I'm looking for an iPad app (Kindle or other ebooks are fine too if they can do this as I can get my hands on one for this) which is lots of big busy pictures with little words in them where you can press the picture and hear the word said - basically a speaking version of the
Usbourne's First 1,000 words. All I can find after several hours searching are flashcards or spelling-type games or dictionaries where the words are arranged A-Z. I keep thinking this must exist as the iPad would be perfect for this, but I'm just not turning up anything!
posted by viggorlijah
on May 24, 2013 -
1 answer
I read a lot, and my receptive vocabulary is excellent. However, no so much on the expressive side. I tend to repeat the same word over and over in my writing, and sometimes have difficulty picking appropriate word to succinctly capture a concept.
So, what's a good and specific exercise(s) for increasing one's expressive vocabulary?
posted by pakoothefakoo
on Apr 10, 2013 -
6 answers
What is the average working vocabulary (and outliers) of various languages?
Is the working vocabulary of English English different from American English or Australian English? and how does this compare with other languages?
posted by adamvasco
on Apr 4, 2013 -
11 answers
When I was a kid, my grandfather bought me an audiotape meant to improve my vocabulary: 25 Power Words, or something. It was pitched, I think, as a way to get ahead in business -- and read in a very serious, very radio-y voice. We used to play it on long car rides, endlessly, when I was in elementary school (in the early 80s).
I'd really like to find a copy of the tape, but I can't remember its title.
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posted by buriedpaul
on Apr 1, 2013 -
4 answers
What are your tips and techniques for learning advanced vocabulary and grammar in a foreign language?
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posted by kristi
on Feb 26, 2013 -
15 answers
Please recommend books, websites, and other resources to learn more advanced French food and restaurant vocabulary, so that I can read menus and cookbooks, navigate restaurants, and describe food ("salty," "sweet," etc.).
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posted by The Girl Who Ate Boston
on Feb 16, 2013 -
17 answers
I need help in acquiring a lot of a vocabulary for a lot of languages. How can I best proceed and what should be my expectations and timetables be?
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posted by SollosQ
on Dec 16, 2012 -
9 answers
Is/Are there term(s) to describe the threshold at which a person can see their own breath outside ?
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posted by fizzix
on Nov 13, 2012 -
4 answers
What is the most effective way to increase your vocabulary (e.g. book, softare, method)?
posted by denverco
on Sep 1, 2012 -
22 answers
Bilinguals and polyglots of AskMefi please hope me. I understand a lot of words and grammar in Japanese but don't seem able to use them. How do you make the leap from "knowing" a word or grammar pattern to actually being able to use it in conversation?
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posted by ultrabuff
on Jul 5, 2012 -
13 answers
I'd like to find an iOS app for my mom- she wants a word-of-the-day or other vocabulary builder for English. She's fluent but it's her second language, and she'd like to have a stronger vocabulary. Any suggestions?
posted by BuddhaInABucket
on Jun 13, 2012 -
7 answers
I have terrible pronunciation. Can you direct me to dictionary-type sites that teach how to pronounce words using high-quality audio files?
Merriam-Webster has the basics and is easy to use, but I am also looking for resources that cover more specialized vocabularies such as cooking terms, medical terms, technology terms, the names of important cultural figures, place names, and product names. Obscurity/difficulty level: stuff like sambal oelek, Yulia Tymoshenko, Mies van der Rohe, SUSE, Schenectady, Elidel, Saucony.
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posted by Susan PG
on May 5, 2012 -
12 answers
Seeking English-language words that mean both a kitchen implement (knife, spoon, colander, pot…) and also a geomorphic or landscape feature (lake, river, mountain, bluff…)
Sinks and cauldrons all qualify, but here my early ay-em ingenuity runs out!
posted by tabubilgirl
on Apr 22, 2012 -
25 answers
Is there a single word for finding pleasure in well done formulaic stories not because they are doing something new or even being particularly clever, but because they hit the notes well, manage the tropes, and deliver what they promise?
