It could be an extinct or current language.
2006-09-29 15:09:14 · 13 answers · asked by Bob 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Every language has as many words as it needs and can always create more. But the largest dictionary in the world is the Oxford English Dictionary with 1.5 million different words. No other dictionary of any language even comes remotely close to that. English has a huge vocabulary for several reasons. First, there are so many regional varieties of English scattered over the globe that it has picked up words from every corner of the populated world. Every regional variety has replaced a portion of the native vocabulary with loans and other constructions, so that a truck is a lorry in England. That makes two different words in an English dictionary for the same thing. Any one person does not know or use all these words, but they must be included in an English dictionary because they are part of the total English vocabulary.
2006-09-29 19:35:17 · answer #1 · answered by Taivo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are several candidates, including Chinese & English. But in the end it doesn't mean much unless you ask which language has the largest active vocabulary. 66% of the words in the Oxford English Dictionary are known only by the guys who wrote it.
And then there's the issue of regional variations. I mean, does it really matter that "crisps" and "potato chips" describe the same thing?
2006-09-29 15:17:02 · answer #2 · answered by JAT 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The native american language Navajo is the only language that is harder than english to learn, because of the amount of words and multiple use words.
2006-09-29 15:19:30 · answer #3 · answered by DYS 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
English, due to it's having been formed from two languages, Anglo-Saxon and Old French, borrowing in thousands of foreign words, and due to the creation of thousands of scientific and technical words.
2006-09-29 15:16:04 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Hi!dear friend!English is the answer.there was a test in a book &your question was answered there,I thought Chinese would be the answer but the answer was"English"as I looked through the key.
2006-09-29 17:17:34 · answer #5 · answered by afsane r 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Indonesian! we have long words too! e.g.:
- mempertanggungjawabkan = to be responsible for
- mempersekutukan = to unify
we have base words, then suffixes, prefixes.. our words derived from Arabic, Spanish, French and Sanskrit.
2006-09-29 17:34:43 · answer #6 · answered by KoKo 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I would say first is English, followed by Russian.
2006-09-29 15:36:38 · answer #7 · answered by Edward 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
My guess is English....we make up words.
2006-09-29 15:16:38 · answer #8 · answered by First Lady 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I think I would say Chinese.
2006-09-29 15:10:37 · answer #9 · answered by ? 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
greek
2006-09-29 20:10:23 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