It is being claimed that the millionth word in the English language is about to be created. A US company which follows the use of language on the internet has made the prediction. However traditional dictionary makers aren’t so sure…. .
The idea of the millionth word entering the English language is a brilliant bit of public relations for Texas-based Global Language Monitor. GLM runs a powerful search service which monitors web traffic. They make their money telling organisations how often their name is mentioned in new media, such as the internet.
В компании GLM полагают, что английский язык уже насчитывает около миллиона слов
What they can also do is search for newly coined words. Once a word has been used 25,000 times on social networking sites and such like, GLM declares it to be a new word.
By their calculations a new word is created in English every 98 minutes, hence the estimate that the millionth word is about to be created.
If you talk to lexicographers, however, dictionary professionals, they tell a slightly different story. Dictionaries have tighter criteria about what constitutes a new word, for example, it has to be used over a certain period of time.
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