AWADnews
                                  December 2000

   CONTENTS:

   1. Welcome
   2. Online Chat
   3. How Many People Receive A.Word.A.Day
   4. New Countries/Domains on the List
   5. Email Address of the Month AWArD
   6. Email Address of the Year AWArD
   7. Credits
   8. Administrivia

------------------------------

1. Welcome New Linguaphiles!

   A warm welcome to all the linguaphiles, including those who joined as
   a result of the story in the December 2000 issue of the Smithsonian
   Magazine.

------------------------------

2. Online Chat

   We are pleased to announce online chat at Wordsmith. This will be a
   moderated chat where you can converse with guests in real time.

   Our first guest is John Simpson, Chief Editor of the Oxford English
   Dictionary (OED). He will be joining us from Oxford, UK. The chat is
   scheduled for Tuesday, December 19, 2000 at 4 PM GMT (11 AM EST U.S.).
   You can access the chat at http://wordsmith.org/chat

   If you are planning to attend the chat, please drop us a line at
   rsvp@wordsmith.org. This will give us an estimate of the number of
   attendees so that we can plan better.

   For journalists, editors and reporters on the list, you may announce the
   chat with John Simpson in your publications. A transcript of the chat will
   be posted at http://wordsmith.org/chat following the event.

------------------------------

3. How Many People Receive A.Word.A.Day

   Over 350,000 people in more than 194 countries receive AWAD daily.
   The following table shows the distribution of addresses by domain
   name. This figure includes only those who receive it directly from our
   mailing list. It doesn't include those who read it on the Web or TV, in
   newspapers, etc.

   This table, with the flags of these countries, can be seen at:
   http://wordsmith.org/awad/stats.html.

