Learning new words

Caitlin Black · Jan 18, 2010

I was listening to a metal CD today, and was again mesmerised by the ingenious use of words. I remembered that I didn't know some of the words being used, and I set out to change this fact.

So when I got home I pulled out the booklet for that CD and started writing down in a .txt file all the words I didn't know, and in another file all my favourite words from those songs that I never thought of when I'm writing.

I'm only partway through the CD doing it this way, and there's about 8 CDs I want to do this with (Cradle Of Filth has such beautiful wordplay) but I'm going to get back to it in a minute.

I was just wondering if anyone else has ever done something like this - have you written down words you didn't know or words you did know but never thought of while writing, in order to improve your writing in some way?

Note that the words I don't know I'll be looking up on dictionary.com and finding out what they mean, and writing the meaning into the .txt file...

Any other methods for remembering more words? There are so many words that I've learned the meaning of in my time, and then I forget what it means within the week because I never use those words. This is the first time I've ever tried writing them down.

Any stories?

Hi.

PoppysInARow · Jan 18, 2010

I'm terrible with vocabulary. You wouldn't know it by looking at my writing though. Every time I hear a new word, I memorize it. If I can't figure out what the word means from their conversation, I go and look it up later. I'm silently building my vocabulary... soon I will have an army! :e2fight:

Andrhia · Jan 18, 2010

I do not do this.

I don't see that merely inserting fancier words into my writing is going to help me tell a better story. If there's a word that isn't already in rotation in my existing vocabulary, then there's probably a good reason for it.

It's interesting, actually, to look back on some of the stuff I wrote back in high school. I used words then that I would not now, because I don't want the reader stumbling over the words on the way to the story. The more I write, the simpler my writing becomes.

Caitlin Black · Jan 18, 2010

I feel the need to learn new words, because a lot of the time I'll rack my brain for a word that I know I should know, but just can't think of it. Which is why I'm doing this. My writing I feel is a little too simple. I'm not just learning new words to make my writing seem impressive - I'm learning them because the words I want to write never spring to mind. There is a difference there...

That said, the bulk of my writing will remain simplistic.

Krintar · Jan 18, 2010

Andrhia said:
I don't see that merely inserting fancier words into my writing is going to help me tell a better story. If there's a word that isn't already in rotation in my existing vocabulary, then there's probably a good reason for it.

Sometimes that word is the perfect word. If you don't know of it, then you end up having to settle for the "best I can do" word.

Of course, I have the exact opposite problem; I know many, many words, but I rarely remember them when I need them. As a result, I'm certain that not only is there a perfect word, but I used it somewhere else two days ago and just can't remember it...

I still try to expose myself to new words where possible, but increasingly I'm finding that the ones I don't already know are so obscure I'll never have need of them anyway.

kuwisdelu · Jan 18, 2010

Andrhia said:
I do not do this.

I don't see that merely inserting fancier words into my writing is going to help me tell a better story. If there's a word that isn't already in rotation in my existing vocabulary, then there's probably a good reason for it.

It's interesting, actually, to look back on some of the stuff I wrote back in high school. I used words then that I would not now, because I don't want the reader stumbling over the words on the way to the story. The more I write, the simpler my writing becomes.

Some readers like coming across new and interesting words in a good story. I'm one of them.

David Wisehart · Jan 18, 2010

I keep a notebook near me, and read a lot. When I come across a word I don't know, I write it down and look it up later, then write the word again, using it in a new sentence.

Caitlin Black · Jan 18, 2010

Yeah, now that I have those .txt files on my laptop, I've already added a word I didn't know from someone here on AW. I think this could be the start of something big.

Andrhia · Jan 18, 2010

Krintar said:
Of course, I have the exact opposite problem; I know many, many words, but I rarely remember them when I need them. As a result, I'm certain that not only is there a perfect word, but I used it somewhere else two days ago and just can't remember it...

This is where I'm coming from. Language acquisition just isn't an active or intentional process for me anymore.

I've also whittled a lot of words from my common-use vocabulary because there is rarely or never a good time to use them. I can't think of many times when "impecunious" is going to be a better choice than "poor" or "penniless" or, better, a series of telling details -- "sneakers with the rubber soles peeled away." OK, I can think of one instance where "impecunious" would be the best choice, and that's if I were writing dialogue for a particularly pompous character.

As with all things related to process, it's going to vary depending on where you are and where you're going. The question, though, was do you do this thing? I don't, and that's why not.

