Longman Dictionary of

PE2379 ch07.qxd 24/1/02 16:08 Page 590
word frequency
word frequency n
the frequency with which a word is used in a text or corpus.
see also FREQUENCY 2
word frequency count n
also word frequency list
see FREQUENCY COUNT, FREQUENCY 1
word list n
a list of the basic and most important words in a language or in a REGIS-
TER of a language, generally intended for use as a basis for language teaching
or for the preparation of teaching materials. Word lists are usually
based on FREQUENCY COUNTS, often supplemented by other measures of
the importance of words (see COVERAGE).
word method n
another term for WHOLE-WORD METHOD
word order n
the arrangement of words in a sentence. Languages often differ in their
word order.
For example, the past participle occurs in German at the end of the
main clause rather than after the auxiliary as in English:
Er hat mir das Buch gegeben.
He has to me the book given
“He has given me the book.”
In English, the position of a word in a sentence often signals its function.
Thus, in the sentence:
Dogs eat meat.
the position of dogs shows that it is the SUBJECT, and the position of meat
shows that it is the OBJECT. In some languages, including English, a change
from the usual word order may often be used to emphasize or contrast,
e.g.
That cheese I really don’t like.
where the object of the sentence is shifted to the beginning.
see also FUNCTIONAL SENTENCE PERSPECTIVE
word recognition n
see TOP-DOWN PROCESSING
word stress n
see STRESS
590