[Illuyankas]

Here is a website called http://www.testyourvocab.com/. It reportedly estimates your average vocabulary based on what words you know from a given list. I apparently have 38,500 words known to my colossal brain, and you guys are my first choice in finding people who will know more. If you know less, and also have English as a first language, you suck. If you know more and have English as a second or later language, congrats, you are king of words.

FAQ

1. But what if I'm a lady?
A: KING. OF. WORDS.

[Darkwatch]

Wow a lot of those "obscure" words were just French.

[Mentalist]

29,300

guess not bad for third language?

[Obdigore]

43,200. Didn't know a couple in the corners but that is it.

Of course, they might be my definition learned by reading them and assuming what they are.

[hmqb]

6 words no!!!!!!!

[Silencer]

43,300. First-language, though, and I've always been something of a walking dictionary-thesaurus to my friends. XD

Interesting method, but I'd argue it's inherently flawed by the sheer number of adopted words found in the test - at least a quarter of the 'narrow' vocab portion were foreign (even though I knew their English meanings) and so aren't *really* English words. Though they no doubt appear in a dictionary.

Bonus points for including "tatterdemalion" - I wonder how many Malaz users take it that they know a meaning for it because of RotCG? Hehe...

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Being a four-time spelling bee champion, I'll take a poke at this. However, I feel like my extended streak of sleep deprivation may be a bit of an hindrance.

EDIT: Ah, I thought this was a quiz. Well, my sleep deprivation won't have an effect, it seems.

This post has been edited by Tarez: 03 December 2010 - 12:57 AM

[Obdigore]

silencer beat me, that walking dic!...tionary.

[blanketman2.0]

37,000 words for the french canadian

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

43,200.

He beat me as well, Obdigore.

I must say though, I'm not very impressed with the test. I think they'd have been much better off listing multiple definitions for each word and having people select the correct one (and have an option if they didn't know).

Also, most of my vocabulary is receptive, but not insofar as it being based off the fact that I can deduce the general meanings of words. It's more that I've learned the majority of my vocabulary from reading, so I know what they mean, just not the dictionary definition, and I generally don't use them. They said they were only testing productive vocabulary, but my vocabulary is, for the most part, not productive, yet I still seem to have 'beaten the system', so to speak. Seems inherently flawed.

This post has been edited by Tarez: 03 December 2010 - 01:05 AM

[Ulrik]

22 000, for learning and using english for couple of years is BAD!

[Adjutant Stormy~]

37100, but I would argue that there are definitely some British-isms on the list that I received.

Also, I decided to go back and look up some of the words, and a few of them I have confirmed aren't in my dictionary (Meriam-Webster).

[hmqb]

Alright I just beat the system! i clicked no boxes then said I was born 2010 in December, so either today or yesterday and that i lived in china and English wasn't my first language.
My result 20 words.
How the hell would a one day old Chinese baby no any words!?!?!?!!?!

[Adjutant Stormy~]

To understand the instructions, you need to know SOME words...

[Shinrei]

Adjutant Stormy, on 03 December 2010 - 01:11 AM, said:

37100, but I would argue that there are definitely some British-isms on the list that I received.

Also, I decided to go back and look up some of the words, and a few of them I have confirmed aren't in my dictionary (Meriam-Webster).

I agree. I think I have a strong vocabulary, and scored in the top 10% on the GRE verbal section without any study whatsoever, but only got 37,500 on that test. Definately some britishisms on that list.

[MTS]

42, 500. You're such a nerd, Silencer.

A lot of the 'hard' narrow words ended up being foreign, like bruit, which I found annoying, but I managed to know most of them.

I did only manage to figure out 'uxoricide' (not a word here apparently lol) by using Latin, though. Who knew it was actually useful?

This post has been edited by MTS: 03 December 2010 - 03:35 AM

[D'rek]

27200... and it's my first language!

[Silencer]

Tarez, on 03 December 2010 - 01:02 AM, said:

43,200.

He beat me as well, Obdigore.

I must say though, I'm not very impressed with the test. I think they'd have been much better off listing multiple definitions for each word and having people select the correct one (and have an option if they didn't know).

Also, most of my vocabulary is receptive, but not insofar as it being based off the fact that I can deduce the general meanings of words. It's more that I've learned the majority of my vocabulary from reading, so I know what they mean, just not the dictionary definition, and I generally don't use them. They said they were only testing productive vocabulary, but my vocabulary is, for the most part, not productive, yet I still seem to have 'beaten the system', so to speak. Seems inherently flawed.

Yeah, I definitely actually learned a lot of my vocabulary from reading (and they do specify 'a' definition, not 'the') yet I found the same thing. Then again, most of my retroactive definitions are the same as those in the dictionary (or so I've found in the past), so who knows.

I would agree with having the 'standard' multiple-choice test (prevents cheating, also) except that it allows people to guess closest meaning. This is meant to test whether you know the definition of the word without any hints, I think.

[Gothos]

I'm terribly embarrassed. 22,300 words (second language, never been to an english-speaking country). Most of the words I didn't know I've seen for the first time in my life. Do they even mean anything?
Prurient?
Funambulist? what is that, a funny ambulance driver?
Malapropism?
What he fuck, ladies and gentelmen?

PS. Just took the test again, had some different words, 25,300. Not entirely accurate on one use, is it?

This post has been edited by Gothos: 03 December 2010 - 06:42 AM

[MTS]

Gothos, on 03 December 2010 - 06:39 AM, said:

I'm terribly embarrassed. 22,300 words (second language, never been to an english-speaking country). Most of the words I didn't know I've seen for the first time in my life. Do they even mean anything?
Prurient?
Funambulist? what is that, a funny ambulance driver?
Malapropism?
What he fuck, ladies and gentelmen?

PS. Just took the test again, had some different words, 25,300. Not entirely accurate on one use, is it?

A funambulist is a tightrope walker, a malapropism is when you misuse a homonym, like 'bare with me', and prurient has something to do with itching? I didn't know it, but the Latin word for 'to itch' is similar.

Anyway, English is the most overburdened language, there are thousands of words that only armchair-bound academics will have heard of, much less be able to use in conversation. At this level I don't think vocabulary is a sign of intelligence so much as a sign of how widely you have read and how much you can remember.