Vocabulary development
Encyclopedia
Vocabulary development is the process whereby speakers of language
enhance their working vocabularies with new words.
During his/her infancy, a child builds a vocabulary by instinct, with little effort. Infant
s imitate words that they hear and then associate those words with objects and actions. This is the listening vocabulary. The speaking vocabulary follows, as a child's thoughts become more reliant on his/her ability to self-express in a gesture-free and babble-free manner. Once the reading and writing vocabularies are attained – through questions and education
– the anomalies and irregularities of language can be discovered.
The rate of vocabulary growth increases as children grow older. By the age of eighteen months, children typically acquire a vocabulary of 50 words in production, and between two or three times as many in comprehension. From eighteen months to grade 1, the estimated rate of vocabulary growth is 5.5 words per day. From grade 1 to grade 5 it is estimated to be 20 words per day.
After leaving school, vocabulary growth reaches a plateau. People usually then expand their vocabularies by engaging in activities such as reading, playing word game
s, and by participating in vocabulary-related programs.
The average persons' active vocabulary
consists of 10,000 words, regardless of native tongue. Usually, this represents a mere fraction of the lexis
of that language. English, for example, contains approximately 600,000 words, established by the Oxford University Press
. This discrepancy, however, is partly due to relative simplicity of spoken language to written language. Additionally, one may understand more words than one uses, meaning that one's working vocabulary may not be representative of one's total knowledge of a language.
A 1987 research on native English speaking university graduates found an average vocabulary size of 17,200 base words.
Vocabulary can be improved by exposure to new language information. Exposure through writing is especially effective, for it offers a greater context by which new words may become understood.
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
enhance their working vocabularies with new words.
During his/her infancy, a child builds a vocabulary by instinct, with little effort. Infant
Infant
A newborn or baby is the very young offspring of a human or other mammal. A newborn is an infant who is within hours, days, or up to a few weeks from birth. In medical contexts, newborn or neonate refers to an infant in the first 28 days after birth...
s imitate words that they hear and then associate those words with objects and actions. This is the listening vocabulary. The speaking vocabulary follows, as a child's thoughts become more reliant on his/her ability to self-express in a gesture-free and babble-free manner. Once the reading and writing vocabularies are attained – through questions and education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
– the anomalies and irregularities of language can be discovered.
The rate of vocabulary growth increases as children grow older. By the age of eighteen months, children typically acquire a vocabulary of 50 words in production, and between two or three times as many in comprehension. From eighteen months to grade 1, the estimated rate of vocabulary growth is 5.5 words per day. From grade 1 to grade 5 it is estimated to be 20 words per day.
After leaving school, vocabulary growth reaches a plateau. People usually then expand their vocabularies by engaging in activities such as reading, playing word game
Word game
Word games and puzzles are spoken or board games often designed to test ability with language or to explore its properties.Word games are generally engaged as a source of entertainment, but have been found to serve an educational purpose as well...
s, and by participating in vocabulary-related programs.
The average persons' active vocabulary
Vocabulary
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...
consists of 10,000 words, regardless of native tongue. Usually, this represents a mere fraction of the lexis
Lexis (linguistics)
In linguistics, a lexis is the total word-stock or lexicon having items of lexical, rather than grammatical, meaning. This notion contrasts starkly with the Chomskian proposition of a “Universal Grammar” as the prime mover for language...
of that language. English, for example, contains approximately 600,000 words, established by the Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
. This discrepancy, however, is partly due to relative simplicity of spoken language to written language. Additionally, one may understand more words than one uses, meaning that one's working vocabulary may not be representative of one's total knowledge of a language.
A 1987 research on native English speaking university graduates found an average vocabulary size of 17,200 base words.
Vocabulary can be improved by exposure to new language information. Exposure through writing is especially effective, for it offers a greater context by which new words may become understood.