India, Feb. 7 -- We all know who William Shakespeare was. Many of you have read some of his plays but very few are likely to be familiar with all 38. But how many people are aware of his incredible contribution to the English language? I doubt if we've really thought about this. But it's almost incalculable. By one count, he's contributed 1,700 words. You'll find that figure repeated in most studies of his impact on English.

For example, consider this and I bet you didn't know Shakespeare was responsible for these everyday words. Alligator (Romeo and Juliet); bedroom (A Midsummer Night's Dream); critic (Love's Labour's Lost); downstairs (Henry IV Part 1); fashionable (Troilus and Cressida); gossip (The Comedy of Errors); lonely (Coriolan...