Thread: Vocabulary challenges

Hi Everyone!

I want to expand my writing vocab. I use an app on iPhone to learn new words. Works pretty good. I have learned a lot of new words this way. Problem is, when I write, I can never think of all the great words that I know. For some reason, words simply do not come to mind when I write. It's almost as though writing is engaging one part of my brain, yet the part of my brain that stores all those words I know is inaccessible. Like there is a block of some sort that doesn't allow the words to come into my stream of consciousness as I write

Does this make sense?

In other words (pardon pun), I have a DEEP vocabulary. I read incessantly (since childhood), I know definitions to most words that are in play, even at the academic level. But for some reason those words don't seem available to me as I write.

Do you think this could be due to the stream of consciousness style of writing I engage in? I ask because I wonder if a lot of writers infuse those great words on their second or third pass, but generally not on the first..?

The bottom line is that I want to know how to draw upon my massive vocabulary in my writing but I don't know how. The words simply do not occur to me when I write.. especially from a stream of consciousness. I find I can write colloquially with EASE, but not with an respectable command of the language, like say an EB White or even Christ Hitchens.

Any tips, ideas how to get my words into my writing?

Thanks!

Only guessing, but maybe there is a gap between the part of you learning words and the language part using words. I note words that I do not know in the front of a book as I am reading, then later I look them up and go back and re-read them in context. I can't say all of them stick, but having that context does help.

Well, for a start, writing is not about using high-faluting words and phrases. It's about telling a story, and nothing p***es off a reader quicker than having to reach for the dictionary ten times on the first page. Don't get me wrong, a broad vocabulary is a great tool for any writer, but sometimes everyday words are better than formal ones. I think it was The Elements of Style which said, "Never use a five-dollar word where a fifty-cent one will do the job just as well or better".

Plus, using these words can sometimes backfire. Readers might think you're trying to show off, and may start to consider you pompous. Stick with the basics. Use a word because it works; not because you know it and it sounds and looks good.

Surprisingly - You cannot, can not, make words your own by memorising definitions. You have to see words in context.

In other words, you have to read. There's no other way.

Use a word because it works; not because you know it and it sounds and looks good.

Where did I say I wanted to use a word because it 'sounds and looks GOOD'???

For your edification, I want to expand my vocabulary in my writing because I often am trying to express something and it takes me ten words to say what other writers can with ONE word. THAT is why I want to learn more words.. for efficiency and eloquence .. in the spirit of minimalism... NOT to impress people... or God forbid hinder their reading flow.

You took some HUGE liberties with my post. Ever try asking clarifying questions before you lecture people? You oughta try it some time

Maybe I can offer a fresh concept, and bring the train back on track.

People learn in a variety of ways; by seeing, hearing, doing, saying, writing, repeating, touching, etc, etc. If you're just using one of these methods to increase your vocabulary (sight), then it's not really going to work for you.

I've seen studies on university students. I'm going to use pretend figures here because I don't remember the specifics, but if you're interested you can do the google legwork: Those that listen to the lecturer talk, recall maybe 10% of the information. If they hear him talk as well as watch a diagram/text/illustration, they are twice as likely to recall it. If they also write it down, they're likely to recall maybe 25% of it.

The real difference with learning, is that when people are asked to repeat what they've learnt, they are much more likely to recall it; above 50%. If they have to draw new conclusions from those details, they are highly likely to recall it; maybe 75%.

More studies by Piaget and Vygotsky point out a striking observation with learning language. They've discovered that speech precedes logic. Meaning, that when first learning about the world, you don't truly know it until you say it. They explain this as being why young children talk to themselves, and why elderly people also do it (helps the mind form connections between the words and actions/events). A young child has trouble understanding that it can play with a set of cars without making sounds and describing the scenes that are happening. To put differently; when presented with white noise, the children stopped playing; unable to talk, they cannot conceptualise the actions.

Next time you hear a fancy new word that you want to remember. Tell it to a friend. Explain what it means. Try using it in a sentence (even if it's the one given in the dictionary).

You'll see the results straight away.

I not only remember the words I've learnt this way, but who I told them to


>edit:

I'll point out quickly, to avoid confusion, that there are four methods of speech. Non-verbal thought, endophasic speech (inner speech), egocentric speech (outer speech for the self), and external (social) speech. As we progress in age, we're able to utilise more advanced versions of speech to help sort through information and learn from it. At a young age, we need social speech. As adults, we can get away with mostly endophasic and non-verbal thought. By non-verbal, I mean non-word thought or whole concept thoughts.

This is different from the subconscious connections that are being made that make initial verbal speech possible.

Also; we may get away with learning without talking as adults, but we still benefit from talking about concepts. How many times have you surprised yourself with some new insight on a topic as you've been describing it to someone else...?

(I'd better stop now.. you can see this topic interests me)

I'm pretty sure Sam W. meant that 'one' should use a word because it works; not because 'one' knows it and it sounds and looks good. So he was offering some sound advice, rather than attacking the OP.
I was reading Lionel Shriver's 'We need to talk about Kevin' and got as far as page 6. She is undoubtedly a very smart woman but I felt that instead of using fifty cent words, she was doing her utmost to use 100 dollar words. The final straw came when I read: There was something about Mary's gesture that I found, in an inchoate sort of way, rather elegant. Inchoate, Lionel? I didn't reach page 7.

Hmm.. google dictionary search for inchoate:
in·cho·ate

[in-koh-it, -eyt or, especially Brit., in-koh-eyt] Show IPA
–adjective 1. not yet completed or fully developed; rudimentary.
2. just begun; incipient.
3. not organized; lacking order: an inchoate mass of ideas on the subject.



May just be me.. but I'm not sure I see her intentions with the word choice either.

Thanks, Kris. It's clearly just you that has an inchoate vocabulary. The rest of the population of the world use the word about 10 times a day - in an inchoate way, of course.

I think that it is more of an issue of having the word on the tip of your tongue but not being able to remember it, yes?

The other day I was looking at cars with my hubby and there was a beautiful lavender blue colored car. For the life of me I couldn't think of the name of that color and it had been one of our wedding colors. Periwinkle.

There is a certain economy in words getting the right one with the specific meaning. Sure pale lavender blue would have worked fine but periwinkle takes up less space and is a very specific color. In that case I don't think it's a matter of using 50 dollar words when a 50 cent word would do. It's finding the specific word to suit your meaning.

OP- I like this site for finding words from concepts rather than a thesaurus. OneLook Reverse Dictionary

Thanks for the OneLook Reverse Dictionary tip Kat. Great help!