Vocabulary |
 May 20 2008, 02:40 PM
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#1
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Fudge-Maker at Florean Fortescue's  Posts: 2,225 Joined: 9:13pm February 18, 2005   |
I wanted to talk about vocabulary. Particularly, How does one expand it? This is something I've wanted to work on for quite some time myself. I think in order to write, my vocabulary needs to be better. More expansive. And though I've been trying, I still feel stuck in the habit of using mainly the same set of words over and over again.
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May 20 2008, 03:15 PM
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#2
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The Leaky Limerick Lollapalooza Posts: 3,843 Joined: 2:58pm November 12, 2007 Location: Somewhere over the rainbow. |
QUOTE(Aphrodites Lady @ May 20 2008, 03:40 PM)  I wanted to talk about vocabulary. Particularly, How does one expand it? This is something I've wanted to work on for quite some time myself. I think in order to write, my vocabulary needs to be better. More expansive. And though I've been trying, I still feel stuck in the habit of using mainly the same set of words over and over again. I would have to say that reading all kinds of books and articles expanded my vocabulary the most. I still love it when I come across a word I'm not familiar with and try to use it as often as possible. Warning! This can severly irritate your friends.  Another fun way to expand vocabulary is to play word games. There are board games, like Scrabble, and on line games that are fun too. --------------------  W.L.Y.J. We love you Jo |
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May 20 2008, 06:07 PM
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#3
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Fudge-Maker at Florean Fortescue's Posts: 2,225 Joined: 9:13pm February 18, 2005 |
I do both of these things. Neither seems to help me much. It's frustrating because I feel like I'm doing things that I should be, but they aren't producing results. I've played word games enough to make me puke. So I don't find they challenging anymore.
I pencil down words on a list while I read. Then I can look up definitions, and sometimes pronunciations, later when I have enough. I find it easier to use them in writing than conversation. But ultimately, I just don't see the result I desire. -------------------- |
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May 22 2008, 02:32 PM
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#4
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Daily Prophet Photographer  Posts: 866 Joined: 7:26pm June 10, 2005 Location: Curled up on the sofa with coffee, my dog, and Harry Potter  |
Maybe you could try looking at vocabulary in a different light? A lot of new writers tend to use big, fancy words when simpler words would do, just to show that they can. Some of the best advice a teacher ever gave me was, "Don't ever use ten words to do the work of five"; the same could be said for using an obscure, 5-syllable word instead of a familiar, simple word that says the same thing. As long as you have the words you need, knowing Every Single Word of English isn't really neccessary, unless your aim is to force your readers to reach for their dictionaries.
If you do find yourself reaching for the same words over and over, concentrate on just those words, and try to figure out whether you reuse them because they serve your purpose, or because you don't have any alternatives: is it neccessary to find alternatives, or do they really work? In Harry Potter, I think just four words are used for magical spells: curses, charms, hexes and jinxes. You could say that JKR uses the word "jinx" over and over, but it works, you know? It suits the purpose. Meanwhile, fan-fic writers tend to throw around a lot of "incantations" and other four-syllables, to sound sophisticated. If, however, you forever find yourself describing things as, say, "pretty", it might be a good idea to find alternatives. (OK, I know that's probably not the kind of word you mean, but just to illustrate.) As for finding new words...you said that you read a lot, and write down any words you don't know, but what are you reading? It makes all the difference. Lord of the Rings uses tons of what I still think of as "SAT words"; Harry Potter uses relatively few. Older books tend to be much richer; works by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, and Willa Cather will all be more likely to contain words that you're not familiar with, than later authors. You can't expect to find a lot of "new words" by reading children's lit or "chick lit"-- trust me, I read plenty of both.  If you find that the works you currently read aren't challenging your vocabulary, try going for older, more difficult books. Personally, I find that seeing words in context is the only way to remember how the heck they're used. Those "word-a-day" type vocab builders never did much for me. --------------------  |
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May 22 2008, 05:10 PM
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#5
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Eeylops Owl Cage Cleaner Posts: 230 Joined: 11:54am June 3, 2007 |
I couldn't agree more with matilda. Read, read, read, and read. Read everything you can get your hands on. And read widely. For example, in the UK there's some newspapers that have a very young reading age and there's some that have "longer" words
And don't use a word just for the sake of using them. It's painfully obvious when you do this, and it only means it looks awkward. When you build your vocabulary by reading, the new words will become part of your 'natural' language. Don't force your vocab, instead use the words that just slip off your tongue And then read some more --------------------  “It is our choices, Harry, which show what we truly are“ W.O.M.B.A.T.S. Test 1 - E, Test 2 - E, Test 3 - A |
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May 23 2008, 06:38 PM
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#6
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Fudge-Maker at Florean Fortescue's Posts: 2,225 Joined: 9:13pm February 18, 2005 |
