Tzadeck wrote:
Anyway, after that I started looking up every word in a text that I didn't understand--in my native tongue of course. It's very rewarding, and you'll realize very quickly that when you're reading something complex you very often assume the wrong meaning of a word if you go by context alone. It might not be true with fiction, but with non-fiction I'd highly recommend trying this.
Hey, I do the same thing, and I can say it is indeed very rewarding - one of the joys of knowing a language well (your native one in this case) is the ability to understand the precise meaning of what you are reading - good writers are able to use such precision to convey lots of information/emotion using little words. Guessing from context, although workable, does deprive you of this.
An example many will be familiar with is reading jargon-filled works, where knowing the precise definition of a term rather than a general idea is crucial. Sometimes I wish normal language was like that, without the ambiguity and all.
However this is probably more relevant to people who already have a good command of the language... as a beginner quickly learning the rough meaning of many words seems more important.
