Learn the Core 100 words [Sept. 26, 2011, 4:11 p.m.]
The productivity website MindTools, on its page How to Learn a Foreign Language, says that 50% of daily conversation is composed of 100 words. This is an idea from Tony Buzan's book UseYour Memory.
While the list is English-centric, it can provide a launching point for determining Shiyeyi equivalents. Determine and learn these 100 words or the Shiyeyi equivalent forms of expression of the concepts that they embody.