Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Story
January 29, 1853
Monongalia Mirror
Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia
What is this article about?
Factual overview of the English language's widespread use, vocabulary size from Webster's Dictionary, daily usage statistics, comparison to Chinese, and flexibility illustrated by works of Washington Irving and Carlyle.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
The English Language.
Our language is now spoken by
seventy-five millions of people and it
is exceedingly copious. Webster's
Dictionary, the standard work, contains more than 70,000 words. In
our daily life business, we use only
about one sixth part of them. There
are only about 10,000 in daily use by
those who write and speak our language. The Chinese language contains only about 330 words, but by
modifying the sounds, a dozen different ideas are expressed by the same
character. To appreciate the flexible
character of the English language
we have but to read the works of
Washington Irving and Carlyle; the
language of the two appears to be
entirely different.
Our language is now spoken by
seventy-five millions of people and it
is exceedingly copious. Webster's
Dictionary, the standard work, contains more than 70,000 words. In
our daily life business, we use only
about one sixth part of them. There
are only about 10,000 in daily use by
those who write and speak our language. The Chinese language contains only about 330 words, but by
modifying the sounds, a dozen different ideas are expressed by the same
character. To appreciate the flexible
character of the English language
we have but to read the works of
Washington Irving and Carlyle; the
language of the two appears to be
entirely different.
What sub-type of article is it?
Curiosity
What keywords are associated?
English Language
Websters Dictionary
Chinese Language
Washington Irving
Carlyle
Linguistic Flexibility
What entities or persons were involved?
Washington Irving
Carlyle
Story Details
Key Persons
Washington Irving
Carlyle
Story Details
English is spoken by 75 million people, has over 70,000 words in Webster's Dictionary, but only about 10,000 used daily; contrasted with Chinese's 330 words modified by sounds; flexibility shown in Irving and Carlyle's differing styles.