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OP This may have been discussed in some form or other before I found my way to this forum, but I came across this item in today's local paper and thought it might be of interest:
"You've got about 600,000 English words to work with. But only 43 of them make up half of everything you say. Only nine go into a quarter of what you say. These nine are:
and, be, have, it, of, the, to, will, you. So contends that language expert Robert Chapman."
I have no information regarding how he arrived at these figures, but it seems to me that a statistical study of "what people say" would be a very difficult undertaking and would require a number of clearly stated parameters.
Entire Thread Subject Posted By Posted Interesting item on English JohnHawaii 06/11/03 01:28 AM Re: Interesting item on English alexis 06/11/03 01:38 AM Re: Interesting item on English wwh 06/11/03 02:22 AM Re: Interesting item on English wsieber 06/11/03 07:24 AM Re: Interesting item on English Wordwind 06/11/03 09:03 AM Re: Interesting item on English Buffalo Shrdlu 06/11/03 09:35 AM Re: Interesting item on English Faldage 06/11/03 10:38 AM Re: Interesting item on English Buffalo Shrdlu 06/11/03 12:31 PM Re: Interesting item on English tsuwm 06/11/03 12:36 PM Re: Interesting item on English Buffalo Shrdlu 06/11/03 12:38 PM Re: Interesting item on English sjm 06/11/03 10:15 AM Re: Interesting item on English alexis 06/11/03 10:51 AM Re: Interesting item on English Jackie 06/30/03 07:03 PM Re: Interesting item on English JohnHawaii 07/01/03 01:40 AM Re: Interesting item on English wsieber 07/01/03 01:16 PM Re: Interesting item on English Jackie 07/01/03 06:03 PM
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