Ultimate Vocabulary – Vocabulary Building Software

English Vocabulary Study: The Pros and Cons

February 3, 2011

Getting set up for a vocabulary study program, budgeting your time to make sure you have study time daily, and acquiring the resources you need to support your study can seem like a lot of work. You might feel overwhelmed sometimes at the potential scope of the project (after all, there are well over 150,000 separate words in current use in the English language), so to encourage you we’ve compiled a list of all of the pros and cons of a targeted vocabulary study program:

Pros (from the Latin word pro, meaning “for”)

PROfessional advancement. A well-developed and sophisticated English vocabulary will help you in your career. You’ll have the ability to communicate easily and effectively with both clients and co-workers, and your written documents – whether they’re short e-mails or long reports – will impress your supervisors with their clarity.

PROper PROnunciation. Whether you like it or not, you’re judged not only by the words you use but on how you say them. The quickest way to make people doubt your knowledge is to mispronounce important words. Vocabulary study will give you the skills you need to speak correctly.

PROven results. Studies show that people who are able to read and write at higher levels earn more money overall and have the ability to pass on their skills to their families. Making an investment in vocabulary improvement brings a return in more than money.

Cons (from the Latin word contra, meaning “against”)

CONtinued learning. The more words you know, the easier it will be to read and quickly understand articles, journals, and other publications with information that you need to improve your work skills or expand your knowledge of the world. And the quicker you can read, the more you can read – meaning you’ll learn even more words.

CONversational skills. A large vocabulary brings with it the knowledge of the topics you’ve read about associated with each particular word, and having a broad knowledge base will give you the ability to hold a conversation with anyone, any time.

CONfidence. Most importantly, all of the benefits of a good vocabulary and the knowledge that you can use those words in professional and casual settings, in the proper context and with the correct pronunciation, will give you the confidence to succeed at work and in your daily life.

Well, there you have it – the arguments for and against spending time improving your English vocabulary. Wait a minute, though … on second glance, it looks like there really isn’t a down side to vocabulary study! We PROpose that you CONsider making vocabulary study a part of your daily routine.

How Can Writing Poetry Improve Your English Vocabulary?

February 2, 2011

One of the best ways to improve your vocabulary is to increase the amount and variety of your reading materials, to get exposure to the widest possible range of topics and thereby words associated with those topics, and their correct usage. You might not think that poetry would be particularly useful to you in this respect, but there are poems written on many topics as well, and the ways that the poets use their words will give you ideas on how to be creative with your own vocabulary in the future.

Poetry doesn’t have to rhyme, although most of the poems written prior to the 20th century tend to have a relatively regular rhyme and meter. By reading these poems, you can see how the poet adjusts the language, carefully selecting words that both match the rhyme scheme and convey the intended emotion and meaning. The care that poets take with their words continues into non-rhyming poems (“free verse”), where the rhythm of the poem comes both from the words used and the length of the lines.

Practice reading poetry out loud to help you develop a smooth and flowing speaking style. The underlying pulse of the phrases will assist you in moving your words forward. This will also help you learn to read more expressively, something that’s very important in engaging your listeners’ attention and interest. Even if what you eventually need to read in front of an audience is a year-end productivity report or a summary of the department’s paper use over the past decade, you’ll have more success in communicating the information if the tone and tempo of your voice is pleasant to listen to and rhythmically compelling.

