6 
Indiana University Studies 
selected from forty-one different sources, ranging from the 
Bible and English classics thru textbooks, newspapers, and 
correspondence, it was found that the vast majority of the 
words were of native English, Latin, or Greek origin and 
that of these three languages the first two were far in the 
lead. The derivatives of these three languages comprise 
88.32 per cent of the 10,000 words and, on the basis of Pro- 
fessor Thorndike’s index numbers, 91.39 per cent of the word 
occurrences; in other words, the derivatives of these three 
languages are used 91.39 per cent of the time that the total 
10,000 words are used. The figures for each of the three 
languages are as follows: The native English element com- 
prises 35.15 per cent of the 10,000 words and is in use 50.52 
per cent of the time that these 10,000 words are used. Words 
of Latin origin comprise 45.98 per cent of the words and are 
in use 36.11 per cent of the time. Words of Greek origin 
comprise 7.19 per cent of the words and are in use 4.76 per 
cent of the time. 
The pedagogical significance of these figures seems to be 
as follows: The common sense policy long ago adopted of 
centering attention in the lower grades of the elementary 
school upon the simple everyday words which are mainly 
identical with the native English element receives confirma- 
tion from these figures. For if the 10,000 words of the 
Teacher’s Word Booh are the words most frequently met in 
his reading by a pupil in the elementary schools, he need mas- 
ter only 35.15 per cent of the words in the list in order to 
be equipped for 50.52 per cent of his reading. 
Among the 500 words most commonly used of all — these 
are listed separately at the back of the Teacher’s Word Booh 
— 360 are native English, 72 are of purely Latin origin, and 
8 are purely of Greek origin. An inspection of these 500 
seems to show them to be such as are used in expressing the 
simplest sense perceptions or physical wants, but ill-adapted, 
without aid from less used words, for expressing more com- 
plex thoughts. This circumstance would seem to tend to 
prove that, tho the native English words are of most fre- 
quent occurrence, they are used to express the simplest and 
most obvious thought-relationships. Now taking into con- 
sideration the development of the pupil in the later years of 
the elementary school and in the secondary school where some- 
thing more is demanded than the expression of the simplest 
