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. It can also be seen as all the words known and used by a particular person.
DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE
The differing degrees of word knowledge imply a greater depth of knowledge but the process is more complex than that. There are many facets to knowing a word. The facets are highlighted below;
1. Orthography – written form
2. Phonology – spoken form
3. Reference – meaning
4. Semantics – concept and reference
5. Register – appropriacy of use
6. Collocation – lexical neighbors
7. Words associations
8. Syntax – grammatical function
9. Morphology –word parts
TYPES OF VOCABULARY
1. Reading vocabulary
2. Listening vocabulary
3. Speaking vocabulary
4. Writing vocabulary
THE IMPORTANCE OF VOCABULARY
The following are the importance of vocabulary
1. An extensive vocabulary aids expression and communication.
2. Vocabulary size has been directly linked to reading comprehension.
3. Linguistic vocabulary is synonymous with thinking vocabulary.
4. A person may be judged by others based on his/her vocabulary.
5. Wilkins (1972) once said, without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed.
GAMUT OF VOCABULARY
1. Synonyms
2. Antonyms
3. Homophones
4. Registers
5. Idioms
6. Eponyms
7. Acronyms
SYNONYMS
A synonym is a word that has almost the same meaning as another word. For example, ‘beautiful’ and ‘stunning’ are synonyms. The English language is replete of “countless” synonyms. Examples are stated below:
