A "Basic English" Global Core Vocabulary

This provisional Lang25 core vocabulary is approximately within the phonetic limits of the provisional Lang25 phonology shown on the previous page

Also, to keep the project within manageable lexical limits, there is an initial restriction comprising of Ogden's "Basic English" wordlist - plus a number of extra international words.

To start the ball rolling, 10 words were chosen from two wordlists submitted in 2003, and matched to these lists (see below - NB [q] = /g/, [g] = /ʤ/, [j] = /ʒ/). We are keen to collaborate with others in this area, and will publish any possible core vocabulary words, all of which will be attributed.

Unish is well ahead of the game, with a phonology similar to the one suggested here for Lang25, and its criteria for choosing words (see "Lexicon" on the Unish link) seem to be quite valid. I would suggest only two extra criteria at this point: firstly, as described 2500 years ago by Plato (see 9 in this list), and secondly that any words, however well-chosen, still have to pass the test of public opinion - to which end many words that Unish has made publicly available on its website - and which fit into the Basic English wordlist - are set out below. Any further words from Unish will be likewise attributed (U = Unish) if displayed.

For reasons of proven utility and euphony, current words in existing languages are preferable (though spelling/pronunciation may be modifed somewhat): E = English, F - French, S = Spanish, L = Latin, J = Japanese, P = Pidgin, CP = Chinese Pidgin.

Please submit suggestions / comments to: antonyalexander@langx.org

26/8/05 5 Japanese words added (thanks JW).

28/8/05 3 Chinese/English Pidgin words (JW) - NB ʧ = c (ʧau - cau)

OGDEN's BASIC ENGLISH

Word List - In His Order

OPERATIONS - 100 words

come, get, give, go, keep, let, make, put, seem, take, be, do, have, say, see, send, may, will, about, across, after, against, among, at, before, between, by, down, from, in, off, on, over, through, to, under, up, with, as [az - E - U], for, of, till, than, a, the, all [al - E - U], any [eni - E - U], every, little, much, no [no - E - U], other [odro - U], some [som - E - U], such, that [dat - E - U], this [dis - E - U], I , he, you, who [wu - E - U], and [e - F - U], because, but [but - E - U], or [or - E - U], if [if - E - U], though, while [wail - E - U], how [wi - U], when [wen - E - U], where [wer - E - U], why [we - U], again, ever, far, forward, here, near, now, out, still, then, there, together, well, almost, enough, even, not, only, quite, so [so - E - U], very, tomorrow, yesterday, north [nord - F - U], south [sud - F - U], east , west [west - E - U], please, yes .

THINGS - 400 General words

account, act, addition, adjustment, advertisement, agreement, air, amount, amusement, animal [animal - E - U], answer, apparatus, approval, argument, art, attack, attempt, attention, attraction, authority, back, balance, base, behavior, belief, birth, bit, bite, blood, blow, body, brass, bread, breath, brother [brudr - U], building, burn, burst, business, butter, canvas, care, cause, chalk, chance, change, cloth, coal, color, comfort, committee, company, comparison, competition, condition, connection, control, cook, copper, copy, cork, cotton, cough, country, cover, crack, credit, crime, crush, cry ,current, curve, damage, danger, daughter [fila - U], day, death, debt, decision, degree, design, desire, destruction, detail, development, digestion, direction, discovery, discussion, disease, disgust, distance, distribution, division, doubt, drink, driving, dust, earth, edge, education, effect, end, error, event, example, exchange, existence, expansion, experience, expert, fact, fall, family, father [pa - U], fear, feeling, fiction, field, fight, fire, flame, flight, flower, fold, food [cau - CP - JW], force, form, friend, front, fruit, glass, gold, government, grain, grass, grip, group, growth, guide, harbor, harmony, hate, hearing, heat, help, history, hole, hope, hour, humor, ice, idea, impulse, increase, industry, ink, insect, instrument, insurance, interest, invention, iron, jelly, join, journey, judge, jump, kick, kiss, knowledge, land, language, laugh, law, lead, learning, leather, letter, level, lift, light, limit, linen, liquid, list, look, loss, love, machine, man, manager, mark, market [mart - P - DE], mass, meal, measure, meat, meeting, memory, metal [metal - E - JB], middle, milk, mind, mine, minute, mist, money, month, morning ,mother [ma - U], motion, mountain [yama - J - JW], move, music, name, nation, need, news, night, noise, note, number, observation, offer, oil, operation, opinion, order, organization, ornament, owner, page, pain, paint, paper, part, paste, payment, peace, person, place, plant, play, pleasure, point, poison, polish, porter, position, powder, power, price, print, process, produce, profit, property, prose, protest, pull, punishment, purpose, push, quality, question, rain, range, rate, ray, reaction, reading, reason, record, regret, relation, religion, representative, request, respect, rest, reward, rhythm, rice, river [rio - Spanish - U], road, roll, room, rub, rule, run, salt, sand, scale, science, sea seat, secretary, selection, self, sense, servant, sex, shade [umbra - L - JB], shake, shame, shock, side, sign, silk, silver, sister [sister - E - U], size, sky, sleep, slip, slope, smash, smell, smile, smoke, sneeze, snow, soap, society, son [son - E - U], song, sort, sound, soup, space, stage, start, statement, steam, steel, step, stitch, stone, stop, story, stretch, structure, substance, sugar, suggestion, summer, support, surprise, swim, system, talk, taste, tax, teaching, tendency, test, theory, thing, thought, thunder, time, tin, top, touch, trade, transport, trick, trouble, turn, twist, unit, use, value, verse, vessel, view, voice, walk, war, wash, waste, water [aqua - S - JB], wave [nami - J - JW], wax, way, weather, week, weight, wind, wine, winter, woman, wood, wool, word, work, wound, writing , year .

