Do you remember when you were learning the alphabet with songs? Those songs used pegwords to help us learn the sounds and memorize the alphabet. Well, it’s time to put that to use in our Alphabet Pegword System. I’m going to share with you how I did it.
I’ve already shared three out of the four pegword systems with you over the last three weeks. Today, we are going to delve into the final variation: the Alphabet System.
In this article I will share with you my creative process to set up three alphabet lists, one in English, one in Spanish and final one that mixes both, which works perfectly for creating associations in either languages.
The Alphabet System of the Pegword Method
The alphabet system is a variation of Number rhyming pegs, but with up to 26 associations— one per alphabet letter. I have noticed that this alphabet system is usually used alongside the Memory Palace Method for better results.
Metivier suggests creating multiple alphabet lists which can be categorized by actors, cites, names, countries, and so on and so forth.
For now, I will set up only one alphabet list, however, because I want to set up all my mnemonic devices to be used in English and Spanish while avoiding possible interference, I’ll create three lists: English list, Spanish list and eventually I’ll set up the definitive alphabet list to be used in both languages.
Implementing the Pegword Method: Alphabet System (Project Five)
First, I will create the general associations for the English and Spanish alphabets. These are the basic associations kids usually learned with songs or other educational resources. Then I’ll refine them using the rule of specificity, which states: “the more specific the more memorable.” While walking you through the creative process, I’ll be making some key changes and sharing some important advice.
English Alphabet List
For this list, I took most of the associations from a children’s song that I found on YouTube:
- A apple
- B ball
- C cat
- D dog
- E egg
- F fish
- G goat
- H hat
- I igloo
- J jam
- K kite
- L lamb
- M mouse
- N nest
- O octopus
- P pumpkin
- Q queen
- R rainbow
- S sun
- T tiger
- U umbrella
- V van
- W wagon
- X fox
- Y yo-yo
- Z zipper
Spanish Alphabet List
This is how I was taught the alphabet when I first learned to read.
- A avi贸n (airplane)
- B barco (ship)
- C casa (house)
- D dado (dice)
- E elefante (elephant)
- F flor (flower)
- G gato (cat)
- H helado (ice cream)
- I isla (island)
- J jirafa (giraffe)
- K kilo (kilogram)
- L luna (moon)
- M mam谩 (Mom)
- N ni帽o (boy)
- 脩 帽o帽o (A famous character from El Chavo del Ocho)
- O oso (bear)
- P pap谩 (Dad)
- Q queso (cheese)
- R rana (frog)
- S sol (sun)
- T tren (train)
- U uva (grapes)
- V vaca (cow)
- W wafle (waffle)
- X xil贸fono (xylophone)
- Y yo-yo (yo-yo)
- Z zapato (shoe)
Now, following the advice on specificity, I’ll associate each letter with a specific and relevant image. Let’s start with the English list:
- A – Apple: The brand; Steve Jobs’ Apple.
- B – Ball: My Lakers basketball.
- C – Cat: My cousin’s cat. A white, warm-hearted cat.
- D – Dog: My dog. Danger is his name.
- E – Egg: An ostrich egg.
- F – Fish: Nemo from the movie Finding Nemo.
- G – Goat: Messi, widely known in soccer as the GOAT (Greatest of All Time).
- H – Hat: Inspector Gadget's hat.
- I – Igloo: Chilly Willy the Penguin’s igloo.
- J – Jam: Blackberry jam.
- K – Kite: A garbage bag kite.
- L – Lamb: The Lamb of God, Jesus.
- M – Mouse: Mickey Mouse.
- N – Nest: A pigeon nest.
- O – Octopus: Doc Ock from Spider-Man.
- P – Pumpkin: A jack-o'-lantern.
- Q – Queen: Queen Elizabeth II.
- R – Rainbow: The rainbow from Noah’s Ark.
- S – Sun: A blue sun.
- T – Tiger: Tigger the fictional character on Winnie the Pooh.
- U – Umbrella: Father Brown’s umbrella.
- V – Van: The Mystery Machine. This is the Scooby-Doo van.
- W – Wagon: A red wagon. The only one I’ve ever played with as an adult.
- X – X-Men: I swapped this association; initially, it was "fox." Now it's Professor X.
- Y – Yo-Yo: Yo-Yo Ma, the famous American cellist.
- Z – Zipper: A super large, oversized plastic zipper.
Once I've finished to create the English list, I'm going to share my Spanish list set up with the specificity rule:
- A – Avioneta (Small plane): The specific small plane I parachuted from.
- B – Barco (Ship): The Titanic.
- C – Casa (House): My grandmother’s house.
- D – Dado (Die): A semi-round wooden die.
- E – Elefante (Elephant): Three pink elephants (a popular brand in my country).
- F – Flor (Flower): Sunflowers.
- G – Gato (Cat): Puss in Boots.
- H – Helado (Ice cream): Passion fruit ice cream.
- I – Isla (Island): San Andr茅s, the largest island in my country. (Initially, this was Madagascar, but that would interfere with the next association).
- J – Jirafa (Giraffe): Melman the giraffe from the movie Madagascar.
- K – Kilogramo (Kilogram): A kilogram of rice. We eat rice almost every day.
- L – Luna (Moon): A red moon.
- M – Matera (Planter): A huge clay planter.
- N – Ni帽o (Child): The Christ Child (El Ni帽o Dios).
- 脩 – 脩o帽o: A famous character from the Hispanic series El Chavo del Ocho.
