Learning Words While Reading
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I've been reading Lady Chatterley's Lover recently, usually in bed as I fall to sleep for the night. As an experiment, I decided to bring a notepad with me to write down words I didn't know as I read. After reading about 5-10 pages, there were about 30-40 words I don't know or was not sure of the precise meaning. Some of those words included:
- Hazel (not the color)
- Chuffed
- Bracken
- Denuded
- Colliery
- Palfreys
- Velveteens
- Equanimity
- Abeyance
- Coquetry
- Squibs
Before I start reading it again, I am going through each word and looking up the definition (I have some dictionary software installed on my computer). Though I do find this somewhat cumbersome, I don't find it nearly as cumbersome as looking up each word as I read it (would distract my train of thought). I also find having to write down each word distracting. What strategies do you all have for learning new words in the material you are reading?
OK, to answer your quesiton, if I come across a word in a language I dont understand, I compare it to words in languages I do and often glean the meaning that way since a lot of words have common roots. Take the Luxembergish Gezingen I saw on a sign. In Dutch Gemeint is a commune. Since the sign also has a name on it and is by the side of the road, I can tell that I am entering the commune of that name. In fact there are some interesting parallels here. In Dutch sterve is to die. In English it means to be serously hungry (starve). And so it is probable that in old english it did also mean to die. In fact Dutch is quite usefull to read The Cantebury Tales by Chaucer. He uuses eek for also, its ook in Dutch. He uses woning for home. Its the same in Dutch. I woot is to know for Chaucer, Ik weet is Dutch. Zoote is sweet in Dutch, and Chaucers books first line uses it. Take Infarctus in French, or Haemotome. They are both medical conditions known in English as Heartatack (infarction) and bruise (haemotoma). I struggled in the musem today though! All the signs were in Luxembergish! And if I am stumped I use a dictionary, usually on line.
Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription
modified on Saturday, March 6, 2010 11:16 AM
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That can sometimes work to get approximate definitions, which works just fine for understanding the story. But as far as understanding the words, it doesn't work that great all the time. For example:
Lady Chatterley's Lover excerpt:
He was a man in dark green bonkywob1 and strezzlenip2... the old style, with a red face and red moustache and distant eyes.
Two of those words are made up... I put them in place of words I didn't know. What do you think they mean? Probably some sort of clothes, right? But what does a bonkywob look like and how do you wear a strezzlenip?
Lady Chatterley's Lover excerpt:
He sat looking at the greenish sweep of the riding downwards, a clear way through the hubanogin3 and oaks.
And what do you think "hubanogin" means? Patch of dead frogs? Perhaps it is a specific type of lava rock.
Lady Chatterley's Lover excerpt:
On a frosty morning with a little February sun, Clifford and Connie went for a walk across the park to the wood. That is, Clifford popincoughed4 in his motor-chair, and Connie walked beside him.
Was he fondling himself in his chair? Perhaps he epiphanied in his chair. The context doesn't reveal much. This is where a definition is required to understand the word (though the word, in this instance, is relatively unimportant to the greater context of the story). If you want to see what the real words were that I removed from the text, highlight the following text: 1: velveteens 2: gaiters 3: bracken 4: chuffed
Of course that's often only approximative. It's not so much a problem in German (I'm reading A LOT, and judging by some peoples comments I'm not that bad at guessing), but it do notice a mistake with english words. I do look up words when they seem to be a key to understanding I am not getting, but that's rare wiht most texts (Also, I have been reading a few works of Shakespeare with an english dictionary and an english-german one - in addition to the usual heavy annotations found in some editions). Also, some texts remain inaccessible by this method, but I hereby claim they aren't more accessible to me if I looked the words up. So let me defend the method:
First, some guesswork (without having looked them up - and you have given very few context): velveteens isn't as inaccessible as bonkywob: it's plural - might be trousers or anythign else that comes in two parts, contains "velvet", dark green, sounds posh. Although oddly, the rest of the persons description makes me somehow think of cord trousers / knickerbockers. gaiters - something to do with gait? Shoes, or stockings maybe. bracken - "Brackwasser" is really stale, muddy water, "greenish sweep" seems to be the key here, making it a plant/growth, so either a green-covered muddy/swampy area or - due to the pairing with "oaks" - something that grows on damp ground, the "way through" suggesting it is dense. chuffed - The onomatopoeiatic interpretation would be schnaufen, maybe tuckern, more of the former if he's sick/shortbreathed, more of the latter if the motor-chair was described in more detail.