THINGS - 200 Picturable words

angle, ant, apple, arch, arm, army, baby [bebi - P - DE], bag, ball, band, basin, basket, bath, bed, bee, bell, berry, bird [tori - U], blade, board, boat, bone, book, boot, bottle [botl - E - U], box, boy, brain [nao - U], brake, branch, brick, bridge, brush, bucket, bulb, button, cake, camera, card, cart, carriage, cat, chain, cheese, chest, chin, church, circle, clock, cloud, coat, collar, comb, cord, cow, cup, curtain, cushion, dog, door, drain, drawer, dress, drop, ear, egg, engine, eye, face, farm, feather, finger, fish [fish - E - U], flag, floor, fly, foot, fork, fowl, frame, garden, girl, glove, goat, gun, hair, hammer, hand, hat, head [hed - E - U], heart, hook, horn, horse [uma - U], hospital, house, island, jewel, kettle, key, knee, knife, knot, leaf, leg [leq - E - U], library, line, lip, lock, map, match, monkey [saru - U], moon, mouth, muscle, nail, neck, needle, nerve, net, nose [noz - U], nut, office, orange [orang - E - U], oven, parcel, pen, pencil, picture, pig, pin, pipe, plane, plate, plough/plow, pocket, pot, potato, prison, pump, rail, rat, receipt, ring, rod, roof, root, sail, school, scissors, screw, seed, sheep [yanq - U], shelf, ship, shirt, shoe, skin, skirt, snake, sock, spade, sponge, spoon, spring, square, stamp, star, station, stem, stick, stocking, stomach, store, street, sun, table, tail, thread, throat, thumb, ticket, toe, tongue, tooth, town, train, tray, tree, trousers, umbrella, wall, watch, wheel, whip, whistle, window, wing, wire, worm .

QUALITIES - 100 General

able, acid, angry, automatic, beautiful, black [blak, hei - U], boiling, bright, broken, brown [braun - U], cheap, chemical, chief, clean, clear, common, complex, conscious, cut, deep, dependent, early, elastic, electric, equal, fat, fertile, first, fixed, flat, free, frequent, full, general, good, great, grey/gray, hanging, happy, hard, healthy [genki - J - JW], high, hollow, important, kind, like, living, long, male, married, material, medical, military, natural, necessary, new, normal, open, parallel, past, physical, political, poor, possible, present, private, probable, quick, quiet, ready, red [aka - J - JW, red - E - U]], regular, responsible, right, round, same, second, separate, serious, sharp, smooth, sticky, stiff, straight, strong, sudden, sweet, tall, thick, tight, tired, true, violent, waiting, warm, wet, wide, wise, yellow [yelo - E - U], young .

QUALITIES - 50 Opposites

awake, bad, bent, bitter, blue [blu - E - U], certain, cold, complete, cruel, dark, dead, dear, delicate, different, dirty, dry, false, feeble, female, foolish, future, green [midori - J - JW, gren - U]], ill, last, late, left, loose, loud, low, mixed, narrow, old, opposite, public, rough, sad, safe, secret, short, shut, simple, slow, small, soft, solid, special, strange, thin, white [blan - F - U], wrong .

SUPPLEMENTARY LIST (many from Alan Mole + additions)

aluminum, ancestor [sonzo - U], automobile, ballet, bank, bus, cafe [cafe - F - DE], calendar, check, chemist, chocolate, chorus, cigarette, circus, club, coffee, college, colony, computer [komputer - E - JB], dance, dynamite, embassy, empire, encyclopedia, engineer, gas, hotel [hotel - E - DE], husband [mario - U], wife [marie - U], imperial, inferno, influenza, king, lava, many [meni - E - U], more [mor - E - U], most [most - E - U], macaroni, madam, malaria, museum, olive, omelette, opera, orchestra, paradise, paraffin, park, passport, patent, phonograph, piano, police, post, president, prince, princess, program, propaganda, queen, quickly [copcop - CP - JW], radio, referendum, restaurant [restoran - P - DE], rheumatism, royal, salad, sardine, sir, sport, taxi [taksi - P - DE], tea [ca - CP - JW], telephone, terrace, theater, toast, tobacco, university, vanilla, violin, visa, volt, zinc ~ ~ algebra, arithmetic, biology, chemistry, geography, geology, geometry, mathematics, physics, physiology, zoology ~ ~ one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, first, second, third, fourth, fifth, hundred, thousand, million