The Internet TESL Journal
List of High-Frequency Baseword Vocabulary for Japanese EFL Students
Frank E. Daulton
daulton@elle.nicol.ac.jp
Niigata Women's College (Niigata, Japan)
Introduction
Could it be true that even the youngest students in Japan are already familiar
with more than a third of the most useful words of English? In my research
presented in the January 1999 issue of The Internet TESL Journal, entitled
"English Loanwords in Japanese -- The Built-In Lexicon" (1999a, Daulton),
I first showed how English loanwords in Japanese aid the acquisition of
the English vocabulary they are based on -- "basewords." Second, I showed
that more than one third of the 2000 high-frequency words of English (Nation,
1990) have become basewords. That is, the English word sour is easier for
Japanese than the word wicked because sour has entered Japanese (as sawaa)
and wicked has not. Both sour, a baseword, and wicked, a non-baseword,
are high-frequency words. Following is the list of these 734 high-frequency
English basewords. Their frequency is based on West's General Service List
(1953), which, although aging, is thought to be the most useful collection
of vocabulary by researchers like Nation (1990, p. 14). Word lists are
problematic. If anything, my "List of High-Frequency Baseword Vocabulary"
underestimates the actual number of loanword cognates in Japanese. I often
come across loanwords in Japanese that can not be found in even current
dictionaries of loanwords, such as A Dictionary of Loanwords Usage
(1991). Furthermore, teachers involved in teaching specific subjects such
as computer technology will be pleased to find that 99% of computer jargon
in Japanese comes from English computer jargon (albeit "low frequency"
words) (Lovejoy, 1996). Because of these types of deficiencies, teachers
will find it useful to add words to my list. I have found the "List of
High-Frequency Baseword Vocabulary" useful in various ways, most recently
in preparing simplified reading texts for classes (see Daulton, 1999b).
List Format Explanation
Each letter of the alphabet is divided into two parts. For example, "A-1"
includes the top 1000 most frequent words as determined by West (1953)
that correlated to a common Japanese loanword. "A-2" includes the next
1000 most frequent English words that correlated.
A-1 fancy morning secret
action farm mother secretary
active fashion motor see
address fast motor-cycle sense
adventure father motorist serious
after feeling Mrs. service
agent field music set
air fight musician shoes
all fighter short
apply fighting M-2 shoulder
appointment figure mail show
April fine manager side
art fire map sign
artist first match simple
association fish meat single
at fit mechanic situation
attack fitness medical size
floor merry sleeping
A-2 flower message slow
accident flight mild slowing
advice flying mix smile
adviser food model social
apple foods moral soft
arch form motion sound
arrange fortunate multiple space
attraction free mystery speaker
freedom special
B-1 fresh N-1 speed
back friend name sport
ball friendly native spot
bar friendship near spring
base front neck stage
beauty full-time need stand
bed future new standard
beginner night star
best F-2 no start
big faint note station
bill fan now step
bird fat number stick
black fence still
blue fever N-2 stock
book film neglect story
boy flag net straight
branch flash nice stretching
broad flavor noise strike
burn flesh nonsense strong
business float nut subject
buy fond sugar
fork O-1 suggest
B-2 formal observer summer
baby frame off sun
bag frozen offer support
baking fruits office system
balance fried oil systematic
band fun old
bargain funny on S-2
barrel one saddle
basket G-1 order salary
bath game out sample
beam garden outline sauce
bell gas owner screen
belt gate screw
bind gathers O-2 search
birth general omit self
blade get orange sentence
block gift organ severe
boil girl original sharp
border give originality sheet
bowl glass shirt
brain go P-1 shocking
bribe gold page shop
brown good paint shopping
brush green paper shower
bucket ground part shut
bus group part-time signal
butter guard party silk
button pass skin
G-2 pay skirt
C-1 garage payment slide
call grammar perfect slip
called grand permanent slope
camp greeting permission smooth
camping grey personal soap
can grind personality socks
captain guest picture soup
car guide plain sour
case gun plan spare
catch plant spoon
center H-1 play staff
central half player stained
chair half-time playing stamp
chance hall point steam
change hand political strap
character happening poor straw
chief happy popular strip
choose hard position stripe
claim head post suit
class health poster sweat
clean heavy power swimming
cleaning high powerful swing
clear home practical
close hope press T-1
club horse pressure table
coal hot private take
coin house produce taste
cold how producers tear
college human product term
color production test
colorful H-2 program three
common hammer proper time
condition handkerchief proposal title
connection hit provide ton
container hook public top
control host pull total
corn hotel touch
corner hunger P-2 town
cost hunt pack trade
cotton pair train
count I-1 parent training
country ice parking travel
course idea paste trouble
court inch pattern truck
cover introductions pause try
cross iron pearl turn
cut pen two
I-2 performance typing
C-2 ice pet typical
cake ideal photography
camera idle pin T-2
cap imagination pinch tail
card industrial pink tap
cent informal pipe taxi
ceremony ink pocket tea
chain instant police telephone
chalk international pool tent
charming pot thank
cheap J-1 powder theatre
check judge pride thick
cheer just professional thin
cheese pump ticket
Christmas J-2 pure tie
climbing jealousy push tight
coat joint puzzle tip
coffee juice tire
collar jump Q-1 tobacco
collect quality tough
commercial K-1 queen tour
companion king question towel
competition tower
cook K-2 Q-2 toy
cool key track
copy kick R-1 tray
cork kiss race trick
cottage kitchen racing trunk
cream knock rank tube
cup ranking tune
cure L-1 reader
curtain lady reading U-1
curve ladies ready under
cushion language realistic up
last reality used
D-1 leadership reasonable
dance left receive U-2
dancer letter receiver unit
dark level record universal
date library regular
day life rent V-1
dead light repeat variety
dealer limit report very
delivery line reporter victory
department lip reserve
direct listening rest V-2
directors live return veil
doctor local rich
dog long right W-1
dollar look ring water
door loss road weak
double lot rock weekend
draw love roll weekly
dress low room white
dressing rough who
drive L-2 round wide
driver lamp royal wife
drop leg run wild
dry lesson running wind
dryer list rush winter
duty loaf woman
loan R-2 word
D-2 lock radio work
delicate loose rail world
diamond loud railway worst
dive lucky rain writer
dozen lunch razor
drum refresh W-2
dull M-1 relieve waist
dust machine repair warm
main request wax
E-1 make rescue weak
ear man restaurant weight
earth manners retire wheel
easy mark review whip
end market ribbon whistle
enjoy marketing rice wine
equal mass risk wire
event master rival wool
exchange mean roast wrapping
exercise meaningless rope wreck
eye measure rubber
meeting rude X-1
E-2 member X-2
electric memory S-1
engineer memorial sale Y-1
entertain metal sales yes
essence middle save young
exciting might scale
extras mile scene Y-2
milk school yard
F-1 mineral science yellow
face miss sea
fair mister season Z-1
family modern seat Z-2
famous money second
References
-
Daulton, F. E. (1999a). English Loanwords in Japanese -- The Built-In Lexicon.
The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. V. No. 1. (January). http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/Articles/Daulton-Loanwords.html
-
Daulton, F. E. (1999b). Loanword Cognates, High-Frequency Words, and An
Analysis of Vocabulary Teaching in Communication 1C. The Bulletin of Niigata
Women's College, Volume 36, 1999.
-
Lovejoy, L. (1996). Language Contact in Japan. Oxford.
-
Motwani, P. (1991). A Dictionary of Loanwords Usage. Tokyo: Maruzen Co.,
Ltd.
-
Nation, I.S.P. (1990). Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. Boston: Heinle
& Heinle Publishers.
-
West, M. (1953). A General Service List of English Words. London: Longman,
Green and Co.
The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. V, No. 7, July 1999
http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/