A usage category is a criterion for word usage based on the annual surveys by Linku. These are a more granular, more frequently updated replacement for the book presence categories.[1]
Table of categories
In the following tables, a bold line represents the cutoff for the categories that are selected by default. Numbers are rounded to the nearest percentage point. For words that are below these categories, Linku uses the term non-notable; nimi.li uses the term marginal,[2] which has been adopted on sona pona to avoid the interpretation that these words are not notable for the wiki.
On 22 February 2024, waso Keli brought up the idea of reducing Linku categories to aid their adoption by teachers. After several weeks of community discussions, jan Kekan San updated the dictionary,[3] reducing the number of categories from six to four. This change was rolled out alongside the lipu Linku redesign on 30 March 2024.[4]
2024 redesign
Category
|
Users
|
Core
|
[90%, 100%]
|
Common
|
[60%, 90%)
|
Uncommon
|
[30%, 60%)
|
Obscure
|
[2%, 30%)
|
|
2023 survey results
Category
|
Users nSample size = 868
|
Core
|
[90%, 100%]
|
Widespread
|
[70%, 90%)
|
Common
|
[50%, 70%)
|
Uncommon[a]
|
[20%, 50%)
|
Rare[a]
|
[10%, 20%)
|
Obscure[b][c][d]
|
[2%, 10%)
|
|
2022 survey results
Category
|
Users nSample size = 345
|
Core
|
[90%, 100%]
|
Widespread
|
[70%, 90%)
|
Common
|
[50%, 70%)
|
Uncommon
|
[20%, 50%)
|
Rare
|
[10%, 20%)
|
Obscure
|
[1%, 10%)
|
|
Survey results
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 On 12 February 2024, a message was added clarifying that most speakers don't use uncommon or rare words.
- ↑ In the 2023 results post, the obscure category is split into a high end [5%, 10%) and low end [2%, 5%) purely for readability.
- ↑ New words below 2% usage are considered not notable for inclusion in the dictionary. Words below this threshold that are already included are planned to be moved into a separate sandbox resource. As of the publication of the 2023 results, this is yet to be done.
- ↑ On 12 February 2024, a message was added clarifying that most speakers don't use or understand obscure words.
References