Word power

“Why are you so grandiloquent, Sarah? Learn to be more self-effacing!”

“The confrontation between Omair and Anwar is quite garish!”

You might have noticed people lacing their conversations with difficult and often outlandish words that make no sense. The above sentences are examples of such vocabulary experiments gone horribly wrong. Memorising a bunch of difficult words and including them in our sentences is not correct. In fact, there is no need swallow up the dictionary or metamorphose into a bookworm.

You just need to increase your ‘word power’ as Reader’s Digest calls it. Nothing rocket-science about it… you don’t need to be as clever as Einstein or as fast as Usian Bolt.

Here are a few tips and pointers for cultivating a rich word power. Just lie back and enjoy the ride (or read!).

Clear intentions

Firstly, realise that vocabulary is something flexible and alive, requiring a regular supply of suitable words. As Evelyn Waugh says, “One forgets words as one forgets names. Vocabulary requires constant fertilising or it dies.”

Secondly, remember that you are enlarging your stock of words, not for display but to increase your ability to communicate and comprehend. Never use unfamiliar words merely because they appear to make your work impressive. Nothing is duller than a speech or composition riddled with long, strange words. So, try to make your work simple and direct.

Dictionary habit

Make it a point to refer to the dictionary whenever you are uncertain about the derivation, meaning, spelling, pronunciation or usage of a word. This will help you remember words, even if they are as difficult as ‘quintessence’. Furthermore, if you come across a word like ‘cosmopolitan’, search for other words with the initial letters ‘cosmo’.

New words everyday

Kick start each day with ten new words. Open up the dictionary and start from the first alphabet. That’s not so difficult, is it? Try to use them in sentences — and if you are successful in conversations throughout the day, ask your parents and siblings to check your sentences.

You can also refer to books like Word Master written by Orient Langman that provides sample sentences. Do not be upset at failure and keep moving forward.

Reading

This one is difficult for people who doze off at the sight of a book. The best way is to start with books and magazine which one enjoys and then gradually move to the classics, and then newspapers. Pretty soon, you will feel more confident with your reading ability and will not feel so lost in the colourful world of books.

Reading is important in developing a good vocabulary, as it acquaints us with the usage of words and sparks our imagination.

For instance, To kill a Mocking Bird, Little Women, Anne of the Green Gables and Pride and Prejudice are good classics to begin with.

Constant vigilance

Since English is not our native language, we find it difficult to express ourselves in it. How often do we grope around for the right word or phrase? Sometimes, we say, ‘I don’t know how to say it, but you know what I mean.’

This problem can be solved by Mad Eye Moody’s philosophy of ‘Constant vigilance!’ The trick is to keep your eyes and ears open to all the sights and sounds around you. Watch movies, serials and news channels very carefully, noting the employment of new and strange words. Keep at tenterhooks to jot down — mentally — any new word that jumps out at you. This sounds tiresome, but believe me, you will feel your usage and pronunciations improving.

Crosswords, hangman and scrabble

This is my favourite method! It is fun, involves the entire family and lubricates the rusted wheels of your brain. Playing with words increases your retention power, allowing you to gobble new words like breakfast cereal. How about playing scrabble with your family? Or doing the daily crossword in the newspaper? Also, there are cool word games on the internet, like Word Challenge on Facebook.