Frequency is a count, not a commandment

Language samples are just counts. Researchers write down what people say, then rank the words. Again and again the same picture appears: a few hundred words do most of the work. In one toddler sample, 23 words were about 96% of the tokens. In a preschool sample, 250 words covered about 85%. Adults are often cited at 200–400 words for about 80% of everyday talk.

The Banajee toddler list, in order, starts I, no, yes, my, the, want. That is useful. It is also one sample, of speaking children, in English. It is not a test. Token coverage is not the same as being able to say a whole thought. A short list still leaves most full sentences needing something else.

Frequency will try to put the and a near the top. They are glue. On a twenty-word backup they earn less than stop, like, or quiet — words that may sit lower, or not appear, and still do the jobs this board is for. Keep the high-frequency grammar on a robust talker. Do not let a count evict protest.

Kindred’s twenty overlaps the top of that list — I, you, want, that, go, more, help, yes, no — and then keeps seats for sensory and refusal words the count did not promote. That is selection. The board is a backup, not 80% of a life.