The most frequently used words of spoken English

In 1963 a method was published for the analysis of word frequencies in spontaneous (story-telling) spoken language. The immediate purpose was to provide a means for computer analysis of part-of-speech usage in a study of linguistically impaired aphasic patients. A dictionary of most frequently used words in response to a 20-card administration of the Thematic Apperception Test based on the verbal output of 12 subjects was compiled. The present paper is a revision of the dictionary based on 54 adults. An alphabetical listing of the words in the new directory with part-of-speech identification of each word is included.The research or work reported herein was performed pursuant to a contract with the Office of Education, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare through the Chicago Early Education Research Center, a component of the National Laboratory on Early Childhood Education. Contractors undertaking such work under Government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their professional judgment in the conduct of the work. Points of view or opinions stated do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Office of Education position or policy.