The Century Vocabulary Builder Part 6

These purposes and methods are general. We now come to the specific fields in which we may with profit cultivate words in combination. Of these fields there are four.

If you read a foreign language, whether laboriously or with ease, you should make this power a.s.sist you to ama.s.s a good English vocabulary.

Take compositions or parts of compositions written in the foreign tongue, and turn them into idiomatic English. How much you should translate at a given time depends upon your leisure and your adeptness. Employ all the methods--the spontaneous, the carefully perfected, the oral, the written--heretofore explained in this chapter. In your final work on a pa.s.sage you should aim at a faultless rendition, and should spend time and ransack the lexicons rather than come short of this ideal.

The habit of translation is an excellent habit to keep up. For the study of an alien tongue not only improves your English, but has compensations in itself.

EXERCISE - Translation

1. Translate from any accessible book in the foreign language you can read.

2. Subscribe for a period of at least two or three months for a newspaper or magazine in that language, if it is a modern one. Translate as before, but give most of your time to rapid oral translation for a real or imaginary American hearer.

3. When you have completed your final written translation of a pa.s.sage from the foreign language, make yourself master of all the English words you have not previously (1) known or (2) used, but have encountered in your work of translation.

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It may be that you are not familiar with a foreign language. At any rate you have some knowledge of English. Put this knowledge to use in paraphrasing; for thus you will enrich your vocabulary and make it surer and more flexible. The process of paraphrasing is simple, though the actual work is not easy. You take pa.s.sages written in English--the more of them the better, and the more diversified the better--and both reproduce their substance and incarnate their mood in words you yourself shall choose.

You may have a pa.s.sage before you and paraphrase it unit by unit. More often, however, you should follow the plan adopted by Franklin when he emulated Addison by rewriting the _Spectator Papers_. That is, you should steep yourself in the thought and emotion of a piece of writing, and then lay the piece aside until its wording has faded from your memory, when you should reembody the substance in language that seems to you natural and fitting. Much of the benefit will come from your comparing your version, as Franklin did his, with the original. When you perceive that you have fallen short, you should consider the respects wherein your inferiority lies--and should make another attempt, and yet another, and another. When you perceive that in any way you have surpa.s.sed the original, you should feel a just pride in your achievement--and should resolve that next time your cause for pride shall be greater still. Even after you have desisted from formal paraphrasing, you should cling to the habit, formed at this time, of observing any notable felicities in whatever you read and of comparing them with the expression you yourself would likely have employed.

EXERCISE - Paraphrasing

1. Paraphrase the editorial in Appendix 1. You should improve upon the original. Keep trying until you do.

2. Paraphrase the second paragraph in Burke's speech (Appendix 2). Burke lacked the cheap tricks of the ordinary orator, but his discussions were based upon a comprehensive knowledge of facts, a sympathetic understanding of human nature, a vast depth and range of thought, and a well-meditated political philosophy. In short, he is a model for _elaborated_ discussions. Set forth the leading thought of this paragraph; you can give it in fewer words than he employs. But try setting it forth with his full accompaniments of reflection and information; you will be bewildered at his crowding so much into such small compa.s.s.

3. Try to rival the pregnant conciseness of the Parable of the Sower (Appendix 3).

4. Paraphrase in prose the Seven Ages of Man (Appendix 4). Catch if possible the mood, the "atmosphere," of each of the pictures painted by Shakespeare. Condense your paraphrase as much as you can.

5. In each of the preceding exercises compare your vocabulary with that of the original as to size, precision, and the grace and ease with which words are put together. Does the original employ terms unfamiliar to you?

If so, look up their meaning and make them yours; then observe, when you next paraphrase the pa.s.sage, whether your mastery of these terms has improved your expression.

