Page 111 - How to Develop A SUPER-POWER MEMORY

Foreign Language Vocabulary & Abstract Information 115
not familiar with the language. That's why they're so diffi-
cult to remember.
To make them easier to remember you will use the sys-
tem of SUBSTITUTE WORDS. Substitute words or
thoughts are used whenever you want to remember any-
thing that is abstract, intangible or unintelligible; some-
thing that makes no sense to you, can't be pictured, yet
must be remembered. Be sure you read this chapter care-
fully, because substitute words will also help you to remem-
ber names.
Making up a substitute word is simply this:— Upon
coming across a word that means nothing to you; that is in-
tangible and unintelligible, you merely find a word, phrase
or thought that sounds as close to it as possible, and that is
tangible and can be pictured in your mind.
Any word you may have to remember, foreign language
or otherwise, that is meaningless, can be made to mean
something to you by utilizing a substitute word or thought.
Years ago I was a tropical fish hobbyist for awhile, and I was
trying to learn the technical names of the fish fins. Since I
couldn't picture their names at that time, I used substitute
words to remember them.
For example:— The tail fin of a fish is called the caudal
fin. In order to remember this, I made a picture of a fish
with a long cord instead of a tail fin. The picture of a cord
was enough to help me recall the word, "caudal." The fin
on the back of the fish is known as the dorsal fin. The first
thought that came to my mind when I heard, "dorsal," was
Tommy Dorsey. (dorsal-Dorsey) I automatically associate
Tommy Dorsey with a trombone. So, I simply made a pic-
ture in my mind of a man playing a trombone on the fish's
back!
This may sound like a long procedure to you; it isn't.
The association from "dorsal" to Tommy Dorsey to trom-