English language: Difference between revisions

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== The most common words in English==
== The most common words in English==
{|
{| class="wikitable"
| #the
|+ Top Ten Most Common Words in English
|1) the
|(article)
| 6) in
|(preposition)
|-
|-
| #be
| 2) be
|(verb)
| 7) that
|(relative pronoun, dependent marker)
|-
|-
| #to
|3) to
|(particle, preposition)
|8) have
|(verb)
|-
|-
| #and
|4) and
|(conjunction)
|9) I
|(pronoun)
|-
|-
| #a
|5) a
|(article)
|10) it
|(pronoun)
|-
|-
| #in
|}
|-
| #that
|-
| #have
|-
| #I
|-
| #it
|-
}
*from: [[wikipedia:Most_common_words_in_English|Most common words in English - Wikipedia]]


=== notes & statistics ===
*of the top 20 most common words, 7 are <u>prepositions</u>
*the top 200 words constitute 50-60% of words used commonly used
**see: [https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/546759/is-there-a-frequency-of-the-use-of-different-parts-of-speech-in-english Is there a frequency of the use of different parts of speech in English? - Stack Exchange]
|


== English synonymous & part of speech word use ==
== English synonymous & part of speech word use==
*the English language has a huge number of words that have multiple definitions
*the English language has a huge number of words that have multiple definitions
*other languages may be more explicit with distinct words that English will cover with a single word.
*other languages may be more explicit with distinct words that English will cover with a single word.
*for example:
*for example:
== English words & parts of speech distribution ==
==English words & parts of speech distribution==


* English contains about 600,000 words
*English contains about 600,000 words  
** as counted by the Oxford English Dictionary, there are 171,476 words in current use and 47,156 obsolete words
**as counted by the Oxford English Dictionary, there are 171,476 words in current use and 47,156 obsolete words
*** the Dictionary also counts 250,000 "distinct" words, excluding inflections (word ending changes)
***the Dictionary also counts 250,000 "distinct" words, excluding inflections (word ending changes)
** when word definitions are counted, English has 1,402,895 words
**when word definitions are counted, English has 1,402,895 words
*** i.e., the word "love" generally has five definitions in the dictionary
***i.e., the word "love" generally has five definitions in the dictionary
** when counting "headwords" and "lemmas" (words produced from a headword), English has 578,707 words
**when counting "headwords" and "lemmas" (words produced from a headword), English has 578,707 words
*** "headword" = a word from which other words are derived, such as "break > broken > broke
***"headword" = a word from which other words are derived, such as "break > broken > broke
** see  
**see  
*** [https://web.archive.org/web/20170909203258/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/explore/how-many-words-are-there-in-the-english-language How many words are there in the Engli... | Oxford Dictionaries (archive.org)]  
***[https://web.archive.org/web/20170909203258/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/explore/how-many-words-are-there-in-the-english-language How many words are there in the Engli... | Oxford Dictionaries (archive.org)]
*** [[wikipedia:Corpus_linguistics#English_corpora|Corpus linguistics - Wikipedia]]  
***[[wikipedia:Corpus_linguistics#English_corpora|Corpus linguistics - Wikipedia]]
*** [https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/language-most-words Which Language Has The Most Words? (babbel.com)]  
***[https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/language-most-words Which Language Has The Most Words? (babbel.com)]
*** [[wikipedia:List_of_dictionaries_by_number_of_words|List of dictionaries by number of words - Wikipedia]]  
***[[wikipedia:List_of_dictionaries_by_number_of_words|List of dictionaries by number of words - Wikipedia]]


=== Parts of Speech frequency as percent of all words ===
===Parts of Speech frequency as percent of all words===


=== parts of speech as percentage of all words ===
===parts of speech as percentage of all words===


