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Culture is learned, not inbred. So is the same for vocabulary. It cannot grow whimsically. Vocabulary or word stock is the building block of exquisite language framework. It is inevitable to develop word power for mouth-watering write-up. There are no words to describe its importance for unparalleled writing skills. The more you enrich your vocabulary, the better you can improve your linguistic faculty. A bright, punchy style of writing is highly appreciated.
Language must be aimed at for public consumption. If a write-up fails to satisfy public's reading comprehension and reflective faculty or at least arrest their attention, it cannot fall under any standard language category. However, word treasure is an ideal vehicle for flourishing your thoughts and ideas. Use of phrasal verbs and other idiomatic words add a sparkle to the language. Eco and word-warrior Sirajul Islam Chowdhury says, "English without phrasal verbs is just like the Taj Mahal without its polished marbles". But, it must be born in mind that choppy and long-winded article should be avoided as well. Rather, a terse and succinct mode of writing can easily touch a reader's mind.
Diction of words, spicy presentation and make it audience-friendly are pivotal points for a striking writing. All these factors have umbilical relations that represent the writer's in-depth and sparkling wit. Contrary to popular belief, English language is the best global language to learn it easily. To acquire a good knowledge of English is the same to have an acquired taste. Any foreign learner of English has unavoidable difficulties with semantically related words. What the native learners learn by instinct has got to be learnt by sheer practice and memorization. The more you become persistent of having something, the more will you find each easier to conquer than the last.
Actually, there is no royal road to stepping up vocabulary. Vocabulary building is a must for the students in their learning phase to encounter any inadvertent hurdle. Why is English language so rich in vocabulary? The reason is not so far to seek. It was the ability to incorporate loan words that made English so rich in vocabulary. New words and phrases are always entering the English language. What the native learners learn by instinct, the foreign learners of English like us have to grapple with them. We need the holistic approach to language learning. We should try to make lists of different categorical words, their antonyms, homonyms and synonyms. To learn how to make compound words using prefix and suffix is unspeakably unavoidable. To journey into the fathomless world of vocabulary the possession of a fairly language chunk, the fabric, subtleties and textures of language, felicity of words and sentences are tremendously essential. Add to this, the magnitude of reading English national dailies is not a hyperbole.
But, one thing to be mentioned here is that whenever we face an unknown word, we cannot accept it, not because of its poignancy but because of our unfamiliarity with the word. A strange new word seems difficult and unapproachable at first encounter. But, if you look at the word as a potential friend, you may find that it would open your heart and mind to more subtle, precise or colorful ways of expressing a thought, expounding an idea or describing an image; you'd see deeper nuances, greater richness and endless possibilities in the English. Instead, most people look at an unfamiliar word not just as an unnecessary hurdle but actually a personal affront to their current level of knowledge, making them feel hostile toward the word because it seems to underline some lacking on their part.
We all have a built-in psychological resistance to words that are foreign to the cosy vocabulary we have acquired over the years. Anything beyond its range is considered 'out of syllabus' and irritates us as if it were a piece of flint in the eye. It is understandably that by the time we are 25 years old our vocabulary is 95 percent complete as far as we are concerned. Only 5 percent more will be added during the remaining portion of our lives, unless we consciously choose to improve or enlarge it.
The active vocabulary of the average adult stops growing after passing out of school or college, unless of course he is a voracious reader, is in a language-related profession, or has a natural aptitude for absorbing new words into his repertoire. But we must take a distinction here: these days when people add new words to their vocabulary, they readily absorb slang, taboo and swear words, scientific-technological terminology, the vocabulary of socio-economic development and political news commentary jargons but look down on literary sounding words.
After leaving the portals of education and upon entering life, very seldom do people take down the dictionary to look up an unfamiliar word encountered during the course of the day's reading. Faced with an alien word, many adults respond first by sniffing suspiciously around it to guess its meaning, then ignore it and choose to simply ride over it irritably as if it were an uncalled for speed bump maliciously designed to slow down the pace of reading. We simply cannot disabuse ourselves of our deep-seated belief that if we don't know the new word, it is a useless word, which should be ignored, instead of being claimed as a weapon in the armory of thought; might we even say, a particularly incisive and mordant weapon of insightful speech or writing.
Okay, discerning readers! It is now time for a quotation break, but don't go away. Beecher said: 'Words are the pegs to hang ideas on'; Judd takes this to an even more fundamental level: 'Words are the instruments that make thought possible'. We think with words, and the richer, more varied our vocabulary, the more discriminating, selective and clear will be our thinking, because words lead to concept, which are the building blocks of reasoning. Complex sounding words are at our service to make language more precise and meaning more explicit, not to obfuscate and rub people the wrong way. However, the figurative use of words, the allegorical meaning and literary application of words add a sparkle to the cornucopia of vocabulary.
The writer studies English literature at DU.
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