Zipf's Law! Mysterious Language Facts?

Most frequently used words in English and the mathematical rule that governs frequency! What is Zipf's Law? Why are all Languages based on Zipfian principals? What conclusions and connections can you draw between Zipf's Law and the Pareto Principle? Please explain and cite Bics and Calps language development skills in your answers.

Academic vocabulary instruction is the key to closing the academic achievement gap! 

The listed words below account for 50% of all the words used daily in reading, writing, and spoken communication?

Rank Word 1 the 2 be 3 to 4 of 5 and 6 a 7 in 8 that 9 have 10 I 11 it 12 for 13 not 14 on 15 with 16 he 17 as 18 you 19 do 20 at

Rank Word 21 this 22 but 23 his 24 by 25 from 26 they 27 we 28 say 29 her 30 she 31 or 32 an 33 will 34 my 35 one 36 all 37 would 38 there 39 their 40 what

Rank Word 41 so 42 up 43 out 44 if 45 about 46 who 47 get 48 which 49 go 50 me 51 when 52 make 53 can 54 like 55 time 56 no 57 just 58 him 59 know 60 take

Rank Word 61 people 62 into 63 year 64 your 65 good 66 some 67 could 68 them 69 see 70 other 71 than 72 then 73 now 74 look 75 only 76 come 77 its 78 over 79 think 80 also

Rank Word 81 back 82 after 83 use 84 two 85 how 86 our 87 work 88 first 89 well 90 way 91 even 92 new 93 want 94 because 95 any 96 these 97 give 98 day 99 most 100 us

BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills)[edit]

Main article: Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills

BICS refers to the basic communicative fluency achieved by all normal native speakers of a language. It is cognitively undemanding and contextual and is better understood as the language used by students in informal settings, say, on a playground or cafe. Research by Cummins as well as Virginia Collier suggest that it typically takes language learners 1–3 years to develop BICS if they have sufficient exposure to the second language.

CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency/Academic Language Proficiency)[edit]

Main article: Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency

CALP refers to the ability to manipulate language using abstractions in a sophisticated manner. CALP is used while performing in an academic setting. CALP is the ability to think in and use a language as a tool for learning. Cummins's and Collier's research suggest that K-12 students need 5 to 7 years to acquire CALP in the second language if the learner has native language literacy. Learners who do not have strong native language literacy often need 7–10 years to acquire CALP in the second language.

The Pareto principle (also known as the 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few, or the principle of factor sparsity)[1] states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.[2] Management consultant Joseph M. Juran suggested the principle and named it after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who noted the 80/20 connection while at the University of Lausanne in 1896, as published in his first paper, "Cours d'économie politique". Essentially, Pareto showed that approximately 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population; Pareto developed the principle by observing that about 20% of the peapods in his garden contained 80% of the peas.[3]

Zipf's law /ˈzɪf/ is an empirical law formulated using mathematical statistics that refers to the fact that many types of data studied in the physical and social sciences can be approximated with a Zipfian distribution, one of a family of related discrete power law probability distributions.