Why English is so difficult to learn...

[Bereta_Eder]

I'd think this work is far beyond any oxford dictionary myself. but it was written for a british newspaper so there you have it

[MikeH]

No, sounds the same to me:

http://www.oed.com/public/inside/

The Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. It traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books.

[Bereta_Eder]

But it goes back only one milenium and only has a fraction of the number of words the new dictionary will have...

[MikeH]

The article didn't say which was better, it just said that the form would be similar.

Sorry, I get what you mean now, yes it will be a bigger work, the article doesn't dispute that.

[Bereta_Eder]

I doubt there is any way to "evaluate" "better" in this matter

Anyway, let's see if it ever gets finished first...

[MikeH]

True. The same but with more information.

But that also means harder to finish, so therefore a more impressive task.

[Bereta_Eder]

yep there are all kinds of dictionaries here (ancient, demotic whatever) but this sounds like the big ass mothership

[FrustratedPoet]

Interestingly, they're currently putting together the latest version of the OED. They do a MAJOR re-write of it every century or so.
I've applied to work on it - my background (albeit limited) in studying Old and Middle English texts, grammer and vocabulary should help a bit .... as will my English degree.
However, I have absolutely no experience in the field, so I'm hopeful rather than confident.

They promised to either call me for an interview or tell me to get stuffed by the 11th January.

[zapnic]

English and creek are both indo-euro language
due to this they are similar

[DaShi]

Creek just sounds like babbling to me.

[DaShi]

Then there's the mighty language of the Cbeast!

[FrustratedPoet]

Originally posted by DaShi
Creek just sounds like babbling to me.

[lightblue]

Hmm as an a non-english native speaker (Dutch), and someone who has learnt German, French and Luxembourgish as well, I found english by far and away the easiest language to pick up. Some of the pronunciation is a bit dodgy if you're not used to it (though, tough etc), but I managed to pick up enough english from TV/games that I was able to read in english before i got taught it (don't ask me how).

Now (after 6 yrs in the UK) my written English far outstrips my written Dutch, largely because of my significantly larger vocabulary makes it easier to compose more elegant pieces.

[FrustratedPoet]

I would never have guessed you weren't a native English speaker.

*sigh*
I wish I could speak a foreign language like that.

[lightblue]

Hmm an undergraduate degree and 2 graduate degrees in the UK help with your english I consider myself bilingual by now, I think and dream in English too.

[scary bit] When I dated this Dutch girl here in Cambridge, I had trouble understanding her Dutch accent (she was from Friesland, me from around Amsterdam), so we ended up talking in english on our dates [/scary bit]