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Matt D
Professional Teacher
How many English words do you know?
This is a cool little page a student shared with me. I thought it'd be nice to pass it on to the Italki community.
http://testyourvocab.com/
http://testyourvocab.com/
Apr 21, 2019 5:02 PM
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Comments · 6
Why don't you actually answer my questions instead of simply down voting me?
April 22, 2019
What does it mean to say that you know what a word means? If I know that a calliope is some sort of a musical instrument, is that good enough? Do I have to know that it is some sort of a pneumatic mechanical organ? Do I also need to know that Calliope was one of the Muses?
April 22, 2019
My total vocabulary size is estimated as 23100 words. Based on participations so far, we've already got some decent statistics. Most native English adult speakers who have taken the test fall in the range 20,000–35,000 words. Click here for a full breakdown by age (opens in new tab/window).
This feels like wow!
April 22, 2019
tempus.edax.rerum, let's make it even worse: what is "consciousness"?
There is indeed a problem:
When you do such tests you aren't sure where to draw the line between "know" and "not exactly". Comparing your results to results of other people is complicated. You have to hypothesize about how they draw the line.
But there is only a problem when you look at it as a "test". It is not a test.
If you're for some reason are curious about this, if you want to know how many words you know, you just define what is "know" for yourself (approximately). Then you can use such "tests" as a tool for estimating the size your (and only your) vocabulary. Approximately. Under varying definitions of "know", "size" and "vocabulary".
Given that you already want to know how many words you know, you likely already have some idea of what the word "know" means:)
There is indeed a problem:
When you do such tests you aren't sure where to draw the line between "know" and "not exactly". Comparing your results to results of other people is complicated. You have to hypothesize about how they draw the line.
But there is only a problem when you look at it as a "test". It is not a test.
If you're for some reason are curious about this, if you want to know how many words you know, you just define what is "know" for yourself (approximately). Then you can use such "tests" as a tool for estimating the size your (and only your) vocabulary. Approximately. Under varying definitions of "know", "size" and "vocabulary".
Given that you already want to know how many words you know, you likely already have some idea of what the word "know" means:)
April 22, 2019
Thanks, Matt! A great resource for students.
April 22, 2019
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