Ultimate Vocabulary – Vocabulary Building Software

Recommended English Vocabulary Books for Teenagers

April 8, 2011

We encourage a love of language in people of all ages, but it’s particularly important for young children and teenagers to develop an interest in vocabulary improvement, because a solid foundation in English vocabulary will help them in their early school years, in their university study goals, and eventually in their careers. Each step builds on the previous one, and if children are accustomed to making vocabulary improvement part of their regular routine, it will only become easier, and more enjoyable, as the years go by. Whether you’re a parent, a teacher, or a teenager yourself, we think you’ll find these books excellent resources for the young people in your life.

Name That Movie! A Painless Vocabulary Builder (Brian Leaf)
There are two volumes in this set of books that use what kids love – movies! – to get them interested in vocabulary: an “action and comedy” version, and a “drama and romantic comedy” version. Both use movie quotes containing advanced vocabulary words (including regurgitation and extravagant and amorphous) that teenagers can expect to see on the PSAT and SAT tests they’re probably studying for anyway. The book is set up so that it can be used for self-study or as a group activity, and would be an excellent adjunct to an after-school study program; use clips from the movie to give students the opportunity to hear the words being used, and then quiz them on the definition and spelling later.

The SAT Word Slam (Jodi Fodor)
With clever rhymes, Fodor uses the power of poetry to make word definitions easy to understand and memorize. The 500 words in this book frequently appear on SAT and ACT examinations, and the unique format of this book practically guarantees that students will learn them quickly, and have fun at the same time. For today’s tech-savvy teens, you can order this for Kindle.

10 SAT Vocabulary Practice Tests (Paul G. Simpson IV)
Regular vocabulary study is important, but there’s no substitute for experiencing the pacing, format, and style of an actual test. Although there are opportunities for students to take a practice SAT several weeks prior to the examination, getting started early with these sample questions will help the student identify and focus on what might cause the most problems. For example, if you take the first sample test and discover that you have difficulty choosing the right synonyms to complete the sentences provided, you’ll know that it’s important to include more practice in your vocabulary study on researching related words.

Portmanteau Words: How Two English Words Become One

April 5, 2011

In the last post, we talked about the word portmanteau and its now-seldom-used definition of “suitcase.” We also gave you a quote from Lewis Carroll, in which he uses the word to mean “a word in which two other words are combined.” Linguists picked up this terminology, and now use it in reference to words such as docudrama (“documentary” plus “drama”) and simulcast (“simultaneous” plus “broadcast”). Here are some other words you might find interesting – can you identify the two original English words?

claymation
Fans of Wallace and Gromit will recognize this method of creating moving, talking characters by using stop-motion filming and many, many hours of work.

camcorder
It may be hard to imagine, but before everybody had a cell phone that could take and store short movies, you had to buy one of these to document your child’s birthday party.

cyborgs
As technology continues to advance, these beings have moved from the realm of science fiction into scientific reality, giving us artificial limbs that use the person’s own nervous system to move, but not (as yet) the Terminator.

happenstance
Something can be excused as this if it only happens once, and if it happens twice, that’s coincidence, but if the same thing happens three times, there’s probably a motivating factor.

glitterati
In ages past, poets and playwrights were honored with the laurel wreath, and everyone knew their names. Today, we’re more likely to know the names of these people.

nutraceutical
If you’re searching for sports drinks fortified with ginkgo biloba and vitamin D, you’re looking for one of these.

transceiver
Walkie-talkies, shortwave radio sets, and mobile phones are all examples of this.

How many of the original words used in the blended words did you know? If you got all the answers right, we’ll take you out to brunch – but you’ll have to eat it with a spork.

