Do you find it hard to keep track of all the words you have to know as an academic, student, or professional? A lexicon may just be your new best friend.
Whether you’re a student, a professional, or a lifelong learner, language plays a crucial role in how we absorb and express ideas. Understanding, remembering, and using language can make or break how we learn.
One simple yet incredibly powerful language tool that supports any kind of learning and communication is something called a “lexicon”. But to be able to use a lexicon effectively, you’ve gotta know what it is!
So let’s get to it. Let’s break down exactly what a lexicon is, why it’s worth creating one, and how you can build your own in just a few practical steps. You’ll be levelling up your learning in no time at all.
What Is a Lexicon?
A lexicon is a collection of vocabulary (words and their meanings) typically organized in a specific context (by subject, for example!).
In linguistics, a lexicon refers to the complete set of words in a language. However, in practical and educational terms, your personal lexicon is just a curated glossary of key terms, phrases, and definitions relevant to your area of interest.
It’s almost like your own personal dictionary for a specific subject, only tailored to your needs. It’s written in your own words and can evolve and grow as you do, along with your knowledge.
Why Create a Lexicon?
It might seem like a lot of effort, especially when studying, to create a whole lexicon. So why bother? Well, there are several benefits to doing so.
For example:
Creating a Lexicon Builds Communication Skills
Have you ever struggled to really get something across? Perhaps a complex idea in an essay or discussion? That’s where a lexicon comes in handy.
A personal lexicon can serve as your go-to language bank, offering precise terminology that improves the clarity and professionalism of both your writing and speaking. And, even better, the definitions are completely understandable, because you wrote them!
Whether you’re working on a paper or preparing a presentation, having access to accurate, subject-specific language helps you craft more compelling arguments and confidently engage in academic or professional conversations.
Using a Lexicon Helps to Enhance Memory
When you take the time to personalize and organize new vocabulary, rather than just skip over it, you automatically create much stronger mental links between the words, their meanings, and their contexts. Instead of just connecting A and B (or the word and its meaning), your brain forms deeper connections through the process of writing, categorizing, and revisiting the information.
Adding examples, like visual cues, can make it easier to recall during exams, presentations, or conversations.
A Lexicon Can Deepen Your Understanding
Instead of passively reading or listening to terms, you have to stop and take the time to define them when you are making a lexicon. As you do, you’ll find yourself connecting those terms and words to other ideas as you interpret their meanings in your own words.
This active engagement helps you truly understand concepts, not just recognize them. For example, if you’re studying psychology and you come across the term “cognitive dissonance,” you’re more likely to remember it and apply it correctly if you sit and define it using your own thoughts and examples.
A Lexicon Will Stay With You
Lexicons are designed to be memorable; they help you develop and nurture pathways in your mind. As a result, they often stay with you. Rather than being a short-term studying resource, you will often find that words collected in your lexicon stick with you, even years later.
This allows you to expand your vocabulary and provides you with a really solid base, especially if you’re heading into a career!
Creating a Lexicon
If all of the above sounds good, then it’s time to start curating your lexicon and improving your studying! There are a few key things you’ll need to do.
1. Choose Your Focus
You should always start by choosing the subject area for your lexicon. Are you focusing on business jargon, psychological buzzwords, or literary terms?
Then, once you’ve determined that, you’ll need to choose how you’re going to categorize your words. Will you organize them alphabetically? By topic? By frequency or importance?
2. Always Use Your Own Words
The whole point of a lexicon is to paraphrase and describe the definitions of words using your own language. This ensures that you actually understand and grasp the concept of the word. In this way, you should not only be able to use the word correctly but, in theory, you should be able to effectively explain it to others, too.
You should, whenever possible, use diagrams, examples, or the word in context. This makes the terms more memorable and relatable.
3. Revisit and Revise
Your understanding of a term may evolve over time, and therefore so should your lexicon. The lexicon should always be treated as a living, evolving document that you can revisit, revise, and refine as needed. Revisit entries on a regular basis to refine your definitions, add new examples, and update any knowledge with additional context you may have learned.
This also gives you the chance to revisit any words or terms that you may have been stuck on or confused by, and, if need be, relearn or research them accordingly.
4. Use The Words
To ensure your lexicon is really helping, you should try to incorporate the terms into your weekly or daily use. Quizzing yourself is also a great way to make sure the words become more natural.
By testing yourself regularly, you’ll be able to see a significant impact. A lexicon truly transforms your understanding of important words, making them second nature in no time at all.
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Millie Ramm
Millie has been writing since she was a child, and has spent more time with her nose in books than anywhere else. She has been ghostwriting novels and editing for the past few years, and when not working she is curled up with her cats, looking for her next read.
