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Tracking The (English) Words We Use

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the interesting-models dept.

Zugok writes "Wordcount.org has an interactive presentation of the 86,800 most frequently used English words. In addition they have Query Count which is a dynamic database of what are the most queried words on Wword Count. Then there is the conspiracy corner where certain words seems to end up in some sort of eerie order. Cowboy comes 14834 and Neal comes 18928. Bebop comes 70673."

15 of 332 comments (clear)

  1. I like my tin foil in the microwave please by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Cowboy comes 14834 and Neal comes 18928

    Yet google and slashdot hasn't even been indexed yet... hmm tin foil anyone?

  2. Nice flash by bizpile · · Score: 2, Interesting

    That has to be the coolest use of Flash I have ever seen that wasn't simply an animation. I guess I won't adblock it.

    1. Re:Nice flash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Except it is one of the most annoying interfaces I've used. There's no way to know what you're suppose to click on, and there's limited space that displays like 3 words at a time in a giant font. I would prefer to see even the most rudimentary HTML so I could scroll through a list of 100's or 1000's of words at a time.

    2. Re:Nice flash by rdc_uk · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Pretty,
      but possibly the most useless UI for list-format data ever; I can only read the first (counts) 19 entries, (can't read the numbers after 10). After that you have to do random sampling.

      Browsable Lists - the past and future of basic data presentation!

  3. gee.. by g-to-the-o-to-the-g · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Hm...I would have thought things like "the", "and" or "or" would have beat out "dog" "pussy" "sex".

    --

    Hi there

  4. Re:Love Hate by bizpile · · Score: 5, Interesting

    At least love @384 ranks above hate @3107

    But war(304) beats peace(1155).

  5. Re:I have looked up all the rude words: by imsabbel · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Well, if people could write fuck, cunt, bitch, motherfucker, ect in the web without being censored by "lets be nice" moderatores, irc-bots, php-bbses,ect, their rank would be quite a bit higher.
    I guess fuck should be at least in the top 1000.

    --
    HI O WISE PRINCE. WHT TOOK U SO DAM LONG?
  6. Compression by SavedLinuXgeeK · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I know there are already types of compression that take the most common letters of a document, and then builds a binary dictionary off of it, to create the most efficient way of storing the data. Perhaps this database could be used, as a static dictionary, and compressing documents could be even better, though the db queries might slow it down.

    --
    je suis parce que j'aime
  7. Word flashmobs by G4from128k · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Perhaps sites like this will encourage the creation of word flashmobs. A group of people would conspire to overuse some obscure word to boost its rating. Bombing the word within blogs, web pages, and postings might help the word spread into wider use and rise in the rankings. It could even be a competitive sport -- two teams pick two words of adjacent rank and the team whose word rises the most wins.

    --
    Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
  8. Did their sources include AIM and ICQ? by Mordaximus · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I half expected this wordcount thing to, well, count real English words. OMG ranks at 43712.

    P.S. WTF Did not rank :/

  9. Well duh. by Yaztromo · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The archive bills itself as "...an interactive presentation of the 86,800 most frequently used English words."

    Last I checked, "Linux" is not a word in the english language.

    For the same reason, you're not going to find "Slashdot", "jSyncManager", or "iPod", regardless of how many times they're used online.

    Yaz.

  10. I need this for German. by torpor · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I have to learn German. I need the 86,000 most-commonly used German words. This would give me a nice target of words to get to know in the process of learning it ...

    --
    ; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
  11. Re:You know this world is in trouble by PMuse · · Score: 3, Interesting
    It takes somewhat of a long time to get past all the pronouns, articles, prepositions, to-be verbs, etc. Once we do, we can start to see what things people are talking about.

    people (81)

    first (86)

    down (97)

    think (102)

    work (103)

    years (106), year (122)

    right (112)

    government (140)

    day (141)

    man (142)

    world (149)

    ...and it was at that point that the slashdot effect killed the flash app

    --
    "We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." --The American President (20.1.2009)
  12. Re:86,800 most frequently used English words??? by mrmagos · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well, considering that is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1/10th of the words estimated to be in the English language, there are quite a few not in the list. The actual number varies by source however, estimated between approximately 800,000 and 1,000,000 words.

    --
    Never start vast projects with half-vast ideas.
  13. Spam filter uses? by danharan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    To fight keyword stuffing, I believe keeping track of the word use distribution in an email would help us judge the spam potential.

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    Information: "I want to be anthropomorphized"