Which language has the LARGEST vocabulary?

Xie   Sat Mar 01, 2008 2:03 am GMT
>>>but I find your writing confusing--like you're trying to use every term in the thesaurus, whether it applies or not.<<<

I never use a thesaurus. I must say it is one of my bad habits of putting a lot of things like parables.

Yes, you do get it! I'm glad that you know there exists a peculiar surname that means to thank.
Guest   Sat Mar 01, 2008 2:28 am GMT
Xie's English is very good. That's not the reason it's hard to understand him. The reason is the somewhat disjointed way he writes. It seems like some kind of stream-of-consciousness and it's hard to follow what subject he's talking about and when.
greg   Sun Mar 02, 2008 10:54 pm GMT
Guest2 : « The standard line is that "English has the largest vocabulary." The "proof" given is that English dictionaries have more words, and the "reason" given is the massive influx of French words after the Norman invasion, giving English "doubles" for many concepts. »

C'est un très bon résumé de cette légende du "nombre de mots" et un execellent angle d'attaque pour la déconstruire. Tout est dit en quatre lignes.




Guest2 : « There is a problem with both the "proof" and the "reason." »

Touché, encore.




Guest2 : « English "unabridged" dictionaries usually do have more words. But as lexicographers have pointed out, these dictionaries tend to include many words that are obsolete, as well as technical terms (as mentioned by another poster) that are often left out of similar dictionaries in other languages. (Like the thousands and thousands of characters that are listed in historical Chinese character dictionaries, that are no longer used.) »

Je suis de ton avis : il existe des traditions lexicographiques (pseudo-"purisme" vs pseudo-"laxisme" par ex.) très différentes suivant les États, les cultures, les langues etc.




Guest2 : « As for the French vocabulary: Yes, English does have "doubles" for many concepts. But so do other languages! What about Japanese? ».

Mais c'est le cas également des langues romanes, et du français en particulier, où les doublons du type <frêle>/<fragile> dérivent d'une source unique (italo-italique) contrairement, parfois, aux langues germaniques qui peuvent puiser à deux sources distinctes → Al <Vokal>/<Selbstlaut>.
Guest   Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:21 am GMT
source:

http://spanish.about.com/od/spanishvocabulary/a/size_of_spanish.htm

Question: I've heard that the Spanish language comprises far fewer words than English, there being fewer synonyms. Do you know if this is true and what the ratio is (I've been told one eighth the size of English)?

Answer: The short answer is that, yes, English has far more words at its disposal than does Spanish, but the ratio isn't anywhere near that large.

The ratio is probably closer to 2:1, although there is no exact way to give an answer. Except perhaps in the case of some minor languages with a very limited vocabulary or obsolete or artificial languages, there is no agreement among authorities about which words are a legitimate part of a language or how to count them. Furthermore, any living language is in a continual state of change. Both Spanish and English are continuing to add words — English primarily through the addition of technology-related words and words related to popular culture, while Spanish expands primarily through the adoption of English words.

It is generally stated (although authorities differ) that English has around 250,000 to 300,000 words when obsolete words (which still exist in some unabridged dictionaries) aren't counted.
There is one count that puts the English vocabulary at about 1 million words — but that count presumably includes words such as Latin species names, prefixed and suffixed words, jargon, foreign words of extremely limited English use, technical acronyms and the like, making the count as much of a gimmick as anything else.

All that said, it is probably fair to say that English has about twice as many words as does Spanish. Large college-level English dictionaries typically include around 200,000 words. Comparable Spanish dictionaries, on the other hand, typically have around 100,000 words. Of course, many of those words are seldom used. Estimates I have seen indicate that Americans typically have a speaking vocabulary of around 20,000 words, although in a typical day they actually use far fewer. I've been unable to find reliable estimates on the everyday vocabulary of Spanish speakers, but I'd guess that the number of words used by educated speakers in a typical day would be about the same in either language. In either language, it is possible to communicate reasonably well with fewer than 1,000 words.

One reason that English has a larger vocabulary is that it is a language with Germanic origins but a tremendous Latin influence, an influence so great that sometimes English seems more like French than it does like Danish, another Germanic language. The merging of two streams of language into English is one reason why we have both the words "late" and "tardy," words often interchangeable, while Spanish has only tarde. The most similar influence that happened to Spanish was an infusion of Arabic vocabulary, but the influence of Arabic on Spanish isn't close to the influence of Latin on English.

