*ocabulary .

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Vocabulary
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A person's vocabulary is the set of words within a language that are familiar to that person. A vocabulary usually develops with age, and serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the largest challenges in learning a second language.

Contents
!efinition and usage . "roductive and receptive .# !egree of knowledge .$ !epth of knowledge # %ypes of vocabulary #. &eading vocabulary #.# 'istening vocabulary #.$ (peaking vocabulary #.) Writing vocabulary $ Focal vocabulary ) *ocabulary growth + %he importance of a vocabulary , -ative. and foreign.language vocabulary si/e ,. -ative.language vocabulary si/e ,.# Foreign.language vocabulary ,.#. %he effects of vocabulary si/e on language comprehension ,.#. . (econd language vocabulary acquisition ,.#. .# 0emori/ation ,.#. .$ %he 1eyword 0ethod ,.$ Word lists 2 (ee also 3 Footnotes 4 &eferences 5 6xternal links

Definition and usage

*ocabulary is commonly defined as 7all the words known and used by a particular person7.8 9 Knowing a word, however, is not as simple as simply being able to recogni/e or use it. %here are several aspects of word knowledge which are used to measure word knowledge.

Productive and receptive

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The first major distinction that must be made when evaluating word knowledge is whether the knowledge is productive (also called achieve) or receptive (also called receive) and even within those opposing categories, there is often no clear distinction. Words that are generally understood when heard or read or seen constitute a person's receptive vocabulary. These words may range from well known to barely known (see degree of knowledge below). person's receptive vocabulary is the larger of the two. !or e"ample, although a young child may not yet be able to speak, write, or sign, he or she may be able to follow simple commands and appear to understand a good portion of the language to which he or she is e"posed. #n this case, the child's receptive vocabulary is likely tens, if not hundreds of words but his or her active vocabulary is $ero. When that child learns to speak or sign, however, the child's active vocabulary begins to increase. #t is possible for the productive vocabulary to be larger than the receptive vocabulary, for e"ample in a second%language learner who has learned words through study rather than e"posure, and can produce them, but has difficulty recogni$ing them in conversation. &roductive vocabulary, therefore, generally refers to words which can be produced within an appropriate conte"t and match the intended meaning of the speaker or signer. s with receptive vocabulary, however, there are many degrees at which a particular word may be considered part of an active vocabulary. 'nowing how to pronounce, sign, or write a word does not necessarily mean that the word has been used to correctly or accurately reflect the intended message of the utterance, but it does reflect a minimal amount of productive knowledge.

Degree of knowledge
Within the receptive(productive distinction lies a range of abilities which are often referred to as degree of knowledge. This simply indicates that a word gradually enters a person's vocabulary over a period of time as more aspects of word knowledge are learnt. )oughly, these stages could be described as* +. ,ever encountered the word. -. .eard the word, but cannot define it. /. )ecogni$e the word due to conte"t or tone of voice. 0. ble to use the word and understand the general and1or intended meaning, but cannot clearly e"plain it. 2. !luent with the word ( its use and definition.

Depth of knowledge
The differing degrees of word knowledge imply a greater depth of knowledge, but the process is more comple" than that. There are many facets to knowing a word, some of which are not hierarchical so their ac3uisition does not necessarily follow a linear progression suggested by degree of knowledge. 4everal frameworks of word knowledge have been proposed to better operationalise this concept. 5ne such framework includes nine facets* +. -. /. 0. 2. 6. 7. 8. orthography % written form phonology % spoken form reference % meaning semantics % concept and reference register % appropriacy of use collocation % le"ical neighbours word associations synta" % grammatical function

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9. morphology - word parts

Types of vocabulary
Listed in order of most ample to most limited:[2][3]

Reading vocabulary
A literate person's reading vocabulary is all the words he or she can recognize when reading. his is generally the largest type o! vocabulary simply because a reader tends to be e"posed to more words by reading than by listening. #n many cases$ notably %hinese characters$ as in %hinese and &apanese 'an(i$ where the pronunciation is not indicated by the written word$ some words may be part o! the written vocabulary but not the commonly spo'en language. )or e"ample$ a %hinese spea'er may not recognize that *gira!!e+ is pronounced qi lin$ a &apanese spea'er may not recognize that *gira!!e+ is pronounced kirin.

