What does a limited vocabulary limit?

A limited vocabulary limits comprehension of text written above the lowest level of literacy. Most newspapers are written no higher than a fifth or six grader would be able to comprehend if s/he read on grade level.

A limited vocabulary would limit the type of literature a person could enjoy reading independently above that level, although his/her interest level may be much higher. It would make reading legal documents difficult, and impair communication with those who enjoy conversational discourse above elementary levels.

In our American society where we have of late resorted to preschool labeling of people in our neighborhood (aka Joe the Plumber, et al) it also might mean one who possesses an extensive vocabulary and naturally employs it when speaking may find him/herself labeled "elitist" by those who are barely functionally literate, even if they do hold public office.

Depending on how limited the vocabulary, everything you do and every interaction with others will be affected.

Someone with a severely restricted vocabulary will have a difficult time getting a good job, understanding others, profiting from education.

There is no area in life which will escape being touched by this particular lack. If you don't know how to express yourself, how can you make someone understand? If you can't comprehend what someone is telling you, how can you engage in a conversation? If you don't grasp the meaning of the words, how will you be able to follow directions?

Not only will this cause a great deal of frustration, but the person's self-esteem will suffer a vast deal because of it. (People who cannot read suffer the most. Whereas someone with a small vocabulary can correct this by reading and looking up words and learning, the one who hasn't been taught to read is at a distinct disadvantage.)

Will the ability to imagine (or creativity) be limited due to a small vocabulary? I don’t think so, but the expression of that internal image will be; the ability to communicate it to others is lessened. (It is often difficult enough to clearly present ideas to others without the added barrier imposed by a limited vocabulary.) That, in turn, leads to more frustration.

I suppose I'm not saying anything new, as far as the other answers go, but these are some of my thoughts on your question.

A limited vocabulary means that you will have difficulty expressing the right words. I see this very often at my day job and it is not limited to customer to whom English is a second language or those who may have suffered a stroke or brain injury. Many people do have very limited vocabularies. The person will be trying to get a particular message across to me but will be unable to find the right words. Consequently, I have to guess what they are trying to tell me. Meanwhile, it is frustrating for them as they are unable to get their message across.

On the other hand, someone with a large vocabulary can also be at a disadvantage. Such a person may know the exact word to fit a particular situation, but no one else may know what they are talking about. For example, I recently described someone I met at work as having terrible halitosis. Not one of my colleagues knew what the term halitosis (bad breath) meant.

I feel that someone with a large vocabulary has a definite advantage over someone with a limited one, so long as they can modify their language to suit the situation. An intelligent, considerate person will normally do this anyway.

Simply put, a limited vocabulary puts you at a disadvantage when reading and interacting with people. It's like sitting in a room where everyone is speaking a language you don't understand. Or, it's like going to a foreign film then wondering why you went in the first place. You are at a loss as to how to react because you don't know or don't understand what's being said.

This is a hard question. I believe we should always be learning whether that means learning a new word everyday, or reading the paper cover to cover, or reading a text type book in addition to a fun read like a novel. A textbook improves the thought process, feeds the brain and improves retention. (It's similar to going to college and being asked how many books do you read in a month? The answer they are looking for is the textbook not the novel.)

This is a question I've played around with myself some years back. I've come to the conclusion that to some extend it does. To understand something you have to be able to qualify and or quantify it. We seem to do this best by using words. For example I had a extensive and serious illness that affected my nervous system causing varying states of consciousness and some very strange and interesting experiences. I couldn't keep track of what was going on, my memory was also being affected. But, during this time I wrote an extensive and detailed diary describing what was happening. I threw the diary away on a daily basis. So what was the point of writing it. I think I wrote to understand what was going on and through understand both comfort myself and find a way out of the illness. Well I survived long enough to be diagnosed with a tumour and to have it removed. So using words helped me cope when there was no one there to help.

I absolutely hate the feeling when you can't think of a word to properly describe something!

Generally this leads to me resorting to a very typical or overused word.

Usually, when coming up with a different word due to a lack of vocabulary, word choice doesn't properly display what is meant to be said. (This is bad for obvious reasons - straining relationships etc).

On the other hand, an extensive vocabulary allows one choose the proper word for whatever situation they may find themselves in.

Not to mention you should probably have a good vocabulary when taking the SATs or any examinations for that matter.

I personally find that History, among several other classes, is made much easier when you know words such as "isolate, neutral, etc" before even entering the class.

Since language is so closely tied to thought, a limited vocabulary would severely limit your thinking processes.

Two aspects spring to mind:

It is difficult to get a subtle point accross or to stand your ground in an argument, if the right words don't spring to mind or are actually not part of your vocabulary.

A lot of people make rather polemic or propagandistic statements and if your stumped for a response, they can get away with the feeling of victory and will propagate their false statements.

You give the impression of lesser intelligence for example in an interview situation. So it limits your chances for a job that you could easily fill, but the employer can not see that from your less impressive way of presenting yourself.

Because no one has an unlimited vocabulary, I daresay that all of our vocabularies are limited, and that means that our conscious thoughts and ideas symbolized by words are similarly limited.

hard situation. do a search on to google or bing. this might help!