The Shakespeare I have come to know: A scholar separates legend from legacy

He certainly did not invent the 1,000-odd words often attributed to him, says Jonathan Culpeper of Lancaster University. But then, most writers don’t coin one.

Even if you have never read Shakespeare, there’s one thing we all know for sure: He was a great writer.

But just how great was he? For the last 25 years, I have been working at Lancaster University in the UK, on his language, using computers to pinpoint patterns and help us gain a better understanding of it.

Some people think that the Bard contributed many of the words that we use in English today. Indeed, I have read claims