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| Version 6 | Version 7 |
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| Fabio Capello: England manager gets by on 100 words | Fabio Capello: England manager gets by on 100 words |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| By Peter Jackson BBC News | By Peter Jackson BBC News |
| England's Italian football manager Fabio Capello claims he can manage his players with just 100 words. So how far could you get with a vocabulary of that size? | England's Italian football manager Fabio Capello claims he can manage his players with just 100 words. So how far could you get with a vocabulary of that size? |
| Despite his sometimes colourful language, communicating with Wayne Rooney does not require a Shakespearean command of English. | Despite his sometimes colourful language, communicating with Wayne Rooney does not require a Shakespearean command of English. |
| That's just as well, as the England manager has admitted he's having problems learning some of the basics. | That's just as well, as the England manager has admitted he's having problems learning some of the basics. |
| "If I need to speak about the economy or other things, I can't speak," he told reporters. | "If I need to speak about the economy or other things, I can't speak," he told reporters. |
| "But when you speak about tactics, you don't use a lot of words. I don't have to speak about a lot of different things. Maximum 100 words." | "But when you speak about tactics, you don't use a lot of words. I don't have to speak about a lot of different things. Maximum 100 words." |
| In Capello's defence, his vocabulary appears to be far wider than 100 words. But how far would such a limited knowledge take you? | In Capello's defence, his vocabulary appears to be far wider than 100 words. But how far would such a limited knowledge take you? |
| For Peter Howarth, deputy director of Leeds University's language centre, Capello's defence of his language skills looks shaky. | For Peter Howarth, deputy director of Leeds University's language centre, Capello's defence of his language skills looks shaky. |
| "It's a ridiculously small number, you could learn 100 words in a couple of days, particularly when you're in the country surrounded by the language," he says. | "It's a ridiculously small number, you could learn 100 words in a couple of days, particularly when you're in the country surrounded by the language," he says. |
| "People do say that from a learners point of view, English is relatively easy to use without too much grammar... but Fabio Capello needs a range, presumably, and to communicate emotions and a bit of nuance." | "People do say that from a learners point of view, English is relatively easy to use without too much grammar... but Fabio Capello needs a range, presumably, and to communicate emotions and a bit of nuance." |
| 20,000 words | 20,000 words |
| He says when you start to learn English, it's fairly easy to get some kind of meaning across - which is why the language has spread so widely - but people end up speaking "tourist English". | He says when you start to learn English, it's fairly easy to get some kind of meaning across - which is why the language has spread so widely - but people end up speaking "tourist English". |
| "A hundred words wouldn't get you beyond some very familiar situations in a phrase book - a weekend in London, how to get a hotel room or order a meal," he says. | "A hundred words wouldn't get you beyond some very familiar situations in a phrase book - a weekend in London, how to get a hotel room or order a meal," he says. |
| "A lot of us have done that in foreign countries: managed to get by, but in a pretty limited range of situations." | "A lot of us have done that in foreign countries: managed to get by, but in a pretty limited range of situations." |
| A grasp of 1,500 words is needed to communicate at an intermediate level with "some range", he suggests. | A grasp of 1,500 words is needed to communicate at an intermediate level with "some range", he suggests. |
| Estimates for the average size of a person's vocabulary vary, but TV lexicographer and dictionary expert Susie Dent says it's about 20,000 active words and 40,000 passive ones. | Estimates for the average size of a person's vocabulary vary, but TV lexicographer and dictionary expert Susie Dent says it's about 20,000 active words and 40,000 passive ones. |
| She says it's important to distinguish between the active words we know and use and those we might know but don't use. | She says it's important to distinguish between the active words we know and use and those we might know but don't use. |
| "Of course 100 words is limiting, but it's important to stress his [Capello's] passive language, otherwise how would he handle press conferences?" she says. | "Of course 100 words is limiting, but it's important to stress his [Capello's] passive language, otherwise how would he handle press conferences?" she says. |