Listening vocabulary
A person's listening vocabulary is all the words he or she can recognize when listening to speech. ,eople may still understand words they were not e"posed to be!ore using cues such as tone$ gestures$ the topic o! discussion and the social conte"t o! the conversation.

Speaking vocabulary
A person's spea'ing vocabulary is all the words he or she uses in speech. #t is li'ely to be a subset o! the listening vocabulary. -ue to the spontaneous nature o! speech$ words are o!ten misused. his misuse . though slight and unintentional . may be compensated by !acial e"pressions$ tone o! voice$ or hand gestures.

Writing vocabulary
/ords are used in various !orms o! writing !rom !ormal essays to witter !eeds. 0any written words do not commonly appear in speech. /riters generally use a limited set o! words when communicating1 !or e"ample i! there are a number o! synonyms$ a writer will have his own pre!erence as to which o! them to use. he is unli'ely to use technical vocabulary relating to a sub(ect in which he has no 'nowledge or interest.

Focal vocabulary
)ocal vocabulary is a specialized set o! terms and distinctions that is particularly important to a certain group1 those with a particular !ocus o! e"perience or activity. A le"icon$ or vocabulary$ is a language's dictionary1 its set o! names !or things$ events$ and ideas. 2ome linguists believe that le"icon in!luences people's perception o! things$ the 2apir./hor! hypothesis. )or e"ample$ the 3uer o! 2udan have an elaborate vocabulary to describe cattle. he 3uer have dozens o! names !or cattle because o! the cattle's particular histories$ economies$ and environments. his 'ind o! comparison

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has elicited some linguistic controversy, as with the number of "Eskimo words for snow". English speakers with relevant specialised knowledge can also display elaborate and precise vocabularies for snow and cattle when the need arises.[4][5]

Vocabulary growth
Main article: Vocabulary development uring its infancy, a child instinctively builds a vocabulary. !nfants imitate words that they hear and then associate those words with ob"ects and actions. #his is the listening vocabulary. #he speaking vocabulary follows, as a child$s thoughts become more reliant on his%her ability to self&e'press without relying on gestures or babbling. (nce the reading and writing vocabularies start to develop, through )uestions and education, the child starts to discover the anomalies and irregularities of language. !n first grade, a child who can read learns about twice as many words as one who cannot. *enerally, this gap does not narrow later. #his results in a wide range of vocabulary by age five or si', when an English&speaking child will have learned about +5,, words.[-] .fter leaving school, vocabulary growth reaches a plateau. /eople usually then e'pand their vocabularies by e.g. reading, playing word games, and by participating in vocabulary&related programs. E'posure to traditional print media teaches correct spelling and vocabulary, while e'posure to te't messaging leads to more rela'ed word acceptability constraints.[0]

The importance of a vocabulary

.n e'tensive vocabulary aids e'pression and communication. 1ocabulary si2e has been directly linked to reading comprehension.[3] 4inguistic vocabulary is synonymous with thinking vocabulary.[3] . person may be "udged by others based on his or her vocabulary. 5ilkinson 6+7089 once said," 5ithout grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed."

Native- and foreign-language vocabulary size

Native-language vocabulary size
:ative speakers$ vocabularies vary widely within a language, and are especially dependent on the level of the speaker$s education. . +775 study shows that "unior&high students would be able to recogni2e the meanings of about +,,,,,;+8,,,, words, whereas for college students this number grows up to about +8,,,,;+0,,,, and for elderly adults up to about +0,,,,;8+,,,, or more.[7]

Foreign-language vocabulary
The effects of vocabulary size on language comprehension

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The knowledge of the words deriving from the 3000 most frequent English word families and the 5000 most frequent words provides a comprehension of 95% of word use,[ word families is necessar" for 99#9% word coverage#[citation needed!
Second language vocabulary acquisition
0!

and knowledge of 5000

$earning voca%ular" is one of the first steps in learning a second language, %ut a learner never finishes voca%ular" acquisition# &hether in one's native language or a second language, the acquisition of new voca%ular" is an ongoing process# There are man" techniques which help one acquire new voca%ular"#
Memorization

