How large is the English lexicon?

The two biggest dictionaries suggest around half a million lexemes — a total approached by the unabridged Webster’s Third New International (which claimed over 450,000 entries in 1961) and by the integrated edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (which claimed over 500, 000 entries in 1992). The true figure is undoubtedly a great deal higher.

A comparison of these two dictionaries — or of any other group of dictionaries of comparable size — shows a remarkable lack of identity between headword lists. Dictionaries are usually caused by differing editorial emphases. The Oxford has far more historical references and British dialect terms than does the Webster, which in turn has far more local American terms. On the other hand, neither work would claim to be comprehensive in its coverage of the vocabulary of the new Englishes in such parts of the world as India, Singapore, and Nigeria, where thousands of new lexemes are coming into the language. And because the tradition in lexicography is to use the written language as the test for inclusion, much local spoken nonstandard vocabulary will be omitted. There must be thousands of slang expressions currently in common use which have never been recorded, such as all the lexemes which express the concept of "being drunk" — canned, blotto, squiffy, jagged, paralytic, smashed, etc.

Even if we restrict the issue of the standard vocabulary, there are many terms which could be included as part of the lexicon, but which are not usually found in a dictionary. There are some half a million abbreviated forms in English, many of which have a clear lexical status (BA, FBI, NATO, etc); and fauna and flora also provide a vast lexical resource. For example, there are apparently some million insects already described, with several million more awaiting description. This means that there must be at least a million designations enabling English-speaking entomologists to talk about their subject. Should all of these be allowed into the word-count as well?

It is difficult to see how even a conservative estimate of the English vocabulary could go much below a million lexemes. More radical accounts, allowing in all of scientific nomenclature, could easily double this figure. Only a small fraction of these totals, of course, is learned by any one of us.

(From The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English language by D. Crystal).

1. How large is the English vocabulary?

2. How many lexical items are registered in The Oxford English Dictionary / Webster ' s Third New International Dictionary?

3. Do the following test choosing the correct answer(s):

1. The term "Lexicology" comes from...

a) Latin; b) French; c) Greek; d) Scandinavian.

2. The system formed by the sum total of all the words of a language is...

a) vocabulary; b) lexical units; c) set-expressions; d) word groups.

3. Modern English Lexicology is...

a) General; b) Special; c) Diachronic; d) Synchronic.

4. A meaningful lexical unit that can’t function separately is a...

a) word; b) morpheme; c) word combination; d) set-phrase.

5. The basic lexical units are...

a) words; b) morphemes; c) word combinations; d) set expressions.

6. The system showing the word in all its forms is called...

a) derivation; b) sentence; c) paradigm; d) semantic structure.

7. An association of a given meaning with a given phonemic pattern is...

a) etymology; b) motivation; c) nomination; d) word.

8. Lexicology of a particular language is...

a) General; b) Restricted; c) Historical; d) Special.

9. The word-combination Christmas party reflects such characteristic of English vocabulary as...

a) specific valence; b) high degree of polysemy; c) homonymy; d) morphemic simplicity.

10. The functions of the word are…

a) semantic; b) communicative; c) syntagmatic; d) nominative.

11. Define the type of motivation of the following words: 1) eat; 2) singer; 3) splash; 4) mother tongue.

a) phonetic motivation; b) morphological motivation; c) semantic motivation; d) non-motivated.

12. The quality of a thing is the object of... nomination.

a) lexical; b) propositional; c) discursive; d) specific.

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