Vocabulary

As vocabulary (even vocabulary, lexicon or vocabulary ) is defined as the set of all words. This can mean:

• The set of all words of a language at a particular time or
• The set of all words of a language that knows a single speaker or used.

Within the second meaning is to distinguish again:

• Receptive vocabulary ( or passive vocabulary) - the words that the speaker knows or recognizes. The receptive vocabulary helps to understand spoken and written texts (understanding vocabulary). The speaker can change the meaning from memory to retrieve a heard or read word - or open up for example by means of word formation rules.
• Productive vocabulary ( or active vocabulary) - the words that are actively used by the speaker. The productive vocabulary allows the speaker to communicate effectively. The speaker can retrieve a particular meaning the associated word from memory.

• 2.1 orders of magnitude
• 2.2 Methodological problems in the measurement

• 3.1 Acquisition of native-language vocabulary
• 3.2 Basic Vocabulary
• 3.3 Ways to increase your vocabulary

Word inventory of languages

German Vocabulary

The vocabulary of standard German covers about 75,000 words, the total size of the German vocabulary is estimated depending on the source and Counting at 300,000 to 500,000 words or lexemes. So Duden gives. German to Universal dictionary of the vocabulary of everyday language is estimated at about 500,000, the central vocabulary to 70,000 words. The German Dictionary of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (1852-1960) is estimated at around 350,000 keywords; Wahrig (2008 ) indicates in the preface to the new edition printed in 2006, this one-volume dictionary contains over 260,000 keywords. Such statements provide information about how big the German vocabulary must be at least estimated.

However, these dictionaries contain only small amounts of many specialized vocabularies and are also incomplete because derivatives and compounds are only partially absorbed and the latest neoplasms naturally lacking. A key criterion for inclusion of words is their frequency of use and ordinariness; exclude such words that are composed of simple and can be understood with knowledge of its components by itself.

So it is clear that the total vocabulary has yet to be much larger; the disclosure of 500,000 words is hardly an exaggeration. If one adds the special language terminology, is to be expected with several million words. Only the technical language of chemistry has to Winter (1986 ) about 20 million names. Against this background, Lewandowski's remark appears: " The total word stock of German is estimated to be 5 to 10 million words. " As yet resorted to deep.

Vocabulary in other languages

On this point, Wolff (1969: 48) from: " Recent estimates give for the English vocabulary to a number 500000-600000 words, the German is close to that of the French at about 300,000 words. " We must not conclude whether the French a word- poor language. The difference is due to a considerable extent on the different type of word formation: The German word " mashed potatoes " / " mashed potatoes " (1 new word ) corresponds in French " purée de pommes de terre " ( a phrase consisting of five words ).

In dictionaries of the Estonian literary language are listed in the 20th century around 120,000 words.

Vocabulary and word forms

The number of words ( vocabulary) is not to be confused with the number of word forms. By flexion can in inflected languages ​​from the basic forms of many words a multiple of word forms arise, for example, in German, considerably more than in the flexion slowly losing English.

The frequency distribution of words and word forms can be described by Zipf's law.

Vocabulary expansion and loss

The vocabulary of a language is not a static entity; it is understood rather in constant change. On the one hand go designations for lost items that gradually fallen out of use. So probably, the term slide rule disappear over time from the use of language, since the power of so called device is now taken over by calculators and computers. Often, objects are renamed at the expense of the old name, as happened with the replacement of " electronic brain " by " computer ". On the other hand, new objects must be named again and again, which is managed with the help of word formation or acquisition of foreign words. These processes of loss or gain of words subject to a language law, the Piotrowski law.

Vocabulary of individuals and texts

Orders of magnitude

Estimates of the vocabulary knowledge of individuals vary widely. As a concrete number you can see the details on the active, that is, in his works View detectable vocabulary with Goethe, who is numbered in the 3rd volume of the Goethe- dictionary to about 90,000 words. Since few people have created such a rich work, this information is likely to appoint as the capping at least in their dimension. However, while the passive vocabulary is not yet considered: Goethe is finally knew some words but not to be found in his works.

