Common Language and the Up-Goer Five

I was having a conversation with a friend the other day and this came up. I can’t exactly remember the context, but I think we were talking about technical jargon and common language.

It turns out that there are lists of the most common words in the English language, like this one.

One of my favorite comics, XKCD, took this list and developed a beautifully labeled diagram of a Saturn V rocket, using only words from this list. (This happened over a year ago, but not everyone knew about it, so I think it’s worth bringing up again.)

Theo Sanderson put together a text editor that will complain if you use any words besides these one thousand (or more properly ten hundred) most common words.

Your challenge:

Try to describe what you do for a living with this limited vocabulary. Enter it into my comments below or post it to your own blog or on Facebook.

Here’s this same post, using only those ten hundred words:

I was having a conversation with a friend the other day and this came up. I can’t exactly remember why, but I think we were talking about big words and usual words.

It turns out that there are books of the most usual words in the our talking, like this one.

One of my favorite picture-stories, XKCD, took this book and made a pretty drawing of a Up-Goer Five, using only words from the book. (This happened over a year ago, but not everyone knew about it, so I think it’s good to bring up again.)

Theo Sanderson put together a computer thing that will blink if you use any words besides these ten hundred most usual words.

Your game: Try to say what you do for a living with these ten hundred words. Enter it into my comments under this, or somewhere else you like.

Here’s my own job description:

I look at rocks and dead things in the rocks to learn about what happened long ago. Then I write words down and tell other people about what I learned. When I’m done doing that, I go into a big room full of people and show them how to do what I do.