To increase your ability to use words effectively, try your hand at writing poetry. If you use a fixed rhyme scheme, you’ll be forced to carefully choose your words, and you’ll also have to expand your use of synonyms, in case the word you initially choose doesn’t rhyme with the others. There are many traditional forms of poetry you can experiment with, from limericks to ballads, but one of the most well-known is the Shakespearean sonnet, with the rhyme scheme ABAB / CDCD / EFEF / GG. That is, in the first group of lines (the four-line stanzas are called quatrains) every other line rhymes, and in the last stanza (the two-line couplet) both lines rhyme. Here’s Shakespeare’s Sonnet 91:

Some glory in their birth, some in their skill,
Some in their wealth, some in their body’s force,
Some in their garments though new-fangled ill;
Some in their hawks and hounds, some in their horse;
And every humour hath his adjunct pleasure,
Wherein it finds a joy above the rest:
But these particulars are not my measure,
All these I better in one general best.
Thy love is better than high birth to me,
Richer than wealth, prouder than garments’ costs,
Of more delight than hawks and horses be;
And having thee, of all men’s pride I boast:
Wretched in this alone, that thou mayst take
All this away, and me most wretched make.

We encourage you to read poetry, and perhaps write a little as well, and learn to enjoy the beauty and precision of a well-chosen word.

English Vocabulary Practice: Spring Fever and Spring Cleaning

February 1, 2011

In the northern hemisphere, the days are getting longer, and the cycle of the seasons is starting again. February was originally the last month of the Roman calendar year, right before the beginning of spring. The word February comes from the Latin februa, or “purification.” This was a time to get clean, both physically and spiritually, by dusting and sweeping and washing, and by participating in rites of atonement at the temple to get rid of all of the sins and wrongdoing from the previous year. Many cultures still have a tradition of cleaning the house at the turning of the year and around the world people take advantage of warmer days to open up the windows and shake out the dust of the long winter. The phrase “do a spring cleaning” also implies that you’re getting rid of things you no longer use, as well as cleaning and organizing your home.

You might have also heard the phrase “spring fever.” This refers to an increase in energy that many people feel as the light returns and the season warms, and is often used as an explanation for someone’s impulsive and/or uncharacteristic behavior, such as suddenly deciding to take a day off work for a trip to the beach. The word fever comes from the Latin word for fever, febris, and this is where we get the words febrile (feverish) and febrifuge (something that chases away fever, adding the Latin root fugare, “put to flight”).

Interestingly, the words February, febrile, and febrifuge are the only ones in modern English which start with the letters febr-, yet they come from completely different roots. In addition, while febrile (FEB-rile) and febrifuge (FEB-rih-fyooj) are pronounced with the r-sound enunciated, nearly everyone pronounces February as FEB-you-air-ee rather than FEB-roo-air-ee, and this has become the accepted pronunciation.

We’ll continue to post throughout the year on this Vocabulary Builder’s Blog, giving you new and useful words and their histories, tips on resources to improve your vocabulary study, and information on how to get the most out of your English vocabulary study program. We hope you’re in a fever now to polish your study habits and make your vocabulary shine!

Fun fact: The original Anglo-Saxon word for February was Solmonath, meaning “mud month.”

All About English: Books on the English Language

January 31, 2011

As you spend more time studying English vocabulary, and especially when you start learning the more interesting, difficult, and specifically useful words you come across in your reading, see on this site, or need to target for a test or presentation, you may find that you want to learn more about the English language and its history. We encourage you to look up the individual histories of the words you learn (their etymology) but there’s much more to be learned about a word than the bare bones of its linguistic origin. For example, why was the word created? What was the society like at the time, and what role did the word serve? How has the word changed over time – and how has the English language as a whole evolved? Here are some books we like that can get you started in your vocabulary explorations:

The Story of English: How the English Language Conquered the World
(Philip Gooden, 2009)
A comprehensive study of the origins and development of English, including its role in geopolitical history and present-day commerce.

The Story of English: Third Revised Edition
(Robert MacNeil, Robert McCrum, and William Cran, 2003)
Originally written in 1986 to accompany a nine-part television series of the same name that was produced and broadcast by the BBC (UK) and PBS (USA), this is a fascinating look both at the history and the current state of the English language, and how its many “flavors” enrich societies around the world. The television series is also available on video.

Word Histories and Mysteries: From Abracadabra to Zeus
(American Heritage Dictionaries, 2004)
An entertaining guide to the origin of five hundred common and not-so-common words, with detailed etymologies and fun facts. For example, did you know that the word acre didn’t originally refer to an exact amount of land, but rather the amount of land that could be plowed by a yoke of oxen in one day? The size of a farmer’s holding might depend on the strength of his cattle! Read this book for more interesting tidbits about the English language.

Anonyponymous: The Forgotten People Behind Everyday Words
(John Marciano, 2009)
You’ve probably heard that the reason we lunch on meat and cheese piled between two slices of bread is because the Earl of Sandwich didn’t want to take time out from his card game to eat a proper meal, but do you recognize the names of Lieutenant Harry Shrapnel or Etienne de Silhouette? These and many other interesting but little-known people are found in this amusing book, along with the words that have outlived them.

Vocabulary for Success: Diabolical

January 28, 2011

We hope your vocabulary study is progressing smoothly, but we’re sure that you’ll encounter some fiendishly difficult words now and then. You might even be faced with the cruel reality of a deadline, as test dates approach or presentations are rescheduled. The devil is in the details, as they say, and each piece of knowledge you gain about a word will contribute to a solid foundation in the English language.

Today we’re looking at the word diabolical, which means “extremely cruel or wicked.” As you might imagine, this adjective can be traced back to the Greek word diabolos, which is also where we get the English word devil. Another word for devil is fiend, hence the word fiendish.

Example: The evil genius spent weeks in his underground laboratory, working on his diabolical plan to enslave humanity by adding subliminal messages to television broadcasts.

Diabolical and cruel are synonyms, but in general we use diabolical when we’re talking about something or someone who acts deliberately, with intelligence (though not with compassion). We call a cat cruel when it seems to get pleasure out of tormenting a mouse before killing it, but there’s no evidence that the cat is doing this with the thought of causing pain. A particularly harsh winter is often called cruel when it causes plants and animals and people to suffer and die, but as far as we know there’s no guiding mind behind a blizzard. In either case, unless you were speaking metaphorically, you wouldn’t use diabolical to describe the cat or the winter.

Interestingly, the word wicked, which started out as another way to say diabolical (from the Old English word wicca, or “sorcerer,” someone often accused of working with devils) is now in current use as an adjective meaning “extremely good” – the opposite of its original sense of “extremely bad!”

Words and their meanings and use may change over time, but one thing remains the same: the work you put into your English vocabulary study program will pay off in the end.

How to Improve Your English Skills

January 26, 2011

We’re sure you’ve heard the expression “practice makes perfect,” but we wanted to remind you that it also applies to your work towards perfecting your English vocabulary. In particular, we want to encourage you to find opportunities to practice using your English vocabulary in public. We’re not referring to formal presentations (though if you want some tips on that, read this), but rather to taking the opportunity to have conversations with a wide range of people, giving you the chance to practice all of the different vocabulary words you’ve been learning. Since it’s not likely that you’ll find a good way to incorporate all of your new words (like inexorable and hyperbole and utilitarian) in the same conversation, it’s a good idea to find a variety of groups with whom you can talk and interact.

Book groups are excellent places to practice your conversation. In addition, they give you the motivation to read more, and perhaps to read things you wouldn’t have thought of reading on your own. There are book groups that focus on fiction, while others read only non-fiction, and many that switch between genres. Not only will you be learning even more new vocabulary through your reading, you’ll have an immediate opportunity to use those words in conversation when you’re discussing the book with the other members of the group.

You don’t have to join a literary society to talk to people, however. Check the community centers and neighborhood association newsletters for information about the groups in your area that match what you’re interested in. For example, if you like the outdoors, join a hiking club, and (if you have enough breath to spare) chat with the other hikers on the trail. Gardening clubs, watercolor societies, volunteer organizations who read to children on the weekends – there are groups to fit any hobby. If English is your second language, look for bilingual groups, or for university- or community-based open classes that focus on English conversation.

