.jpg)
Debra takes a look at the word count of Star Wars.
When I opened my browser the other day, my eyes scanned down, like they usually do, the list of top stories of the day. I almost always find something to click on that distracts me from what I was supposed to be doing on the computer in the first place. Usually it's an article about William and Kate or about a recent tv show or movie I have an interest in. One in particular caught my eye for two reasons. One, it was about Star Wars. I am a huge Star Wars geek and can't wait for Episode 7 next year. Two, it mentioned the words in the original movie, now dubbed Episode 4. Since Ana had recently discussed the merits of Ogden's 850 words, clicking on this particular time-waster was a no brainer.
Someone (Who has way too much time on his hands.) counted all of the individual English words used in the first Star Wars movie. I don't know if it's the original version, the extended version, the DVD version, or the whatever version. There have been so many I've lost count. Turns out, according to this article, there are 1,695 individual English words used in the movie. The most common is 'the', which is used 368 times.
Not only did said person apparently count all of these individual words, he then alphabetized them, and then arranged the corresponding movie clips into an almost 45 minute video. (Which I haven't watched...Yet. But being the giant Star Wars nerd that I am, I more than likely will at some point. It's officially summer break, so I can enjoy these types of indulgences.)
To me, this seemed like a small amount of words for a two hour movie, and again had me wondering how many individual words I use in my stories. I'm sure there's some tool/app out there that would help me figure it out. But, sigh, my time would probably be better spent getting new words down on the page in order to finish my WIP. Right?
Until next time,
Happy Reading! (And may the Force be with you.)
Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com
P.S. If anyone is interested (aka as big of a geek/nerd as I am, here's the link to the article/video.
http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/3/5775200/watch-every-word-from-star-wars-sorted-from-a-to-z
The number of words in the English language is : 1,025,109.8. This is the estimate by the Global Language Monitor for January 1, 2014. The English Language passed the Million Word threshold on June 10, 2009 at 10:22 a.m. (GMT). The Millionth Word was the controversial 'Web 2.0′.
ReplyDeleteThe Global Language Monitor
www.languagemonitor.com/category/no-of-words/
I love all of these word stats. Over a million words in English. And out of those, I do wonder which ones we use on a regular basis. There are certainly some that get over-used for sure!
DeleteWow, that's interesting. I wonder how many pages the script was and how that translates into book pages?
ReplyDeleteGood question. I do have the YA novel version and the adult version of the movie books. I'm going to have to check a page count when I get home tonight. :)
DeleteI'm sure I've seen an app that counts all the different words you use in a chapter (and highlights repeated words). I may have bookmarked it, but at the moment I'm using my netbook (in Arizona!), so don't have my main computer bookmarks on this machine. Remind me to look when I get home!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there's something out there. I know Wordle makes art out of the words you copy in...does it count them, too?
DeleteHope you're enjoying your trip! It's nice to have you here in the States. :)