* in general, English consists of
*in general, English consists of
** Adjectives: 25%
**Adjectives: 25%
** Nouns: 50%
**Nouns: 50%
** Verbs: 7%
**Verbs: 7%
*** see: [https://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/oed.html#:~:text=Subtracting%20the%20archaic%20words%20leaves%20us%20with%20about,made%20up%20of%20interjections%2C%20conjunctions%2C%20prepositions%2C%20suffixes%2C%20etc. How Many Words are in the Oxford English Dictionary? * alphaDictionary]
***see: [https://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/oed.html#:~:text=Subtracting%20the%20archaic%20words%20leaves%20us%20with%20about,made%20up%20of%20interjections%2C%20conjunctions%2C%20prepositions%2C%20suffixes%2C%20etc. How Many Words are in the Oxford English Dictionary? * alphaDictionary]


=== parts of speech as percentage of word usage, conversational v. formal/academic: ===
===parts of speech as percentage of word usage, conversational v. formal/academic: ===
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|+English Language Percent Frequency of Use of Parts of Speech
|+ English Language Percent Frequency of Use of Parts of Speech
!
!
!Adjectives
!Adjectives
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|-
|-
|Formal/ Academic
|Formal/ Academic
|10%
|10%  
|3%
| 3%
|5%
| 5%
|10%
|10%
|30%
|30%
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|
|
|Adjectives
|Adjectives
|Adverbs
|Adverbs  
|
|
|
|
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* source: [https://ginsengenglish.com/blog/parts-of-speech-in-english#:~:text=Take%20a%20look%20at%20the%20following%20table%20showing,to%20give%20a%20general%20sense%20of%20the%20proportions. The 9 Parts of Speech in English | Ginseng English] (from Biber, et. al., (1999). ''Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English.)''
*source: [https://ginsengenglish.com/blog/parts-of-speech-in-english#:~:text=Take%20a%20look%20at%20the%20following%20table%20showing,to%20give%20a%20general%20sense%20of%20the%20proportions. The 9 Parts of Speech in English | Ginseng English] (from Biber, et. al., (1999). ''Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English.)''


[[Category:Language Arts]]
[[Category:Language Arts]]
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[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:History of language]]
[[Category:History of language]]
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Latest revision as of 16:27, 1 March 2024

English originated in Anglo-Saxo

See also Language and etymology

Word parts & types[edit | edit source]

lexemes[edit | edit source]

  • noun, verb, adjective and adverb "stems" (basic word by itself

morphemes[edit | edit source]

  • sounds that are added to lexemes to create new words
    • including prefixes, suffixes and stem changes
      • pre-, -ly, -en, -s

English word origin[edit | edit source]

The approximate extent of Old Norse and related languages in the early 10th century:
Old West Norse dialect
Old East Norse dialect
Old Gutnish dialect
Old English
Crimean Gothic
Other Germanic languages with which Old Norse still retained some mutual intelligibility

Angles / Anglo-Saxon[edit | edit source]

  • from the Angles, a Germanic peoples who migrated to the British Islands in the 400s-600s AD.
    • part of the Anglo-Saxon invasions
  • English is one of the "Anglo-Frisian" languages

Language origins of Modern English[edit | edit source]

Origins of Modern English
Germanic Old French Latin Greek Other Proper Names
26% 29% 29% 6% 6% 4%

The most common words in English[edit | edit source]

Top Ten Most Common Words in English
1) the (article) 6) in (preposition)
2) be (verb) 7) that (relative pronoun, dependent marker)
3) to (particle, preposition) 8) have (verb)
4) and (conjunction) 9) I (pronoun)
5) a (article) 10) it (pronoun)


English synonymous & part of speech word use[edit | edit source]

  • the English language has a huge number of words that have multiple definitions
  • other languages may be more explicit with distinct words that English will cover with a single word.
  • for example:

English words & parts of speech distribution[edit | edit source]

Parts of Speech frequency as percent of all words[edit | edit source]

parts of speech as percentage of all words[edit | edit source]

parts of speech as percentage of word usage, conversational v. formal/academic:[edit | edit source]

English Language Percent Frequency of Use of Parts of Speech
Adjectives Adverbs Conjunctions Determiners Nouns Prepositions Pronouns Verbs
Conversational 2.5% 5% 4.5% 4.5% 15% 5.5% 16.5% 12.5%
Formal/ Academic 10% 3% 5% 10% 30% 15% 4% 10%
Adjectives Adverbs Nouns Verbs

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