Basic English
1
3.4
- noun
- /ˈbeɪsɪk ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/
- Archaic
:
inglés básico
- No special training is needed there, besides basic English language competency.
- basic English and math
- most basic English
Examples
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Why are so many right-wingers incapable of mastering basic English?
Blog text (5) -
And to the parents and adults insulting the kids while using bad grammar: you might want to consider brushing up on your basic English skills.
Blog text (18) -
My basic English is quite ok.
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Maybe you should consider taking a basic English class?
Blog text (23) -
Able to communicate in basic English?
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This is Basic English.
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Compounding the problem at voting sites throughout the city, James said, were untrained poll workers who, in some cases, could not hear well, see small type, or comprehend basic English.
Blog text (22) -
How is it that so many of America's young people can pass through the K-12 education system and end up incapable of understanding basic English grammar and math?
Academic text (2007) -
During its twenty-five years of operation, students were instructed in agriculture, cotton and poultry production, dairying, home economics, carpentry, and woodworking, as well as in basic English, math, and science.
Academic text (2007) -
When traveling abroad, it helps to know some basic English phrases.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally combines 'basic' (simple, core) + 'English' (the language), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a simplified or elementary form of English. Although it can refer to the specific controlled language by Ogden & Richards, the general meaning is compositionally transparent and cross-linguistically obvious.
Etymology
Basic English comes from the idea of choosing the most useful Basic words of English and keeping them in a small, easy list. C. K. Ogden and I. A. Richards created this simple word list to 'help people from different countries communicate', so today Basic English means 'a simplified form of English with a limited vocabulary'.