The set of words in a language is called vocabulary.
Vocabulary is made up of the set of words in a language . Said vocabulary - a term with etymological origin in the Latin vocabŭlum - is known by people who share a common language and can also be compiled in a dictionary .
At a more specific level, vocabulary is the set of words that a person masters or uses in everyday conversations. This means that, if a language has a vocabulary of 100,000 words, a person may know 60,000 words. Therefore, the vocabulary of said subject will be more limited than the general vocabulary of the language.
In this sense, it is necessary to determine that anyone who dares to learn another language other than their native language finds it necessary to dedicate many hours of study to learning vocabulary. And it is a fundamental key to being able to handle that other language .
For example: "The speaker showed off his excellent vocabulary in a speech that amazed those present" , "I need an English dictionary: there are words in the book that are not yet part of my vocabulary" , "Take care of your vocabulary, you should not talk that way at school .
Types of vocabulary
Furthermore, it must be emphasized that there are, therefore, two clearly differentiated types of vocabulary. One of them is what is known as active vocabulary , and it is one that a person not only understands on their own but also uses frequently when expressing themselves.
The second of them is what is called passive vocabulary . This, for its part, is one that someone can understand without any problems and without help but that they are then not able to use when expressing themselves, whether in writing or orally.
It is common for a person's vocabulary to be associated with their education or cultural level. It is usually considered that the greater the variety of words, the greater the intellectual capacity. Vocabulary wealth is a useful instrument for social adaptation and for communicating successfully with a wider range of people. It must be remembered that the vocabulary used to speak with a friend differs from that used to communicate with a hierarchical superior or a stranger.
In addition to all the above, we cannot forget that the term vocabulary is used to refer both to the book where the words that give shape to a language are included and to the catalog where those are collected and next to them the meaning that each has. a.
To learn a language, you have to study its vocabulary.
The jargons
A variant of the standard language that uses special vocabulary with the aim of distinguishing social groups or hiding the true meaning of concepts is known as slang : "He armed himself with the cap" is an expression used in Argentine prison slang to refer to the fact that there was a problem ( "bondi was armed" ) with a police officer ( "the cap" ).
Specifically, we have to clarify that jargons can and are usually classified into two large groups: those of a professional type, which, as their name indicates, are used specifically in a specific field such as healthcare; and social ones, which are used in certain groups as a way to understand each other exclusively.