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 forget 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 17th 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; numbers by themselves are usually unintelligible, but the use of the Peg system 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

114 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 thoughts are used whenever you want to remember anything 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 sounds 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 awhile, 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've 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 you're trying to remember. For "pajaro," you might have used pa carrying eau (water), or, parks in a row, either of which would have 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 want you to understand just what I'm talking about. To 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. If you wanted to remember the French word for 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 punting 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 pictures.
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 link 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 practice 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 quote of my own—"Anything that is intangible, abstract or unintelligible can be remembered easily if a system is used whereby the unintelligible thing is made to be tangible, meaningful and intelligible."