(lthough memori)ation can %e seen as tedious or %oring, associating one word in the native language with the corresponding word in the second language until memori)ed is considered one of the %est methods of voca%ular" acquisition# *" the time students reach adulthood, the" generall" have gathered a num%er of personali)ed memori)ation methods# (lthough man" argue that memori)ation does not t"picall" require the comple+ cognitive processing that increases retention ,-agarra . (l%a, /0001,[ ! it does t"picall" require a large amount of repetition, and spaced repetition with flashcards is an esta%lished method for memori)ation, particularl" used for voca%ular" acquisition in computer2assisted language learning# 3ther methods t"picall" require more time and longer to recall# -ome words cannot %e easil" linked through association or other methods# &hen a word in the second language is phonologicall" or visuall" similar to a word in the native language, one often assumes the" also share similar meanings# Though this is frequentl" the case, it is not alwa"s true# &hen faced with a false cognate, memori)ation and repetition are the ke"s to master"# 4f a second language learner relies solel" on word associations to learn new voca%ular", that person will have a ver" difficult time mastering false cognates# &hen large amounts of voca%ular" must %e acquired in a limited amount of time, when the learner needs to recall information quickl", when words represent a%stract concepts or are difficult to picture in a mental image, or when discriminating %etween false cognates, rote memori)ation is the method to use# ( neural network model of novel word learning across orthographies, accounting for $ 2specific memori)ation a%ilities of $/2learners has recentl" %een introduced ,5ad)i%eganovic . 6annas, /0091#[
The Keyword Method
/!

3ne useful method of %uilding voca%ular" in a second language is the ke"word method# 4f time is availa%le or one wants to emphasi)e a few ke" words, one can create mnemonic devices or word associations# (lthough these strategies tend to take longer to implement and ma" take longer in recollection, the" create new or unusual connections that can increase retention# The ke"word method requires deeper cognitive processing, thus increasing the likelihood of retention ,-agarra . (l%a, /0001#[ ! This method uses fits within 7aivio's , 9801[ 3! dual coding theor" %ecause it uses %oth ver%al and image memor" s"stems# 5owever, this method is %est for words that represent concrete and imagea%le things# (%stract concepts or words that do not %ring a distinct image to mind are difficult to associate# 4n addition, studies have shown that associative voca%ular" learning is more successful with "ounger students ,-agarra . (l%a, /0001#[ creating word associations to remem%er voca%ular"#
!

3lder students tend to rel" less on

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Word lists
Several word lists have been developed to provide people with a limited vocabulary either for the purpose of rapid language proficiency or for effective communication. These include Basic English (850 words ! Special English ("500 words and #$ford %000 (http&''oald8.o$fordlearnersdictionaries.com'o$ford%000' . The Swadesh list was made for investigation in (inguistics.

See also
)ifferences between *merican and British English (vocabulary (anguage proficiency& the ability of an individual to spea+ or perform in an ac,uired language

Footnotes
". ^ -ambridge *dvanced (earners )ictionary (http&''dictionary.cambridge.org'define.asp. +ey/885501dict/-*() 2. ^ Barnhart! -larence (. ("348 . %. ^ The World Book Dictionary. -larence (. Barnhart. "348 Edition. 5ublished by Thorndi+e6Barnhart! -hicago! 7llinois. 0. ^ 8iller ("383 5. ^ (en+eit 4. ^ 9:ocabulary9. Sebastian ;ren! 5h.). Balanced<eading.com http&''www.balancedreading.com'vocabulary.html =. ^ >oan ?. (ee (20"" . What does txting do 2 language: The influences of exposure to messaging and print media on acceptability constraints (http&''dspace.ucalgary.ca'bitstream'"880'08030'"'20""@(ee@8*.pdf (8.*. . Aniversity of -algary. <etrieved 20 Bovember 20"%. (ay summary (http&''www.ucalgary.ca'news'feb20"2'te$ting . 8. C a b Stahl! Steven *. :ocabulary )evelopment. -ambridge& Broo+line Boo+s! "333. p. %. 9The -ognitive Doundations of (earning to <ead& * Dramewor+9! Southwest Educational )evelopment (aboratory! E"F (http&''www.sedl.org'reading'framewor+'research.htmlGreading ! p. "0. 3. ^ E.B. Hechmeister! *.8. -hronis! ;.(. -ull! -.*. )I*nna and B.*. ?ealy! Jrowth of a functionally important le$icon! Journal of Reading Behavior! "335! 27(2 ! 20"62"2 "0. ^ 9(e$ical -overage of Spo+en )iscourse9! *dolphs and Schmitt (200% . http&''appliK.o$fordKournals.org'content'20'0'025.full.pdfLhtml "". C a b c Sagarra! Buria! 1 *lba! 8atthew. (2004 . The Mey 7s in the Meyword& (2 :ocabulary (earning 8ethods ;ith Beginning (earners of Spanish. The 8odern (anguage >ournal! 30! ii. pp. 228620%. "2. ^ ?adNibeganovic Tari+ 1 -annas! Sergio *. (2003 . * TsallisI statistics based neural networ+ model for novel word learning. 5hysica *! %88! pp. =%26=04. "%. ^ 5aivio! *. ("384 . 8ental <epresentations& * )ual -oding *pproach. Bew Oor+& #$ford Aniversity 5ress.