Second, the literary argument - you kind of give it to me already in the last paragraph: If I've never encountered a context for a bonkywob before, a description won't tell me that this means he's a bisexual widowed freemasons (or whatever image the author wants to conjure). Also, if it was totally out of place, there's almost always a reaction to that. Imagine the following: the author sets the scene of a opera ball, someone in a dirty t-shirt and leggins enters and joins a dance/conversation, but the author does not describe the piqued reaction of the other guests.
So now, looking them up: velveteens: seems to be really only the weave/material, the plural making it more likely to be pants rather than a shirt. gaiter: ok, it is lower-leg wear bracken: fern, which matches but still changes the image I had in mind chuffed: among the posisble translation ony lo
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Only works so far. I remember the first book I read by Terry Pratchett, Good Omens, I constantly had a dictionary next to me. I especially remember "ineffable" as one of those words. My vocabulary has grown a lot since.
"When did ignorance become a point of view" - Dilbert
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This is an area where e-readers shine. I do this all the time on my Kindle. When you hit an unusual word you just move the cursor over it and the definition appears instantly at the bottom of the screen.
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I've been reading Lady Chatterley's Lover recently, usually in bed as I fall to sleep for the night. As an experiment, I decided to bring a notepad with me to write down words I didn't know as I read. After reading about 5-10 pages, there were about 30-40 words I don't know or was not sure of the precise meaning. Some of those words included:
- Hazel (not the color)
- Chuffed
- Bracken
- Denuded
- Colliery
- Palfreys
- Velveteens
- Equanimity
- Abeyance
- Coquetry
- Squibs
Before I start reading it again, I am going through each word and looking up the definition (I have some dictionary software installed on my computer). Though I do find this somewhat cumbersome, I don't find it nearly as cumbersome as looking up each word as I read it (would distract my train of thought). I also find having to write down each word distracting. What strategies do you all have for learning new words in the material you are reading?
It only works up to a point. I remember trying to learn some French by reading the Asterix cartoon books in the original language. It took me ages to work out what the first page was on about - eventually I got the same book in the English translation. How was I supposed to know the kid had a lisp? No wonder the words weren't in my dictionary!
You should never use standby on an elephant. It always crashes when you lift the ears. - Mark Wallace C/C++ (I dont see a huge difference between them, and the 'benefits' of C++ are questionable, who needs inheritance when you have copy and paste) - fat_boy
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It only works up to a point. I remember trying to learn some French by reading the Asterix cartoon books in the original language. It took me ages to work out what the first page was on about - eventually I got the same book in the English translation. How was I supposed to know the kid had a lisp? No wonder the words weren't in my dictionary!
You should never use standby on an elephant. It always crashes when you lift the ears. - Mark Wallace C/C++ (I dont see a huge difference between them, and the 'benefits' of C++ are questionable, who needs inheritance when you have copy and paste) - fat_boy
THing with French is that you need a certain amount of formal learning first to get over the grammar diffeences with English. Dutch you could pick up through cartoons. At a basic level is very close to English. Anyway, my mum bought me an Asterix in French as a kidtoo! I just used to look at the pics! :laugh: I went on to get a U at French O level! Thats less than 10%! :)
Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription
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THing with French is that you need a certain amount of formal learning first to get over the grammar diffeences with English. Dutch you could pick up through cartoons. At a basic level is very close to English. Anyway, my mum bought me an Asterix in French as a kidtoo! I just used to look at the pics! :laugh: I went on to get a U at French O level! Thats less than 10%! :)
Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription
I had some formal training in French at school - but didn't pay a lot of attention. (I managed to get a negative score in my oral translation at "O" level) It wasn't until I started going out with a girl who worked at CERN that I became at all interested in the language - and then only enough to get by in bars and restaurants in Geneva!
You should never use standby on an elephant. It always crashes when you lift the ears. - Mark Wallace C/C++ (I dont see a huge difference between them, and the 'benefits' of C++ are questionable, who needs inheritance when you have copy and paste) - fat_boy
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I've been reading Lady Chatterley's Lover recently, usually in bed as I fall to sleep for the night. As an experiment, I decided to bring a notepad with me to write down words I didn't know as I read. After reading about 5-10 pages, there were about 30-40 words I don't know or was not sure of the precise meaning. Some of those words included:
- Hazel (not the color)
- Chuffed
- Bracken
- Denuded
- Colliery
- Palfreys
- Velveteens
- Equanimity
- Abeyance
- Coquetry
- Squibs
Before I start reading it again, I am going through each word and looking up the definition (I have some dictionary software installed on my computer). Though I do find this somewhat cumbersome, I don't find it nearly as cumbersome as looking up each word as I read it (would distract my train of thought). I also find having to write down each word distracting. What strategies do you all have for learning new words in the material you are reading?
aspdotnetdev wrote:
What strategies do you all have for learning new words in the material you are reading?
