It Pays to Remember Foreign Language Vocabulary and Abstract Information

             The more intelligible a thing is, the more easily it is retained in the memory, and contrariwise, the less intelligible it is,  the more easily we forgot it.

            YOU MAY not think that the above quote shows any particular brilliance on the part of Mr. Spinoza. You may feel, “sure, anyone knows that if something is intelligible, or makes sense, it is easier to remember.” Well, that’s true it is an obvious thought, but it took Mr. Spinoza to say it, or put it down on paper just that way, as far back as the 17^th century.

             I’m making a fuss about this particular quote because it tells you in one sentence what this entire book is about. Almost all the systems in the book are basically that-they help make unintelligible things intelligible. One example, of course, is the peg system; number by them-tem makes them mean something to you. 

             Perhaps the best example is in trying to memorize foreign-language  vocabulary. A word in a foreign language is nothing but a conglomeration of sounds to anyone who is not familiar with the language. That’s why they’re so difficult to remember.

            To make them easier to remember you will use the system of SUBSTITUTE WORDS. Substitute words or thing that is abstract, intangible or unintelligible; something that makes no sense to you, can’t be pictured, yet must be remembered. be sure you read this chapter carefully, because substitute words will also help you to remember names.

            Making up a substitute word is simply this:-  Upon  coming across a word that means nothing to you; that is intangible and unintelligible, you merely find a word, phrase or thought that sound as close to it as  possible, and that is tangible and can be pictured in your mind.

              Any word you may have to remember, foreign-language or otherwise, that is meaningless, can be made to mean something to you by utilizing a substitute word or thought. Years ago I was a tropical-fish hobbyist for a while, and I was trying to learn the technical names of the fish fins. Since I couldn’t  picture their names at that time, I used substitute words to remember them.

               For example:-  The tail fin of a fish is called the caudal fin. In order to remember this, I made a picture of a fish with a long cord instead of a tail fin. The picture of a cord was enough to help me recall the word “caudal.” The fin on the back of the fish is known as the dorsal fin. The first thought that came to my mind when I heard “dorsal” was Tommy Dorsey (dorsal-Dorsey). I automatically associate Tommy Dorsey with a trombone. So, I simply made a picture in my mind of a man playing a trombone on the fish’s back!

             This may sound like a long procedure to you; it isn’t. the association from “dorsal” to Tommy Dorsey to trombone to the actual  forming of the picture is the work of the merest fraction of a second. The thing for you to keep  in mind is that the thought or picture that comes to you when you hear any intangible word, is the one to use. I used Dorsey for dorsal, but you, perhaps, would have thought of “door-sill,” which would have served the purpose just as well.

              The Spanish word for “bird” is “pajaro” (pronounced  pa-kar-ro). Can you think of a substitute word for it? It’s easy, because the word almost sounds  like “parked car.” Parked car, of course, is something that is tangible and which you can picture in your mind. So-why not make a ridiculous or illogical association, as you’re already learned, between “parked car” and “bird”? you might “see” a parked car crammed full of birds, or a bird parking a car, etc.

               The next time you try to recall the Spanish word for “bird,” your ridiculous association will help you to recall that the word is “pajaro.” The substitute word you select does not have to sound exactly like the foreign word used pa carrying eau (water), or, parks in a raw, either of which would have also helped also helped you to remember the word. As long as you have the main part of the word in your picture, the incidentals, the rest of the word, will fall into  place by true memory.

                This is strictly an individual thing; there are some substitute thoughts I use that  I couldn’t possibly explain  in words, but they do help me recall the foreign word. The words I use may be great for me, but not for you; you must use the substitute thoughts that you think of. 

                I am explaining this so thoroughly because it is one of the most useful things you will learn in this book, and I remember a foreign word and its English meaning, associate the English meaning to your substitute word for the foreign word. 

               Let me give you some concrete examples of the system, using a few simple Spanish and French words:-

             Ventana means “window “  in Spanish. You might picture a girl (one you know) whose name is Anna, throwing a vent through a closed window, which is “fenetre,” you might picture  a window eating a raw fan, or a fan eating a raw window. Fan-ate-raw- fenetre!

 

             The Spanish word hermano (pronounced air-mon-o) means  “brother.” Just picture your brother as an airman. 

                                           

              The Spanish word for “room” is cuarto (pronounced quart-o). picture a room piled high with quarters. 

             Vasa  means “glass” in Spanish. See yourself drinking from a vase instead of a glass.

             The word for “bridge” in French is pont. See yourself bunting a football on or over a bridge.

             Pluma  means  “pen” in Spanish. See yourself writing with a gigantic plume instead of a pen; or, you’re writing on a plume with a pen. 

            The word meaning “father” in French is pere. Associate father to pear and you’ll always remember it

 

           The sample associations given above are those that I might use; it is always best to make up your own picture. 

           Try this method with any foreign-language vocabulary, and you’ll be able to memorize the words better and faster, and with more retentiveness, than you ever could before. Aside from languages, this system can be used for anything you may be studying which  entails remembering words that have no meaning to you, at first. A medical student who has to memorize the names of the bones in the human body,  may have some trouble with femur, coccyx, patella, fibula, sacrum, etc. but if these were made into substitute words or thoughts like this:-fee more-femur; rooster (cock) kicks or cock sics-coccyx; pay teller or pat Ella- patella; fib you lie-fibula; and, sack of rum-sacrum-then the student could like them to each other, or associate them to whatever it is they must be associated to.

            A pharmaceutical student could picture someone pushing a large bell down over him while he throws pine trees from under it, to help him remember that atropine (I throw pine) comes from the belladonna (bell down) root or leaf.

             I am actually making up these substitute words as I write; with a little thought you could find much better substitute words for them. You might want to picture a giver (donor ) of a bell to remember belladonna, etc.

                              

             The point is that the substitute word or thought has meaning while the original word does not, therefore you make it easier to remember by using the substitute word. You will get some more pointers and practices on this in the chapter on how to remember names.

               So-I  started this chapter with a quote by Benedict Spinoza, may I be presumptuous enough to end it with a or unintelligible can be remembered easily if a system is used whereby  the unintelligible thing is made to be  tangible, meaningful and intelligible.”