37 Tackling Unfamiliar Vocabulary
What to do when you encounter new vocabulary
If you read an academic article, most likely you will encounter unfamiliar words. Before presenting some strategies on how to deal with unknown vocabulary, we would like you to understand some basic principles that good readers use in this situation.
General Principles When Dealing with Unfamiliar Words in a Text
Principle # 1: You do not need to know every word or phrase in a text to comprehend its content.
Principle # 2: Pay attention to unfamiliar words in titles, subtitles, and topic sentences. If you don’t know them, mark them up.
Principle # 3: Do not interrupt your reading at every unknown word that you encounter. Instead, focus on understanding the context where the word appears. Mark up unknown words only if you think they are important to understand the context.
Principle # 4: If you notice an unfamiliar word repeated frequently throughout the text, mark it up.
Principle # 5: Using an online dictionary should be the last resort. Don’t look up too many words because this task will slow down your reading and distract your concentration.
Strategies for Vocabulary Comprehension Before Using a Dictionary
Read each of the strategies explained below. Not only will they help you save time, but they will also make you reflect upon the text and practice your English. If these strategies do not work, only then check a dictionary or translate the unknown word into your native language.
1. Notice Context Clues in the Paragraphs.
By noticing clues around the unknown word, you can make educated guesses. For example, writers may:
- Provide clarifying examples in the text.
- Use synonyms to prevent redundancy.
- Use antonyms to signal contrast.
- Provide meaning using expressions such as “in other words…”.
- Use particular punctuation and special fonts to highlight the importance of certain words.
By detecting these context clues, you can associate ideas and use your own knowledge to guess the meaning of the unknown word.
2. Examine the Structure of the Unfamiliar Word.
Many words in the English language consist of parts that carry particular meanings. In addition, many parts signal parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs), which are important to know to make sense of the text. Once you mark up an unfamiliar word, check its structure using these strategies:
a. Identify Prefixes
A prefix is added to the beginning of a word to create a new meaning.
Common prefixes, their meaning, and examples
Prefix |
Meaning |
Example |
dis |
not, opposite of |
dis + satisfied = dissatisfied |
mis |
wrongly |
mis + spell = misspell |
un |
not |
un + acceptable = unacceptable |
re |
again |
re + election = reelection |
inter |
between |
inter + related = interrelated |
pre |
before |
pre + pay = prepay |
non |
not |
non + sense = nonsense |
super |
above |
super + script = superscript |
sub |
under |
sub + merge = submerge |
b. Identify Suffixes
A suffix is a part added to the end of a word to create a new meaning. They also indicate the part of speech.
a) Suffixes that create verbs
If you add a verb suffix to a noun or adjective, it becomes a verb.
Common suffixes that create verbs.
Suffix |
Meaning |
Examples |
-en |
become |
shorten, awaken |
-ify |
make or become |
simplify, classify, justify |
-ise/ize |
become |
symbolize, visualize |
b) Suffixes that create nouns
For instance, if you take the verb demonstrate and add the noun suffix -tion, you get the noun demonstration.
Common suffixes that create nouns
Suffix |
Meaning |
Examples |
-al |
action or process of |
denial, refusal |
-ant/ -ent |
performer of an action |
assistant, consultant |
-cy |
state or quality |
efficiency, fluency |
-ence/ -ance |
state or quality of |
preference, dependence |
-er |
person who does an action |
teacher, helper |
-ity |
quality of |
ability, similarity |
-ment |
condition |
punishment, development |
-ness |
state of being |
darkness, preparedness |
-ship |
position held |
citizenship, leadership |
-tion/ -sion |
condition or state of |
education, information |
c) Suffixes that create adjectives
Some other suffixes create adjectives. For example, adding the adjective suffix -ful to the noun peace gives you the adjective peaceful
Common suffixes that create adjectives, with examples
Suffix |
Meaning |
Example |
-able |
capable of being |
fixable, avoidable |
-al |
having the character of |
national, professional |
-ent |
tending towards |
excellent, different |
-ful |
notable for |
beautiful, peaceful |
-ive |
having the nature of |
attractive, effective |
-less |
without |
careless, helpless |
-ous |
characterized by |
dangerous, famous |
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