Better Living

www.drjimshealthtips.com By James W. Jones, MD, PhD, MHA

It Should Be Considered Beneficiary and Even Necessary to Acquire an Extraordinary Vocabulary

A lifestyle improvisation I have employed throughout my adult lifetime is to ferret out areas of experience that are vital, but considered secondary and just exist on their own without requiring attention. These issues, once identified, are fully evaluated, and a determination made whether they can be improved; if so, one’s personal standard of living would be significantly enhanced. Certainly, one such area is our personal vocabulary. Our beginning vocabularies of English words were brought to England during the 5th to 7th centuries from Western Germany by AngloSaxon immigrants displacing Celtic languages. Wow! That part of the English lexicon is known today as Old English, because it underwent substantial revamping when the Normans conquered Britain in 1066. Words are the magical illuminators of our thought realms. They cheer up, clarify, circumscribe, comfort, and even coerce--depending on choice of words and intonation. Vocabulary can be used to estimate the intelligence of persons by listeners and readers, and consequently indicates the merit of individuals. Candidates for jobs, admission to organizations, and esteem of associate’s level of lexicon differentiates. Thus, it seems enhancing one’s vocabulary is a worthwhile pursuit. Indeed! When listening (or especially when reading), paying close attention to the words is crucial. Eagerly look for new words you do not understand fully and make a note of them. I have a list of many pages of such findings accumulated over years. Included are words that were recognized, but of which I was not fully certain, and included were particularly meaningful words I don’t usually utilize. An easy and significant system to supplement your vocabulary is to subscribe to a “Word of the Day” site. Merriam-Webster is excellent, as are several others, to feature an interesting, useful word that just pops up, fully defined, in your email. The vocabulary enhancement process requires a dictionary be handy to obtain precise definitions of newly found words. I have copies of the standard, bound dictionaries handy. However, modern technology provides easier and much more efficient means of finding definitions. An especially helpful source is a website named “OneLook Dictionary,” which is certainly true to its name because, when the word is entered, many top dictionaries offer definitions. Utilizing a thesaurus when gaining access to new words is helpful to see shades of meaning of similar words.

Flashcards are a souped-up approach to jumpstarting vocabulary acquisition for those so inclined with the intellectual aptitude and forbearance, but this is not for everyone. In choosing that approach, start slowly with a few cards; gradually add more to fit your tolerance, so as not to strain your memory capacity. A further enhancement to memory of new words is to know their etymology. Vocabulary as a “list of words with understanding of their meanings” comes into the English language in the early 1500s from the Medieval Latin word vocabularium “a list of words,” from Latin vocabulum “word,” which derived from vocare “to name or to call”.

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