function Seps(As_Arg: Char): Boolean; 
begin 
  Seps := As_Arg in 
    [#0..#$1F, ' ', '.', ',', '?', ':', ';', '(', ')', '/', '\']; 
end; 

function WordCount(CText: string): Longint; 
var 
  Ix: Word; 
  Work_Count: Longint; 
begin 
  Work_Count := 0; 
  Ix         := 1; 
  while Ix <= Length(CText) do 
  begin 
    while (Ix <= Length(CText)) and (Seps(CText[Ix])) do 
      Inc(Ix); 
    if Ix <= Length(CText) then 
    begin 
      Inc(Work_Count); 

      while (Ix <= Length(CText)) and (not Seps(CText[Ix])) do 
        Inc(Ix); 
    end; 
  end; 
  Word_Count := Work_Count; 
end; 

{ 
  To count the number opf words in a TMemo Component, 
  call: WordCount(Memo1.Text) 
}