| "It may be that for simple instruction on the pitch, 100 words is all he needs, it's not as absurd as perhaps it looks at face value." | "It may be that for simple instruction on the pitch, 100 words is all he needs, it's not as absurd as perhaps it looks at face value." |
| She says the 100 most frequently used words - predominantly Old English - form the bedrock of everyday language. | She says the 100 most frequently used words - predominantly Old English - form the bedrock of everyday language. |
| Ripe v mature | Ripe v mature |
| But according to Fiona Douglas, an English language lecturer at Leeds University, that figure is still well short of the number of words even a basic foreign language student usually commands. | But according to Fiona Douglas, an English language lecturer at Leeds University, that figure is still well short of the number of words even a basic foreign language student usually commands. |
| She says advanced students using learner dictionaries to grasp the most frequently used and useful words, typically master around 7,500, and basic learners about 2,000. | She says advanced students using learner dictionaries to grasp the most frequently used and useful words, typically master around 7,500, and basic learners about 2,000. |
| NHS guidelines suggest that by two years old, toddlers can say around 100 words and start putting them into short sentences. | NHS guidelines suggest that by two years old, toddlers can say around 100 words and start putting them into short sentences. |
| Ms Douglas questioned whether somebody with just 100 words at their disposal would be able to form sentences with full grammatical syntax structures. | Ms Douglas questioned whether somebody with just 100 words at their disposal would be able to form sentences with full grammatical syntax structures. |
| "Perhaps they would just concentrate on nouns or verbs like 'football', 'kick' or 'harder'," she says. | "Perhaps they would just concentrate on nouns or verbs like 'football', 'kick' or 'harder'," she says. |
| "It seems very optimistic that you could get by on that number, but then do people know what their active lexicon is? It's quite a hard question to answer." | "It seems very optimistic that you could get by on that number, but then do people know what their active lexicon is? It's quite a hard question to answer." |
| Part of the problem when learning a language is understanding the context in which words should be used, she adds. | Part of the problem when learning a language is understanding the context in which words should be used, she adds. |
| "If you read a dictionary, the words 'old', 'ripe' and 'mature' share something in meaning," she says. | "If you read a dictionary, the words 'old', 'ripe' and 'mature' share something in meaning," she says. |
| "If you called an older woman 'mature' you might get away with it, but if you called her 'ripe' you might get a cuff round the ear. | "If you called an older woman 'mature' you might get away with it, but if you called her 'ripe' you might get a cuff round the ear. |
| "It's about learning how and when to use the vocabulary, which is why learner dictionaries are very useful." | "It's about learning how and when to use the vocabulary, which is why learner dictionaries are very useful." |
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| #9 - Before you can say no, at least you can say "I will", "I like" and "I DO". | |
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| Want to find yourself in a part of the UK where there is up to a 100 words in everyday use? Come to Aberdeenshire. Here, the most popular words are:aye,nae,like,ken,dinnae,deein,job,fitba,fish..and just a few others. In everyday conversation it`s enough to say: ' Aye-aye min fit likey? Fit yer deein aday? Nae ken the fitba cores like?' | |
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| My son is autistic, with very limited language. I was worried about what his future holds. Not anymore. All he needs is 100 words to coach a national soccer team. He can start with smaller teams once he reaches 50 words. | |
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| Criticism of Wayne Rooney; is this criticism of Fabio Capello as well? Hidden behind academic opinion? And why choose a Yorkshire university? Are we only supposed to know a few ripe words in Yorkshire? Who talks like Shakespeare anyway? | |
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| Having toured all parts of the world for some 25 years, often to countries where English is not the first language, I soon realised, that the four most useful phrases - often asked of a member of the airline staff flying into the country - are: "Hello"; "Please"; "Thank You", and "You're Welcome". Usually written on my hand phonetically. Or whatever the local equivalents are. Oh, & always smile! | |
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