I can't find it. I read the 'Story of English' a while back which was really quite interesting and, if I recall, hypothesized that, as a result of standardization, mass literacy and a national media that the language was harmonizing resulting in less divergence in pronounciation.

Within the past few days caught part of a radio program on WHYY (Fresh Air?) wherein the author of a book on regional dialects in the US was interviewed, with her finding that such are still surviving quite well, even though many who use such are wholly unfamiliar with either either the origins or original meanings of the words and phrases in question; in some cases, the usage has shifted over great distances, with people in California now using what had originally been New England regionalisms! Ditto for usages which had originally been peculiar to the "Scotch Irish" who settled in Appalachia.

**cw1865** · #9 (**permalink**) 06-14-2009, 02:48 PM

Well, I live in NJ and I think you're in PA, so I think you're familiar with the fact that the greatest divergence over smaller areas is on the East Coast. I think the point of the book was that if the regions had remained 'completely' isolated that we essentially would be speaking barely mutually intelligible dialects; rather than mostly mutually intelligble regional accents. Somebody on the east coast will pick up that I am from NY metro; when I go to California, all they pick up on is that I am from 'back east'

With respect to looking up words that you don't know how to spell that would be absolutely infuriating. Particularly if the word has a silent letter or if it has a French origin. While a 6-10 year old probably knows the word 'beauty' - if you didn't know how to spell it and were looking it up, you'd most likely start with b-u and you'd be there for quite some time.

The only reason why I mentioned it was because when I went to college I happened to do a double major in German. As I progressed in the courses, many of the courses became literature courses and the students remaining were all first generation German/Austrian/Swiss Americans whose parents spoke German as a first language and would send their kids to 'German school' so their proficiency was so much higher than mine (and I was conversationally fluent, could understand the TV and radio); nevertheless reading the equivalent of say 'Moby Dick' in German was still diffficult and it would get even more difficult if it was the equivalent of say, Shaekespeare - so being in class I would ask what a word meant and the teacher, who happened to be the dean, would explain it in German.

Doc · #10 (**permalink**) 06-14-2009, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cw1865

Well, I live in NJ and I think you're in PA, so I think you're familiar with the fact that the greatest divergence over smaller areas is on the East Coast. I think the point of the book was that if the regions had remained 'completely' isolated that we essentially would be speaking barely mutually intelligible dialects; rather than mostly mutually intelligble regional accents. Somebody on the east coast will pick up that I am from NY metro; when I go to California, all they pick up on is that I am from 'back east'

I know that it used to be said that the US was the most mobile population in the world, and I imagine that is still true. As a military brat, that moved every couple of years, I remember my Texas accent being very amusing to my fellow students in Queens, NY. But as a result, my accent eventually smoothed out, and I picked up (and I'm sure, dropped off, too) some tidbits from other regions.

Quote:

With respect to looking up words that you don't know how to spell that would be absolutely infuriating.

I always thought it was a particularly narrow-minded approach. At LEAST talk the kid through the spelling, letting him find it, with your help. That'll stick with him a lot longer.

deepsand · #11 (**permalink**) 06-14-2009, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc

I always thought it was a particularly narrow-minded approach. At LEAST talk the kid through the spelling, letting him find it, with your help. That'll stick with him a lot longer.

Worst teacher in that regard was Mrs. Sugarhart, a stout and grim faced woman whose demeanor belied her name.

**Tubby** · #12 (**permalink**) 06-14-2009, 07:50 PM

I find myself inventing words. I use invented words quite regularly. The English language lends itself to word invention. . Mostly readers seem to instantly understand the meaning of the word.

I like invented words used in sentences like ' Google is algorithmicating my site as best it can.
It is wrong! . . But, I love it.
I also like "Algorithmitised' . I think a couple of SEO's on WPW have been Algorithmitised, they seem to have been looking at google's algorithm far to long and their thoughts have been fused.

deepsand · #13 (**permalink**) 06-14-2009, 08:14 PM

An associate of mine invented "mathematistical," to describe himself; of course, he is one of the least "mathematistical" people that I know.

**Tubby** · #14 (**permalink**) 06-14-2009, 09:08 PM

Nice. . Invented words are humorous, the ability to turn a serious statement, to add a 'the colour of humour' with just a manipulation of a single word is something that should be done more often.

I like 'mathematistibating' - It could be used in a similar way to the Late Kerry Packers statement, refering to "intellectual Wankers". I heard him say that when I was watching a televised government inquiry. . I loved it the moment he said it. . loved it since.

Doc · #15 (**permalink**) 06-14-2009, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tubby

I like 'mathematistibating' - It could be used in a similar way to the Late Kerry Packers statement, refering to "intellectual Wankers". I heard him say that when I was watching a televised government inquiry. . I loved it the moment he said it. . loved it since.

That is a classic!

I had a professor that used to threaten to fail anyone on the spot, that he heard using any term they couldn't validate in his Oxford dictionary. As far as I know, he never followed through.

As the only American in his class though, you can bet he rode me hard! He had nothing kind to say about what Americans pretended was English.

**Tubby** · #16 (**permalink**) 06-14-2009, 10:56 PM

I must admit. . I love 'Mistakes' in English, and I adore accents.

I love it when I first meet someone and the accent, brogue, the way the first sentence is created. . tells me where they are from. offers a glimpse into their experiences and who they are.

I must admit I write totally different from the way I talk. In person I use the 'F' word in every other sentence. I gesture, and use body language. ( it does not work on the net) But I live in a pretty isolated environment - Almost a hermit . . .

The truth is, the most common words I speak, the most regularly used sentence in my spoken vocabulary is 'Get F$%#ked'. This seems to satisfy most of my local communication requirements.

deepsand · #17 (**permalink**) 06-14-2009, 11:01 PM

Jesus, Tubby; not only do you look like me, but that self-description could have been written by/about me.

Identical twins separated at birth.

**Tubby** · #18 (**permalink**) 06-15-2009, 12:00 AM

Not very often do I sit in front of a page for thirty seconds and not think of a single word to type. . .

deepsand · #19 (**permalink**) 06-15-2009, 01:10 AM

Yes; so much to say, and so little time, even for many who have chosen writing as their occupation.

kgun · #20 (**permalink**) 06-24-2009, 10:46 AM

Great and interesting replies. I have been on a new holiday and returned late monday evening.

What happened in the US stock market on monday? I have heard about the stock market in "free fall".

By the way the stock market movements are a good example of the rich vocabulary you have there. There are so many words describing:

Small and big changes.
A flat market.

I constantly have to look up new terms in my dictionary.

Related WPW thread: http://www.webproworld.com/breakroom...tml#post331042

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