- O – Oso (Bear): Kenai from Brother Bear.
- P – Pap谩 (Dad): My father.
- Q – Queso (Cheese): Cheese Tris (a popular crunchy, savory snack).
- R – Rana (Frog): "Rana" is my sister’s nickname.
- S – Sol (Sun): A huge blue sun.
- T – Tren (Train): The train from Back to the Future Part III.
- U – Uva (Grape): The grape juice served at my church for Holy Communion.
- V – Vaca (Cow): A purple cow.
- W – Wafle (Waffle): From the famous restaurant Crepes & Waffles.
- X – Xil贸fono (Xylophone): A Fisher-Price wooden xylophone for kids.
- Y – Yoyo (Yo-yo): Yo-Yo Ma, the cellist.
- Z – Zorro (Fox): The Mask of Zorro, the character portrayed by Antonio Banderas.
Since building these lists took me several days, I realized when I resumed the exercise that some of the Spanish words weren't strong or deep enough. As a result, I polished my Spanish list as follows:
- A – Avioneta (Small plane): The small plane I parachuted from.
- B – Burro (Donkey): Donkey, the character from Shrek.
- C – Casa (House): My grandmother’s house.
- D – Dedo (Finger): The thumbs-up emoji.
- E – Elefante (Elephant): A pink elephant (a brand in my country).
- F – Flor (Flower): Sunflowers.
- G – Gato (Cat): Puss in Boots.
- H – Hilo (Thread): The Thread of Life from Disney’s Hercules.
- I – Iglesia (Church): The church where my parents were married.
- J – Jirafa (Giraffe): Melman the giraffe from the movie Madagascar.
- K – Kilogramo (Kilogram): A kilogram of rice. We eat rice almost every day.
- L – Luna (Moon): A red moon.
- M – Matera (Planter): A huge clay planter.
- N – Ni帽o (Child): The Christ Child.
- 脩 – 脩o帽o: A famous character from the series El Chavo del Ocho.
- O – Oso (Bear): Kenai from Brother Bear.
- P – Pap谩 (Dad): My father.
- Q – Queso (Cheese): Cheese Tris (a popular crunchy, savory snack).
- R – Rana (Frog): My sister’s nickname.
- S – Sol (Sun): A huge blue sun.
- T – Tetero (Baby bottle): A giant red baby bottle.
- U – Uva (Grape): The grape juice served at my church for Holy Communion.
- V – Vaca (Cow): A purple cow.
- W – Wilson: The volleyball from the movie Cast Away.
- X – Xil贸fono (Xylophone): A Fisher-Price wooden xylophone.
- Y – Yoyo (Yo-yo): Yo-Yo Ma, the cellist.
- Z – Zorro (Fox): The Mask of Zorro, as portrayed by Antonio Banderas.
It’s important to reduce cognitive load when setting up your memory aids. That’s why I’ve decided to use only one alphabet for both languages—mixing the two lists and keeping the strongest associations. Ultimately, this is my definitive list, using the same image for each letter in both languages:
- A – Airplane (Avioneta): The small plane I parachuted from.
- B – Ball (Basketball): My Lakers basketball.
- C – Car (Carro): A red Mazda CX-90, my favorite car.
- D – Danger: Danger is my dog’s name.
- E – Elephant (Elefante): Three pink elephants (a brand logo in my country).
- F – Flower (Flor): Sunflowers.
- G – Goat: Messi, widely known as the GOAT (Greatest of All Time).
- H – Halo: The Halo video game.
- I – Island (Isla): San Andr茅s, the largest island in my country.
- J – Judge (Juez): Simon Cowell, a judge on America’s Got Talent.
- K – Kilogram (Kilogramo): A kilogram of rice. In Colombia, we eat rice almost every day.
- L – Lemon (Lim贸n): The "Lemon Tree" song by Fools Garden.
- M – Mother (Mam谩): My mom.
- N – Nose (Nariz): Billy’s nose from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy.
- 脩 – 脩o帽o (Spanish only): A famous character from the series El Chavo del Ocho.
- O – Oscar: The Oscars (The Academy Awards).
- P – Pasta: My father’s signature pasta dish.
- Q – Quaker: The Quaker Oats Company.
- R – Rose (Rosa): Rose from the show Two and a Half Men.
- S – Sun (Sol): A huge blue sun.
- T – Tower (Torre): The rook (tower) in chess.
- U – Ulysses (Ulises): Ulysses by James Joyce.
- V – Vision (Visi贸n): The Marvel Avenger.
- W – Wilson: The volleyball from the movie Cast Away.
- X – Xylophone (Xil贸fono): A Fisher-Price wooden xylophone.
- Y – Yoyo (Yo-yo): Yo-Yo Ma, the cellist.
- Z – Zoom: The software platform for online meetings.
Final Thoughts
I can follow this same process to create other categorized lists, such as famous people, singers, movies, countries, cities, and so on. I’ve learned that taking the time to set a solid foundation for these lists is vital for creating deep, strong associations; this ensures a high-quality mnemonic device.
Now it’s your turn! Let me know in the comments what other categorized lists you want to create—it might help the rest of us build ours, too.
In the next article, I will share a brief example of how to use the Alphabet Pegword System to memorize a text.
References
Metivier, A. The pegword method: The ultimate guide to memorizing lists. Magnetic Memory Method. https://www.magneticmemorymethod.com/pegword-method/
Comments
Post a Comment