Coreness and Frequency: Concepts and Applications

Abstract

The notions of ‘Coreness and Frequency’in English are becoming increasingly prominent issues in applied linguistics. Numerous studies have argued thatbothconceptsare not new topics orcontroversial issues, becausethey are applicable to various analyses and definitions.Several studies (such as: Carter, 1998; Durkin,1986; Lee,2001; McCarthy,1999)have revealed the corevocabularycharacteristics of specific words and suggested parameters for any word to qualify as a core word in practical texts. Others (such as: Nation,2001; Schmitt,2000; Schmitt & McCarthy,2002) have graded vocabulary and created word-lists targeting to various levels for testing, teaching, and pedagogical purposes.

Key words: Coreness, Core Vocabulary (CV), Frequency.