How do you deal with unfamiliar words?

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DennisK
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Re: How do you deal with unfamiliar words?

Post by DennisK »

Scerakor wrote:As a few people above have said, the e-reader is magical for exactly this purpose. I have become addicted to this technology to such a point that when I read hard copy books, I actually do think of touching and holding my page to look something up (I never actually do... don't worry)!
I can relate to your preference. As much as I love the environment of a book store, the smell of new books and the feel of paper pages, I find myself avoiding purchasing the physical book – looking, instead, for the soft-copy version. Since my Nook and then my Ipad, I find that individual words and their use have become so much more important to me.
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Yolanda Denise
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Post by Yolanda Denise »

I google any unfamiliar words, even if I'm on my Kindle, which is on my iPad. It would probably be better if I made a list of unfamiliar words and put each of them in a sentence, as someone mentioned. I have a tendency to try to memorize the word and its meaning.
Cherrylollipop
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Post by Cherrylollipop »

I Also check the online dictionary.
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Post by btstaehyungie »

The online dictionary is I really don't know.

-- 14 Mar 2017, 20:35 --

I mean *if
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Post by Cherlyn Lee »

:D Check the dictionary or guess the meaning based on the concept
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Miche Sora
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Post by Miche Sora »

If I'm reading an ebook on Overdrive, I highlight the word, it gives me options to look it up in the dictionary or search Google/Wikipedia. This is one of the options I love most about Overdrive. For anything else, I use an online dictionary or just hope I can guess what the word means by context.
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Post by Oanaread »

Most of the times I try to figure it out from the context, especially when I'm reading a very captivating book. But as you said, sometimes you might be surprised of what meanings you might have missed without searching for the word in a dictionary.
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Post by Mavovo »

given that times are changing and books are no longer written in one style or language. We now have modern adaptations of words where slang is openly acceptable in book writing a dictionary is no longer sufficient. on-line research and social networking is necessary to keep up to date to understanding the evolution of language. so best thing is to speak to both the young and old and keep reading to understand the full meaning of words both new and old.
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Post by Clive Johnson »

I believe we gain most of our vocabulary by wrestling with new words in books. When I was a boy I listened to a programme "May we Recommend" on Children's Hour. Short extracts from Classics like "The Three Musketeers" would be dramatized to whet our appetites. There were elements of that story I didn't understand,ha ha, but looking up the words was essential for learning to use them. Sometimes I would make mistakes; I alluded to Farnol's "the Jade of Destiny" as "The Jade of Destination". It is better to struggle like that than have one's vocabulary limited by familiar words designed to be understood by readers of a certain reading age.
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Post by matildajay »

I really love when I stumble across an unfamiliar word. Sometimes I'll go a long time without running into one, and then other times I'll read a book that seems to hit me with a new word every few pages. Depending on the reading format, as in paper versus an electronic device the answer is different. Growing up I used to keep lists of words I didn't know and their definitions, although now a days I am guilty of skimming over words I don't know (in a printed book) if a dictionary or my laptop is not at hand. In regards to electronic reading, the kindle's dictionary feature is seriously a gift. I feel almost spoiled when a definition is simply accessed by a tap on the word, without even having to close the page itself.
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Post by Clive Johnson »

It is useful to learn difficult words, but not necessarily helpful to use them. I strive to express my thoughts simply. If shorter words can be used, readers won't need to puzzle over them. When I return to pages I have written, I often find that simpler words and shorter sentences are easier to read. Writing poetry helps, because the discipline of expressing images helps convey ideas without relying on definitions. Slang is no longer frowned on in creative writing. It is often inventive and reflects the character of the user.
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Post by Rebecca Henderson »

I think the easiest way to figure out new words is to look at the context in which they are said. If you understand most of the conversation, then puzzling out what the word means could be easy just based on context clues. Other than that, I usually like to look up words, both in the dictionary and the thesaurus. I was taught in middle school English class that your brain likes chunks of information, because those are easier to remember. If I can connect a new word to others I've learned . . . well, I'd probably just consider that updating my internal thesaurus! :)
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Post by Clive Johnson »

Chunks of information! That seems counter intuitive. When I was shoehorned into a commercial course, I tried to read a book on double entry accounting written by the principal of the college. I didn't get beyond the first page. I read it several times, but I had no idea what the author was trying to communicate. He packed an already tedious topic with complex sentences and obscure terms.
The information needs to be appealing for the reader to want to retain it.
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Post by wroteyou »

i always write down new or unfamiliar words, i find that helps. at first it was slow but now it rarely happens.
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Adrienne Dawn
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Post by Adrienne Dawn »

Never really thought about how I deal with unfamiliar words, but I guess now that I am thinking about it, I probably try to use the content around it and the context. If that doesn't get me what I need to know, I usually pick up my phone and google it.
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