Englishuser wrote:

Hello, How many words do you think you use in your everyday life? What kind of words do you use in day-to-day interactions? What kind of words do you use only on special occasions? What kind of words would you recoginse in context even though you never use them yourself? What kind of words do you need to know in a second language? As we're learning English here I decided to list some 'words' that I'd like you to rate. How important do you think it is for people to know the 'words' in group 1? What about the words in groups 2, 3, 4, and 5? Group 1: he, I, the, however, quite, at, a, you, we, after Group 2: cat, boy, house, church, train, letter, door, lamp, book, TV Group 3: scrap, colander, hex-key, dismount, attic, cursor, speedometer, handlebars, embroidering, abattoir Group 4: mellow, innocuous, quintessence, lumber, meticulous,  obsolete, deference, consort, mollify, ambiguous Group 5: saprophyte, scutes, ventricle, cotylendron, maggot, eugenics, mesentry, pseudopod, villus, ptomaine

English is my first language. My thoughts:

Group 1 and Group 2 - both absolutely necessary

After that, individual circumstances become important.

Group 3) 'Scrap', 'dismount', 'attic', 'cursor', and 'speedometer' would be useful for some people. 'Handlebars' might be useful. 'Embroidering'..OK   'Colander' - only if someone cooks. 'Hex-key' and 'abattoir' - why bother?

Group 4) 'Obsolete' is a good word to know, if only to understand its meaning when applied to words and phrases you see and hear. 'Ambiguous' (unclear) is useful because the concept of ambiguity (lack of clarity) is very important for someone studying another language. The others would be nice to know.  

Group 5)  You're getting specialized. "Maggot' and 'eugenics' seem the most general.. For most people, there are many better words to learn!!  

Englishuser wrote:

Hi Nef, I appreciate your reply. I agree with you when you say that the words in group 5 are a bit unnecessary for most people. But if a person wants to learn all the words there are to learn they'd naturally learn those too. And many more.

You have interesting posts, Englishuser. I admire your English and your attitude. But I think that most of Group 5 is completely unneccessary for most native speakers!   Most of Group 5 wouldn't even show up on the general part of the GRE (Graduate Record Exam), in my opinion. If someone works in a highly specialized field or is very interested in a specialized line of study, it makes sense to learn the associated vocabulary. But as you know, there are lots of specialized fields.

I also am struck by the difference between 'reading vocabulary' and 'speaking vocabulary'. For instance, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say 'abattoir', except in a script. (Where I am, 'slaughterhouse' is a lot more common.)  

Englishuser wrote:

Hi Nef, I hope you will permit me to quote you in my post. I admire your English and your attitude. Thank you! Group 5 is completely unneccessary for most native speakers! You never know. My goal has always been to learn as many words as possible, and honestly, I wouldn't mind knowing as many words as a native professor of English at an Ivy League institution would. Speaking of professors of English, do you think they have vaster vocabularies than other native speakers (including English teachers)? I also am struck by the difference between 'reading vocabulary' and 'speaking vocabulary'. For instance, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say 'abattoir', except in a script. (Where I am, 'slaughterhouse' is a lot more common.) Regional variation. 'Abattoir' is more common in British English, whilst 'slaughterhouse' is the normal choice amongst North American speakers. This also makes learning English so exciting; you need to learn British English, Canadian English, Caribbean English, Nigerian English, Australian English... Not to speak of learning the vocabulary of Chaucer and Shakespeare, something that's paramount to all of us, I should think. Let me know what you think.

This also makes learning English so exciting; you need to learn British English, Canadian English, Caribbean English, Nigerian English, Australian English...

You have a lot more energy than I do, but that's good.

Not to speak of learning the vocabulary of Chaucer and Shakespeare, something that's paramount to all of us, I should think.

I have never thought it was paramount to anyone except the people who thought it was paramount to themselves.  I'm not one of them.

Speaking of professors of English, do you think they have vaster vocabularies than other native speakers (including English teachers)?

I think there's a huge amount of individual variation.

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Where are you from, EU?

I was intending EU to stand for Englishuser. Sorry that wasn't clear.

I'm not arguing that English professors don't have excellent vocabularies. Of course I think they have very extensive vocabularies compared to most people. But not everyone who has an extensive vocabulary is an English professor!

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Our emphases are different. I incline very much to the functional. That's because I work with students who need the most immediately practical kind of English they can get. You're a scholar. I respect that (truly). But it would be strange if we had exactly the same priorities.