Objective and subjective frequency of loanwords and native words picked from Easy Finnish texts
Keywords:
corpus linguistics, Easy Finnish, objective frequency, online survey, subjective frequencyAbstract
The article examines the objective and subjective frequency of loanwords (N = 50) and corresponding
native words (N = 50) picked from Easy Finnish texts. Objective frequency was examined by comparing
frequencies of word occurrence in corpora of Easy Finnish and standard Finnish media texts. Subjective
frequency was examined with a survey to estimate how often language experts (N = 25) encounter
the words and which words they usually use themselves. Native words occurred less frequently
than loanwords in both corpora, but native words occurred more frequently in Easy Finnish than in
standard Finnish. Significant differences were observed in the frequency of occurrence of individual
words, which were explained, for example, by differences between corpora and language forms. Highest
frequency of encounter estimates were given to words with high objective frequency that occurred in
many different contexts. Frequency of encounter estimates ran in parallel with objective frequencies
especially in words with high objective frequency. Words with low objective frequency varied in their
frequency of encounter. Shortest words of the data set had highest objective frequency and were encountered
most often. Language experts preferred to use shorter words of the word pairs in the data set. Most
of the preferred words were loanwords. Frequency of occurrence is not sufficient as the only criterion for
assessing word frequency in Easy Finnish. Frequency of encounter and use could be used as additional
criteria.
