Dear M.M.,

In the first example, when you do not know the word you need, we could say that the word is not in your vocabulary. We each have two vocabularies, though. The vocabulary we understand, known as the receptive vocabulary, is larger than the vocabulary we use, known as the expressive vocabulary. So it might happen that you understand a word when you hear it, but do not recall it well enough to use it expressively.

The size of the vocabulary increases throughout a person’s life, as long as there are opportunities to learn new words. Reading, watching informative programs, talking with people who have varied interests, taking classes, new hobbies--the opportunities for vocabulary development are all around.

The second example, having a word on the tip of our tongue but being unable to remember it fully, is a common experience. Some people have these word-finding problems very frequently, often because of language disorder or stroke. This difficulty is known as dysnomia.

The key to finding a word you have misplaced is to take yourself to the mental 'neighborhood' where the word might be. Perhaps you can form a mental picture of the missing word. Look carefully and describe what you see. Perhaps you can recall other words in the same category as the missing word, or synonyms for the word. Perhaps you can change your sentence so that you give your message in other words. Two things might happen: because you are in the right mental 'neighborhood,' the word might come to you. Or your conversation partner might think of the word for you, or at least get your meaning. But beware of thinking too long or hard about it: missing words that are chased, tend to run away! Let it go, and you may find that it pops up later, out of nowhere.

Best Wishes,
Ruth Alice Jurey, M.S.
Speech/Language Pathologist