All that said, I do have an ongoing process of assimilating new (as in did-not-exist-before) words and idioms. For the win, dooced, the splendor that is urban dictionary, etc., etc. Language is a growing thing, and you do have to grow along with it, or sooner or later you'll sound flat and old-fashioned. That's not something I have to work for, though, it's just something that happens by continuing to consume words.

blacbird · Jan 18, 2010

A minor boast: I actually possess a pretty broad vocabulary, possibly a result of long-time work in a scientific field, and the necessity for public presentations of information.

But that doesn't mean I feel the need to insert esoteric words into my fiction. Fiction writers I most admire include:

Graham Greene
Kurt Vonnegut
Mark Twain
John Steinbeck
Carson McCullers
Flannery O'Connor
Philip K. Dick
Anthony Burgess
James M. Cain
John D. MacDonald

You won't find much fanciness of prose among any of them. Writers I do not so much admire include:

James Joyce
Tom Robbins
Thomas Pynchon
John Barth
John Hawkes
Donald Barthelme

All of whom indulge in either self-congratulatory intricate esoteria or intricate constructions of words.

Life is too short. Just because you know what "chalybeate" means, and how properly to pronounce it, doesn't mean you have an obligation to use it in a story.

caw

JoshW · Jan 18, 2010

I've written down words I heard in songs that I never knew. It turned out that I was just mis-hearing some the words and they weren't even real. Then I stopped doing that.

wrangler · Jan 18, 2010

Cliff Face said:
I was listening to a metal CD today, and was again mesmerised by the ingenious use of words. I remembered that I didn't know some of the words being used, and I set out to change this fact.

So when I got home I pulled out the booklet for that CD and started writing down in a .txt file all the words I didn't know, and in another file all my favourite words from those songs that I never thought of when I'm writing.

I'm only partway through the CD doing it this way, and there's about 8 CDs I want to do this with (Cradle Of Filth has such beautiful wordplay) but I'm going to get back to it in a minute.

I was just wondering if anyone else has ever done something like this - have you written down words you didn't know or words you did know but never thought of while writing, in order to improve your writing in some way?

Note that the words I don't know I'll be looking up on dictionary.com and finding out what they mean, and writing the meaning into the .txt file...

Any other methods for remembering more words? There are so many words that I've learned the meaning of in my time, and then I forget what it means within the week because I never use those words. This is the first time I've ever tried writing them down.

Any stories?

Hi.

Yes, I do much of the same things as you. Continue on...

ChainsawLicker · Jan 18, 2010

I keep thesaurus.com on a tab on Firefox, next to dictionary.com. I never use words I'm completely unfamiliar with, though... I made that mistake once when I was in junior high. I wrote a short story based in during Roman times, and was looking up synonyms for death and dying. I found "quietus" and was like "Shit, that's awesome, it sounds all Latin and stuff."
My grandpa was a lit teacher, so he was all excited to read it. He started laughing because quietus totally did not fit in the context I'd used it in. Ever since then, I've been really careful with my thesaurus. lol

kuwisdelu · Jan 18, 2010

blacbird said:
A minor boast: I actually possess a pretty broad vocabulary, possibly a result of long-time work in a scientific field, and the necessity for public presentations of information.

But that doesn't mean I feel the need to insert esoteric words into my fiction. Fiction writers I most admire include:

Graham Greene
Kurt Vonnegut
Mark Twain
John Steinbeck
Carson McCullers
Flannery O'Connor
Philip K. Dick
Anthony Burgess
James M. Cain
John D. MacDonald

You won't find much fanciness of prose among any of them. Writers I do not so much admire include:

James Joyce
Tom Robbins
Thomas Pynchon
John Barth
John Hawkes
Donald Barthelme

All of whom indulge in either self-congratulatory intricate esoteria or intricate constructions of words.

Life is too short. Just because you know what "chalybeate" means, and how properly to pronounce it, doesn't mean you have an obligation to use it in a story.

caw

Heh. I, on the other hand, love Pynchon and Joyce and hate Twain and Steinbeck with a violent passion.

My thought process is:

Life is too short. Life is too short to use only the simple words. I want to make the best of life while it lasts and use the interesting ones

Caitlin Black · Jan 18, 2010

For the record, the words I was interested in learning were more along the lines of gossamer, dulcit, and vestal. I know them roughly in context, but I don't know exactly what they mean. The real "thinky" words such as what might be used in a show like Frasier, which are basically just long words that mean the same thing as shorter, still interesting, words, (with a minor difference) - these are words I will probably never learn. There's about as many of those as there are "normal" words, and they basically just give you a secondary vocabulary for saying the same things.

