Frequency Analysis - 'e' And 's'

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Frequency Analysis - 'e' And 's'
Topic Started: Feb 24 2006, 03:33 PM (344 Views)
Guest-OnlyOneQuestion	Feb 24 2006, 03:33 PM Post #1
Unregistered	I am sure on a quiz a number of years ago I head a question about whay was the most common letter in english. Now the answer given was 'e' which at the time was said to be wrong and the correct answer was 's' The reason given was that the question did not mean what is the most common letter in respects to everday usage but just if you wrote down every english word with all the possible extensions, plurels etc and then added up all the lettes you would find 's' more common. Is this true?
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insecure	Feb 24 2006, 03:37 PM Post #2
Elite member Posts: 381 Group: Trusted Member Member #10 Joined: September 9, 2005	No, it's not true. E is the most common (English) letter by far, not just in terms of usage but also in a dictionary context. If you don't believe me, grab an online dictionary and do a frequency analysis thereof.



rot13	Feb 24 2006, 05:54 PM Post #3
Elite member Posts: 306 Group: Trusted Member Member #14 Joined: September 29, 2005	I still show E leading with 11% and S in second with 9%. But, if you consider the possessive to be included in this, then I think S would indeed be the most popular. My dictionary doesn't include possessives since they involve an apostrophe.



Donald	Feb 27 2006, 04:25 AM Post #4
Elite member Posts: 454 Group: Trusted Member Member #8 Joined: September 2, 2005	Hmmm, not that it actually has any bearing on cryptography, but just from curiosity, how would you determine what possessive forms should be in the analysis? Just about ANY word can be made possessive given a twisted enough circumstance.



insecure	Feb 27 2006, 06:45 AM Post #5
Elite member Posts: 381 Group: Trusted Member Member #10 Joined: September 9, 2005	You can also add prefixes such as "de-" or "re-", and suffixes such as "-ed" or "-ified", to just about any word too if you're prepared to shoe-horn them into place on occasion. I once came across the word "redeoasisified", intended perfectly seriously by its author to refer to the effect on a desert area of the resumption of a process of destroying oases.



PulsarSL	Mar 1 2006, 09:11 PM Post #6
Super member Posts: 157 Group: Members Member #7 Joined: September 1, 2005	insecure Feb 27 2006, 06:45 AM You can also add prefixes such as "de-" or "re-", and suffixes such as "-ed" or "-ified", to just about any word too if you're prepared to shoe-horn them into place on occasion. I once came across the word "redeoasisified", intended perfectly seriously by its author to refer to the effect on a desert area of the resumption of a process of destroying oases. Best word ever.



Donald	Mar 2 2006, 07:06 AM Post #7
Elite member Posts: 454 Group: Trusted Member Member #8 Joined: September 2, 2005	"Insecure" "redeoasisified" Oh... My... Goodness!



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