If I'm reading material on the PC I make use of 1-click answers[^]. Advantage is no need to switch applications/focus to look something up, or even to start a browser if one isn't running.
Kevin
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I've been reading Lady Chatterley's Lover recently, usually in bed as I fall to sleep for the night. As an experiment, I decided to bring a notepad with me to write down words I didn't know as I read. After reading about 5-10 pages, there were about 30-40 words I don't know or was not sure of the precise meaning. Some of those words included:
- Hazel (not the color)
- Chuffed
- Bracken
- Denuded
- Colliery
- Palfreys
- Velveteens
- Equanimity
- Abeyance
- Coquetry
- Squibs
Before I start reading it again, I am going through each word and looking up the definition (I have some dictionary software installed on my computer). Though I do find this somewhat cumbersome, I don't find it nearly as cumbersome as looking up each word as I read it (would distract my train of thought). I also find having to write down each word distracting. What strategies do you all have for learning new words in the material you are reading?
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Marc Clifton wrote:
And here I was going to praise the fellow for making an effort to learn something new. Maybe you should practice one of those words: equanimity.
Perhaps you should learn the meaning of patronising? ;) I suppose I am extaordinarially erudite. The only problems I have are in foreign languages. ;P
Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription
modified on Saturday, March 6, 2010 11:09 AM
Please hold your tongue in abeyance, it seems but denuded coquetry, for there is no equanimity to it, at best it spouts a squib. You present as but a chuffed rider of velveteen palfrey, lazing in the shade of a hazel, while others must fight the bracken, getting to the colliery to earn their salt.
Opacity, the new Transparency.
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What are you reading? Really obscure stuff? I know I read alot but I cant believe that an American intelligent enough to be a programmer, can still come across words they dont know the meaning of.
Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription
I think you are giving programmers far too much credit. :) Nothing out of the ordinary. Currently re-re-reading the first three Foundation books. I’ve not had to look up Atom Blaster or Nucleo-Bulb even once. It’s not so much about getting word definitions; if the book’s language is that obscure it probably isn’t a very good read. Usually, it is just interesting usage or perhaps a foreign word or cultural or historical reference that compels me to take a peek. You can continue any search to Wikipedia so it is a real Hitchhiker’s Guide experience. A nice feature as in the past I would have just skimmed on by and lost the opportunity for a gaining bit more insight.
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I've been reading Lady Chatterley's Lover recently, usually in bed as I fall to sleep for the night. As an experiment, I decided to bring a notepad with me to write down words I didn't know as I read. After reading about 5-10 pages, there were about 30-40 words I don't know or was not sure of the precise meaning. Some of those words included:
- Hazel (not the color)
- Chuffed
- Bracken
- Denuded
- Colliery
- Palfreys
- Velveteens
- Equanimity
- Abeyance
- Coquetry
- Squibs
Before I start reading it again, I am going through each word and looking up the definition (I have some dictionary software installed on my computer). Though I do find this somewhat cumbersome, I don't find it nearly as cumbersome as looking up each word as I read it (would distract my train of thought). I also find having to write down each word distracting. What strategies do you all have for learning new words in the material you are reading?
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Eddy Vluggen wrote:
highlighters
I usually avoid marking books because I have some irrational aversion to doing so... I guess I feel it taints them in some way. But maybe I'll give this a try with one of my more taint-worthy books. That combined with another person's suggestion to work in chapter increments could help me learn in manageable chunks without interfering with my reading.
aspdotnetdev wrote:
I usually avoid marking books because I have some irrational aversion to doing so
Truly! Even in my engineering courses, when it was clearly not high literature, and would have been a wonderful aide to me and the next person to buy it, I could not bring myself to do it. It feels like desecration. But I've see it a bit in historical books. I believe a number of math proofs, almost proofs and conjectures have been found in marginal writing in historical math books. But it could be the marginal writing is what made them historical. ;P
Opacity, the new Transparency.
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I like :thumbsup: Probably the further off you are, the funnier it will be when you read the real definition, and therefore the more likely you are to remember the definition. A self-balancing system. Brilliant.
aspdotnetdev wrote:
Brilliant.