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Models have their use, but you can also work without models. It is imperative that you should. You must learn to discuss, explain, a.n.a.lyze, argue, narrate, and describe for yourself. Here again you should diversify your materials to the utmost, not only that you may become well-rounded and versatile in your ability to set forth ideas and feelings in words, but also that your knowledge and your sensibility may receive stimulation.

It is feasible to begin by discussing or explaining. Most of the intercourse conducted through language consists in either discussion or explanation. a.n.a.lysis, ordinarily, is almost ignored. Argument is indulged in, and so is description (though less freely), but they are of the bluntest and broadest. Narration--the recounting of incidents of everyday existence--is, however, widely employed.

In your work of discussion or explanation you may seize upon any current topic--industrial, social, political, or what not--that comes into your mind. Or you may make a list of such topics, writing each on a separate piece of paper; may jumble the slips in a hat; and may thus have always at your elbow a collection of satisfactory themes from which you may take one at random. Or you may invest in language of your own selection the substance of an address or sermon you have heard, or give the burden of some important conversation in which you have partic.i.p.ated, or explain the tenor of an article you have read. You should of course try to interest your hearers, and above all, you should impart to what you say complete clarity.

In a.n.a.lyzing you should select as your topic a process fairly obscure, the implications of a certain statement or argument, the results to be expected from some action or policy that has been advocated, or the exact matter at issue between two disputants. Any topic for discussion, explanation, or argument may be treated a.n.a.lytically. Your a.n.a.lysis in its final form should be so carefully considered that its soundness cannot be impeached.

In arguing you may take any subject under the sun, from baseball to Bolshevism, for all of them are debated with vehemence. Any topic for discussion or explanation becomes, when approached from some particular angle, material for argument. Thus the initial topic in the exercise that follows is "The aeroplane's future as a carrier of mail." You may convert it into a question for debate by making it read: "The aeroplane is destined to supplant the railroad as a carrier of mail," or "The aeroplane is destined to be used increasingly as a carrier of transcontinental mail." In arguing you may propose for ourself either of two objectives: (1) to silence your opponent, (2) to refute, persuade, and win him over fairly. The achievement of the first end calls for bl.u.s.ter and perhaps a grim, barbaric strength; you must do as Johnson did according to Goldsmith's famous dictum--if your pistol misses fire, you must knock your adversary down with the b.u.t.t end of it. This procedure, though inartistic to be sure, is in some contingencies the only kind that will serve. But you should cultivate procedure of a type more urbane. Let your very reasonableness be the most potent weapon you wield. To this end you should form the habit of looking for good points on both sides of a question. As a still further precaution against contentiousness you should uphold the two sides successively.

In narrating you should, as a rule, stick to simple occurrences, though you may occasionally vary your work by summarizing the plot of a novel or giving the gist and drift of big historical events. You should confine yourself, in large part, to incidents in which you have been personally involved, or which you yourself have witnessed, as mishaps, unexpected encounters, bickerings, even rescues or riots. You should omit non-essentials and make the happening itself live for your hearer; if you can so interest him in it that he will not notice your manner of telling it, your success is but the greater.

Finally, in describing you should deal for the most part with beings, objects, and appearances familiar to you. Description is usually hard to make vivid. This is because the objects and scenes are likely to be immobile and (at least when told about) to lack distinctiveness. Try, therefore, to lay hold of the peculiar quality of the thing described, and use words suggestive of color and motion. Moreover be brief. Long descriptions are sure to be wearisome.

EXERCISE - Discourse

1. Select topics from the following list for discussion or explanation:

The aeroplane's future as a carrier of mail The commercial future of the aeroplane A recent scientific (or mechanical or electrical) invention A better type of newspaper--its contents and makeup A better type of newspaper--how it can be secured The connection between the advertising and news departments of a newspaper--the actual condition The connection between the advertising and news departments of a newspaper--the ideal Special features in a newspaper that are popular A single standard for the s.e.xes--is it possible?

A single standard for the s.e.xes--how it can be attained (or approximated) Should the divorce laws be made more stringent?

