Slashdot Mirror
Tracking The (English) Words We Use
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."
fuck is number 5598
Actually, I expected this to be higher since I watched Goodfellas last night.
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.
Hm...I would have thought things like "the", "and" or "or" would have beat out "dog" "pussy" "sex".
Hi there
At least love @384 ranks above hate @3107
I think the world isn't so bad...
All the worlds indeed a
I mean, I guess I should've known, but I didn't expect the font size to be so damned *large*!
(Not, of course that anyone would waste work time by reading
when the word "money" makes place 227 while "love" is at 384. Or maybe I am just turning into some sort of postmodern hippie. ;-)
This is so bad. No one should make their information to depend on non-free software. I will not install flash to see this.
Fuck = 5598
Cunt = 18636
HTH.
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?
Bloody hell, I wonder what other words are _not_ so frequently used then.
but Windows ranks at a disturbing 1169. ;-)
It would be nice if the list were available in plaintext form, instead of this slow and miserable Flash presentation.
This is a prime example of Flash being misused. It's not needed at all, and only serves to slow things down. It also makes it impossible to use the data for anything useful.
This space intentionally left blank.
"WordCount was designed with a minimalist aesthetic, to let the information speak for itself."
Which explains their logical use of Flash.
I don't have Flash. A couple of non-php static html pages generated once a day could have handled a league table, with a PHP search. :)
Did the Conspiracy page report a coincidence of the words 'Fu*c' and 'Microsoft'?
Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped. Calvin Coolidge
1) que
2) centre
3) colour
4) dialogue
5) program
6) pyjamas
Why yes, I am american
"If you think you have things under control, you're not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
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
"Grok is not currently in the archive"
what the ranking is for the word /.?
Funny that you mention this, because they'll definitely be adding the verb "slashdotted" after today.
Hoist Number One and Number Six.
Nice concept for a web site, but the gratuitous use of technology gets in the way.
"Slashdot" and "effect" are located at?
...teh, noob, and haxor... I have trouble believing they aren't ranked heheh
"I'll waste 'em with my crossbow!" ~Bob Herzog, Power Gamer
I really am sick of sites that require flash to get actual information. It should be part of the usability guidelines of the web that information be required to be in at least format.
Take these two sites for example. I work in the healthcare profession and we don't run our machines as administrators, and flash isn't installed default on Win2k. When you go to Ochsner's Health Plan website, you can't do anything unless we, as administrators, log in and install flash for them from the activex control, just to log in as a provider.
Also, Houston RoadRunner is the exact same.
I hate flash, a lot, and It annoys me because you can't manipulate fonts, you can't use scroll wheel most of the time, all the control is taken AWAY from the user. I love flash when used for hilarious web cartoons, but using it for content is ridiculous.
Chris
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.
Words 29350-29352.
Support the First Amendment. Read at -1
I half expected this wordcount thing to, well, count real English words. OMG ranks at 43712.
:/
P.S. WTF Did not rank
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.
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. --
1941-1945:
faith establish facts requires membership
Tom Cruise hacked their website!
I'll do it for cheesy poofs.
Book comes in at 357, Television comes in at 1022 and TV comes in at 1577.
Ah, now I know what's wrong with it... It's "Artistic" so it doesn't have to mean anything. I mean, nobody would find it useful if the number of occurrences of a word was given.
Here's the bit that would make you choke on your cornflakes... Tell me, what was the award trophy? A chocolate tea pot?
Where's the Kaboom?
There's supposed to be an Earth-shattering Kaboom.
That has to be the coolest use of Flash
It is a cool idea and it has been implemented with Flash.
I'd like to see it implemented without Flash. What is cool would then be more accessible and available faster. That would be more compelling.
.. 'Microsoft' is at a disturbing 4304 which puts this word ahead of 'Fuck' at 5589!
/. readers as a basis for working out their word collection.
This means that either:
1) That people at large think more about Microsoft than copulating. (Unlikely)
2) They used a bunch of
Only to idiots, are orders laws.
-- Henning von Tresckow
What happened to the days when only California teenagers/surfers used 'like' for every second word. I really noticed this when I went back to university recently. It's really, like, annoying to listen to, like, the kids today, like, use the word 'like', like, five times in one, like, sentence.
The word is
More info on Just the words (Monty Python)
Apparently, the 'word' NaN is used a lot! :-)
NaNNaNNaNNaNNaN
Slashdotted?
Sig Nature
It was rejected.
"Word Count Tuesday August 03, @06:04AM Rejected "
992-995 america ensure oil opportunity
3046-3051 iraq winner, fucking smooth, nick votes
on TV (according to George Carlin) are: shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein
The BNC only goes up to 1990, as well. Linux wasn't a word then. Microsoft ranks 5293 on the list I've got, occurring 1704 times in 100 million words
To fight keyword stuffing, I believe keeping track of the word use distribution in an email would help us judge the spam potential.
Information: "I want to be anthropomorphized"
..means 'the act of estimating as worthless.'
-To you and me, it means calling something shit.
(teehee. finally found a way to post that one)
Even so, I kinda agree with what you say, that the site is close to misrepresenting itself. But the greater dishonesty is surely that the bloody thing is just grandstanding with public data -- it's almost useless, presumably by design, for practical purposes. So, yes, I too would rather the authors had been clear about their American background.
Here's some stats ...
It looks to me as if the sums work like this:
375m (1st language)
375m (2nd language)
750m (learned English as a foreign language)
-----
1500m
http://www.britishcouncil.org/english/engfaqs.htm
Also, it's not as if you are "correct" and the American "incorrect." Languages are fluid. Languages evolve, including English. Brits (I include Canadians here, having severed ties only quite recently) have really screwed up the proper German you were taught ~1500 years ago too. And the Norwegian you were taught ~1200 years ago. And the French you were taught 968 years ago. As such, would you consider the entire English language "incorrect?" Many words had various spellings in the 1600s when English was brought to America. As such, it's not accurate to claim that the American spelling is incorrect, when we simply chose one of the accepted spellings at the time and the Brits chose the other. It might be different if the English language had an established spelling for a certain word by 1500 and Americans changed, but this is not the case. For all the pedantic spelling and grammar correction, many Brits (and Canadians) seem to be ignorant of the history of their own language.
One might also suggest that you not engage in such displays of self-superiority - "When in Rome..." one might say. You seem to share the attitude of tourists in foreign lands who expect to have waiters (for example) speak their own native language and become irate when the waiter can't or won't. Admittedly, Americans are one of the major contributors to the image of the self-righteous tourist, and I find that disgusting too. Ultimately, one can adapt to your host nation - even if it's simply over the phone - or one can maintain self-righteousness and deal with the inevitable inaccuracies. What does one gain from this exchange, anyway?
As for the Americans in Canada you cite, their mistakes are borne of ignorance rather than self-righteousness. The difference borne of ignorance is correctable. I would politely, without condescencion, inform them that the letter they refer to as "zee" is called "zed" by the rest of the English speaking world. If they insist on maintaining their behavior, then your ire would be well-placed - if you didn't insist on doing the same, that is.
All in all, there's really no need for this "whose language is correct" debate. Language is a tool. If you can effectively with the other party, you have no problem. Your problem is you intentionally choose not to simply due to ego, which I find baffling.
-Looking for a job as a materials chemist or multivariat
Please don't present an argument about technical issues based on how you 'hate' a technology. We have to examine technologies and their implementation on their own merits, not based on emotion.
Drill baby drill - on Mars