|
to a list of words, and a brief concluding chapter, the subject matter of
the volume falls into three main divisions. Chapters II and III are based
on the fact that we must all use words in combination--must fling the
words out by the handfuls, even as the accomplished pianist must strike
his notes. Chapters IV and V are based on the fact that we must become
thoroughly acquainted with individual words--that no one who scorns to
study the separate elements of speech can command powerful and
discriminating utterance. Chapters VI, VII, VIII, and IX are based on the
fact that we need synonyms as our constant lackeys--that we should be able
to summon, not a word that will do, but a word that will express the idea
with precision. Exercises scattered throughout the book, together with
five of the six appendices, provide well-nigh inexhaustible materials for
practice.
For be it understood, once for all, that this volume is not a machine
which you can set going and then sit idly beside, the while your
vocabulary broadens. Mastery over words, like worthy mastery of any kind
whatsoever, involves effort for yourself. You can of course contemplate
the nature and activities of the mechanism, and learn something thereby;
but also you must work--work hard, work intelligently. As you cannot
acquire health by watching a gymnast take exercise or a doctor swallow
medicine or a dietician select food, so you cannot become an overlord of
words without first fighting battles to subjugate them. Hence this volume
is for you less a labor-saving machine than a collection and arrangement
of materials which you must put together by hand. It assembles everything
you need. It tags everything plainly. It tells you just what you must do.
In these ways it makes your task far easier. _But the task is yours_.
Industry, persistence, a fair amount of common sense--these three you must
have. Without them you will accomplish nothing.
Even with them--let the forewarning be candid--you will not accomplish
everything. You cannot learn all there is to be learned about words, any
more than about human nature. And what you do achieve will be, not a
sudden attainment, but a growth. This is not the dark side of the picture.
It is an honest avowal that the picture is not composed altogether of
light. But as the result of your efforts an adequate vocabulary will some
day be yours. Nor will you have to wait long for an earnest of ultimate
success. Just as system will speedily transform a haphazard business into
one which seizes opportunities and stops the leakage of profits, so will
sincere and well-directed effort bring you promptly and surely into an
ever-growing mastery of words.
CONTENTS
CHAPTERS
I. REASONS FOR INCREASING YOUR VOCABULARY.
II. WORDS IN COMBINATION: SOME PITFALLS.
Tameness
Exercise
Sovenliness
Exercises
Wordiness
Exercises
Verbal Discords
Exercise
1. Abstract vs. Concrete Terms; General vs. Specific Terms
Exercise
2. Literal vs. Figurative Terms
Exercise
3. Connotation
Exercise
III. WORDS IN COMBINATION: HOW MASTERED
Preliminaries: General Purposes and Methods
1. A Ready, an Accurate, or a Wide Vocabulary?
2. A Vocabulary for Speech or for Writing?
The Mastery of Words in Combination
1. Mastery through Translation
Exercise
2. Mastery through Paraphrasing
Exercise
3. Mastery through Discourse at First Hand
Exercise
4. Mastery through Adapting Discourse to Audience
Exercise
IV. INDIVIDUAL WORDS: AS VERBAL CELIBATES
What Words to Learn First
The Analysis of Your Own Vocabulary
Exercise
The Definition of Words
Exercise
How to Look up a Word in the Dictionary
Exercise
Prying into a Word's Past
Exercise
V. INDIVIDUAL WORDS: AS MEMBERS OF VERBAL FAMILIES
Words Related in Blood
Exercise
Words Related by Marriage
Exercise
Prying into a Word's Relationships
Exercise
Two Admonitions
General Exercise for the Chapter (with Lists of
|
|
