16. How We Learn Words.—We have now for some time been studying about combinations of words, but we have said very little about words themselves. This was the proper course to follow, for in our native language we need to be told about combinations of words more than about words themselves; about these we cannot help finding out much by ourselves. Indeed, it is life that teaches us words,—life and association with our fellows. We could scarcely avoid learning rapidly the names which the people who speak our language have given to the multitude of actual things which we see and touch, and the common words which are customary to express our feelings and thoughts with regard to these objects. As we grow older and wiser, and particularly if we associate with persons of intelligence and information, and read widely in books of all sorts, we become rapidly acquainted also with a great mass of words that have grown up to express the most abstract thoughts and the most delicate shades of feeling.
Life, then, and association with our fellows, and reading will bring to our knowledge, in due course of time, all the words we shall ever need to use. There are a few hints to be given, however, which will be of service to you in this process of learning the customary words which the people of our race and nation use to express their thoughts and feelings.
17. The Size and Character of the English Vocabulary.—We use the word vocabulary to express the total number of words used by a person or group of persons. The English vocabulary, then, is the total number of words used by the people who write and speak English. There are more than three hundred thousand such words collected in our dictionaries, and the number is being added to every year. No single person would be acquainted with all these words, for many of them have been used only rarely, or only among little groups of people, or in connection with sciences not understood by the people at large. The number of words that an intelligent and educated person would understand when he saw or heard them is not often more than sixty thousand; the number of words that such a person would himself use is very much less—probably not, as a rule, more than twenty thousand.
A great many of our words come from the Latin language, and you will be greatly aided in your study of English words if you can learn something of that language.
18. Increasing One's Vocabulary.—It is clear, then, that you will greatly increase your vocabulary as you grow older and wiser. It is also true, in general, that as your vocabulary grows you will grow, to some extent, in knowledge of the world. It will be worth while for you, therefore, to get into the habit of learning new words. This could, of course, be done by reading the dictionary (and the dictionary is by no means an uninteresting volume to pick up from time to time), but the more natural way is to reach this result by cultivating the habit of attention to words. You might begin the habit by noticing accurately the names of things you see or handle,—of tools and implements, birds, animals, and flowers; the names of different colors and shades; the names applied to persons to describe their duties and occupations.
Exercise 39.—Write as many words as possible that name:—
1. Various trades and professions. 2. Vehicles used on land. 3. Boats (from a man-of-war to a flatboat). 4. Buildings—(a) churches, (b) public buildings, (c) educational buildings, (d) buildings used for amusements. 5. Parts of a bicycle. 6. Tools. 7. Birds. 8. Flowers. 9. Colors. 10. Musical instruments.
Exercise 40.—After each of the following nouns place a verb that describes the sound made by the animal mentioned.
Sheep, owls, sparrows, goats, oxen, frogs, hens, bears, horses, robins, roosters, doves, lions, parrots, ravens, monkeys, elephants, snakes.
Exercise 41.—Notice the following words which might be used in describing some one's appearance:—