The English Language

The Second Edition of the 20th volume of the Oxford English Dictionary contains full entries for 171,476 words in current use, and 47,156 obsolete words. To this may be added around 9,500 derivative words included as subentries. (Whatever that means).

Over half of these words are nouns, about a quarter adjectives, and about a seventh verbs; the rest is made up of exclamations, conjunctions, prepositions, suffixes, etc. And these figures don't take account of entries with senses for different word classes (such as noun and adjective).

This suggests that there are, at the very least, a quarter of a million distinct English words, excluding inflections, and words from technical and regional vocabulary not covered by the Oxford English Dictionary, or words not yet added to the published dictionary, of which perhaps 20 per cent are no longer in current use. If distinct senses were counted, the total would probably approach three quarters of a million. (source OED)
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There are about a million English words, maybe more. It is hard to see how even a conservative estimate of English vocabulary could go much below a million words. If you allow all of scientific nomenclature, this could easily double the figure. For example, there are apparently some one million insects already described, with several million more awaiting description. The two largest dictionaries - the Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary - each include around half a million words (or lexemes). (source Dictionary.com)
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The number of words in the English language is : 1,013,913. This is the estimate by the Global Language Monitor for January 1, 2012.
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So there ya go, all them words and its mind numbing to think we don’t use them. Instead we usually resort to base street language.

What am I talking about ? the “F” word, the “C” word, I hear it all day long, it’s part of the English language and it’s in the dictionaries along with “sh*t”, “bastard”, “mongrel”, “A-hole” “bloody” and the list goes on.

A Perth Magistrate once ruled that saying “f*ck” in a public place was not offensive and he dismissed the charge which embarrassed the WA police who thought they were on a winner.
(that is on public record and was reported in the West Newspaper).

I can hear your minds ticking over, “What the hell is he on about ? “

This is what I’m on about. Even though we use # or / or *, we know what the words are and so do “guests” who can read our forum. It is not my job to preach to you but I have seen an increase in the type of language we have been using and I’ll put my hand up and say “I’m guilty” of doing the same. So much for the rules, and shame on me for ignoring them.

So I’m asking for something and it’s a big ask. Although there are times we get passionate about a subject or even like to use a colourful name to call someone or use against some thing, can I ask that we try to tone down the exuberance of our verbosity. It’s going to be bloody difficult and I’m not asking that it is cut out totally. Just have a think about the message you are trying to get across to everyone.

After all, we are Aussies but we do have manners. Don’t we ?

I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, lough and through?
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird,
And dead: it's said like bed, not bead -
For goodness sake don't call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt).

A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother,
And here is not a match for there
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear,
And then there's dose and rose and lose -
Just look them up - and goose and choose,
And cork and work and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword,
And do and go and thwart and cart -
Come, come, I've hardly made a start!
A dreadful language? Man alive!
I'd mastered it when I was five!

Man i got a headache :rolf:

Thats funny Pete and BLOODY true. It's a MONGREL of a language.

Now who is the BASTARD who put up that post about the English Slanguage :rolf:

oh well that forum concept lasted less than a day than a day.

cliff have a look at the bush photos thread, petes on a roll tonight :)

we could do it like the tshirts do FCUK ?

lol

burnsy

Typical pommy ppfffff your next on the photo thingy old son
lookout :rolf: