Ultimate Vocabulary – Vocabulary Building Software

Ultimate Vocabulary Boldly Goes … to the Oxford English Dictionary

April 18, 2012

This spring’s updates to the OED see the addition of words that should be useful to anyone who dreams of traveling to other planets some day. Reach for the stars, and add these four stellar words to your vocabulary.

astrogation (ASS-troh-GAY-shun) noun
Like the well-known word navigation, this word has to do with travel, as you can see by the Latin root word agere (“to drive”) which forms the last half of both words. However, where navigation originally had to do with finding your way when sailing over the ocean (navis means “ship”), the ships of the future will drive between the stars (aster is the Greek word meaning “star”). An astrogator will plan the route her spaceship will use as she navigates around planetary gravitational fields, asteroids, and supernovae on the way to far-flung galaxies.

geosynchronous (gee-oh-SIN-kroh-nuss) adjective
Although we’re still far from interstellar travel, this word should be familiar to anyone who uses modern communication technologies, because many television, radio, and telephone systems use satellites in geosynchronous orbits to send signals. Geosynchronous literally translates to “Earth-together-time” if you look at its Greek root words (geo- = Earth; syn- = together; kronos = time), and refers to the satellite’s orbit when it matches the rotation of the Earth.

ionopause (eye-ON-oh-pawz) noun
The International Space Station (which is not in geosynchronous orbit) stays in the ionosphere, which is a layer of the Earth’s atmosphere where the ionizing radiation from the sun creates a layer of charged particles. The ionopause is the upper boundary of this layer, right below the exosphere – the very last layer before you reach outer space.

metamaterial (MEH-tah-muh-TEE-ree-uhl) noun
One of the things the astronauts do on the ISS is experiment with compounds and combinations of substances that can’t or don’t occur naturally on Earth, mostly due to the gravity-free environment of space. The goal of many scientists is to find ways to create these precisely-engineered metamaterials (using the Greek root meta-, which means “over, beyond”) and develop new ways to build stronger and better tools and equipment to keep space exploration moving forward in the 21st century.

What’s the Difference Between Homonyms and Homophones?

April 17, 2012

We’ve talked about homophones before on this blog (and you can find more information on them here), and have reviewed homonyms as well, but it’s been a while, and it’s useful to review these terms to keep the differences fresh in your mind. In order to help define these terms, let’s use their etymology – a tool that can help you understand the meaning of words, and also remember the definitions for the future.

As a matter of fact, let’s look up three words: homograph, homophone, and homonym. Obviously, the words share one root in common, the prefix homo-, which comes from the Greek word homos, meaning “the same.” You’ll find the last half of each word in Greek as well:

graphein = “to write”
phone = “sound, voice”
onoma = “name”

By knowing the meaning of the words’ roots, you should be able to easily guess the meaning of each word:

homophone means “sounding the same”
Examples: through (“going from one side to the other”) and threw (past tense of the verb “to throw”)

homograph means “written the same”
Examples: suspect (pronounced SUSS-pekt, “someone believed guilty of wrongdoing”) and suspect (pronounced suss-PEKT, “to have a feeling or idea, but no proof, of something”)

homonym means “named the same”
Examples: sound (an adjective meaning “in good shape, undamaged”), sound (a noun meaning “a narrow body of water between two larger bodies of water”), and sound (a verb meaning “to make noise”)

As you can see, homophones don’t have to be spelled the same, and homographs don’t have to be pronounced the same. However, homonyms must both be spelled and pronounced identically, and have different meanings. In this respect, the idea of having the “same name” is like two people sharing a name – they might both be named Alex, but they’re entirely different individuals.

By combining your research into a word’s etymology, its spelling, its pronunciation, and its definition, you’ll get a well-rounded education in that word, and it will quickly become a useful and permanent part of your vocabulary.

Always Be Hungry To Learn New Words

April 12, 2012

One of the best, and easiest, ways to improve your vocabulary is by becoming an insatiable reader. The best thing about using reading to expand your vocabulary is that it works both ways: by developing a more extensive vocabulary, you’ll improve your ability to read quickly and with better comprehension, because you’ll know the words you’re reading and won’t have to either guess at meanings or stop to look things up. For example, did you know the exact definition of the word insatiable in the first sentence above, or did you skim over it and infer its meaning through context? While that’s a valid way to handle unknown or unfamiliar words, you’re running the risk of misunderstanding key points in the text if you always have to guess at meanings.

