In the last post we talked briefly about how a good vocabulary will help you become a more informed citizen, and why it’s important to make an effort to understand the political and governmental issues at all levels, from your local town council to national legislation that will impact your country as a whole. In order to do that, you need to be familiar with the words that are used in the political process, and when people are discussing that process. Here are some English words you’ll find useful when doing your research or reading an article about the issues of the day:

appropriation (uh-PRO-pree-AY-shun) noun
Definition: The assignment of funds by a governing body towards a specific purpose.
For example, part of a budget might include funds that are needed for road and bridge repairs, and the legislators will vote on measures or bills that appropriate those monies from the general treasury and assign them specifically to those repairs. The words appropriate and appropriation come from the Latin roots ad- (“towards”) and propriare (“to take as one’s own”). Notice that in this case we’re using the word appropriate as a verb; as a verb it’s pronounced uh-PRO-pree-ATE, but as an adjective meaning “suitable or proper” it’s pronounced uh-PRO-pree-uht.

constituent (con-STIH-tyu-uhnt) noun
Definition: A person who is represented by an elected official.
Individual constituents are combined to make up a constituency, which is the group of all people so represented. A constituent might not have voted for the person currently representing them, but they have the right to vote in subsequent elections to try to get their choice of representative. In a broader sense, the word constituent means “a part of a larger whole.” A single constituent is part of a larger group of people, a single constituent state or county is part of a larger geographic area under the same government.

referendum (REH-fer-EN-dum) noun
Definition: A proposed law or amendment that is referred to the public for their vote.
If you’re a constituent who is registered to vote, and a measure regarding appropriations for road and bridge repairs is placed on the ballot as a referendum, you have the opportunity to approve or disapprove that particular measure.

Are there terms you’ve been confused by in recent elections? Leave us your questions in the comments, and we’ll provide definitions.