Text 6. Some facts about english

There were only 30,000 words in Old English. Modern English has the largest vocab­ulary in the world — more than 600,000 words.

There are about 60,000 words in common use.

About 450-500 words are added to the English vocabulary every year.

70 per cent of the English vocabulary are loan words and only 30 per cent of the words are native.

There are are words from 120 languages in English, including Russian.

The most frequently used words in written English are: the, of, and, to, a, in, that, is, I, it, for and as.

The most frequently used word in conversation is I.

The longest word in the English language is: Pneumonoultamicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (a lung disease).

The commonest letter is "e".

More words begin with the letter "s" than any other.

The most overworked word in English is the word set. It has 126 verbal uses and 58 noun uses.

The newest letters added to the English alphabet are "j" and "v", which are of post-Shakespearean use.

The largest English-language dictionary is the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary, with 21,728 pages.

The commonest English name is Smith. There are about 800,00 people called Smith in England and Wales, and about 1,700,000 in the USA.

Dialogues

— It's a great idea to take a language course in London! But where are we going to stay? I 'd rather stay at the same place with you? And you?

— So would I. I've got some relatives in London so we could stay with them. They are very friendly people and they know London very well. So they could recommend us the most interesting places to visit. Besides, we won't have to pay for our accommodation. What do you think of it?

— Not a bad idea! But I won't feel very comfortable if we stay with your relatives. They are strangers to me and I won't feel at home. In addition, we won't be on our own in the evening and at the weekend. Just imagine that we'll have to talk to them all the time and to do what they want us to. It's awful! By the way, do they live near the school?

— Not really. In fact, we'll have to go by bus or by underground.

— You see, it's quite inconvenient to waste so much time getting to and from school. As for me, I'd ratherstay at a hotel not far from our school. The hotels in London are very comfortable.

— But they are very expensive! I'm afraid my parents won't be able to afford it. Besides, it's very difficult to book a hotel ac­commodation in London in summer. The hotels are usually full.

— Well, it's a pity because in the hotel you are absolutely free to do whatever you feel like doing, for example, go to the cinema or to a disco. What about staying in a youth hostel? They are much cheaper, and we'll have the same freedom as in a hotel. What is more, we'll be able to make lots of new friends with foreign teenagers and practise our English. What's your opinion?

— To tell the truth, I don't like this idea. First of all, youth hostels are also expensive. Besides, they are usually far from the school so you'll have to get to school by public transport. In addition, we'll have to cook our meals ourselves and I hate cooking. Moreover, it's no use speaking English with people who don't know it. Don't forget that students usually come to England to learn English. We should practise our language speaking with native speakers.

— Well, perhaps, you are right. What do you suggest then?' 'Why don't we stay with a host family? We could practise our English talking with them in the evening and discussing different things. Besides, it's a good chance to get to know the English lifestyle as well as English customs and traditions.' 'Not a bad idea! Is it expensive?

— Not at all. It's the cheapest kind of accommodation, especially if we share a room.