Identifying the Core Vocabulary for Adults With Complex Communication Needs From the British National Corpus by...

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Speech and Language Pathology
• Computational Linguistics

Background:

• Adults with complex communication needs often require specialized vocabulary for effective communication.
• Existing core vocabulary lists may lack representativeness across diverse speakers and situations.
• Identifying a high-frequency vocabulary (HFV) is crucial for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify a high-frequency vocabulary (HFV), or core vocabulary, for adults with complex communication needs.
• To develop a scientifically principled method for selecting HFV that ensures a small number of words with high frequency and commonality.
• To create a representative HFV list applicable across various ages, social backgrounds, and conversational contexts.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 330,000 spoken words from 66 adults using the British National Corpus.
• Examination of word frequency distribution using a grouped frequency approach, deviating from traditional cutoff points.
• Assessment of word commonality across speakers to ensure representativeness.

Main Results:

• A distinct pattern of number of different words (NDW) was observed from a frequency of 0.1‰.
• 671 candidate words were identified, representing 90.94% of the total analyzed words.
• A final list of 203 words was selected for the HFV, demonstrating 80.62% accountability and at least 80% commonality across speakers.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully identified a comprehensive HFV list for adults with complex communication needs.
• The innovative word analysis approach provides a scientific basis for vocabulary selection in AAC.
• This HFV list is suitable for a wide range of conversational topics and supports effective AAC intervention.