Do you discard from your mind words that are rarely used in real life?

[spanglish]

Well it happens to me that in my native language the Spanish my mind automatically discards words that I consider of little use in my daily life to expedite my thoughts.

I usually only use words that are easy to understand.

everything is according to my perception in what I hear conversations of the real life daily in the street, tv,radio.


the problem that I have in English and I think in other languages is that I do not know what words to discard and should consider archaic

[Iversen]

No. I like funnny old words.

[Speakeasy]

... I usually only use words that are easy to understand. everything is according to my perception in what I hear conversations of the real life daily in the street, tv, radio. The problem that I have in English and I think in other languages is that I do not know what words to discard and should consider archaic.

For the commonly-studied languages, such as English, numerous "frequency lists" exist. Some are freely-available on the internet whereas others can be purchased at fairly moderate prices.

English Frequency Lists - Google Search
https://www.google.ca/search?rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-CA%3AIE-Address&dcr=0&q=English+Frequency+Lists&oq=English+Frequency+Lists&gs_l=psy-ab.12..0i30k1j0i8i30k1l6.33313.45101.0.59943.5.5.0.0.0.0.237.1043.0j1j4.5.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..0.5.1016...0i13i30k1j0i8i13i30k1.0.gMruukG8Bpo

English Frequency Lists - Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=English+Frequency+Lists

Some language-learners rely heavily on frequency lists whilst others simply rely on their contact with the language. I recall one member of the forum having remarked that -- and I am paraphrasing here -- as language-learners, we shouldn't worry too much about which words we need to remember as they (the words) will find us quickly enough! I really appreciated this perspective and I wish that I could relocate the discussion thread so as to do justice to the person who made this observation.

EDITED:
Typos, again!

[Serpent]

I think I remember a popular post by emk about that, though it's something that's been mentioned or implied many times on the old and new forum by various members.
It should be noted that this doesn't quite apply to all learners. It's relevant when you're a false beginner, are learning "big" and/or mutually intelligible languages and have tons of resources. With a smaller language it may be more tricky.

[Cavesa]

Learning words I use in real life is one of the priorities, true.

But I don't always get to choose what my brain discards.

It is not unusual for me to remember a rather rare word and keep forgetting a common one that simply refuses to stick. On top of that, I try hard not to underestimate the importance of words that are not on the frequency lists too often, but are part of the basic vocabulary of any native and I could happen to use them. A lightbulb is not that often used, but it would be stupid to have to ask the shop assistant for "the thing used in lamps"

I also don't get the fierce arguments against "rare" words. Or rather, the generalised opinions on it. Of course a beginner needs the basics first. And if you don't plan to get past the intermediate level, as it suffices for your needs, you won't need much else. But if you want to get to the high levels one day, in a year or ten, I don't think it matters that much whether you learn a more difficult word now or later.

[tarvos]

I think rare should be determined in context. There may be some very rare words that I would use very often because they are common in certain contexts, and then they may be useless for other people, but not for me.

An example is the word "gregario" in Spanish. Not the most obvious word to learn, but very necessary in biology or for describing social behaviour.

These types of words are going to be the bulk of the language you use for things like C2 exams. They're the little pieces of vocabulary I sprinkle in when I am preparing for higher-level activities, and it's those words that make you sound eloquent and well-spoken.

I never think of discarding words as such (and as if my memory could discard such a thing...) but I rather associate words with context. For example , in Spanish I could say "te he pillado" or "te pillé" meaning "I got it", but in a formal conversation I would rather say "Le he entendido" or "Le entendí".

(Note: Pillar is a verb used as "to understand, to get something" only in Spain and it's colloquial.)