Fact · Dictation
40percent lexical density (threshold)
Ure (1971), as cited by Ishikawa (2015), put the lexical density of speech below 40 percent and that of writing above it.
Checked against its source on October 16, 2026
In the source's own words
“Ure (1971) asserts that lexical density is less than and higher than 40% for speeches and writings respectively”
Lexical Development in L2 English Learners' Speeches and Writings, Shin'ichiro Ishikawa, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 198 (2015) 202-210, 2015, Introduction, lexical density background.
Open the original (DOI 10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.07.437)- What it measures
- Lexical density is the share of content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) in a text. Ishikawa's paper treats higher density as more information per word.
- What it does not show
- A rule of thumb from 1971, cited secondhand. Lexical density is defined differently across studies, so the figures are not directly comparable.