Re: Vocab building (was Lunatic Survey)

I do a couple things.

Since I have a limited number of roots, I try to be careful about choosing
only useful roots. Many vocab-building words generate roots that they can
derive from, rather than becoming words in themselves. I checked for
useful roots in Basic English (850 words) and Earth Minimal Language
(about 220 roots). I didn't take much from them but they are useful to
look for vocabulary gaps.

When I am taking notes, I write useful words in the top-right corner of
the page. Sometimes I watch TV and record words to translate later. Or
read a book and record vocabulary words. (This method doesn't work well
during conversation ;)

When I am in the shower, I doodle on the glass shower door looking for new
ideographs...

I'm not a stickler for requiring words to "feel right," although the wrong
meaning with a root can definitely feel wrong. I've noticed that some
graphemes are quite fastidious about what they mean, while others can take
almost any meaning...

Translations are somewhat frustrating unless I find something that
operates on a limited vocabulary, because new words take so much effort to
decide. As the vocabulary grows and I can derive more words from the
roots, translations become more useful.

----
"Everyone's different, except me." --Noktakanto