[android-developers] Java newb question about a public array class member

I don't really get Java. I'm trying to define a public array member,
like so:

public class MyClass {

// alphabetical list of words
private String[] wordList;

// constructor
public MyClass() {

String[] wordList = {

"American","American","Brown","Christian","Congress","Doctor","England","English"
};

}

public String[] getList() {
return wordList;
}

}

When I try to access wordList, as in getList(), I get a null error.
Why?

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