Better English and Better Life via Dictionary Reading

 

Reading a dictionary to learn English would've sounded dumb when I was preparing

for studying abroad in the late 1990s. By then, my classmates and I had already

gone through more than 10 years of regular classes. Many of us had passed the

national grade four and six exams. For me, better English equalled higher scores.

Trying to become a living dictionary would mean boredom and waste and doom to failure.

 

Talking about exams, I lived for them. One hurdle after another, they were the

reason I existed, the carrier of ambition, the fulfillment of family dreams, the

steps to a bright future, and the milestones of my young life. 20 years of

education had turned me into a professional test-taker. The TOEFL and GRE would

be the last hurdles. What lay beyond? I was too busy to care. 

 

In those muggy Beijing summer days, I was hard pressed to master key words for

the verbal section. The 1995 New GRE Selected Words by Mr. Yu Minhong, our 700-

page bible, consisted of a list of about 6000 key words gleaned from past exams

and useful tricks on how to commit them to memory. At the time, I marveled at

them and couldn't help wondering what other occasions in my life would I meet

let alone use words such as 'epistemology'? (Well. It showed up, 20 years later,

in Taleb's books). Success demanded laser-sharp focus and there was no time for

such questions. I memorized the words, crushed the exams, and moved on.

 

Map-makers in the past used to say "There be dragons" for uncharted territories.

But I knew not enough to fear. I was good at exams and even better at being fooled

by that ability. I might have prepared differently for the life abroad had I not

been so smug about test scores. Once in the west where I had to actually use the

language to live, I floundered and lost my way in the proverbial wilderness and

left Mr. Yu's book alone gathering dust. The map I had was terribly wrong.

 

These days, I blame almost everything on deficiencies in English: workplace

frustrations, lack of sense of community, the loneliness and helplessness in a

foreign land that might sometimes come from things as trivial as not being able

to identify a tree, etc., etc. The phrase "freeze out,"

 

    To shut out or exclude, as by cold or unfriendly treatment: The others

    tried to freeze me out of the conversation.

 

sounded exactly what I felt in my early days in the valley among a majority of

foreign team-mates. They might not have tried to freeze me out on purpose, of

course. It was more likely me not being able to contribute with the right stuff,

in English.

 

Would reading other works, e.g., poems, essays, novels, self-help non-fictions,

Shakespeare, the Bible, etc., do it? It might for others but for me, only the

dictionary delivers the confidence from knowing that I have seen (almost)

everything under the sun. Moreover, the nuances go way beyond the words. The tone,

the shade, the etymology, etc., all play a part. Through 2000 pages of expounding

and repetitions of usages, concepts, and patterns of the language, I can't help

but absorbing whatever left unsaid in previous learning. And more importantly,

what I learn applies to life, the ultimate exam in my education.

 

[7grizzly]

回复 '暖冬cool夏' 的评论 : Thank you my friend for pointing out the differences between unillusioned and disillusioned. While I think 'unillusioned' is useful, I wonder why neither the AHD4 nor the Apple dictionary has it. Maybe there are already words for the same purpose.

[暖冬cool夏]

回复 '7grizzly' 的评论 : Unillusioned== free from illusion; Disillusioned== having lost faith or trust in sth formerly regarded as good or valuable. The two words have different meanings. I didn't consult the dictionary till you mentioned it.
I re-read the article, and agree with you that the author is hard on Rickson (the writer of the book). Though there is no such a thing as cure-all, racism should not be a topic in the context.
All the words you listed here are new to me:))

[7grizzly]

回复 '暖冬cool夏' 的评论 : It's great to learn 'jiu-jiteiro' and 'synchrony' and see 'acolyte' and 'rhapsodize' in action in the Atlantic article. I think Hayes's too hard on Breathe the book but I like her Danaher quotes. Also, the word 'unillusioned' does not exist in AHD4 or Apple's dictionary, although it's in dictionary.com. Thanks for pointing me to the story.

[7grizzly]

回复 '暖冬cool夏' 的评论 : Thank you, 暖冬, for reading and your hearty praises.
You've been too kind.

Indeed, the more I read, the more I felt I should've done it earlier. The
dictionary feels like the iceburg of which the GRE word list book shows merely
the tip. It has been an empowering experience for someone as unimaginative as
me.

I'm so glad that you read the Atlantic article! (We were just back from
Saturday's big class.) It's not late for you to take a few classes to get a
better feel of the art. It's certainly not late for J. Coach Brenda King, 63, in
our gym got her blackbelt at 60!

Have a great weekend.

[暖冬cool夏]

Love the ending sentence too, strong and coherent!

[暖冬cool夏]

Your post is a penetrating beam of morning sunlight (it's cloudy today here by the way:)) brightening my day. I love this piece! Many good word choices, like "glean, flounder, laser-sharp (reminds of me laser-thin)" etc. I am not a dictionary person, though I also take notes of new words in my readings. Your confidence in dictionary reading makes me believe in its profoundness!
Guess what, I came across an article in December 2021 issue of The Atlantic titled as "The Martial Art I Can't Live Without", in which it talks about Jiu-jitsu, Gracie and its spiritual and philosophical power. I wish that I knew earlier and could have sent J to learn it, or if one day she wants to learn it herself. However, there is a sentence that I'd like to quote here: "Jiu-jitsu involves extreme physical intimacy and poses extreme risks." So watch out to protect yourself well.
Happy Chinese New Year!