Because these groups are more informal, they’ll help you get over any fears you might have about public speaking, and you’ll gain confidence in your ability to speak well with and in front of others, especially people you don’t know well. Look for opportunities to use your English vocabulary, and soon you’ll be a polished and professional speaker.

Vocabulary for Success: How to Pluralize Compound Nouns

January 25, 2011

In a previous post, we talked about how to form plural nouns, some of the different ways singular nouns become plural in English, and some of the exceptions to the rules. For one-word nouns, the methods are fairly straightforward, but things can get a little tricky when you’re dealing with compound nouns. Here are some examples:

If the noun is at the end of a phrase, pluralize the noun as if it were not modified by the preceding phrase. In this case, it’s only a “compound noun” because we’re looking at the noun as part of the phrase rather than by itself.

a qualified candidate / the qualified candidates
a significant gain / many significant gains
one black sheep / six black sheep
one distant glowing nebula / two distant glowing nebulae

If the noun remains at the beginning of the phrase rather than at the end, then you still make the noun plural while leaving the rest alone, even if that looks or sounds odd to you. This rule holds whether you’re hyphenating the phrase or not.

my brother-in-law / the brothers-in-law of the widow
the attorney general / attorneys general in the past
a head of state / those heads of state
one passer-by / two passers-by (also passerby / passersby)
the notary public / future notaries public

If the compound noun is one word, treat it as such and form the plural with the last noun in the compound word, following the standard rules.

the housewife / several housewives
a blackboard / many blackboards
one firefly / two fireflies

Compounding the problem is the matter of adding the possessive -s to these pluralized compound nouns. For example, if you were talking about the anti-smoking initiatives in the United States, you might say that current laws follow previous Surgeons General’s recommendations but that’s an extremely awkward phrase to write, read, and say. Avoid these problems by phrasing such a statement as current laws follow the recommendations of previous Surgeons General.

Do you have one or more questions about compound nouns or other aspects of English vocabulary? Leave your questions in the comments.

The Benefits of Improving Your Vocabulary: Professional Success

January 24, 2011

Vocabulary improvement is a life-long process. If you’re a parent, it’s important that you help your children with their vocabulary skills, because the earlier they start focusing on improving and expanding their vocabulary, the easier it will be for them to build on those skills and succeed in school. If you’re a student, taking the time to increase your knowledge of English vocabulary will help you understand the materials you need to read in whatever class and discipline you choose, and knowing the meaning of all of the words in an examination question will certainly improve your chances of getting the correct answer. If you’re in the workforce, keeping up with the vocabulary and terminology in your professional field will keep you in line for promotions and advancement, and even after you retire, studying new words will keep your brain nimble and your intellect sharp.

It’s especially important for adults in the workplace to have a thorough knowledge of the English language, and excellent literacy skills. Employers place a high value on literate employees with the ability to read, write, and communicate at an advanced level, because it means that the time required to train for a new job or a change in procedure is greatly shortened, saving the employer money. In addition, someone with good communication skills might be asked to train their co-workers – something that is often the first step towards a management position.

Efficiency, cost savings, and productivity are all increased by a highly literate workforce in any field. However, it’s particularly important for employees who work in or with technology, because of the rapid developments in systems and applications.

“One of the difficulties experienced by some companies in upgrading the skills of their employees is the complexity of job-related technical documents and training materials required for learning new systems. The technical vocabulary and complex concepts require high-level reading skills that may be beyond the capabilities of many employees.” – Adult Literacy and New Technologies: Tools for a Lifetime, Office of Technology Assessment, 1993

In general, a higher literacy rate correlates with a greater success in a person’s work and family life, and a skilled and literate adult has a direct impact on the children in that adult’s life.

