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I was taught to read, not by a reading teacher, rather by a mathematics teacher, one who understood that the basis of any analysis is the ability to comprehend all the words of the problem, one word at a time.
The teacher cut a small notch from card stock. When the notched card was held over a sentence, only one word was revealed. We students were then required to fully define each nuance of that one word until we understood all there was to know about that one word. Once we had considered and understood the myriad meanings of the word, we were allowed to move the card slightly forward until the next word was revealed.
Over and over again, we practiced the same simple routine until we were able to stitch together the rich fabric of the words, so that we finally understood the problem. We learned to read, one delicious word at a time - an important skill for writing resumes, understanding exam questions, learning English as a second language, formulating business contracts, comprehending the lover's letter.
Anyone can possess a rich vocabulary if one will commit to learning and understanding one word at a time. It was while simultaneously reading John Steinbeck’s Sweet Thursday, a wonderful little book filled with vibrant imagery where Sweet Thursday is the day that follows Lousy Wednesday, and Stephen Hawking, The Theory of Everything, a tome that reaches to unify all the theories of physics, that I realized the English-speaking world has incredible variety in its swirling melange of vocabulary, at once moving, changing, morphing, breathing, sighing, laughing. However, what has been lacking for all word users is a fun and easy-to-use resource of words recorded as people actually use their words, a dictionary of words as defined by the people who use them.
Imagine the rich colors and textures of such a word world, a word world created and actually recorded by astrophysicists, writers, undersea explorers, athletes, doctors, cosmopolites, farmers, oil field workers, students, soccer moms, kids, dentists, teachers, nurses, cowboys, immigrants, stevedores, truck drivers, geeks, editors.
Computionary allows anyone with access to a computer and the internet to participate in recording our actual international English word world, one word at a time, recording words actually used as doctor speaks to nurse, as senior speaks to junior, as Asian business speaks to Brazilian business, as geek speaks to developer, as soccer coach speaks to soccer player, as Spanish diplomat speaks to French diplomat.
We invite all the world to enjoy Computionary and hope that you will become a regular word contributor to Computionary's word world, one word at a time. It's fun, it's free, and it's easy.
Don Cavness, Founder
Computionary.com
The Definitionist Global Initiative, LLC
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