“Bimble (v): to move at a leisurely pace, esp. on foot; to amble, wander.” 
–Oxford English Dictionary Word of the Day 01.04.2021

According to the internet (so it must be true), there are 273,000 English words in the Oxford English Dictionary; there are 470,000 English words in Webster’s Dictionary. The Oxford dictionary is from the United Kingdom and Webster’s Dictionary is from the United States. The United States is larger than the United Kingdom, so it makes sense that the Webster’s Dictionary would have more words. (Somehow that makes sense, right?).

Each year, about a 1000 words are added to the Webster’s Dictionary: in my life over 50,000 new English words have been born. There are other dictionaries as well. One of my favorite words recently added to Dictionary.com is “sharent” which means “to frequently use social media to share photos or other details and information about one’s child”. In English, all it takes to become an official new word is making it into print many times. A friend recently used the word “psychologied”, which means to have psychology used on you. It is not actually a word, but it should be a word. I’m hoping that by putting it in print here it will be added to a dictionary next year. If Shakespeare invented over 1,700 words, it is fair that my friend can invent 1.

Because English steals words from other languages that use different spelling conventions, many English words are spelled in ways that don’t follow the “rules” (e.g. macabre and silhouette and Fries). Sometimes we laugh when people mispronounce words. It is worth keeping in mind that most people who mispronounce a word do so because they have read the word and not heard it: most mispronouncers are readers and they should be respected for that, not laughed at.

The English language has many rules, but most of them can be broken without changing or losing meaning. This must make it difficult to learn English as an additional language. However, it also makes English a flexible language, which authors and songwriters can have a lot of fun with. Children who grow up in English speaking homes, learn the language without being taught the rules. (This is true for all languages). I’d bet most well educated native English speakers don’t know the rules about when to use “I” or “me”, but they get it right often enough.

Language development in children is taken for granted, but it is remarkable. Up until about 120 years ago, it was believed that babies didn’t think. We now know that infants’ brains are the most powerful learning machines ever. Much of that brain power is dedicated to language development. By the time they are toddlers, they have learned to understand and use language just by interacting with and listening to their parents and others. The social interaction is critical. Babies do not learn language by hearing it from the television or other screen device.

By 6 months, babies recognize and begin learning how to make the sounds (phonetics) of their native language(s). Babies can also learn the phonetics of other languages and distinguish between them. If you have the opportunity, speak to infants in different languages–it is the age when their brains are most ready to learn another language.
Whether it is in English, Bulgarian, Mandarin Chinese, or any other language, speaking and interacting with babies is a powerful teaching tool. As they grow to become toddlers, preschoolers, gradeschoolers, teens, and beyond, speaking with our children not only continues to develop their language and brain power, it also builds strong and open relationships with our kids, and it helps them learn the skills to develop those kinds of relationships with others.

If you are interested in learning new words, most dictionaries will now send the “word of the day” to your phone each morning. The Oxford English Dictionary word of the day is in the quote at the beginning of this blurb; the Webster’s Dictionary word of the day is in the quote below.

“Foist (v): 1a. to introduce or insert surreptitiously or without warrant;
1b. To force another to accept especially by stealth or deceit;
2. To pass off as genuine or worthy ”
–Merriam-Webster Dictionary Word of the Day 31.03.2021 (it isn’t today yet in America)

Sincerely,

Dr. Fries