How Many Words?

'June 9, 2009 is the day when the English language reaches one million words!'

This claim by an American media company surprised the English linguist, David Crystal.

Professor Crystal is perhaps the leading expert on the English language. 'There have been a million words in English for a very long time,' he says

So who is right? How many words are there in English? And how does this compare with other languages?

Most words? * Activities/Exercises * Glossary

Why English? * Origins * Latin/Greek/French * Shakespeare * The Bible * Irregular Verbs * Perfect Language? * Esperanto

ESL Reading is edited by Kieran McGovern and has links with Extensive Reading, the British Council and many other organisations promoting language learning through reading.

More about ESL Reading here.