<p>I have no data but I guess naturalistic conlangs like Interlingua and even the more schematic Esperanto have this property.</p>

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2023-10-28T18:26:15.613Z
2023-10-28T18:26:15.613Z
Sir Cornflakes
<p>Is there any conlang where the more common words are shorter, and the more syllables a word has, the rarer (in terms of occurrence) it is?</p>

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2023-10-30T10:17:20.477Z
Frankly, I'd be surprised if there were languages where this wasn't case. Shorter words are easier to say and natlangs naturally make "filler words" such as pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions and 'particles' - which basically means "any filler word that doesn't fit into one of the above categories" - shorter than the average word. And conlangers have noticed this, even if subconsciously, and make their words accordingly. Even Toki Pona does this, and it's words are two syllables max!
No Name
<phonology>
Is there any conlang where syllables are inverse to word frequency?
# Is there any conlang where syllables are inverse to word frequency?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-10-28)

Is there any conlang where the more common words are shorter, and the more syllables a word has, the rarer (in terms of occurrence) it is?

**Tags:** phonology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Frankly, I'd be surprised if there were languages where this wasn't case. Shorter words are easier to say and natlangs naturally make "filler words" such as pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions and 'particles' - which basically means "any filler word that doesn't fit into one of the above categories" - shorter than the average word. And conlangers have noticed this, even if subconsciously, and make their words accordingly. Even Toki Pona does this, and it's words are two syllables max!  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2023-10-28. Score: 0

I have no data but I guess naturalistic conlangs like Interlingua and even the more schematic Esperanto have this property.


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