How the Normans changed English

For those who are interested in some of the history of the English language:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10776581

True or just a publicity stunt?

According an American organisation, Global Language Monitoring, there are now one million words in the English language. What do you think? Is it true or is it just a good a good publicity stunt? Does it matter when we only use a fraction of the words for everyday use?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8092549.stm