QUOTE(matilda @ May 22 2008, 03:32 PM) Maybe you could try looking at vocabulary in a different light? A lot of new writers tend to use big, fancy words when simpler words would do, just to show that they can. Some of the best advice a teacher ever gave me was, "Don't ever use ten words to do the work of five"; the same could be said for using an obscure, 5-syllable word instead of a familiar, simple word that says the same thing. As long as you have the words you need, knowing Every Single Word of English isn't really neccessary, unless your aim is to force your readers to reach for their dictionaries. I'm not out to use big, fancy words. Yet, I don't want to use the same words over and over again. Repetition is boring, and can even sound really unintelligent after point. I want to be more descriptive. Adjectives especially should be broader in range. They seem to be in endless supply, yet it's very easy too use the same ones all too enough when you can make the same point, but just wording it differently. QUOTE As for finding new words...you said that you read a lot, and write down any words you don't know, but what are you reading? It makes all the difference. Lord of the Rings uses tons of what I still think of as "SAT words"; Harry Potter uses relatively few. Older books tend to be much richer; works by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, and Willa Cather will all be more likely to contain words that you're not familiar with, than later authors. You can't expect to find a lot of "new words" by reading children's lit or "chick lit"-- trust me, I read plenty of both. If you find that the works you currently read aren't challenging your vocabulary, try going for older, more difficult books.I do read a wide range books, which only further perplexes me to why this so difficult. I'm fan of Tolkien, so I'm familiar with a lot of the words he used. I read a lot nonfiction, which I often feel the writers go way out the way to sound intelligent because they might have a degree or fancy title. I don't read so many children's books. HP is one of the very few. But I read fantasy, science fiction, romance, and I'm also interested in stuff like Greek mythology. So variety doesn't seem like it should be an issue. I also think romance depends on the kind of romance, as well the author. The contemporary romance, chick lit, to me is mainly stuff published by Red Dress Ink. Well, for one example. But those books lack more than vocabulary. They're thin on pretty much everything, and are often quite poorly reviewed. However, historical romance, which is more preferable to me personally, I've found a lot more authors who're willing to dress it up a bit. QUOTE(baulid) And don't use a word just for the sake of using them. It's painfully obvious when you do this, and it only means it looks awkward. When you build your vocabulary by reading, the new words will become part of your 'natural' language. Don't force your vocab, instead use the words that just slip off your tongue I agree. This irritates me to no end. I have family members who'll randomly throw a word into whatever they're saying, and they don't even know what it means. They think they know, but then they'll be like "I think that's means. Right?" It just doesn't come across right when most of the words in your vocabulary are under 10 letters, and you use with 15 or more completely out of the blue. What's worse, sometimes not only do they "not know the meaning of the word", but they don't know the pronunciation either. Which is really stupid if you're trying to sound intelligent. It's not another thing if you're discussing it's proper pronunciation. But it looks really bad both ways in my opinion. -------------------- |
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May 29 2008, 01:39 PM
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#7
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Daily Prophet Photographer Posts: 866 Joined: 7:26pm June 10, 2005 Location: Curled up on the sofa with coffee, my dog, and Harry Potter |
QUOTE(Aphrodites Lady @ May 23 2008, 06:38 PM) I also think romance depends on the kind of romance, as well the author. The contemporary romance, chick lit, to me is mainly stuff published by Red Dress Ink. Well, for one example. But those books lack more than vocabulary. They're thin on pretty much everything, and are often quite poorly reviewed. However, historical romance, which is more preferable to me personally, I've found a lot more authors who're willing to dress it up a bit. Yes. I specifically meant the sort of cheap, shoes-based chick-lit that is so prevalent right now, of which I shamefully partake.  QUOTE(baulid) And don't use a word just for the sake of using them. It's painfully obvious when you do this, and it only means it looks awkward. When you build your vocabulary by reading, the new words will become part of your 'natural' language. Don't force your vocab, instead use the words that just slip off your tongue QUOTE I agree. This irritates me to no end. I have family members who'll randomly throw a word into whatever they're saying, and they don't even know what it means. They think they know, but then they'll be like "I think that's means. Right?" It just doesn't come across right when most of the words in your vocabulary are under 10 letters, and you use with 15 or more completely out of the blue. What's worse, sometimes not only do they "not know the meaning of the word", but they don't know the pronunciation either. Which is really stupid if you're trying to sound intelligent. It's not another thing if you're discussing it's proper pronunciation. But it looks really bad both ways in my opinion. ARgh. My husband does this. 'Circumnavigate' instead of 'circumvent', things like that. Drives me nuts when he does it, drives him nuts if I correct him... I always quote The Princess Bride: "I don't think that word means what you think it means!". -------------------- |
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May 31 2008, 03:43 PM
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#8
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Fudge-Maker at Florean Fortescue's Posts: 2,225 Joined: 9:13pm February 18, 2005 |
I wonder how useful a thesaurus would be to expanding one's vocabulary? Personally, if I'm learning a new word, I find synonyms make a word easier to remember. It's the next best thing if you don't have specific thing or object to associate the word with.
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Jun 3 2008, 11:57 AM
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#9
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Eeylops Owl Cage Cleaner Posts: 230 Joined: 11:54am June 3, 2007 |
Personally I find that a bad way to learn new words - you might know what words it's similar to, but you won't know the right usage. Thesauruses are useful if you can't remember the right word and it's on the tip of your tongue, but for learning new words and knowing when to use them, it's rather quite poor
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Jun 3 2008, 04:11 PM
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#10
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Fudge-Maker at Florean Fortescue's Posts: 2,225 Joined: 9:13pm February 18, 2005 |
I thought thesauri were designed to point out synonyms. But also show which adjectives can be interchangeable. I thought it'd be a good tool for a writer wishing express themselves with more variety.
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