Answers:
clay + animation = claymation
camera + videorecorder = camcorder
cybernetic + organisms = cyborgs
happening + circumstance = happenstance
glitter + literati = glitterati
nutrition + pharmaceutical = nutraceutical
transponder + receiver = transceiver

The Etymology of English: Unpacking the Meanings of Words

April 4, 2011

“Well, slithy means ‘lithe and slimy.’ ‘Lithe’ is the same as ‘active.’ You see it’s like a portmanteau – there are two meanings packed up into one word.” – Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-glass, and What Alice Found There

When you’re learning a new vocabulary word, you’ll find it helpful to look up its etymology: the origin of the word, its roots in older languages, and the history of its development up until its modern usage. Many words change over time, and others hardly at all; it’s interesting to trace the evolution of English through its words. The word portmanteau has its origins in the royal courts of France in the Middle Ages, and comes from the French words porter (“to carry”) and manteau (“coat, cloak”). The person designated as the porte-manteau was the one who carried the king’s cloak. This gradually became a term used for the bag the cloak could be packed in, and by the 15th century that meaning for the word had reached England and become incorporated into the English language.

By that time, however, the use of portemanteau as the name for something in which to carry clothing fell out of use in France, to be replaced by the word valise, which originally referred to the satchel used by soldiers to carry goods or documents (the word satchel comes from either the Greek sakkos or the Latin saccus, both of which mean “sack, bag” – a satchel is a small sack). Once again, this word bounced across the Channel to become part of the English vocabulary in the 17th century. In the late 19th century, possibly due to the fact that people generally didn’t pack cloaks as often any more, the word suitcase started being used in English. The French continued to use valise, and in France a portemanteau is now a coat rack instead of a suitcase. While we think of the word luggage today as a modern word describing the suitcases full of clothing we take on vacations (assuming they catch the same airplane flight as we do, of course) it’s actually a word that’s around 500 years old, and has the rather self-explanatory meaning of “things you ‘lug’ around.”

Once you open up a word to see what information is packed inside, you never know where you’ll end up on your etymological voyages!

How to Gain Confidence in Public Speaking

March 31, 2011

The vocabulary study you’ve been focusing on will help you give better presentations, because you’ll be able to pick exactly the right words to get your points across. You’ll be able to include adjectives and adverbs that add emphasis and interest to your speech. If you take the time to study your audience in advance (see this post for more information), you’ll also be able to adapt your presentation to each occasion you give the speech, and it will have even more impact.

Knowing your topic, and being familiar with all of the vocabulary and terminology associated with it, will give you immediate confidence in your ability to make the presentation, and your confidence will be communicated to your audience. If the audience believes that you know what you’re talking about, they’ll listen more intently, and be more willing to follow any recommendations you might be making for future action.

People are more inclined to listen to friends rather than strangers, so take the opportunity (if you have the time) to interact with your audience before you give your presentation. This is also an excellent time to get an idea of who your audience is, if you didn’t get that information beforehand. By meeting people you can make a personal connection, and you can enhance that connection during your presentation by looking for the individuals you’ve talked to and making eye contact with them. Add personal stories and anecdotes, if it’s appropriate, to increase the connection between you and the audience.

Make sure that your presentation is organized and easy to follow. Even if you have a visual aid such as a handout or a Powerpoint slideshow, if your points aren’t arranged in a logical format, your audience will have a hard time following your train of thought. If you’re too muddled and disorganized in your speech, they may stop listening entirely. Take the time to write an outline for your speech, but don’t read it word-for-word; people probably won’t particularly enjoy watching you read out loud, because they won’t have a sense that you’re talking to them, but rather talking at them. If you’ve provided a handout or are using a slideshow, you absolutely must avoid reading exactly what people are looking at simultaneously.

Finally, remember to relax and enjoy yourself! If you’re cheerful and upbeat (unless, of course, that’s not appropriate to the topic or occasion), your audience is more likely to automatically adjust their own attitudes to match yours, and the positive energy in the room will reinforce the confidence you have in yourself and your ability to give a successful presentation.

Vocabulary for Success: Grandiloquent

March 30, 2011

What do you think of this sentence?