“[T]hose with poor skills experienced much higher levels of social and economic disadvantage than other adults … The report shows the association between poor educational achievement and its impact on all areas of life, including employment, health, community participation and family life. – Bynner, J. and Parsons, S. (2006). New Light on Literacy and Numeracy. London: National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy

It’s to your benefit to study vocabulary and improve your language skills, especially by increasing the amount and variety of your reading material. You’ll enjoy greater success at work, and find yourself more comfortable in any social situation, as you’ll have the ability to hold a conversation on many topics, using the knowledge you’ve gained through reading.

Has your vocabulary study led to professional success? Tell us your story in the comments!

Is There One Correct Way to Speak English?

January 21, 2011

For nearly 500 years the kings and queens of England ruled over an empire that at its height reached all around the world, from the green meadows of Ireland to the lush jungles along the Nile River, in the hot and dusty streets of New Delhi and across the wide red plains of the Australian desert, with opium traders in Hong Kong and fur traders in Canada, and far out in the Pacific Ocean on the remote Pitcairn Islands, home to the descendants of the sailors on the Bounty. The English language followed the settlers, explorers, conquerors and colonizers, but because in most of these lands there were people there already, with their own native languages, the English spoken by the colonizers became mingled with the language of the colonies, and different dialects of English evolved, each with their own vocabulary and pronunciation. Depending on where a person was born and educated in the British Empire, the version of English they spoke could be quite different, yet each would think their way was correct.

Back in England at the beginning of the 20th century, Henry and Frances Fowler wrote The King’s English and in it attempted to set the definition for the “truly correct” way to speak. While much of what they tried to standardize has changed – because a living language will always change, no matter how many standards are set – it’s not a book that today’s student of English can go to for the most recent rules on vocabulary and pronunciation. However, the book had a great impact on how the upper class in England learned to speak, and that in turn influenced how the English language was taught and spoken around the world. Even today, the phrase “speaking the King’s English” is used to refer to someone whose diction and vocabulary is precise and accurate, with little or no regional dialect.

Even today there are people who believe that the English language can still be held to a higher standard. The Queen’s English Society try to keep the rules of grammar and pronunciation fixed and accurate, and encourage the media to follow them. There is no comparable national organization in the United States, which may explain this famous quote attributed to George Bernard Shaw: “The United States and Great Britain are two countries separated by a common language.”

New Vocabulary Resources for 2011

January 20, 2011

If you’re looking for books, flash cards, or other printed material to add to your library of vocabulary study guides, here are some recommendations for materials and resources that will help you in achieving your 2011 vocabulary study goals:

Cracking the TOEFL iBT, 2011 Edition (Princeton Review)
The Princeton Review is a well-known and highly-regarded organization that focuses on helping people prepare for standardized tests, including the SAT, GRE, and TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). This new edition of “Cracking the TOEFL” provides you with a CD of audio exercises, a practice test that mimics the real tests’s length and format, helpful tips on how to improve your writing ability as well as your vocabulary and grammar skills, and some useful information on the practical aspects of taking the TOEFL, including testing locations and instructions on how to organize your study plans for this specific examination.

365 New Words-A-Year (Merriam-Webster)
It’s not too late to buy a calendar for your office or home workspace, and you might even get one at a discount right now. This page-a-day calendar is perfect to put by your computer or telephone where you can rest your eyes and expand your vocabulary at the same time. We like this calendar because it includes a wide variety of vocabulary words (rugosity and flaneur are two of our favorites) and their definitions, plus pronunciation guides and example sentences. It’s a quick and easy way to add a little extra to your vocabulary study time.

How to Sound Clever (Hubert van den Bergh)
The subtitle “Master the 600 English Words You Pretend to Understand When You Don’t” really says it all. Even (or perhaps especially) those people who have a good working vocabulary sometimes nod wisely at someone else’s statement even if they aren’t entirely sure they understand the meaning of one of the words used. This happens frequently in the workplace – we’re sure you’ve been in a meeting like this. Take some time to read this book, and you’ll be confident using any of these 600 words (and able to explain them, too!).