How to test your present vocabulary?
by: Rizhel Ann Supremo
If you are an average adult, your vocabulary is approximately 1.5 times larger as that of a child of ten. You also know only one fourth times as many words compared to an average college sophomore. What is more shocking is that you're now increasing your vocabulary less than one hundredth rate when you were in the lower years of elementary school.
These facts may sound demeaning but they are not intended to. These are only figures that explain our normal vocabulary development that recent studies have investigated.
Let us examine some of these facts:
According to an investigation conducted by professor Robert H. Seashore of Northwestern University, the average child of ten knows the meanings of 34,300 different terms and since 6 years old, has been learning new words at a rate of 5000 a year. Similar results were also given by professor George W. Hartmann among students in Alabama Institute of Technology stating that the average college sophomore has a vocabulary of approximately 200,000 words.
This particular discrepancy is something to ponder about. Isn't it? Perhaps, you're not an average adult and your vocabulary is not comparably anemic. But still you should have to maintain a sharp mind. Our brains won't get any younger as well as our brain cells slowly deteriorating as we age. Put your vocabulary level to a test. Read books, magazines and learn a new word everyday. Just because you already earned a degree or a professional already, it will not mean you shoud stop learning.
