The words considered essential for English language learners have fundamentally changed between 1953 and 2023, reflecting a broader shift in how people engage with the world.
According to analysis of the General Service List (1953) and the New General Service List (revised in 2023), approximately 600 words were dropped from the essential vocabulary over the 70-year span, while over 1,100 new words were added. The 2023 list covers over 90% of general English use.
Some changes reflect obvious technological and social evolution. “Telegraph” was removed while “computer,” “website,” and “blog” were added. “Motherhood” became “mom,” and “dad” was added, though “fatherhood” never appeared on the original list. “Tobacco” was replaced by “cigarette.”
However, the broader pattern reveals something more significant. Concrete, tangible words like “apple,” “fork,” “soap,” “umbrella,” and “leaf” dropped out, despite these objects remaining part of everyday life. “Goat” and “donkey” disappeared while “dog” remained. Cooking-related words shifted: “cook” stayed on the new list, but “boil,” “bake,” and “fry” did not. Similarly, bread-making ingredients like “flour” and “wheat” were removed.
Meanwhile, words added to the 2023 list—such as “mortgage,” “corporation,” “appropriate,” “analysis,” “fairly,” and “despite”—represent abstract concepts rather than physical objects.
When semantic categories were analyzed across both lists, the pattern became clear: categories related to the immediate physical world (food, farming, objects, housing) shrank, while categories dealing with institutions, systems, and abstract concepts expanded. According to the source, this shift reflects historical economic change. By 1957, white-collar workers outnumbered blue-collar workers in the United States for the first time. By 2000, fewer than one in four workers performed manual labor.
Concreteness ratings—which measure whether words describe things we can experience with our senses—show a corresponding decline. The vocabulary moved away from concrete terms that activate sensory and visual associations, toward abstract words that rely purely on language for understanding. Words like “mortgage,” “legislation,” “perspective,” and “evaluation” “can’t be weighed, point to, or hold in your hand,” according to the analysis. These words shape daily life through institutions and systems rather than through direct physical experience.
The vocabulary lists, built from real-world language usage data, serve as an indirect record of ordinary life across two eras, capturing what people were expected to engage with in their daily lives.
Key facts
- Between 1953 and 2023, approximately 600 essential vocabulary words for English learners were dropped and over 1,100 were added
- The 2023 list covers over 90% of general English use
- Concrete words like ‘apple,’ ‘fork,’ ‘soap,’ ‘umbrella,’ and ‘leaf’ were removed despite remaining in everyday life
- Abstract words like ‘mortgage,’ ‘corporation,’ and ‘analysis’ were added to the newer list
- By 1957, white-collar workers outnumbered blue-collar workers in the US for the first time
- By 2000, fewer than one in four US workers performed manual labor
- The lists were built from real-world usage data and designed as teaching tools for English language learners