How do you deal with unfamiliar words?

[[CA]]

My favorite word in that quotation is "simply". "Simply" can mean in a straightforward manor or it can mean "merely" as if to suggest the gestures are in place of something more meaningful. There are multiple ways to interpret that sentence.

[DennisK]

My favorite word in that quotation is "simply". "Simply" can mean in a straightforward manor or it can mean "merely" as if to suggest the gestures are in place of something more meaningful. There are multiple ways to interpret that sentence.

I took it as a straightforward response, but I can see what you mean. Spoken language certainly isn't machine language. How a writer keeps the reader from trailing off on an unintentional tangent is beyond me. When I read a story, I build pictures in my head from the words I read. Reading that sentence by interpreting “Simply” as an abbreviation of the condolence completely changes the picture, and its mood. This kind of subtlety would be most challenging to someone reading a non-native language.
Reminds me of a conversation I had with a German speaking friend. I started a sentence with the phrase, “To tell the truth ….”. He became upset as he thought the previous things I said were lies!

[[CA]]

I also create images as I read a narrative and I enjoy examining uniquely worded sentences from multiple angles. Yes, the challenges of non-native languages abound. German is especially rich with portmanteau words which describe unique feelings and ideas. A few of these we use in English. "Schadenfreude," "zeitgeist," and "gestalt" are a few of my favorites.

[Ram_Suntharalingam]

I continue to reader without interruption and by the time my reading is over I download the word in the dictionary and confirm my understanding of it or correct my erroneous understanding.

[DennisK]

I continue to reader without interruption and by the time my reading is over I download the word in the dictionary and confirm my understanding of it or correct my erroneous understanding.

Are you a speed reader?

-- 25 Feb 2017, 09:45 --

I also create images as I read a narrative and I enjoy examining uniquely worded sentences from multiple angles. Yes, the challenges of non-native languages abound. German is especially rich with portmanteau words which describe unique feelings and ideas. A few of these we use in English. "Schadenfreude," "zeitgeist," and "gestalt" are a few of my favorites.

"Schadenfreude," and "zeitgeist," are new words for me – thanks for the introduction. They are great functional words. So much of modern English is borrowed from other languages. I understand English is a Germanic language, but most of the words I explore have Latin or Greek roots. I wonder what the world's languages will be like 2000 years from now.
Wikipedia has an interesting article on the word, “Schadenfreude”. I'm trying to find a way to turn it into an adverb: "The villain stood schadenfreudely wringing his hands over the damsel tied to the railway tracks." My on-line dictionary does not agree.

[[CA]]

The Wikipedia article mentions the adjective form: "schadenfroh," but not an adverb form. Without a working knowledge of German I couldn't say how they might form adverbs. That said, obviously loan words are more often conjugated in the style of the adoptive language if they are conjugated at all. "Schadenfreudely" may not exist yet but as you alluded, languages are always changing. Maybe one day.

[L Bucher]

I use either context clues, or I relate them to their suffixes and prefixes, or root words. If that strategy fails, it's to Google with it!

[Rahamathullah]

Since reading a couple of Philip Roth's books, I've been questioning the extent and accuracy of my own vocabulary. I found that reading him, aged the pages of my dictionary by a few years. I wonder how people, while reading, deal with words that are not familiar. As for myself, I use several techniques: If the story captivates me – if there is a lot of suspense, I tend to skip over unfamiliar words as long as I can keep the meaning of the story intact. Sometimes, I can glean the meaning of the word by its association within the subject matter and its use within the sentence. In fact, that is how I built most of my vocabulary. For example, I was watching a TED Talk that hosted Mr. Forbes who was talking about how people form coalitions with members who may not like each other. He used the word, antipathy a number of times. His use of the word made it quite clear that antipathy meant a dislike for another person. So, without having to look the word up, I learned a new word simply by experiencing its use. But my understanding of this word is very shallow. Looking the word up, I discovered that antipathy is a deep seeded, instinctive dislike toward anything – like, some people have an antipathy toward snakes, or spiders. Some people have an antipathy toward people with a different skin color, or a different culture, or religion. Instead of bigotry, and prejudice, I now can color this subject slightly different by using the word antipathy. The word prejudice is simply a preference of one thing over another, but antipathy … in that word is an element of fear and hate. This is a new perspective. Forget prejudice, how do we deal with antipathy? Such is the power of words, and a more robust vocabulary. To my shame, my vocabulary is rudimentary – I'm terrible with crossword puzzles, and most of my words were learned through experiencing their use – nothing scholastic. How often are you confronted with unfamiliar words while reading? How do you deal with them?

[Jories]

I just take a dictionaire and look for it.

-- 26 Feb 2017, 20:57 --

i also look for a image and the ethymology of the word if possible.

[mknewman]

I'm a language student, so I always have a set of flashcards running anyway. But now I've started a little English set too, just to record stuff I pick up.

[Ram_Suntharalingam]

I have already responded yet I feel whether I am competent enough to serve an all time way out. However the art of reading and the pleasure of listening has brought ample harvest of new words and phrases which I could not have gathered in the classroom ,the university or even the office or the social exchange.

[ezramoon]

Like OP, if I'm really into the book I'm reading I'll usually skip over the word. Sometimes context matters and I'll infer the meaning of the word from how it's used.

If I'm reading a textbook or a book that I need a deep understanding of, I'll use the built in dictionary in google books. I do all of my reading on my cell phone or android tablet, so I can either tap the word and have the meaning pop up, or highlight it and mark it to look up later.

Since I read so many books and like writing reviews, I tend to use the highlighting feature to mark spots in a book for me to reference in my review or to make a note about my current thoughts on the pot etc. Because of this I dont like getting my dictionary look ups mixed in with my notes, luckily though I can colour code my notes. Bless Google Books! Hehe.

[DennisK]

I have already responded yet I feel whether I am competent enough to serve an all time way out. However the art of reading and the pleasure of listening has brought ample harvest of new words and phrases which I could not have gathered in the classroom ,the university or even the office or the social exchange.

Ram_Suntharalingam, I don't understand your first sentence. "Harvest of new words and phrases": That is a great expression.

-- 28 Feb 2017, 19:06 --

Like OP, if I'm really into the book I'm reading I'll usually skip over the word. Sometimes context matters and I'll infer the meaning of the word from how it's used.

If I'm reading a textbook or a book that I need a deep understanding of, I'll use the built in dictionary in google books. I do all of my reading on my cell phone or android tablet, so I can either tap the word and have the meaning pop up, or highlight it and mark it to look up later.

Since I read so many books and like writing reviews, I tend to use the highlighting feature to mark spots in a book for me to reference in my review or to make a note about my current thoughts on the pot etc. Because of this I dont like getting my dictionary look ups mixed in with my notes, luckily though I can colour code my notes. Bless Google Books! Hehe.

Ezramoon, I also color code new words which copies them to a file. I read using an Ipad. After finishing the book, I will copy that file to a computer, adding to it a phonic file with the word's pronunciation, along with the word's definition. Over time, I can return to the file to review those words I may like to use.

[Rashi singh]

What i do is skiping the words which are unfamiliar to me...n sometimes when I am curious to know the meaning of, I prefer dictionary....

[cherlyn]

hmm.. I check them in the dictionary