Page 1 of 1

Top 1000 english words, biased word selection

Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2016 5:02 am
by sciwhiz
It seems like the choice of words in the top 1000 english tests is taken from a biased pool of words, most notably from the IT, law and politics world. There are many words in there that I wouldn't qualify as being anywhere within the top 1000, let alone top 5000 words used in english everyday.

I am currently training in that section in hardcore mode to ramp up my speed, however, I'd like to use this exercise to map my muscle memory to words that are commonly used, in order to "burst" them. Words like 'Macintosh', 'Committee', 'Microsoft', 'IBM' and 'RAM' are annoying to type and will not be used often in real life for me.

I would suggest using words from already curated lists, such as these:
http://www.talkenglish.com/vocabulary/t ... ulary.aspx
http://world-english.org/english500.htm

I personally don't mind if my scores are reset due to this, as I'll have a chance to practice words that are actually used in real life.

Should you be running your own word count mapreduce script, I'd suggest expanding your repertoire to a larger source, such as wikipedia or google scholar papers.

Re: Top 1000 english words, biased word selection

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2016 8:58 am
by toddhicks209
'Committee' is used in real life and typing this word makes me focus harder as it gives us three letters to type consecutively. As for the words mentioned in this post, it's a beneficial challenge to type words you don't see often.

Re: Top 1000 english words, biased word selection

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2016 6:28 pm
by sciwhiz
I do agree that it is beneficial to type words you don't see often. However, the title of the challenge, Top 1000 Unlock the top 1000 words of you language, suggests that the purpose of that section should be literally the top 1000 used words of the language.

The whole basis behind the main challenge of the website is
One huge benefit: The more you use our typing game, the faster you will be able to type as the typing test uses the top 200 words of each language. If you are able to type the most frequent words faster, you will be able to type everything else faster as well :)


Another challenge should be created for words of increasing length and difficulty of your language (6-8 letters, 9-11 letters, etc) which would provide the challenge you're looking for. I for the most part am simply interested in typing reports and everyday email faster, and I'd like to see the top 1000 challenge reflect the moto of the website.

Re: Top 1000 english words, biased word selection

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2016 2:03 pm
by wat11
Yeah, and what's with ''Indian'' in the top 200?