English gets its one-millionth word

But don’t worry, you don’t have to learn them all!

According to an organisation called ‘The Global Language Monitor’, the English language now contains almost one million words. They predict that the total will hit one million this month, on 10th June.

The Global Language Monitor keeps track of new English words as they come into use. New words are added to the list every week.

Paul Payack, president of the organisation, says, “We add a word after we see or hear it 25,000 times in the global media.”

So which word will become English’s one-millionth word? The Global Language Monitor says there are several contenders, including these:

to de-friend (v) – Delete a friend from a social-networking website
an alcopop (n) – A sweet, sugary alcoholic drink
a recessionista (n) – A person who wears fashionable clothes even when they don’t have much money to spend
carbon neutral (adj) – Referring to something environmentally friendly, that doesn’t produce too much carbon dioxide

But, linguists are skeptical. They say it is impossible to count the number of words in the English language. Robert Beard, a Professor of Linguistics, says, “It’s nonsense. Paul Payack knows nothing about linguistics.”

However many words there are in English, you don’t need to know them all to speak it well. According to a study in 1997, native speakers use about 2500 words in their everyday speech.

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