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Q: languages ( Answered,   1 Comment )
Question  
Subject: languages
Category: Reference, Education and News > Education
Asked by: marimar9318-ga
List Price: $5.00
Posted: 20 Apr 2005 22:26 PDT
Expires: 20 May 2005 22:26 PDT
Question ID: 512132
what language has the largest vocabulary in the world

Clarification of Question by marimar9318-ga on 20 Apr 2005 22:27 PDT
i don't want to know what language has the most characters, rather, i
would like to know which language has the most individual words
(largest vocab)
Answer  
Subject: Re: languages
Answered By: rainbow-ga on 20 Apr 2005 23:23 PDT
 
Hi marimar9318,

The English language has the largest vocabulary of all the world's languages.

"English has the world?s largest vocabulary, a result of English being
an inclusive language that has borrowed words from many other
languages and also because it has its origin in two different language
sources, Anglo-Saxon and French..."

Athabasca University: If English is not Your First Language
http://www.athabascau.ca/courses/engl/155/support/if_english_is_not_your_first_language.htm


"English is the closest thing today to a universal language. Upwards
of 350 million people speak it as their first language, with many more
than that using it as a second language. It has the largest vocabulary
of any language (550,000 separate entries in Webster's Third New
International Dictionary)."

KJ21: Review of the KJ21
http://www.kj21.com/davidson.htm  


Some Facts to Consider...

More people study English than any other language 
Most non-native speakers use English as a lingua franca *
Most international telephone calls are placed in English
Most international mail is in English
Most computer text is stored in English
English has the largest vocabulary of any language
English is the predominant language used by global travelers
Currently, most websites are all or part English **
One person in seven uses English in some way
Currently, most on-line communication is in English **

* lingua franca:  Any of various languages used as a common language.
** With the explosive growth of Internet use throughout Asia, the
numbers may change in the very near future
 
Cultural Savvy: The English Language
http://www.culturalsavvy.com/english_language.htm


Is it true that English has the most words of any language? Printer
Friendly Version

"This question is practically impossible to answer, for the reasons
set out in the answer to How many words are there in the English
language? However, it seems quite probable that English has more words
than most comparable world languages.

The reason for this is historical. English was originally a Germanic
language, related to Dutch and German, and it shares much of its
grammar and basic vocabulary with those languages. However, after the
Norman Conquest in 1066 it was hugely influenced by Norman French,
which became the language of the ruling class for a considerable
period, and by Latin, which was the language of scholarship and of the
Church. Very large numbers of French and Latin words entered the
language. Consequently, English has a much larger vocabulary than
either the Germanic languages or the members of the Romance language
family to which French belongs."

Ask Oxford
http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutenglish/mostwords?view=uk


"English is the second most frequently spoken language in the world
and has the largest vocabulary of any language. Half of all business
deals are conducted in English. Two thirds of all scientific papers
are written in English. Over 70% of all mail is written and addressed
in English. Most international tourism and aviation is conducted in
English."

The Daily Star
http://www.thedailystar.net/magazine/2004/10/02/education.htm 


"No language is superior to any other in terms of the complexity of
the rule systems that it embodies. English, however, has one of the
most complex alphabetic orthographies, is spoken and written as a
first or second language throughout the world, and has the largest
vocabulary. It has become the language of international commerce..."

Brookes Publishing Co.: Why Study Language?
http://www.brookespublishing.com/store/books/moats-3874/excerpt.htm


"English is the most widely used language in the history of our
planet. One in every seven human beings around the globe can speak
English. And more than half of the world's books and three-quarters of
international mail are written in this crazy tongue.

Of all languages, English has the largest vocabulary - perhaps as many
as two million words - and of course it has one of the noblest bodies
of literature..."

Roger's Reference
http://rogersreference.com/crazyenglish.htm


"The English language has the world's largest vocabulary?more than
600,000 words. Of course we don't use most of these words, for one
reason or another, not including laziness. Only about one-third of
these words are in common circulation. But compare even this smaller
number to about 185,000 in German and 100,000 in French, and you can
see why this statistic is so amazing."

Grammar Doctor
http://www.grammardoctor.com/page3.htm 


Talk about the distinctive nature of English.
"English probably has the largest vocabulary of any language, largely
because it's a language of immigrants. It's been absorbing vocabulary
from other languages starting in 1066, when England was invaded by
William the Conqueror, who brought Norman French with him. Thousands
of words are originally French, added to what is basically a Germanic
language. English also absorbed thousands of words from Latin because
of the influence of Renaissance scholars and the church. And because
England had a worldwide empire, it absorbed words from the languages
of India, North America, and so on. As a result, we have the world's
thickest dictionaries."

The Boston Globe Magazine
http://pinker.wjh.harvard.edu/about/media/2000_01_23_bostonglobemagazine.html


Search criteria:
language "largest vocabulary" OR "most words"


I hope this is helpful. If you have any questions regarding my answer
please don't hesitate to ask before rating it.

Best regards,
Rainbow
Comments  
Subject: Re: languages
From: quantumdot-ga on 21 Apr 2005 08:01 PDT
 
Yes, English is the bloated amoeba of the language world. Personally,
I love how we can say "English is the Lingua Franca of the world,"
directly incorporating a non-english term =)

Also, and someone should 2x check with a pilot on this, I thought that
all air traffic controll communications were supposed to be in
English.

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