I rely on some rather eccentric tools to enhance my recollection of new vocabulary words. One of my favorite methods is to use word association as a mnemonic device. If I can pair a new word or phrase with either another word I already know, or even better some vivid mental imagery, the odds of me remembering it are much higher.
Here are some of my favorite categories for word association:¹
Sounds Almost Like The Same Word
Kafija: Sounds like "coffee," which is what it means.
Žakete: Sounds like "jacket," which is what it means. This is easy, right?
Sort Of Sounds Like Something Sort Of Similar
Nauda: Sounds kind of like "nada," which is Spanish for "none," which is the amount I usually have of nauda (money).
Kārdināšana: Sounds kind of like "Kardashian," which is the name of an American family with a questionable moral compass - as well as their own reality TV show and clothing lines - who might conceivably be a kārdināšana (temptation) to someone with a questionable moral compass of their own.
Sounds Like Something Not At All Similar, But The Visual Imagery Is So Striking That You Easily Recall It Anyways
Vēders: Sounds like "Vader," last name of former² galactic overlord Darth Vader née Anakin Skywalker. Darth Vader had a very distinct-looking control panel for his breathing and life support apparatus situated above his vēders (stomach)
Zils: Sounds poetic when paired with zivs to produce zils zivs, (blue fish), which is the last line from the title of a critically acclaimed piece of literature by the late Theodor Seuss Geisel.
Sounds Nothing At All Like Anything Similar, But The Imagery Produced By A Direct Translation Is So Striking That You Easily Recall It Anyways
Kājas pirksti: Literal translation would mean "leg fingers." The imagery produced of fingers dangling at the end of your legs is so striking that the word for kājas pirksti (toes) is burned into your brain forevermore.³
Lieldienas: Literal translation would mean "great/big day." Makes you think of a day that's, well, great. Huge. World-changing, even? If you throw a "the" at the front, it becomes even more striking:
The Great Day.
A far better word for, well, The Great Day than "Easter" is, in my humble opinion. Far more striking. Far closer to the feelings and imagery that should be associated with the event that forever changed everything.
One of the purposes of the season of Lent is to rekindle in us a longing for The Great Day - both past and future - and to remember just how in need of Lieldienas I continue to be.
Sometimes verbal imagery helps you remember vocabulary words. And sometimes the Spirit sneaks into your mundane mnemonic learning methods and reminds you of something even more important than language acquisition. And you recall the reason you're even in Latvia learning to speak Latvian in the first place:
The Great Day.⁴
¹All of these are actual trains of thought that go through my mind whenever I'm attempting to conjure up the word in question. Scary but true
²Or possibly future, I'm not too sure about chronology within the Star Wars universe
³Vibram's FiveFingers line of footwear would be a natural fan of the Latvian language
⁴As good a mnemonic as you could hope to find.
Here are some of my favorite categories for word association:¹
Sounds Almost Like The Same Word
Kafija: Sounds like "coffee," which is what it means.
Žakete: Sounds like "jacket," which is what it means. This is easy, right?
Sort Of Sounds Like Something Sort Of Similar
Nauda: Sounds kind of like "nada," which is Spanish for "none," which is the amount I usually have of nauda (money).
Kārdināšana: Sounds kind of like "Kardashian," which is the name of an American family with a questionable moral compass - as well as their own reality TV show and clothing lines - who might conceivably be a kārdināšana (temptation) to someone with a questionable moral compass of their own.
Sounds Like Something Not At All Similar, But The Visual Imagery Is So Striking That You Easily Recall It Anyways
Vēders: Sounds like "Vader," last name of former² galactic overlord Darth Vader née Anakin Skywalker. Darth Vader had a very distinct-looking control panel for his breathing and life support apparatus situated above his vēders (stomach)
Zils: Sounds poetic when paired with zivs to produce zils zivs, (blue fish), which is the last line from the title of a critically acclaimed piece of literature by the late Theodor Seuss Geisel.
Sounds Nothing At All Like Anything Similar, But The Imagery Produced By A Direct Translation Is So Striking That You Easily Recall It Anyways
Kājas pirksti: Literal translation would mean "leg fingers." The imagery produced of fingers dangling at the end of your legs is so striking that the word for kājas pirksti (toes) is burned into your brain forevermore.³
Lieldienas: Literal translation would mean "great/big day." Makes you think of a day that's, well, great. Huge. World-changing, even? If you throw a "the" at the front, it becomes even more striking:
The Great Day.
A far better word for, well, The Great Day than "Easter" is, in my humble opinion. Far more striking. Far closer to the feelings and imagery that should be associated with the event that forever changed everything.
One of the purposes of the season of Lent is to rekindle in us a longing for The Great Day - both past and future - and to remember just how in need of Lieldienas I continue to be.
Sometimes verbal imagery helps you remember vocabulary words. And sometimes the Spirit sneaks into your mundane mnemonic learning methods and reminds you of something even more important than language acquisition. And you recall the reason you're even in Latvia learning to speak Latvian in the first place:
The Great Day.⁴
¹All of these are actual trains of thought that go through my mind whenever I'm attempting to conjure up the word in question. Scary but true
²Or possibly future, I'm not too sure about chronology within the Star Wars universe
³Vibram's FiveFingers line of footwear would be a natural fan of the Latvian language
⁴As good a mnemonic as you could hope to find.