How and why to make a technical (domain-specific) vocabulary list

Last update: 06 NOV 2025

Why: To create a more complete word list with higher coverage for a particular corpus or set of texts.

1k with proper nouns + 2k+ AWL will typicall reach 90% coverage, and with a technical list in a coherent domain (e.g., law, engineering, medicine) this can often be expanded to 95%.

Basic comprehension has been shown to correspond to knowing 95% of the words in a text (see Coverage page).

How

THIS IS ONE APPROACH TO TECHNICAL LIST BUILDING

This approach looks for unique domain words beyond 1k+2k+AWL; it is also possible to look instead or in addition for domain specific uses of the same words within 1k+2k+AWL (e.g., needle in medicine).

So in a basic, unique-word approach

LARGE SCALE

  1. Profile several large domain texts or corpus and collect the off-list component
  2. Pass this through frequency routine (https://www.lextutor.ca/freq/eng/) and copy out hits>x (your decision)
    • (If there are no particularly frequent items, there may not be a coherent technical list)
  3. Familize the frequent items (https://www.lextutor.ca/familizer/)
  4. This is now a guess at a domain list
  5. Paste into USER/TECH LIST box when profiling
  6. These will tally as the other levels do and the result appear in pink
    • A meaningful percentage indicates presence of a coherent technical list

SMALL SCALE

  1. Keep track of the off-list words in the profiles you are making (paste them into a Word or other file)
  2. With a sizeable collection, FREQUENCY & FAMILIZE AS ABOVE, producing a unique list of words with related family members
  3. Add this list to the vocab component of your syllabus and to your VP-Classic profiles
  4. (Can be used with the idioms of a paticular writer - as in the Demo)