vocabulary size?

bookburn

unread,

Mar 17, 2006, 1:48:48 AM3/17/06

to

If you're wondering how big Shakespeare's vocabulary was, perhaps compared to other comparable contemporaries, like Jonson, Marlowe, Oxford, and Bacon, you may want to estimate your own size.

At the following site, you can take a short test, self-scoring, that offers to calibrate your functional vocabulary. Don't need to leave your real name. http://www.insightin.com/test/test.phtml

bookburn

unread,

Mar 17, 2006, 2:37:04 AM3/17/06

to

"bookburn" <book...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:121kmuk...@corp.supernews.com...

bookburn
-----------------------

After posting the above, I took the test, myself, and realized that grammar
was wonky and words misspelled in the directions--hardly a recommendation for
a vocabulary judge. Maybe it's not untypical of vocabulary scholars to have
lacunae and peccadilloes of their own. Sorry for the bum tip. bookburn

Chess One

unread,

Mar 17, 2006, 8:40:24 AM3/17/06

to

"bookburn" <book...@yahoo.com> wrote in message

news:121kpp4...@corp.supernews.com...

Its a very bad test, even the questions are in error, ie

14 Survey show that the silence majority agree with me and not you.
39 No wonder, many companies are finding difficult to sustain the growth.

But the range of material tested is almost completely business-cant, and no
wide-spread vocabulary evaluation. As proposed synonyms for the underlined
word in the text, the selections are very strange indeed! Including mixing
singular and plural terms, and 'answers' which are another part of speech.

My evaluation was this:-

Your estimated vocabulary size: above 9600

You've answered 50 of 50 questions. You've done great on the test.
You're likely a native English speaker, experienced ESL teacher, or someone
who's stayed in English speaking countries for more than 5 years. The test
is designed for 10,000 word size range. A native English speaker with a
4-year college degree is believed to be able understand about 20,000 words.

--------

WHAT?! College students are thought to know 10,000 words. I think getting a
good score on this test would qualify someone to read the Wall Street
Journal, but not the New York Times which has more complex language, but
which is only about 9th Grade.

Phil Innes

Chess One

unread,

Mar 17, 2006, 8:40:24 AM3/17/06

to

"bookburn" <book...@yahoo.com> wrote in message

news:121kpp4...@corp.supernews.com...

I was looking at my 3 incorrect answers, which were:

29 So, your focus is not inward on your own processes, but outward, on
supply chain processes.
Correct answer: d) inbound Your answer: a) based

20 Nobody asked me to prove it.
Correct answer: a) show evidence of Your answer: c) demonstrate

7 Specifically, we are disappointed with the new emphasis on so-called
high stakes testing as an instrument to assess and rank schools.
Correct answer: d) a way Your answer: a) a device

I'll be damned if to prove is not to demonstrate, although 'show evidence
of' is equally viable, except its a verbose and 3 words...

I was unaware that my focus could be 'inbound' on my processes, rather than
based on them.

And #7 seems equivocal, since of course testing is a way to rank schools,
but the method 'high stakes' is the device employed in this instance.

Phil Innes

David L. Webb

unread,

Mar 17, 2006, 9:31:10 AM3/17/06

to

In article <c%ySf.4695$Sb.2779@trndny08>,
"Chess One" <inn...@verizon.net> wrote:

Question 13 is also problematic. It reads:

"He has a unique talent to inspire and *compel* each person to
recognize his or her own personal uniqueness and value."

Surely the underscored word for which a synonym is sought should have
been "campel"!

> Phil Innes