Oxford�s pool of words hits one billion

Researchers at Oxford University Press said yesterday (April 26th) that the language research data responsible for bringing words to the pages of the Oxford dictionaries has officially hit one billion words.

The press publishes the Oxford English Dictionary which is considered to be the most comprehensive dictionary of the English language. The most recent additions include: "supersize", "wiki", and add-on's (hybrid words) such as "geek-chic" and "inner child."

The creativity of the English language is probably one of the reasons why it has become the world's lingua franca. But of course one could also argue that the lingua franca status of the English language is the reason why it's become so creative.

At the same time, though, many words, old slangs, and even grammatical rules have fallen into disfavour and become obsolete. For instance, someone has to be be crazy if he or she actually says "raining cats and dogs"; no one actually distinguishes between the words "practice" and "practise" anymore; and of course fewer and fewer people actually care to use the word "whom".