Language acquisition is a quantifiable system with the sum total of verbal inputs and outputs increasing with the age of the subject. Increases in vocabulary are positively accelerated during developmental years and become negatively accelerated or zero during adult years. Thus, older people have available a larger active and passive vocabulary. To check the validity of the Bousfield and Sedgewick equations which predict vocabulary acquisition, a test was designed which required subjects of different ages to write all the words that occurred to them in a given interval of time. Contrary to expectations, older subjects did not show greater fluency--a finding which may reflect response time more than memory. Future research should focus on the factors that prevent individuals from making the most efficient use of stored information. The appendixes include an explanation of statistical methods and graphic summaries of test results. (EMH)