But I'd still like to learn as many words as possible. There's a fine line between interesting and pompous, and I'd like to make a judgment call with each individual "smarty" word when I come to them.

They should make a dictionary for ONLY the really obscure words that are more pompous than anything else. Hell, there probably is a dictionary for such words...

Meanwhile, I should probably take the time to read through a dictionary some day (or rather, 26 days... I couldn't manage more than 1 letter a day considering it's not prose). That's on my list of "I should probably read these to be a little more informed" along with The Bible, which I've tried to read twice, and never got past the first chapter. I'd much rather read about goddesses kicking arse, as opposed to a dry work about the son of god. But then, if I could bring myself to read The Bible, I'd certainly be more informed, at least in regards to my atheism.

Peace.

JonSwift · Jan 18, 2010

I think its commendable having an extensive vocabulary even if we didn't write books. the hell's wrong with that?

kuwisdelu · Jan 18, 2010

JonSwift said:
I think its commendable having an extensive vocabulary even if we didn't write books. the hell's wrong with that?

A very good question, my friend.

shaldna · Jan 19, 2010

our teacher made us do this at school with out set reading, right from age 5. we were sent home with a notebook and we were to write in it any word we didn't know and bring it in to school the next day to have a 'word discovery' with the rest of the class.

I do that now with my daughter too, when we read we write down any word she doesn't know and then go and get the big A4 oxford out and look it up. It's like a ceremony. I then try to get her to use it in a sentance that day.

I think it's a very good way to learn new words, and in music I love the way people put words together, and sometimes that makes people see them in a whole new context.

kaitie · Jan 19, 2010

I've done it in Japanese. My vocabulary still sucks, but it does make me practice the words I don't know a bit more and generally means I recognize them (or at least realize I should recognize them) the next time I see them.

I've never really done this in English. I've read enough that I have a pretty decent vocabulary, and when I can't quite think of the word I want, I love using a thesaurus and playing around until I find something good.

On a completely unrelated note, I love writing pompous characters.

Caitlin Black · Jan 19, 2010

My main reason for still wanting to know the pompous words even though they're kind of superfluous is to be able to write pompous characters.

But seriously, I should look up dulcit... I'm sure it means something interesting.

shaldna · Jan 19, 2010

Cliff Face said:
But seriously, I should look up dulcit... I'm sure it means something interesting.

it's DULCET and it means pleasant or sweet to hear. for eg : her dulcet tones

Caitlin Black · Jan 19, 2010

Dulcet, check. Thanks. Hmm, no wonder I thought it would be interesting - it's sweet to hear.

sadron · Jan 19, 2010

Yeah. I have heard and learned some new words while listening to music CDs or from the net. I never wrote them down, because I use think I could remember, no.

Lady Ice · Jan 19, 2010

Read a lot. Some words crop up a lot, like 'seminal'.

Jamesaritchie · Jan 19, 2010

No, other than needed techinal jargon I may lack, I never go looking for words, and never make lists. But I do read quite a bit. Right now, I average around a hundred and fifty novels, thirty to forty nonfiction books, two hundred magazines, and three hundred sixty four newspapers, plus teh online research I do each year, so my vocabulary should be up to the task.

But I don't use a word just because I know it.

I keep some quotations handy that say it for me.

Mark Twain said: The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.

But he also said: I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English - it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don't let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don't mean utterly, but kill most of them - then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice.

And he said: An average English word is four letters and a half. By hard, honest labor I've dug all the large words out of my vocabulary and shaved it down till the average is three and a half... I never write "metropolis" for seven cents, because I can get the same money for "city." I never write "policeman," because I can get the same price for "cop."... I never write "valetudinarian" at all, for not even hunger and wretchedness can humble me to the point where I will do a word like that for seven cents; I wouldn't do it for fifteen.

E.B. White said: Use the smallest word that does the job.

James J. Kilpatrick said: Use familiar words—words that your readers will understand, and not words they will have to look up. No advice is more elementary, and no advice is more difficult to accept. When we feel an impulse to use a marvelously exotic word, let us lie down until the impulse goes away.

Leonardo da Vinci said: Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Anatole France said: The finest words in the world are only vain sounds if you can't understand them. The best sentence? The shortest.

It works for me.

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