Reading introduces you to new words, and your vocabulary study techniques allow you to build on those words so you’re learning groups of them at one time. Take the word insatiable, and apply some of the study tips to it that we’ve discussed in previous posts on this site. A good place to start is with the word’s etymology, so you can find out more about the word. If you look up the roots of this word, you’ll see that it comes from the Latin root satiare (“to fill full”) with the prefix in- (“not”). Without even looking up the dictionary definition, you can put those two root words together to get the meaning “not filled full” – that is, not satisfied. “Insatiable” (pronounced ihn-SAY-shuh-bull) is an adjective usually paired with the words “hunger” or “desire” and used to describe the feeling of never having enough. If you’re an insatiable reader, it means you’re never tired of reading, and perhaps would rather be reading than doing anything else.

When you’re looking at the root word satiare you’ll probably notice that another word shares that root, the verb satiate (“to satisfy, to fill to completeness”). If you pair those words together in your mind, you’ll be able to learn them both – and you can add even more words to the group by including the related words satiation (noun: the state of being completely filled or satisfied) and satiated (adjective: completely satisfied, usually referring to being full of food).

To increase your exposure to as many words as possible, pick from a variety of sources and topics. Keep a notepad handy to jot down words you’re not sure of so you can look them up later and practice them. As your vocabulary and reading skills improve, you’re sure to be satisfied with your progress and achievements.

Cross-posted at the 7 Speed Reading blog.

No-Nonsense Vocabulary Study Tips

April 10, 2012

With all of the vocabulary tips available on hundreds (thousands!) of internet sites, how can you sort out the good advice from some random farrago of nonsense that’s been cut-and-pasted from unverified sources? Rely on Ultimate Vocabulary, of course, and if you’re reading other sites, make sure that they’re giving you useful and practical information that’s been based on scientific study, educational research, and personal experience. One good way to tell if a site is valid is if it suggests incorporating word history into your study program, and reminds you to check the etymology of a word when you’re learning it so that you’ll have a better understanding of the word, as well as a deeper mental connection between the word and its definition, which helps with memory and recall.

For example, let’s look at the word farrago used in the previous paragraph. If you look the word up in a good dictionary, you’ll see that they provide the information that it comes from the Latin word for grain, far, and that a farrago was a kind of mixed porridge made of various types of grains, often used for animal feed. You can get a visual image of this mess of mush, and link it to the modern definition of the word, which is “a collection of miscellaneous items, often of poor quality.” In general, we use the word in a negative sense, as seen in this quote from a British newspaper a few years ago:

Like millions of others, I now bitterly resent that a prime minister could use such a farrago of lies and manipulation to deceive us and to take the nation to war so dishonestly. (Michael Meacher, The Guardian, December 1, 2006)

The idea of mixing in a variety of techniques, however, is a good one. Studies have shown that the more ways you approach a topic, and the more ways you involve your brain in the process, the better able you are to learn quickly and remember what you’ve learned. Looking up a word’s etymology will get you thinking about different facets of the word’s definition and roots, and about related words. Looking up the word in context to see how skilled writers use it will give you clues as to how you can include the word in your own written communication. Finally, practicing the word by creating your own example sentences will stimulate your creativity, and the act of writing them out will involve the areas of your brain related to motor movement, which will add to the connections your mind makes and strengthen your ability to recall and correctly use the word in the future.

Learn to separate the wheat from the chaff, and you’ll find kernels of wisdom that you can apply to improve your vocabulary and boost your study program’s success.

The Cultural Importance of Vocabulary

April 6, 2012

If you’re a student of anthropology, you’ve probably read about the status that educated people have enjoyed throughout history, whether it’s the oral historians of earlier civilizations or the skilled authors and researchers of our modern technological societies. While it’s true that artists have also been held in high esteem, a person’s ability to read, write, and communicate has played a large role in determining their level of sophistication and how they’re regarded by others. Someone with a large vocabulary and the ability to use words in a specific and effective way will generally attain a higher level of power, whether that’s personal power or political influence. These days, politicians routinely employ speechwriters to create the compelling phrases that get voters’ attention, and millions of dollars are spent on advertisements that select words as carefully as images. The written works left behind by scientists and philosophers continue to add to the accumulated store of knowledge we’ve achieved over the centuries,

The word anthropology comes from the Greek root words for “mankind” and “the study of” – it’s the study of humanity, in other words. The suffix -ology should be familiar to you from all of the other fields people devote themselves to, such as biology, archaeology, oncology, and so on. Many people pick one of these fields and focus on it, learning the vocabulary specific to that field. The particular words used in a certain area of study are often completely incomprehensible to those outside the field, but many words are useful no matter what your area of interest is.

One good way to learn powerful and useful vocabulary words is to look at the terminology (sometimes called “jargon”) used in one particular field. This is especially important if you’re trying to change careers or learn a new subject at school; your understanding of the basic vocabulary used by your instructors, texts, or co-workers is essential for your rapid advancement. College texts are good places to learn not only vocabulary but facts about any topic, and a used-book store near a university is an excellent resource for your own study. If you’re in a professional field, be sure to subscribe to the related trade journals and topical magazines, and you’ll be able to keep up on new advances as well as the new words used to describe them.