Expelling a veritable fireworks of sparks from its soot-encrusted smokestack, in a thunderous cacophony of metallic expostulations as the rusting and decrepit wheels ceased their turning, the wheels which had carried the ancient carriages through so many laborious uphill climbs and carefree downhill runs across the crenellated crest of the Continental Divide, the aged but valiant engine shuddered slowly to a halt along the deserted platform at the midpoint of its ultimate voyage.

If you think that it’s a rather extravagantly wordy way to say “The old train stopped at an abandoned station halfway through its last trip,” then you’d be correct – it is a rather grandiloquent passage. Grandiloquent means “elaborate, overly wordy.” The word comes from two Latin roots, grandis (“big”) and loquus (“speech”). Some synonyms for grandiloquent are bombastic and sesquipedalian, though these two terms are more often applied to the person using such language than to the speech itself.

While grandiloquent is a somewhat pejorative (meaning “derogatory, disparaging”) adjective, the word eloquent, which is very similar, is not. This word shares the same root loquus, along with the participle e- or ex- (“out”), with the underlying sense of “speaking out.” However, to be eloquent is not merely to be outspoken, but rather to be persuasive, well-spoken, and articulate, with the implication that the listeners will be affected by the speech, perhaps changing their minds about a previously-held position or decision.

Other words from the Latin root loquus include soliloquy (adding the root solus, “alone”), which is a speech in which an actor says out loud what they’re thinking, so that the audience can follow along; and loquacious, which means “talkative.”

What would you like us to talk about – briefly or at length – in future posts? Leave your suggestions in the comments.

World Englishes and Global Communication

March 29, 2011

English is the language that you’ve learned (or are learning) and English vocabulary is what we focus on here at The Vocabulary Builder’s Blog. We’re concerned primarily with standard English as it’s spoken in the countries where it’s the native language, but there are many different varieties of English spoken around the world. The International Association for World Englishes (IAWE) was established in 1992 to study the way English is spoken and used in different societies, how cultures adapt English to their own native languages, and the ways these different Englishes are similar and different. The IAWE holds regular global conferences, and publishes a journal in which you can find articles such as “The international comprehensibility of varieties of South African English” and “English as economic value: facts and fallacies.”

Because English is, more or less, the “global” language today, it’s important for the IAWE to study how regional Englishes relate to standard English. As we’ve pointed out in other posts, speaking English doesn’t mean you’ll be immediately understood by other English speakers, if the vocabulary or syntax you use doesn’t match exactly with what they’ve learned. For the purposes of analyzing patterns and structures of various Englishes, there are three types of English-speaking populations:

Those who live where English is spoken as the native tongue because that’s where it originated, and also where large groups of such people migrated (British Isles, North America, Australia)

Those who live where English is spoken as a widespread second or “official” language, usually in former British colonies (India, Kenya, Hong Kong)

Those who live where English is used for purposes of global business and communication, but where few people speak it otherwise

Differences in vocabulary, pronunciation, and speech patterns can make these different Englishes into what might seem like entirely different languages. One thing that can help you adjust to the differences is to practice listening to English as it is spoken by people from different countries. The BBC is an excellent place to start, whether you listen on the radio, over the internet, or via satellite television. Although they’re known for their broadcasts in multiple international languages, you can also find many programs in English that contain interviews with people whose first language is not English. It’s instructive to tune in to these radio programs, and tune your ears to the different sounds of global Englishes.

How to Harness the Power of English Vocabulary

March 28, 2011

Those who prefer their English sloppy have only themselves to thank if the advertisement writer uses his mastery of the vocabulary and syntax to mislead their weak minds. – Dorothy L. Sayers, “The Psychology of Advertising” (1937)

You’ve probably heard the phrase “Knowledge is power.” We’ll take it one step further, and state that “Knowledge of vocabulary is power.” If you know the right words to use in any given situation, you’ll have control over the conversation, and will be able to influence and persuade others to share your point of view. Politicians, preachers, and poets all carefully choose the words they use, to maximize their impact, to infer meanings that are not stated out loud, and to make people believe what they say.