Was Conversely, starting from a quip by the then opposition leader Kurt Schumacher, the active vocabulary of Konrad Adenauer estimated at only 500 words, which, however, Schumacher pointed out as one of the strengths of Adenauer. ( Subsequent references to Schumacher's dictum vary the number of words between 800 and 1200 ).

In some, the higher is the level of education of a person, the greater his vocabulary. A larger vocabulary helps more differentiated information exchange. A commoner comes in daily life with a few thousand words out. The vocabulary of a person is dependent on the area of ​​interest and career field ( terminology ), and the socialization of this person.

An educated person, such as a scholar or writer, can tens of thousands of words in use (active vocabulary) and a lot more understanding when they meet him (passive vocabulary). The vocabulary of 15 -year-old has already been quantified in the relevant studies on around 12,000 words. The estimates for the size of the vocabulary of an adult native speaker range 3000-216000 words.

Some data to the vocabulary of individual texts or groups of texts in German can be found in Bill Meier (1969: 35). Here's to learn that you had to master more than 4,000 words ( within the meaning of lexeme = keyword in the dictionary ) in 1964, to read only an excerpt of the newspaper Die Welt in the months of January and February, one of the most in this regard less demanding readings. Have knowledge of more than 18,000 lexemes is needed for E. Strittmatter Roman Ole Ole.

Methodological problems in the measurement

The sometimes very striking differences in the estimates can be explained by the use of different methods. Thus, the determination of the Vocabulary Size is primarily a methodological problem. In principle, for the estimation of two different methods: qualitative and quantitative. The qualitative method investigates the nature of vorzufindenden words, while the quantitative method determines the type-token ratio, ie a measure of how often different words occur.

A methodological problem arises when texts of different lengths are to be examined on their vocabulary richness out (where as "text" even vocabulary tests can be interpreted that were designed to measure the vocabulary of a subject ). For the measurement of vocabulary richness of the Index of Guiraud is a measure commonly used. The index is calculated as follows:

Objective of the Index is to allow statements about the vocabulary richness of different lengths texts. Taking as a " text " her about the results of previously performed C- tests, it can be employed index of Guiraud as a measure of the vocabulary size of individuals. How the index works, can understand when one assumes the number of types is the number of tokens identical - that is, in a word, no word would repeat. As an index of Guiraud is then obtained:

The G- value is therefore dependent on shorter texts not only from the vocabulary richness, but also on the text length.

Vocabulary acquisition

Acquisition of native-language vocabulary

We humans learn our native language first by imitation; we imitate the phraseology and pronunciation of our social milieu. This is the case not only in childhood but also in adulthood. This means that both our vocabulary and our debate, our dialect, if we have one, our social milieu adapts.

However, imitation is not solely responsible for language acquisition, since it is precisely through children regularly about three years, a period of over-generalization, in which they never belonged verb forms such as " gingte ", " Gangte ", " is gegeht " etc. make, so analogies form.

The run language acquisition processes, as far as to overlook the past, lawfully and follow the obvious language acquisition law, as has been shown repeatedly.

Basic vocabulary

Of particular importance for the planning of teaching in the mother tongue as well as for foreign language learning is the so-called basic vocabulary; this is the one vocabulary that is needed to understand about 85 % of texts of a language. Pepper puts this basic vocabulary to approximately 1285 words.

Ways to increase vocabulary

• Find opposing concepts ( antonyms ) and synonyms
• Lots of reading and writing (eg essays )
• Read books and articles of various topics
• Read Books with a high language level
• Look up unfamiliar words in encyclopedias or dictionaries or remove the meaning from the context
• Communicate any kind
• The conscious desire to express themselves always as precise and varied
• In conversations have the courage to ask the caller for the meaning of an unknown word
• Word games like scrabble or crossword puzzles