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posted by The Whelk
on Jan 22, 2012 -
34 answers
There are three adults in my household -- my husband, myself, and our very close male friend. We think of ourselves as a family and it feels weird and a little cold to introduce each other as "roommates." So what word should we use?
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posted by Narrative Priorities
on Jan 6, 2012 -
65 answers
is there a word for 'a word that fits its own definition'? for example, sesquipedalian is a big word that by definition means "prone to using big words." is there a formal term for this type of thing?
posted by carlypennylane
on Nov 29, 2011 -
5 answers
What is it called when you're disqualified from an award for winning it too often?
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posted by Lorc
on Aug 31, 2011 -
11 answers
I really like music that inspires me to jump up and...go read Wikipedia (or a dictionary, for that matter)! Bands that have produced the sort of thing I'm talking about here include Rasputina, Phideaux, and (to some extent) They Might Be Giants. Help me find more of this particular brand of awesome in the musical realm! Special bonus points if they can actually play their instruments well.
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posted by aecorwin
on Aug 22, 2011 -
32 answers
In recent coverage of the Mark Duggan shooting and subsequent riots, I've seen a few instances of people referring to the police as "feds". Obviously in Britain there are no actual feds since there's no federal government, so what's the story here?
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posted by strangely stunted trees
on Aug 7, 2011 -
7 answers
What are some words whose definitions have changed significantly in the last few centuries?
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posted by Shelf
on Aug 7, 2011 -
58 answers
In what English movies or books would I most likely be exposed to new words? Any genre and time-period.
posted by keith0718
on Feb 3, 2011 -
34 answers
If you wanted to learn 100 words in a foreign (i.e. non-english) language, which words would you choose?
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posted by mnemonic
on Dec 13, 2010 -
26 answers
I'm a native French speaker, and I'd like to to learn some new English words. However, many advanced English vocabulary books contain a lot of words which are exactly the same in French. Of course, some of them are false friends, and there's always something to learn. However, I'd like to know if there exists a vocabulary book specifically dedicated for French speakers.
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posted by Fillus
on Dec 10, 2010 -
13 answers
Fontagraphers: I know what a serif is - the little "tail" at the ends of character strokes. Mid-stroke, however, is what?
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posted by panmunjom
on Oct 19, 2010 -
4 answers
Once bitten, twice shy: Is there a single word which conveys the sentiment of this idiom? I have thought of "gun-shy," but no others. Or another phrase or idiom having roughly the same meaning?
posted by frobozz
on Oct 10, 2010 -
17 answers
What is it called when you make a mistake because you are thinking faster than you can speak/type/etc.?
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posted by caminovereda
on Sep 30, 2010 -
10 answers
I am looking for an adjective that means something like 'sufficiently ambiguous (but encouraging enough) such that one can project their desires into [it] and find validation.' anyone got a fit?
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posted by armheadarmlegleg
on Sep 30, 2010 -
24 answers
You know that vertical slit in the doors of speakeasies, mafia hideouts and other places where you need to be sized up before entering? With the little metal hatch that slides to one side? Is there a word for it other than "peephole?"
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posted by Narrative Priorities
on Aug 23, 2010 -
13 answers
WordsmithFilter: Give me an adjective for something along the lines of: "having varied or constantly changing (but not necessarily extreme) weather"?
posted by Scientifik
on Jul 15, 2010 -
39 answers
Outside of Freudian slips, is there any scientific evidence that people's word choices unconsciously reveal states of mind that they are trying to conceal?
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posted by tel3path
on May 26, 2010 -
10 answers
Interactive vocabulary software for a teenaged ESL student who wants to prepare for the SAT but still needs to learn pre-SAT level vocabulary?
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posted by Jacqueline
on Apr 1, 2010 -
2 answers
There's a word that means something like 'useless party skills' -- little tricks like bouncing ice off your elbow into a glass, rolling coins across your knuckles, flicking cards into a hat. I think it sounds a little like 'caltraps'. It's driving me crazy trying to remember it. Anyone know this word?
posted by Cantdosleepy
on Feb 5, 2010 -
20 answers
