I do not contradict the critical importance of vocabulary in doing translation or practicing any skill of a foreign language. But I strongly believe that a good vocabulary does not have much to do with "quantity", i.e. the number of words/expressions/phrases that one has come across and put down in his/her notebook over time. It is the quality of his/her vocabulary that counts more. By "quality" I mean a true command of the words and expressions and their usage.
If there happen to be those words or phrases that are too slippery for someone to grasp or that suddenly jump out of his/her memory, it may well be because when picking up those vocabulary items s/he was not given adequate contextual aids which are conducive for an easy memorization and/or for an effective usage later on. There are also situations in which one may be trying to memorize words and expressions without being aware that they are rarely used or even have fallen into disuse.
Remember, words and phrases, especially those with literal or technical meanings, once divorced from their contextual meanings, can backfire very seriously. So, as a regular user of a foreign language, one should not regret too much if s/he happen to forget some words. As long as one can still communicate effectively with his/her interlocutor, and/or respond quickly in simultaneous translation, by using a simple and commonly-used vocabulary, s/he has every reason to be confident in his/her command of the language involved.
Ok, you make me feel much better, bro.
ReplyDeleteOver years, I have been spending (quite) tremendous amount of time enriching my vocabulary. And yet, I have never been able to use all that I learned properly. I have so much trouble expressing what I want to say or what I feel deep down. I always question myself: what is the problem with me? What is the problem with the way I studied? Maybe I am not smart enough to figure out an effective way to learn a foreign language. I am embarrassed having to tell someone how long I have learned English =(( It is sad enough to confess that the number of words that I can remember decline everyday :( (though I try as hard as I can to read books, newspaper, watching news and talking to "les gens de pays" ):((
My biggest aspiration is that one day my English would be as perfect as my Vietnamese (well, if my Vietnamese is good enough to be considered "perfect") and my French would be as good as my English now (again, if my English now can somehow be considered "good"). Hic hic, but seems like such a "dream" would never come true. And I am in the abyss of disappointment ::sigh::