Date:         Wed, 23 Sep 1998 11:50:46 -0700
Reply-To:     Robin Turner <robin@BILKENT.EDU.TR>
Sender:       Lojban list <LOJBAN@CUVMB.BITNET>
From:         Robin Turner <robin@BILKENT.EDU.TR>
Subject:      Re: Word frequency
To:           Multiple recipients of list LOJBAN <LOJBAN@CUVMB.BITNET>
Message-ID: <906540948.1117833.0@listserv.cuny.edu>
Content-Length: 1731
Lines: 34


la pablov. cu cusku di'e

> coi
>
>     Due to my condition of lojban beginner, I would find extremely helpful
> to be able to consult a "word frequency" list, since one of the most
> important elements in language learning happens to be word memorization.
> This process would of course be much more efficient if one could start
> memorizing the most used words first.
>     I know other lojbanists have made similar requests. I don't honestly
> know the tools needed for such a task, but I think it shouldn't be neither
> difficult, nor excessively time consuming. Although I have an extremely
> limited command of the language, I'd gladly help with this.

It's actually very easy - you just take every text you have and feed it into a
concordancing program.  I could do this if people want, but I'm not sure how
valid the exercise would be as a way of generating a vocabulary list.  The
problem is that frequency will be heavily skewed by the things which are
translated into Lojban, and the kind of topics people discuss in Lojban on the
list (usually Lojban itself).  If your aim is to acquire enough vocabulary to
read all this, then obviously the word-frequency list would be appropriate, but
if you are interested in general communicative competence, then it would
probably be more appropriate to use a frequncy count for your native language,
then translate this into Lojban.

co'o mi'e robin.