TY - JOUR
T1 - The Relationship between Word Difficulty and Frequency
T2 - A Response to Hashimoto (2021)
AU - Stewart, Jeffrey
AU - Vitta, Joseph P.
AU - Nicklin, Christopher
AU - McLean, Stuart
AU - Pinchbeck, Geoffrey G.
AU - Kramer, Brandon
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Taylor & Francis.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Hashimoto (2021) reported a correlation of −.50 (r 2 = .25) between word frequency rank and difficulty, concluding the construct of modern vocabulary size tests is questionable. In this response we show that the relationship between frequency and difficulty is clear albeit non-linear and demonstrate that if a wider range of frequencies is tested and log transformations are applied, the correlation can approach.80. Finally, while we acknowledge the great promise of knowledge-based word lists, we note that a strong correlation between difficulty and frequency is not, in fact, the primary reason size tests are organized by frequency.
AB - Hashimoto (2021) reported a correlation of −.50 (r 2 = .25) between word frequency rank and difficulty, concluding the construct of modern vocabulary size tests is questionable. In this response we show that the relationship between frequency and difficulty is clear albeit non-linear and demonstrate that if a wider range of frequencies is tested and log transformations are applied, the correlation can approach.80. Finally, while we acknowledge the great promise of knowledge-based word lists, we note that a strong correlation between difficulty and frequency is not, in fact, the primary reason size tests are organized by frequency.
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U2 - 10.1080/15434303.2021.1992629
DO - 10.1080/15434303.2021.1992629
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85117453293
VL - 19
SP - 90
EP - 101
JO - Language Assessment Quarterly
JF - Language Assessment Quarterly
SN - 1543-4303
IS - 1
ER -