Meerut, September 10: It is certainly not the British who know English best, or so it seems, as this 37-year-old US settled UP lad, Anu Garg, is teaching the Americans and many others round the globe the intricacies of this foreign language, through his unique A-Word-A-Day Programme.

In order to create awareness and interest for the language, he sends free emails daily, mailing his special programme through his website wordsmith.org. And his efforts are paying off. Today he has paid subscribers too.

However, Anu says it started off as an experiment. Today Anu’s unique programme has completed ten years ! “The first word went to a handful of friends ,today the programme has more than 570,000 subscribers in more than 200 countries.” At the same time, it gave him the idea to start this unique programme. Anu was doing MS in computer science from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, when he launched the wordsmith.org web site in 1994.

Today, he has got bulk subscribers who belong to various prestigious organisations like, IBM and Harvard, Michigan and Washington universities, besides the US government. His readership reaches places like Rwanda, Guam, Anguilla and even Antarctica! The word package includes, definition, pronunciation, etymological roots and usage guide. The words are chosen keeping in mind that week’s development in current affairs. The words could be as simple as peninsula or tongue twisters like hemidemisemiquaver (64th note in music ) or onychophagia (the habit of biting your nails) or gynarchy (government of women). His website has several features for its subscribers. Apart from a dictionary, thesaurus, anagrams and acronym finders. Just type in ‘Mother- in- Law’ and be prepared for a shock! One of the suggestions would be ‘Woman Hitler’! Shake up the alphabets of word Parliament and it could metamorphose into Partial Men ! Clint Eastwood could stand for Old West Action and New York Times could even churn up as Monkey Write. Anu says, “Anagrams never lie. All the life’s wisdom can be found in anagrams.”

His site also hosts a message board. A monthly newsletter is prepared from hundreds of emails he gets from his subscribers. There is also chat facility where among other things, queries have been addressed by eminent editors and authors including, John Simpson, chief editor Oxford English dictionary. Anu has also compiled a book titled ‘A Word A Day ‘ with his wife Stuti.

Anu has also launched a Word Lovers library project. His unique programme has won him plaudit from The Wall Street Journal New York Times, and Reader’s Digest. “It keeps boredom away”, wrote the prestigious Wall Street Journal.