   Domain  Count      %    Domain Description

   com    212264  60.5571  Commercial
   net     46290  13.2061  Network
   edu     26881   7.6689  Educational
   org      8151   2.3254  Non-Profit Organizations
   us       6691   1.9089  United States
   ca       5499   1.5688  Canada
   kr       4988   1.4230  South Korea
   au       4347   1.2402  Australia
   uk       3923   1.1192  United Kingdom
   gov      2898   0.8268  U.S. Government
   in       2875   0.8202  India
   de       1701   0.4853  Germany
   mil      1567   0.4471  USA Military
   pl       1488   0.4245  Poland
   cn       1461   0.4168  China
   jp       1417   0.4043  Japan
   br       1257   0.3586  Brazil
   za       1233   0.3518  South Africa
   nz       1047   0.2987  New Zealand
   sg       1005   0.2867  Singapore
   tw        989   0.2822  Taiwan
   mx        836   0.2385  Mexico
   es        706   0.2014  Spain
   fr        693   0.1977  France
   it        678   0.1934  Italy
   il        607   0.1732  Israel
   se        544   0.1552  Sweden
   my        486   0.1387  Malaysia
   ru        461   0.1315  Russian Federation
   ie        378   0.1078  Ireland
   vn        355   0.1013  Vietnam
   nl        350   0.0999  Netherlands
   ar        333   0.0950  Argentina
   id        318   0.0907  Indonesia
   ch        317   0.0904  Switzerland
   hk        301   0.0859  Hong Kong
   be        267   0.0762  Belgium
   no        264   0.0753  Norway
   tr        260   0.0742  Turkey
   th        227   0.0648  Thailand
   ae        216   0.0616  United Arab Emirates
   dk        201   0.0573  Denmark
   fi        198   0.0565  Finland
   pk        180   0.0514  Pakistan
   ph        165   0.0471  Philippines
   hu        161   0.0459  Hungary
   cz        155   0.0442  Czech Republic
   co        141   0.0402  Colombia
   at        127   0.0362  Austria
   gr        120   0.0342  Greece
   int       105   0.0300  International
   ua        103   0.0294  Ukraine
   fm         93   0.0265  Micronesia
   ro         91   0.0260  Romania
   pe         84   0.0240  Peru
   sk         78   0.0223  Slovak Republic
   sa         72   0.0205  Saudi Arabia
   pt         72   0.0205  Portugal
   yu         68   0.0194  Yugoslavia
   om         64   0.0183  Oman
   cl         55   0.0157  Chile
   tt         55   0.0157  Trinidad and Tobago
   ve         54   0.0154  Venezuela
   lt         52   0.0148  Lithuania
   ne         51   0.0145  Niger
   cr         48   0.0137  Costa Rica
   hr         47   0.0134  Croatia
   lb         47   0.0134  Lebanon
   bg         45   0.0128  Bulgaria
   si         43   0.0123  Slovenia
   bh         41   0.0117  Bahrain
   bm         39   0.0111  Bermuda
   uy         38   0.0108  Uruguay
   ir         37   0.0106  Iran
   ee         35   0.0100  Estonia
   lk         35   0.0100  Sri Lanka
   np         35   0.0100  Nepal
   cu         35   0.0100  Cuba
   is         33   0.0094  Iceland
   lv         31   0.0088  Latvia
   su         30   0.0086  Former USSR
   bw         29   0.0083  Botswana
   to         25   0.0071  Tonga
   cc         24   0.0068  Cocos (Keeling) Islands
   eg         24   0.0068  Egypt
   nu         23   0.0066  Niue
   am         21   0.0060  Armenia
   mr         20   0.0057  Mauritania
   fj         20   0.0057  Fiji
   zw         19   0.0054  Zimbabwe
   mt         18   0.0051  Malta
   jm         18   0.0051  Jamaica
   ec         17   0.0048  Ecuador
   cy         17   0.0048  Cyprus
   ke         17   0.0048  Kenya
   bf         16   0.0046  Burkina Faso
   lc         16   0.0046  Saint Lucia
   lu         15   0.0043  Luxembourg
   na         15   0.0043  Namibia
   jo         15   0.0043  Jordan
   qa         14   0.0040  Qatar
   do         14   0.0040  Dominican Republic
   bs         14   0.0040  Bahamas
   ba         13   0.0037  Bosnia-Herzegovina
   ma         13   0.0037  Morocco
   mk         13   0.0037  Macedonia
   fo         12   0.0034  Faroe Islands
   sn         12   0.0034  Senegal
   cm         11   0.0031  Cameroon
   as         10   0.0029  American Samoa
   vi         10   0.0029  Virgin Islands (USA)
   bo         10   0.0029  Bolivia
   kh          9   0.0026  Cambodia
   bj          9   0.0026  Benin
   by          9   0.0026  Belarus
   zm          9   0.0026  Zambia
   gy          9   0.0026  Guyana
   ge          9   0.0026  Georgia
   md          8   0.0023  Moldova
   py          8   0.0023  Paraguay
   mu          8   0.0023  Mauritius
   ky          7   0.0020  Cayman Islands
   cx          7   0.0020  Christmas Island
   ng          7   0.0020  Nigeria
   mo          7   0.0020  Macau
   hn          7   0.0020  Honduras
   ml          7   0.0020  Mali
   kw          6   0.0017  Kuwait
   gn          6   0.0017  Guinea
   mg          6   0.0017  Madagascar
   ag          6   0.0017  Antigua and Barbuda
   mz          6   0.0017  Mozambique
   az          5   0.0014  Azerbaijan
   cd          5   0.0014  Democratic Republic of the Congo
   kz          5   0.0014  Kazakhstan
   ad          5   0.0014  Andorra
   et          4   0.0011  Ethiopia
   pa          4   0.0011  Panama
   ye          4   0.0011  Yemen
   bn          4   0.0011  Brunei Darussalam
   ws          4   0.0011  Samoa
   gh          4   0.0011  Ghana
   sz          4   0.0011  Swaziland
   gt          4   0.0011  Guatemala
   kg          4   0.0011  Kyrgyzstan
   ci          4   0.0011  Ivory Coast (Cote D'Ivoire)
   pg          3   0.0009  Papua New Guinea
   tc          3   0.0009  Turks and Caicos Islands
   gi          3   0.0009  Gibraltar
   uz          3   0.0009  Uzbekistan
   ni          3   0.0009  Nicaragua
   nc          3   0.0009  New Caledonia (French)
   ug          3   0.0009  Uganda
   ga          2   0.0006  Gabon
   an          2   0.0006  Netherlands Antilles
   pr          2   0.0006  Puerto Rico
   gm          2   0.0006  Gambia
   bb          2   0.0006  Barbados
   tg          2   0.0006  Togo
   ms          2   0.0006  Montserrat
   mw          2   0.0006  Malawi
   tm          2   0.0006  Turkmenistan
   je          2   0.0006  Jersey
   li          2   0.0006  Liechtenstein
   tz          2   0.0006  Tanzania
   dz          1   0.0003  Algeria
   sr          1   0.0003  Suriname
   mv          1   0.0003  Maldives
   dm          1   0.0003  Dominica
   st          1   0.0003  Sao Tome and Principe
   pf          1   0.0003  French Polynesia
   sy          1   0.0003  Syria
   gs          1   0.0003  S. Georgia and S. Sandwich Islands
   tv          1   0.0003  Tuvalu
   aw          1   0.0003  Aruba
   bz          1   0.0003  Belize
   gu          1   0.0003  Guam
   al          1   0.0003  Albania
   mn          1   0.0003  Mongolia
   cg          1   0.0003  Congo
   td          1   0.0003  Chad
   -------------
   Total  350519
   -------------

   In addition to the above list of countries, AWAD's readership includes:

   Angola (ao)
   Anguilla (ai)
   Bangladesh (bd)
   Belize (bz)
   Grenada (gd)
   British Virgin Islands (vg)
   British Indian Ocean Territory (io)
   Haiti (ht)
   Rwanda (rw)
   Comoros (km)
   Antarctica (aq)
   Saint Kitts and Nevis Anguilla (kn)
   Northern Mariana Islands (mp)
   Guam (gu)
   Marshall Islands (mh)
   French Guiana (gf)
   Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (pm)
   El Salvador (sv)
   Isle of Man (im)
   Saint Vincent and Grenadines (vc)

   These places do not appear in the above table because the subscribers
   use addresses with a different domain. If you are from a country not
   listed here, drop me a line at anu@wordsmith.org and I'll add your
   country to this list.