References
Barnhart! -larence (ewis (ed. ("348 . The World Book Dictionary. -hicago& Thorndi+e6 Barnhart! #-(- 0%=030 (''www.worldcat.org'oclc'0%=030 Dlynn! >ames <obert (2008 . Where have all the liberals gone : race! class! and ideals in "merica. -ambridge Aniversity 5ressP "st edition. 7SBB 3=860652"6030%"6" #-(- 2%"580885 (''www.worldcat.org'oclc'2%"580885 (en+eit! <oberta Edwards (200= #ntroducing cultural anthropology Boston& 8cJraw6?ill (%rd. ed. #-(- 402%00%5 (''www.worldcat.org'oclc'402%00%5

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Liu, Na and I.S.P. Nation. "Factors affecting guessing vocabulary in context" (http !!ac.aua.a"!lena#si"onyan!Public!$%L&'()*ournal!Liu'()Na,+,-..Factors' ()/ffecting'()0uessing'()1ocabulary'()in'()&ontext.pdf2, R$%& Journal, +,-.,16 +, pp. 3345(. doi +).++66!))337--(-.)+7))+)3 (http !!dx.doi.org!+).++66' (F))337--(-.)+7))+)32 8iller, 9arbara :. (+,,,2. &ultural "nthropology(5th ed.2 9oston /llyn and 9acon, p. 3+. ;&L& 3,+)+,.) (!!<<<.<orldcat.org!oclc!3,+)+,.)2 Schonell, Sir Fred =oyce, Ivor 0. 8eddleton and 9. /. Sha<, " study of the oral vocabulary of adults : an investigation into the spoken vocabulary of the "ustralian 'orker, >niversity of ?ueensland Press, 9risbane, +,.7. ;&L& 7)7.,3666 (!!<<<.<orldcat.org!oclc!7)7.,36662 @est, 8ichael (+,.32. " general service list of $nglish 'ords! 'ith semantic fre(uencies and a supplementary 'ord)list for the 'riting of popular science and technology London, Ne< AorB Long"an, 0reen ;&L& 3+-,.6 (!!<<<.<orldcat.org!oclc!3+-,.62

External links
9ibliography on vocabulary (http !!<<<.victoria.ac.nC!lals!resources!vocrefs!bibliography.aspx2 I.S.P. NationDs extensive collection of research on vocabulary. 1ocabulary /cEuisition $esearch 0roup /rchive (http !!<<<.lognostics.co.uB!varga!2 /n extensive bibliographic database on vocabulary acEuisition "aintained by Paul 8eara and the 1ocabulary /cEuisition $esearch 0roup at S<ansea >niversity. 1ocabularySiCe.co" (http !!"y.vocabularysiCe.co"2 F a free <ebFbased service <hich i"ple"ents the I.S.P. NationDs %nglish 1ocabulary SiCe Gest in an online for"at. GestAour1ocab.co" (http !!testyourvocab.co"2 F a free fiveF"inute %nglish vocabulary siCe test, accurate <ithin +)' $etrieved fro" "http !!en.<iBipedia.org!<!index.phpHtitleI1ocabularyJoldidI7)(37,7)7" &ategories 1ocabulary Learning to read Lexicography Language

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