Maximize the impact of your words. By having a working vocabulary that’s rich in descriptive terms, synonyms, and antonyms, you’ll be able to pick the words that will have the most meaning for your audience. You’ll know which words to use to add color and interest to your speech, and give it the “punch” that will ensure you keep the listener’s attention.

Communicate ideas on many levels. The words you choose can be powerful tools to convey both facts and feelings. The right vocabulary can mean the difference between a listener’s acceptance of your words on an intellectual level and on an emotional level. The tone of your voice and the manner of your delivery are important, but so are the words you use. Think about the difference between saying “Sales went from 20% to 45% last quarter due to marketing changes” and “Substantial increases in sales more than doubled last quarter’s profits, thanks to the innovative strategies of the marketing department.” Which phrase do you think will reward and inspire the company’s employees, and which would they rather hear?

Underline your own capabilities. When you have exactly the right words at your fingertips (or should that be at the tip of your tongue?) you’ll impress your audience with your own knowledge and abilities. Using the correct vocabulary and giving a presentation in a calm and confident manner reassures them that you do know what you’re talking about, and that they can believe you.

Practice speaking in public, improve and increase your vocabulary, and fine-tune your skills in syntax and grammar, and you’ll find that your way with words will put you above the rest.

GRE Reading Comprehension Practice

March 25, 2011

Taking and passing the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is a requirement to get into most advanced university programs in English-speaking countries. Students who are pursuing a doctorate in their field will need to take the GRE General Test, and may also be required to take one of the GRE Subject Tests. In these exams, students are required to show their ability to read and analyze texts in the reading comprehension section.

Good reading comprehension is based on having a good vocabulary. Obviously, if the text you’re asked to analyze contains one or more words that you don’t know, you’ll find it harder to accurately discuss the meaning and content of the text. We’ve found a passage from H. G. Wells’ “The Outline of History” that’s related to vocabulary. Read the text, then answer the questions we’ve provided, which are modeled on questions you’ll encounter in the GRE.

It is improbable that there was ever such a thing as a common human language. We know nothing of the language of Paleolithic man; we do not even know whether Paleolithic man talked freely. We know that Paleolithic man had a keen sense of form and attitude, because of his drawings; and it has been suggested that he communicated his ideas very largely by gesture. Probably such words as the earlier men used were mainly cries of alarm or passion or names for concrete things, and in many cases they were probably imitative sounds made by or associated with the things named. The first languages were probably small collections of such words; they consisted of interjections and nouns. Probably the nouns were said in different intonations to convey different meanings. If Paleolithic man had a word for “horse” or “bear,” he probably showed by tone or gesture whether he meant “bear is coming,” “bear is going,” “bear is to be hunted,” “dead bear,” “bear has been here,” “bear did this,” and so on. Only very slowly did the human mind develop methods of indicating action and relationship in a formal manner. Modern languages contain many thousands of words, but the earlier languages could have consisted only of a few hundred. It is said that even modern European peasants can get along with something less than a thousand words, and it is quite conceivable that so late as the Early Neolithic Period that was the limit of the available vocabulary. Probably men did not indulge in those days in conversation or description. For narrative purposes they danced and acted rather than told. They had no method of counting beyond a method of indicating two by a dual number, and some way of expressing many. The growth of speech was at first a very slow process indeed, and grammatical forms and the expression of abstract ideas may have come very late in human history, perhaps only 400 or 500 generations ago.

Question 1: According to Wells, is a large vocabulary necessary for communication?

Question 2: How does Wells imagine Paleolithic man communicating the difference between the phrases “bear is coming” and “bear is going”?

Question 3: What is the main difference that Wells finds between modern language and the earliest forms of language?

