The World in Words 58: Linguists trash English word count, speaking Uighur in Bermuda, and steady lah! The delights of Singlish

A nice linguistic fight to start with this week: a Texas organization is claiming that the English language has just gained its millionth word. Linguists say it’s a publicity stunt. Then it’s on to Singlish, a hybrid tongue that Singaporeans speak among themselves, much to the consternation of their famously fussy government. Finally, as the US releases some Chinese Uighurs from Guantanamo, a look at the Uighur language.