With your ability to use advanced terminology effectively, you’ll quickly move up to the highest levels of society.

If You Thought English Was Hard …

April 4, 2012

While we celebrate the richness of English vocabulary, we also often complain about its weird spelling rules (or the many exceptions to those rules). However, compared to some other languages around the world, English speakers actually have a pretty easy time of it. When you look at the word formation, grammatical construction, and spelling options of a few languages in particular, you might be glad you’ve chosen to work on improving your English instead of diving into those difficult languages. And if you’re a native speaker of one of them, congratulations! Learning new English vocabulary should be a piece of cake, a walk in the park, a breeze – except for all the strange idioms, of course.

A recent article in The Economist illustrates some of the twists your tongue must take in order to accurately pronounce many world languages, as well as some of the grammatical complexity not found in English. In addition, the article says, English really isn’t that difficult even in terms of spelling; it’s “a relatively simple language, absurdly spelled.” It’s true that in English you’ll find sets of words like though, grow, toe, soul, and coast that all use different combinations of letters to represent the sound OH (the “long O” sound), but this situation also occurs in many European languages. However, English doesn’t have what those languages often do, which is a set of diacritical marks (or “accent marks”) that are added on top, underneath, or through letters to change their pronunciation. We might be tired of dealing with the number of ways that five vowels can be combined to form sounds, but at least we only have five – think of French, which has those five vowels, but also four accent marks that can be applied to each, multiplying the possibilities far beyond the wildest nightmares of the English speller!

Keep working on learning new English vocabulary words, and the proper spelling of each of those words, and you’ll find it’s all much simpler in the end than you dreamed.

Cross-posted at the Ultimate Spelling blog.

Top Ten Words to Use This Week

April 2, 2012

One of the things we like about the Merriam-Webster dictionary site – other than the fact that it’s a good resource for word definitions and audio pronunciation guides – is its “top ten” word list categories, which bring to our attention words we haven’t used enough or (rarely, we say modestly) words we’ve never even heard of. If you’re lacking in inspiration and don’t know which words to study next, we suggest that you page through their lists. We’re sure you’ll find at least a dozen words that will be useful to you, whether in a conversation, while preparing for a presentation at work, or in the middle of a piece of literature you’re enjoying reading. If nothing else, reading through these interesting and often unusual words should spark your enthusiasm to get your vocabulary study program moving again.

From the “Unusual Colors” list:

damask (DAM-ask) adjective
A light rose color with a slight grayish tinge. The name probably comes from the “damask rose” frequently mentioned in Medieval literature.

puce (PYEWC) adjective
A medium-dark red with a brownish tinge.

From the “Bizarre Meanings” list:

poltophagy (pahl-TAH-fuh-gi) noun
The act of chewing food until it is the consistency of porridge before swallowing. Many people in the 19th century believed that this was the most healthful way to eat, and that it improved digestion. (We’ve got to admit this was a new word for us!)

From the “Unusual Phobias” list:

doraphobia (dor-ah-PHO-bee-ah) noun
An aversion to touching an animal’s fur or skin.

hypnophobia (HIP-noh-PHO-bee-ah) noun
The fear of sleeping.

ophidiophobia (oh-FIH-dee-oh-PHO-bee-ah) noun
An unusually strong fear of snakes.

From the “Things You Didn’t Know Have Names” list:

escutcheon (ess-KUT-chun) noun
You’ve probably come across this word for “shield” when reading anything that relates to knights or chivalry, but did you know that it’s also the name of the metal plate that surrounds a keyhole?

From the “Surprising Food” list:

sweetbreads (SWEET-brehdz) noun
The thymus gland of a young calf – it’s neither sweet nor made of bread.

ladyfingers (LAY-dee-fin-gurs) noun
These sweet oval sponge biscuits have been used in desserts for centuries, and are often dipped or soaked in wine.

alewives (AYL-wives) noun
Definitely not the source of ladyfingers! Alewives are small herring.

What’s your favorite list?

Emphasizing the Importance of Pronunciation

March 28, 2012

When you’re learning a new word, it’s not enough simply to memorize its definition and spelling. While these will help you get by in strictly written formats, you’ll soon be confused when you’re listening to English being spoken, especially if English is not your first language. An essential part of English vocabulary study is pronunciation: the way the word is said out loud, including the vowel and consonant sounds, and the emphasis on one or more syllables. Learning a word’s pronunciation will help you distinguish between the words height (with a long “i” sound as in time) and weight (with a long “a” sound as in day). These two words look as if their vowel clusters should be pronounced the same, but they’re obviously different. Just think about what happens when you mix up the vowel sounds:

height pronounced with a long “a” sounds like hate
weight pronounced with a long “i” sounds like white

It would confuse your listeners if they heard you say “fifty grams is the average white of an egg” or “her enthusiasm for the project reached new hates.” Remember, you might be spelling words correctly in your written correspondence, but if your pronunciation is incorrect, you’ll be failing in your verbal communication.