Strategies to Improve Your Reading Comprehension Skills

March 23, 2011

Yesterday we talked about the fact that expanding your reading materials will present you with an expanded list of English words that you can make part of your working vocabulary. However, just seeing a word in print doesn’t mean that you’ll instantly learn it; in general, it takes about twenty occurrences before a word is firmly in your mind. One way to increase the chance that you’ll learn a word the first time is to focus on it and try to figure out its definition and pronunciation, rather than skipping over it. When you see a new word, concentrate on three things:

How is it pronounced? Sound out the word using the pronunciation you think it has due to its spelling, or similarities to other words you already know. Say the word out loud when you do this. Sometimes the sound of a word will trigger associations in your mind that will lead you to the word’s meaning.

How is it formed? Can you identify a prefix, or a suffix, or a word root that looks familiar? Remember that most English words are made up of pieces of other, older words, and if you know what those pieces mean individually, you can combine them to get closer to the meaning of the word as a whole.

How is it used? Look at the word in the context of the sentence and paragraph. What clues are there in the text that might give you an idea of what the word means? If you believe you know what the word means, think of a synonym for the word and put that in the sentence instead. Does the phrase still make sense?

At the end of these three steps, you should have enough information to make an educated guess as to the true definition of the word. At this point, it’s a good idea to look the word up to be absolutely sure that you’re correct. To reinforce your memory, use some of the study tools we’ve talked about before, such as writing it out several times to practice the spelling and put the word in muscle memory, or creating two or three sample sentences using the word in context.

You’ll definitely want to look up the word if you don’t have any idea what it means. Lack of knowledge about one word might change the way you read an entire paragraph, and lead to misunderstanding in the future. However, if you don’t have access to a dictionary and if you believe you’ve gotten the sense of the text at that point, it’s all right to keep reading – but you might want to make a note of the word to look it up later, just to be certain.

Reference: Kuhn, M.R and Stahl, A.A. Teaching children to learn word meanings from context: A synthesis and some questions. Journal of Literacy Research, 30, 119-138 (1998)

How Reading Improves Your English Vocabulary

March 22, 2011

If you’re hoping get a good job in any English-speaking country, your ability to read, write, and speak English at a high level is crucial to your success. In addition, since English has become the default language for many international business transactions, your English skills will help you advance in your career no matter where you live and work. One of the best ways to improve your vocabulary skills is to read as much as you can; one of the best ways to improve your reading skills is to learn as many new vocabulary words as possible.

When researchers study adults and students to measure their reading abilities, they find a direct relationship between the size of a person’s vocabulary and their reading skills. According to a report by the National Reading Panel issued in the year 2000, “The importance of vocabulary knowledge has long been recognized in the development of reading skills. As early as 1924, researchers noted that growth in reading power relies on continuous growth in word knowledge.”¹

Although there are tens of thousands of words currently in use in English, most people have a working vocabulary that is much smaller. In fact, there is a difference between the number of words people use when speaking and the number that they’re able to recognize and understand when reading. Formal written texts (whether books, journals, or documentation) tend to have more specific terminology, and will be written in a more complex style, than daily conversation between friends. However, it’s also true that people who have a larger “speaking vocabulary” will have a substantially larger “reading vocabulary” as well.

Because there are fewer words in general use in spoken language, it’s important to encourage reading in both adults and children. Amazingly, studies have shown that most prime-time television shows use less complex vocabulary overall than the average children’s book. While television can be fun and relaxing, we encourage you to expand your viewing into the educational programs available, or to pick up a book or newspaper instead. The more reading you do, the more you’ll increase your exposure to vocabulary that doesn’t usually make its way into the spoken language.²

We hope that you have a daily routine for vocabulary study, and are able to devote at least 15 minutes each day to studying and learning new words. If you don’t already have a list of words you need or want to learn, you can find interesting and challenging words by signing up for the “Word-A-Day” e-mail newsletters from Wordsmith. Younger students will find Merriam-Webster’s “Daily Buzzword” useful.

¹ Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read. Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (2000)

² Cunningham, A.E. and Stanovich, K.E. What reading does for the mind. American Educator, Summer 8-15 (1998)