Should a divorced person be prohibited from remarrying?

What further marriage restrictions should be placed upon the physically or mentally unfit?

What further measures should be taken by the cities (states, nation) for the protection of motherhood?

Is the division of men into strongly contrasted groups as to wealth one of nature's necessities, or is it the result of a social and economic system?

Some shortcomings of the labor unions Are the shortcomings of the labor unions accidental or inherent?

Some ways of bettering the condition of the working cla.s.ses How munic.i.p.al (state, national) bureaus for finding employment for the laborer may become more serviceable Wrongs committed by big business (or some branch of it) Should a man's income above a stipulated amount be confiscated by the government?

Income taxes--what exemptions should be granted?

The right basis for business--compet.i.tion or cooperation?

Are the courts equally just to labor and capital?

How can legal procedure be changed to enable individuals to secure just treatment from corporations without resorting to prolonged and expensive lawsuits?

Where our interests clash with those of Great Britain How our relations with Great Britain may be further improved How our relations with j.a.pan may be further improved How may closer commercial relations with other countries be promoted?

What to do about the railroads and railroad rates A natural resource that should be conserved or restored Do high tariffs breed international ill-will?

Should we have a high tariff at this juncture?

To what extent should osteopathy (chiropractic) be permitted (or protected) by law?

What is wrong with munic.i.p.al government in my city How woman suffrage affects local government How to make rural life more attractive The importance of the rotation of crops The race problem as it affects my community The cla.s.s problem as it affects my community The school-house as a social center How to Americanize the alien elements in our population To what extent, if at all, should foreign-born citizens of our country be encouraged to preserve their native traditions and culture?

Censorship of the moving picture Educational possibilities of the moving picture How to bring about improvement in the quality of the moving picture The effect of the moving picture upon legitimate drama A church that men will attend How young men may be attracted to the churches How far shall doctrine be insisted upon by the churches?

To what extent shall the church concern itself with social and economic problems?

To what extent, if at all, shall Sunday diversions be restricted?

The advantages of using the free public library Can the cities give children in the slums better opportunities for physical (mental, moral) development?

Should all cities be required to establish zoological gardens, as well as schools, for the children?

How my city might improve its system of public parks The most interesting thing about the work I am in Opportunities in the work I am in The qualities called for in the work I am in The ideals of my a.s.sociates Something I have learned about life Something I have learned about human nature A book that has influenced me, and why A person who has influenced me, and how My favorite sport or recreation Why baseball is so popular What I could do for the people around me What I should like for the people around me to do for me.

2. Discuss or explain the ideas listed in Exercise 3 for 'Abstract vs.

Concrete' in "Words in Combination: Some Pitfalls" above.

3. a.n.a.lyze the debatable questions included in the two preceding exercises or suggested by them. That is, find the issues in each question, and show what each disputant must prove and what he must refute.

4. a.n.a.lyze the results to be expected from the adoption of some policy or course of action by:

A newspaper A business firm The city The farmers The producers in some business or industry The consumers The retail merchants of your city Some group of reformers Some social group Those interested in a social activity, as dancing Your neighbors Yourself.

5. a.n.a.lyze or explain:

The testing of seed grain How to raise potatoes (any other vegetable) How to utilize and apportion the s.p.a.ce in your garden How to keep an automobile in good shape How to run an automobile (motor boat) How to make a rabbit trap How to lay out a camp how to catch trout (ba.s.s, codfish, tuna fish, lobsters) How to conduct a public meeting How a bill is introduced and pa.s.sed in a legislative body How food is digested How to extract oxygen from water How a fish breathes How gold is mined How wireless messages are sent How your favorite game is played How to survey a tract of land How stocks are bought and sold on margins How public opinion is formed How a man ought to form his opinions The responsibility of individuals to society The responsibility of society to the individual.

6. Argue one side or the other, or the two successively, of queries contained or implied in Exercises 1 and 2.