Another one of those “test yourself” websites: Test Your Vocabulary. I did fine on most of the test, but a few of the words in the right column are ones I’ve never encountered:
H/T to James M. Bryant for the link.
Update: On the same list, John Lennard points out this possibly cautionary note: “It is interesting, but without knowing how they’re performing their calculations I’m kinda suspicious. [. . .] Shakespeare’s total recorded active vocabulary (all words used in all his printed works) is 29,066.”
I came in at just over 35,000, so you have me beat, but I already knew that from following your blog.
Comment by Junk Science Skeptic — August 1, 2011 @ 13:57
The real trick is that there are (far too) many of the words I know how to use in print, but cannot pronounce. I was a voracious reader as a child and I was reading all kinds of books, so I picked up most of my knowledge from seeing the words used in books, not from hearing them used . . . I’ve been tripped up more than a few times by being unable to pronounce ’em properly.
Of course, I’m in fine company in my autodidactic state, Lois McMaster Bujold has admitted that she had some very odd pronunciations from the same source, including “MOON-see-billie” and “Ad-OS-a-lence”
Comment by Nicholas — August 1, 2011 @ 14:52