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Conference thebay::joyoflex

Title:The Joy of Lex
Notice:A Notes File even your grammar could love
Moderator:THEBAY::SYSTEM
Created:Fri Feb 28 1986
Last Modified:Mon Jun 02 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1192
Total number of notes:42769

490.0. "Nine words you CAN say -- often" by RICKS::SATOW () Wed Mar 09 1988 17:59

I heard an interesting item on the news this morning.  According to one theory 
there are nine words that constitute 25% of written and spoken English.  Since 
I was driving, I couldn't write them down, and the list was spoken too quickly 
for me to memorize them.  I do remember that "I" and "me" were not among the 
nine.

I think the list may have been:

	a 
	an
	and
	be
	have
	is
	it
	the
	to 

Anyone know the complete, correct list?

Clay
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name		DateLines
490.1hmmmmZFC::DERAMORecursion (n.): See RECURSION.Wed Mar 09 1988 23:113
    Surely "um" "uh" and "hmm" were on the list?
    
    Dan
490.2AKOV11::BOYAJIAN$50 never killed anybodyThu Mar 10 1988 13:553
    Not to mention "ah", "well", like", "you", "know".
    
    --- jerry
490.3Wait a minute...WAGON::SWINIARSKINANcy--*NANSKI*--SwiniarSKIThu Mar 10 1988 14:311
    Uhm....OK....so
490.4KESEY::GETSINGEREric GetsingerThu Mar 10 1988 17:547
    The list looks pretty good to me.  If you strike "an" and add "you,"
    then our lists would match.
    
    BTW, for those of you who didn't hear the piece, it was by Charles
    Osgood.  (That is the correct spelling of his name, isn't it?)
    
    Eric
490.5Say it with short words!ZFC::DERAMOFreshest if eaten before date on carton.Fri Mar 11 1988 00:189
    Re .4
>>       That is the correct spelling of his name, isn't it?
    
    That is the right way to spell his name, is it not?
    
    I mean, should not all of the words in this string of notes be
    monosyllabic?
    
    Dan
490.6but sometimes . . .VIA::RANDALLback in the notes life againFri Mar 11 1988 14:185
    re: .5 --
    
    Laurels if you can find a way to get rid of "monosyllablic"!
    
    --bonnie
490.7I can name that word in five sill a bolls!ZFC::DERAMOperforming without a netFri Mar 11 1988 18:463
    monosyllabic - a word that has only one you know what.
    
    (-: Dan
490.8you silly boll, youVIA::RANDALLback in the notes life againFri Mar 11 1988 18:573
    :) :) :)
    
    --bonnie
490.9;-)ERIS::CALLASI've lost my faith in nihilism.Fri Mar 11 1988 19:488
    re .last few:
    
    You also need to get rid of "correct" and "spelling." If you're
    concerned about "isn't," how 'bout using "ain't" instead? 
    
    Then we'd have, "That is the right way to spell his name, ain't it?"
    
    	Jon
490.10butVIA::RANDALLback in the notes life againFri Mar 11 1988 20:306
   re: .9
    
    What if that ain't the way to spell his name?
    
    --bonnie
490.11Form is not substanceERIS::CALLASI've lost my faith in nihilism.Mon Mar 14 1988 20:244
    The the sentence would simply be wrong. It would still be made of
    single-syllable words. 
    
    	Jon