   Stats on Address Lengths:
   Mean               :  20.158
   Median             :  19
   Mode               :  18
   Standard Deviation :   4.556
   Shortest address   : (6 characters) s@s.to (Stonewall Ballard)
   Longest address    : (248 characters) 
GodLovesAnuBillCymraDavidEdFranGregHajiIanJohnKayLenMikeNanOlivePaulaQuintRuth
SueTimUlricVicWesXavierYvesZackAnastasiaCourtneyAustinMarilynChrisMelodyDeirdr
eArleenScottPamelaCraigCherryeRobertJaniceSpencerTylerTrevorAndEtcetera@GodLov
esEveryone.org (John Knoderer)

------------------------------

4. New Countries/Domains on the List

   Saint Tome and Principe (st)
   Tuvalu (tv)

   Welcome aboard!

------------------------------

5. Email Address of the Month AWArD

   This month the AWArD goes to:

   YouCanReachUs@Whoever.com (Laura and Richard)

   If you know of an unusual email address that is funny or clever, you are
   welcome to send your nomination to anu@wordsmith.org.

------------------------------

6. Email Address of the Year AWArD

   Your votes determine the 2000 Email Address of the Year AWArD.
   Following is a list of all the Address of the Month AWArD winners.

   To vote, send a blank message to the email address shown for each monthly
   winner that ends with '@wordsmith.org'. The annual winner will be
   announced in the January 2001 issue of this newsletter. One person per
   vote, please.

   Month   Monthly email address winner       Address owner    To vote, email:

   Jan: overwriter@underwriters.com           Gila Jones     jan@wordsmith.org
   Feb: iamaloser@winning.com                 Kavi Bhalla    feb@wordsmith.org
   Mar: a-a-a-choo@allergist.com              Karl Siewert   mar@wordsmith.org
   Apr: dante@purgatorio.com                  Jennifer       apr@wordsmith.org
   May: I'mworking@homehonest.freeserve.co.uk Nick Booth     may@wordsmith.org
   Jun: close.to.being@the-end-of-my-rope.com Terry Miller   jun@wordsmith.org
   Jul: dot@dotat.at                          Tony Finch     jul@wordsmith.org
   Aug: size-13@bigfoot.com                   Matt Kane      aug@wordsmith.org
   Sep: killmenow@positive-thinking.com       Sari           sep@wordsmith.org
   Oct: error_user_doesnt_exist@yahoo.com     Kathy Forth    oct@wordsmith.org
   Nov: disestablishmentarianist@att.net      Wesley Myhaver nov@wordsmith.org
   Dec: YouCanReachUs@Whoever.com             Laura/Richard  dec@wordsmith.org

   This is chadless voting.

------------------------------

7. Credits

   o AWAD is created by Anu Garg (anu@wordsmith.org).
   o Tip o' the hat to Todd J. Derr (tjd@wordsmith.org) for care and feeding
     of the computer that houses the wordserver, and keeping it smoothly
     running (thus providing an exception to Murphy's Law).
   o Thanks to Stuti Garg (stuti@wordsmith.org) of Namix (http://namix.com)
     for recording word pronunciations in her melodious voice.
   o Thanks to Emery Reiff (emery@wordsmith.org) copy editor par excellence,
     for making sure all i's are dotted and t's crossed.
   o Thanks to Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. (http://www.lhsl.com)
     for permission to use the American Heritage Dictionary, 3e., in AWAD.
     Their lawyers have asked us to add this: The American Heritage(R)
     Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition Copyright 1992, 1996
     by Houghton Mifflin Company. Used with permission from Lernout & Hauspie
     Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved.
   o Thanks to Northern Light Search (http://www.northernlight.com/)
     for assistance with citation research.
   o Special thanks to all the linguaphiles who have joined and made the
     list what it is.

------------------------------

8. Administrivia

   For press and other inquiries, please contact sureg@wordsmith.org.

   How to join A.Word.A.Day, sign-off, etc.:

   Subscribe:    http://wordsmith.org/awad/subscribe.html
   Unsubscribe:    http://wordsmith.org/awad/unsubscribe.html
   Address Change:   http://wordsmith.org/awad/address-change.html
   Gift subscription:  http://wordsmith.org/awad/gift.html

   AWADtalk Bulletin Board: http://wordsmith.org/board
   AWADchat: http://wordsmith.org/chat

   Word list:   http://wordsmith.org/awad/wordlist.html
   Archives:  http://wordsmith.org/awad/archives.html
   Search:  http://wordsmith.org/awad/search.html
   FAQ:   http://wordsmith.org/awad/faq.html


   If you don't have web access, send a blank message with "help"
   in the subject line to wsmith@wordsmith.org to receive the email command 
list
   for the resources mentioned above.

   A.Word.A.Day ISSN: 1524-6884

--
Anu Garg   anu@wordsmith.org   anugarg@acm.org   http://wordsmith.org/anu
(AWAD.20001210.233006.001.976477912)