Global Language Monitor: Difference between revisions

GLM attempts to count the number of words in the English Language, and has been widely cited <ref name=fightinwords>[http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060402/news_1c02words.html Fightin' words], Peter Rowe, ''San Diego Union-Tribune'', April 2, 2006</ref> over its prediction of the millionth English word, a theory expounded in Paul Payack's book on the same subject.<ref>''A Million Words and Counting: How the English Language is Rewriting the World'' (Citadel Press, New York, 2008).</ref> ThisFor the 1500-year old language, this event was predicted to occur sometime in the last half of the first decade of the 21st century, first predicted for the summer of 2006<ref name="harlow2006">{{cite news

|quote=It's April 29, 2009 – plus or minus a few days. That is when the English language is expected to acquire its millionth word. This prediction comes from Global Language Monitor, an organization in Austin, Texas}}</ref>. However, the basis for the count is generally disputed by lexicographers and linguists such as [[Geoffrey Nunberg]]<ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyID=5390581 Enumerating English], Geoffrey Nunberg, NPR</ref>, [[Jesse Sheidlower]]<ref>[http://www.slate.com/id/2139611/ Word Count], Jesse Sheidlower, ''Slate'', April 10, 2006</ref> and others <ref name=fightinwords/> on grounds that a count is impossible due to there being no clear-cut criteria for inclusion/exclusion. The criteria are enumerated on the Global Language Monitor site <ref>[http://www.languagemonitor.com/number-of-words-in-english/ GLM Criteria].