[Vocabulary] a question about passive vocabulary

[marymex]

I am currently studing some vocabulary and I am not sure if this is really what I should learn. I am from Russia and in Russian there are very many words from books that regular people don't really know and it's fine. If you could tell me if it's ok for an average native speaker not to know about some of these words, it would be great. Maybe it's not ok not to know them. I don't know, I took them from classical litterature. Please don't think that I'm showing off. In fact there are more than this list but if I knew that English people normally know these words or not I could generalize about other words. Thank you for attention.

rummage
falter
enthralling
languor
abash
haul
confound
waive
sulky
slick
snigger
snuggle
pauper
cursory
concur
throng
sprat
halcyon
glimmer
ruffle
stalwart
acorn
execration
fray

 

[bhaisahab]

Re: a question about passive vocabulary

Welcome to the forums, marymex. The only word in your list that I think some native speakers might not be very familiar with is "execration".

 

[Rover_KE]

Re: a question about passive vocabulary

I'd add 'halcyon' to that.

I deleted 'passive' from your thread title in post #1. It has no meaning here.

 

[marymex]

Re: a question about vocabulary

thank you, bhaisahab.)

 

[tzfujimino]

Re: a question about vocabulary

I think the OP meant this, Rover.
"Native speakers' passive vocabulary" might sound better, I guess.

 

[J&K Tutoring]

Re: a question about vocabulary

While I would never discourage any person from reading, and I acknowledge that classics give pleasure in many ways, I DO NOT encourage my students to read classics. The words, situations, and thinking is not what one will encounter today, and the reader ends up having to learn a bunch of words they may never use just to follow the story.

On your list are about three words you might actually use, maybe five more it might be good to be familiar with, and the rest are okay if you like crossword puzzles.

I strongly urge you to find some contemporary works for your reading pleasure and language learning.

 

[Eckaslike]

Re: a question about passive vocabulary

I think many might also be unsure of "languor" and "abash".

I had to look up "execration", having never heard of it until today. "Halcyon" was slightly more familiar from the phrase "halcyon days" and its positive associations.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/halcyon

The other words are still used within BrE, and indeed I have just asked a friend and they instantly understood all of them except the ones that have been mentioned in this and previous posts.

 

[Tdol]

Re: a question about vocabulary

On your list are about three words you might actually use, maybe five more it might be good to be familiar with, and the rest are okay if you like crossword puzzles.

The question was originally about passive vocabulary and recognition, so not production. If it's words to learn to use, then I would agree that most aren't much use. If it's about words native speakers will know, then most would know most on that list. We can disagree about whether it's two, four or six that are less likely.

 

[Tdol]

Re: a question about vocabulary

I think the OP meant this, Rover.
"Native speakers' passive vocabulary" might sound better, I guess.

Passive vocabulary makes sense, but the person does talk about learning it, which makes it not passive. As passive vocab, most know it. As productive vocab, few use it.

 

[Eckaslike]

Re: a question about vocabulary

I think part of the problem here is the fact you have a mixed list of words, some of which are not that unusual, others which as Tdol says would hardly be used at all.

The ones which I would use, or which I hear used, reasonably often are:
rummage
falter
haul
waive
sulky
slick
snigger
snuggle
pauper
glimmer
ruffle
acorn
fray

 

[Rover_KE]

Re: a question about vocabulary

I think the OP meant this, Rover.
"Native speakers' passive vocabulary" might sound better, I guess.

Thank you. I've restored the original title.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Re: a question about vocabulary

I have never heard "snigger". We usually use "snicker" in AmE.

 

[Eckaslike]

Re: a question about vocabulary

To us snicker is reminiscent of a chocolate bar, formerly known as Marathon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snickers

But of course if you were to say someone was snickering behind someone else's back, I would know what you meant. I wouldn't think that they were eating a chocolate bar! :lol:

 

[MikeNewYork]

Re: a question about vocabulary

We have Snickers bars in the US also.

 

[Eckaslike]

I think that's why ours changed from being Marathon, to match the Snickers name which you use in the USA.

It seems that Mars have now re-used the Marathon name for another peanut bar product https://www.marathonbars.com/products.php

 

[MikeNewYork]

"Marathon" is a good name for an energy bar.

 

[tedmc]

Re: a question about vocabulary

IMO, trying to know the meanings of all the new words you come across would spoil your enjoyment of reading. I would only pick a few each time.

 

[Tdol]

Re: a question about vocabulary

I have never heard "snigger". We usually use "snicker" in AmE.

We snigger in the UK.

 

[Barb_D]

Re: a question about vocabulary

There was some great advice given on another forum. Buy yourself an inexpensive paper dictionary.

When you come across a word don't know, put a checkmark next to that word.

If you find you have to look it up again, put a second checkmark.

Once you have three checkmarks, you probably should try to add that word to your active vocabulary.

On the issue of a passive vocabulary, at two checkmarks you're probably there.