Sometimes, you clearly remember the original (incorrect) meaning that you made up yourself, and the fact that it was wrong, but you can't recall the correct meaning :(
Regards Senthil _____________________________ My Home Page |My Blog | My Articles | My Flickr | WinMacro
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I've been reading Lady Chatterley's Lover recently, usually in bed as I fall to sleep for the night. As an experiment, I decided to bring a notepad with me to write down words I didn't know as I read. After reading about 5-10 pages, there were about 30-40 words I don't know or was not sure of the precise meaning. Some of those words included:
- Hazel (not the color)
- Chuffed
- Bracken
- Denuded
- Colliery
- Palfreys
- Velveteens
- Equanimity
- Abeyance
- Coquetry
- Squibs
Before I start reading it again, I am going through each word and looking up the definition (I have some dictionary software installed on my computer). Though I do find this somewhat cumbersome, I don't find it nearly as cumbersome as looking up each word as I read it (would distract my train of thought). I also find having to write down each word distracting. What strategies do you all have for learning new words in the material you are reading?
:-D Here,let me help you with that: JABBERWOCKY Lewis Carroll (from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872) `Twas brillig, and the slithy toves ..Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, ..And the mome raths outgrabe. "Beware the Jabberwock, my son! ..The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun ..The frumious Bandersnatch!" He took his vorpal sword in hand: ..Long time the manxome foe he sought -- So rested he by the Tumtum tree, ..And stood awhile in thought. And, as in uffish thought he stood, ..The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, ..And burbled as it came! One, two! One, two! And through and through ..The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head ..He went galumphing back. "And, has thou slain the Jabberwock? ..Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' ..He chortled in his joy. `Twas brillig, and the slithy toves ..Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, ..And the mome raths outgrabe.
Opacity, the new Transparency.
-
Please hold your tongue in abeyance, it seems but denuded coquetry, for there is no equanimity to it, at best it spouts a squib. You present as but a chuffed rider of velveteen palfrey, lazing in the shade of a hazel, while others must fight the bracken, getting to the colliery to earn their salt.
Opacity, the new Transparency.
-
I had some formal training in French at school - but didn't pay a lot of attention. (I managed to get a negative score in my oral translation at "O" level) It wasn't until I started going out with a girl who worked at CERN that I became at all interested in the language - and then only enough to get by in bars and restaurants in Geneva!
You should never use standby on an elephant. It always crashes when you lift the ears. - Mark Wallace C/C++ (I dont see a huge difference between them, and the 'benefits' of C++ are questionable, who needs inheritance when you have copy and paste) - fat_boy
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OK, to answer your quesiton, if I come across a word in a language I dont understand, I compare it to words in languages I do and often glean the meaning that way since a lot of words have common roots. Take the Luxembergish Gezingen I saw on a sign. In Dutch Gemeint is a commune. Since the sign also has a name on it and is by the side of the road, I can tell that I am entering the commune of that name. In fact there are some interesting parallels here. In Dutch sterve is to die. In English it means to be serously hungry (starve). And so it is probable that in old english it did also mean to die. In fact Dutch is quite usefull to read The Cantebury Tales by Chaucer. He uuses eek for also, its ook in Dutch. He uses woning for home. Its the same in Dutch. I woot is to know for Chaucer, Ik weet is Dutch. Zoote is sweet in Dutch, and Chaucers books first line uses it. Take Infarctus in French, or Haemotome. They are both medical conditions known in English as Heartatack (infarction) and bruise (haemotoma). I struggled in the musem today though! All the signs were in Luxembergish! And if I am stumped I use a dictionary, usually on line.
Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription
modified on Saturday, March 6, 2010 11:16 AM
I didnt think anyone would answer this post. I guess my sense of language is too advanced for people here. Call me superior if you like. but its just living, learning, using to me. Fortunately I have had the good chnce to live outside of the UK. Its a great experience.
Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription
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Reading allows me to learn new words, but in order to retain these words i try to use them. If you're into writing it helps a lot.
But, sont forget that Hemingway, one of the most celebrated English writers used very simple language. If you are gong ot write in English, my advice is to keep it simple. Take a lok at any Hemingway book, THye are sre simply written and hence easy to read. I woild say the wame for Harry POtter books. If you want ot learn straght forward modern English they are ideal. Forget the poncy crap. Anyone can use exotic words, but it wont endear you to your reader.
Morality is indistinguishable from social proscription
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aspdotnetdev wrote:
What strategies do you all have for learning new words
Try doing the daily CP CCC.
Me, I'm dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest.
Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for...
