What do you think, how many words the average person knows?Everyone remembers the famous passage from the immortal works of Petrov and I. Ilf "The Twelve Chairs" of comparing the vocabulary of Shakespeare and Ellochka-ogress.The same quote can be reduced as a confirmation of the hypothesis that the lexicon of a person depends on the fact that it represents the same person.For example, vocabulary uneducated person or young child will be a few hundred;literate - a few thousand.And at such geniuses as Pushkin and Shakespeare and to fifteen thousand typed.By the way, at the expense of the latter should be made more accurate.Four-volume "Dictionary of the language of Pushkin" has 21 191 words.Scientists have thought that is the number of words used in all the letters and works of the famous Russian poet.The vocabulary of the great English playwright has a little less - about fifteen thousand words.But according to some sources, there are about eighteen thousand.With regard to the ordinary people, the picture looks somewhat different.But first, we see what a lexicon.Also, we define the concept of passive and active vocabulary.So ...
What is the lexicon?
literal translation from Greek means "word", "a figure of speech."The precise definition of what the lexicon is: Connect the words of a language, parts of words or language that speaks a specific person or a specific group of people.Vocabulary - is a central part of the language that names, generates and transmits knowledge of any events or objects.In other words - it is a language section that examines words, pronunciation, part of speech, and so on. D.
passive and active vocabulary
When it comes to a particular set of words that a person uses on a daily basis in his speech, which is used to expresstheir thoughts and feelings, it implies active vocabulary.Coined by the combinatorics of words and can be varied.But it is still a "tool" of thoughts, feelings and actions.In the case where a person does not use certain words, but know their meaning (often very approximate), learns in a readable text, it refers to the passive vocabulary.For passive vocabulary words include special use: neologisms, archaisms, loan words, many dialect and the like.
number of words in the lexicon
Note, back to the question, what is the vocabulary that active and passive vocabularies each person individually.It depends on the age, occupation, general cultural level, personal qualities, tastes and even residence rights.According to statistics, the active vocabulary of an adult with higher education is seven to nine thousand words.Passive - twenty to twenty-four thousand.While in everyday life we treat only one or two thousand words.They say that the possibilities are virtually limitless human memory.Therefore, you can safely increase your vocabulary and learn foreign words, thus enriching the Russian lexicon.
