Page 113 - How to Develop A SUPER-POWER MEMORY

Foreign Language Vocabulary & Abstract Information 117
as you have the main part of the word in your picture, the
incidentals, the rest of the word, will fall into place by true
memory.
This is strictly an individual thing; there are some sub-
stitute thoughts I use that I couldn't possibly explain in
words, but they do help me recall the foreign word. The
words I use may be great for me, but not for you; you must
use the substitute thoughts that you think of.
I am explaining this so thoroughly because it is one of the
most useful things you will learn in this book, and I want
you to understand just what I'm talking about. To remem-
ber a foreign word and its English meaning, associate the
English meaning to your substitute word for the foreign
word.
Let me give you some concrete examples of the system,
using a few simple Spanish and French words:—
Ventana means "window" in Spanish. You might picture
a girl (one you know) whose name is Anna, throwing a
vent through a closed window. If you wanted to remember
the French word for window, which is "fenetre," you might
picture a window eating a raw fan, or a fan eating a raw
window. Fan-ate-raw—fenetre!
The Spanish word, hermano (pronounced air-mon-o)
means "brother." Just picture your brother as an airman.
The Spanish word for "room" is cuarto (pronounced
quart-o). Picture a room piled high with quarters.
Vasa means "glass" in Spanish. See yourself drinking
from a vase instead of a glass.
The word for "bridge" in French, is pont. See yourself
punting a football on or over a bridge.
Pluma means "pen" in Spanish. See yourself writing with
a gigantic plume instead of a pen; or, you're writing on a
plume with a pen.