Another area of difficulty with the pronunciation of some English words is that the stressed syllable (the syllable that gets the most emphasis) can be the only difference between two heteronyms, words that are spelled the same way but have different pronunciations. Take a look at these word pairs:

content
When pronounced CONtent, this is a noun meaning “that which is contained or included.” When pronounced conTENT, it’s an adjective that means “happy and satisfied.”

perfect
If you pronounce this word perFECT then you’re using it as a verb that means “to remove all flaws from.” As an adjective, it’s pronounced PERfect.

Learn how to pronounce new words by using the audio features of your online dictionary or vocabulary improvement software, or by looking up the IPA for the word. Once you’ve integrated this aspect of vocabulary into your study routine, you’ll be perfectly content with your rapid progress.

For more pronunciation tips, click here.

Regionalisms in English

March 27, 2012

Look outside – is the sky slatchy? You might be worried about the forecast for the weekend, because you’ve got a big braai planned. Of course, if it’s too cold, you can always ask your guests to bring some waggas. On the other hand, they’ll have to bring their cooling glasses if it’s hot and sunny!

No matter where you are in the world, where people speak English, they’ll alter the language to suit themselves, their needs, and their history. Whether these words and terms make it into the “official” English language isn’t as important as whether people can make themselves mutually understood. Even in this age of global tech-connectedness, if you brought together a person from the Northeastern United States, one from South Africa, one from Perth, Australia, and one from Kerala in India – the origins of the words we used above – they’d probably have more than one instance of mutual incomprehension, though all were speaking English.

All this is to say that it’s important to constantly keep learning new vocabulary words, and to keep your ears open for the words that are being used by people around you. Read newspapers for both formal and informal English, and be sure to tune into local news programs in the areas you’re visiting. Better yet, make friends in new places and you’ll gain insights into the local culture as well as the current vocabulary, and that will make you feel just champion.

slatchy – blue sky patched with quickly-moving storm clouds (NE United States)
braai – barbecue (South Africa)
wagga – a small blanket or covering (Perth, Australia)
cooling glasses – sunglasses (Kerala, India)
champion – very well, very good (Yorkshire, England)

Quotes About English

March 16, 2012

Among the many topics we use English to discuss, language itself (English or otherwise) is a popular one, especially for people who make their living with words. We’ve found several quotes about the interest in and importance of vocabulary, and added some reminders about why you should be interested, too. Vocabulary improvement will improve your life – and you can quote us on that.

We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary. – James D. Nicoll, “The King’s English” (1990)

No matter where words come from, there’s no doubt that English is a constantly-expanding language. You’ll find that your understanding of words is improved when you take the time to look up word origins and see how those words entered into English, and how they were used in their native country as well.

Wer fremde Sprachen nicht kennt, weiss nichts von seiner eigenen. (He who is ignorant of foreign languages, knows not his own.) – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “Kunst und Alterthum” (1827)

As pointed out above, new words are constantly arriving in English from other lands. By learning another language yourself, you’ll improve your knowledge of English.

Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. Never use a long word where a short one will do. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. Never use the passive voice where you can use the active. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous. – George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language” (1946)

The more words you know, the better you’ll be at choosing exactly the right word for the right occasion. Learn synonyms to expand your vocabulary, adjust your word choice to your audience, and above all don’t be boring and repetitive.

… for whatever the world might esteem in poor Somervile, I really find, upon critical enquiry, that I loved him for nothing so much as his floccinaucinihilipilification of money. – William Shenstone, (1741)

The Oxford English Dictionary lists “floccinaucinihilipilification” as the second longest word in the English language (they have “pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism” as the first). The definition of “floccinaucinihilipilification” is “regarding something as unimportant or worthless.” This is the opposite of how you should regard your daily vocabulary study.

Every quotation contributes something to the stability or enlargement of the language. – Samuel Johnson, “A Dictionary of the English Language” (1755)

The more you read, the more words you’ll learn. Besides reading, you can listen to lectures or talks by well-educated, articulate speakers and gain an understanding of the words they use as well as the ability to emulate how they use them.

NETWORK — Any thing reticulated or decussated, at equal distances, with interstices between the intersections.

This definition from Johnson’s “Dictionary” goes against Orwell’s recommendations, but nevertheless is a good reminder that in vocabulary improvement, as in all things, everything is connected. Keep reading, writing, and studying English vocabulary, and soon others will be quoting your wisdom!