The fewer number of words in Spanish, however, doesn't mean that it can't be just as expressive as English; sometimes it is more so. One feature that Spanish has when compared to English is a flexible word order. Thus the distinction that is made in English between "dark night" and "gloomy night" might be made in Spanish by saying noche oscura and oscura noche, respectively. Spanish also has two verbs that are the rough equivalent of the English "to be," and the choice of verb can change the meaning (as perceived by English speakers) of other words in the sentence. Thus estoy enferma ("I am sick") is not the same as soy enferma ("I am sickly"). Spanish also has verb forms, including a much-used subjunctive mood, that can provide nuances of meaning sometimes absent in English. Finally, Spanish speakers frequently use suffixes to provide shades of meaning.

All living language seem to have the ability to express what needs expressing; where a word doesn't exist, speakers find a way to come up with one — whether by coining one, adapting an older word to a new use or importing one from another language. That's no less true of Spanish than of English, so Spanish's smaller vocabulary shouldn't be seen as a sign of inferiority.
Guest   Mon Mar 03, 2008 2:20 am GMT
<<Thus the distinction that is made in English between "dark night" and "gloomy night" might be made in Spanish by saying noche oscura and oscura noche, respectively>>

How so?
Guest   Mon Mar 03, 2008 3:34 am GMT
"sombría noche" is how you should say "gloomy night" in Spanish.
Guest   Mon Mar 03, 2008 3:38 am GMT
"That's cuz English doesn't have an academy that controls the English language, therefore any dictionary can add any word they want, that's why English has so many words, no one ever uses them, just have them there to say they have the biggest vocabulary, which is quite absurd sin most people can’t even spell big words."

>Very true.
SJF   Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:37 am GMT
The number of words in any living language is limitness because everyday people create some new things and naturally there will be some new words created to describe these new things like BLOG.
So,can those who say english has the largest vocabulary tell me how many words there are in english? or can anybody tell me how many words chinese has?
Since we don't have the exact data,I think such discussion is non-sense.
greg   Mon Mar 03, 2008 8:45 am GMT
Exemples de clichés basés sur du vent :

« The short answer is that, yes, English has far more words at its disposal than does Spanish [...] ».

« The ratio is probably closer to 2:1 [...] ».

« One reason that English has a larger vocabulary is that it is a language with Germanic origins but a tremendous Latin influence, an influence so great that sometimes English seems more like French than it does like Danish, another Germanic language. »

« The merging of two streams of language into English is one reason why we have both the words "late" and "tardy," words often interchangeable, while Spanish has only tarde. »
Es <tardío> → An <tardy> ; Es <tarde> → An <late>.


Le meilleur pour la fin : « That's no less true of Spanish than of English, so Spanish's smaller vocabulary shouldn't be seen as a sign of inferiority. »
Votre majesté est trop bonne...
guest   Mon Mar 03, 2008 3:56 pm GMT
<<Le meilleur pour la fin : « That's no less true of Spanish than of English, so Spanish's smaller vocabulary shouldn't be seen as a sign of inferiority. »
Votre majesté est trop bonne... >>

Look, let's not get nitpicky and anal over examples...Let's focus on 'what' is trying to be conveyed here and judge the weightier matters please...

Regardless of whether it should be 'tarde' vs. 'tardio' is irrelevant.

Does 'fat' and 'grease' vs. 'grasa' y 'grasa' satisfy you?

D@MN~
Guest   Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:24 pm GMT
the tactic of "I dont like what ur saying, therfore I will find something wrong with your data in order to draw attention away from the gist of what ur saying in order to undermine your effectiveness" actually indicates several things, among them, small, <ahem>...**member** size
Guest   Tue Mar 04, 2008 2:00 am GMT
<<actually indicates several things, among them, small, <ahem>...**member** size?>>

I was the one who said that and I have a ginormous member, so what are you on my friend?
Guest   Tue Mar 04, 2008 2:33 am GMT
English has many latinates like tardy that are not used at all. People who speak English natively have very small and poor vocabulary on average, more than the Spanish speakers.
Guest   Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:13 am GMT
Spanish speakers use a wider vocabulary in their everday speech, unlike English speaker.
Guest   Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:32 am GMT
Most Spanish speakers I've met had very poor vocabulary in both Spanish and English. LOL