saasmath:Kevin:

I think one needs to be careful about looking at word frequency in terms of reaching a conclusion as to the number of words (or roots or morphenes) one needs to be fluent (or even functional) in a language. I am not suggest that you are drawing this conclusion, but others might.

For example, one should not try to conclude that if you know 100 words, you are "half way there"! Probably in Esperanto, a word (or word parjournal articles or chapters in a novel, for example. But even then, you would probably be a bit puzzeled about words that you would not consider technical or specialized in your native language (and still need a dictionary or use context for the meaning). You probably need 3000 to 4000 morphenes before you would not be struggling at times with non-technical words, at least in my experience, unless one is reading about a subject that one is quite familiar with.

--Gary

Miland:According to Colin Allan's Take Note in Pitmanscript, it is 69 words which account for 50 per cent of words used in ordinary English.

However, if I correctly understand the idea that you have referred to, here's one suggestion:

Kvindek vortoj respondas pri duono de la vortoj uzataj en iu ajn lingvo. "Fifty words account for a half of the words used in any language."

What I was getting at was that 50% of conversation is made up of 100 words according to Tony Buzan..if someone could translate the those words into Esperanto including the pronunciation I would be grateful..here they are..
1.A,An
2.After
3.Again
4.All(the)
5.Almost
6.Also
7.Always
8.I(am)
9.And
10.Because
11.Before
12.Big
13.But
14.(I)Can
15.(I)Come
16.Either/Or
17.Father
18.(I)Find(Meet)
19.First
20.Friend
21.From
22.(I)Go
23.Good
24.Goodbye
25.Happy
26.(I)Have
27.He/She
28.Hello
29.Here
30.How
31.I
32.If
33.Ill
34.In
35(I)Know
36.(The)Last
37.(I)Like
38.Little
39.(I)Love
40.(I)Make
41.Many,Much
42.Mother
43.More
44.Most(of)
45.My
46.New
47.Newspaper
48.No,Not
49.Now
50.Of
51.often
52.On
53.Only
54.Or
55.Other
56.Our
57.Out(side)
58.Over
59.Person/People
60.Place
61.Please
62.Same
63.I(See)
64.Small
65.Some
66.Sometimes
67.Still
68.Such
69.(I)Tell(Say)
70.Thank you
71.That
72.The
73.Their
74.Them
75.Then
76.There
77.There is/Are
78.They
79.Thing
80.(I)Think
81.This
82.Time
83.To
84.Under
85.Up(On top of)
86.Us
87.(I)Use
88.Very
89.(I)Want
91.What
92.When
93.Where
94.Which
95.Who
96.Why
97.With
98.Yes
99.You
100.Your

Cheeky:What I was getting at was that 50% of conversation is made up of 100 words according to Tony Buzan..

Thanks, I've corrected my earlier message.

Cheeky:if someone could translate the those words into Esperanto including the pronunciation I would be grateful

There's an online dictionary (vortaro) here on this very page, over on the right hand side, near the top.

Have at it.