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Saraswathi Srinivasan
Class I-VIII,Nursery-Kg,Spoken English/Telugu/Hindi /Tamil tutor with 20 years experience
Estimating the exact number of words in the English language is challenging due to its dynamic nature and constant evolution. English is known for its vast vocabulary, with estimates varying widely.
In general, English is believed to have hundreds of thousands of words, if not more. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) contains over 600,000 words, but this number continues to grow as new words are coined and added regularly.
Moreover, if you include technical terms, jargon, regional dialects, slang, and words from various fields like science, technology, medicine, and others, the vocabulary size expands significantly. Some linguists and lexicographers suggest that when considering all these elements, English could have well over a million words.
However, it's essential to note that active usage of words also varies. While there might be a vast number of words, many are archaic, obsolete, or highly specialized and not commonly used in everyday language.
Estimating the exact number of words in the English language is challenging due to its dynamic nature and constant evolution. English is known for its vast vocabulary, with estimates varying widely.
In general, English is believed to have hundreds of thousands of words, if not more. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) contains over 600,000 words, but this number continues to grow as new words are coined and added regularly.
Moreover, if you include technical terms, jargon, regional dialects, slang, and words from various fields like science, technology, medicine, and others, the vocabulary size expands significantly. Some linguists and lexicographers suggest that when considering all these elements, English could have well over a million words.
However, it's essential to note that active usage of words also varies. While there might be a vast number of words, many are archaic, obsolete, or highly specialized and not commonly used in everyday language.
Estimating the exact number of words in the English vocabulary is challenging due to the language's dynamic nature, continual evolution, and the inclusion of technical terms, jargon, and new words. English has a vast and growing vocabulary, with estimates ranging from hundreds of thousands to over a million words, including technical and specialized terminology
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