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Inside The Language

Inside The Language

Date: Sep 26 2011

Topic: Conversational English

Author: englishteacher24/7

Lesson

Inside the Language – Lesson No. 1

Learning English can be challenging and the beginning is to learn the basic Parts of Speech which will provide the rules of the language. In many countries, English is the native language and others it’s taught in junior and high school.

This structured study is necessary and the teachers are limited by time and the vastness of the language. My area of teaching English is to focus on the area that is not taught or is only taught by way of mentioning it. The side of English that is not taught is as large or larger than the structured parts of English.

This side of English is an area that doesn’t have any rules and many times cannot be understood by using logic. This is what I call “Inside the Language” which I will attempt to reveal to you in a brief lesson.

The areas I’m speaking of are comprised of the following:

1. Figures of speech- Using words in a distinctive manner to guide or mis-guide the listener. The titles below can all be placed under this name.

2. Puns- A word or phrase that has a double-meaning and used to allude the listener. William Shakespeare was known to use puns in his plays.

3. A play on words- Using puns to express a thought that has a double meaning.

4. Phrases and Idioms- Using a phrase to express a thought. Examples: A pretty penny (something was expensive), a drop in the bucket (a small contribution to the amount that is required.)

“An idiom is a phrase where the words together has a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words.” (UsingEnglish.com)

5. Homophones (homonyms)- Words that are spelled differently but have the same pronunciation sound. Example: Night /knight, bear /bare, hear/here

6. Personification- A figure of speech in which an inanimate object is used having human qualities. Example: “The ocean screamed in it’s fury!”

In this example, oceans don’t have a voice to scream, but the word “screamed” is used as if it were a human. In other words, the waves of the ocean produced a loud sound.

7. Euphemisms- Substituting an offensive or less desirable word for a non-offensive more desirable word. Example: Instead of saying a person died, you could say they passed away or a pre-owned car instead of a used car.

On this side of learning English, you will have to:

1.  Expose yourself to reading informal English materials.

2.  If possible speak to native speakers.

3.  Write down expressions you hear and make it your goal to learn the meaning.

Step-by-step you will increase your knowledge and you’ll see your improvement over time.

Lesson No. 2 will be: Determining the mood of the speaker

Comments

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mr nothing

mr nothing

Uzbekistan


always, a language is the way to communicace, contact with others. and to “go” inside the language makes it easy to show how imotions you have and what ideas your mind has. knowing a language well gives a chance to go through all fields, i mean that i you want to learn english language. you must find out lots of words belong to several fields in order to speak it perfectly.

05:39 AM Jan 04 2012 |

1 person likes this

shaun1988

shaun1988

China

i want to know more about pre-fixes and suffixes !thank u give us the guid to memorize vocabulary ! tahnk u very much teach

01:36 PM Jan 01 2012 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!


I HOPE 2012 WILL BE THE YEAR THAT YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS!

09:05 AM Jan 01 2012 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

Gucci,


You have already given the answers.  I will attempt to add lessons on this website.  As you may know, I offer material that is not commonly included in formal English classes.  Therefore, you can add to it and advance your knowledge of conversational American English.  Take every opportunity to express yourself in written English and remember that you’re in a global community!

05:26 AM Oct 23 2011 |

Gucci Yeung

China

Thanks for the lesson, Alston!


“1.  Expose yourself to reading informal English materials.


2.  If possible speak to native speakers.”


Good suggestions. Sometimes I find it really hard to keep new words in mind. Simply, we don’t speak English in daily life, nor do we read or write in it. What I should do to improve my English in a totally Chinese environment has been my question for long.

04:48 AM Oct 22 2011 |

1 person likes this

englishteacher24/7

United States

Kotlesya, I feel humbled by your kind words.


The phrase “pulling your leg” means someone is kidding with you (joking).   I used the definite article “the” in the above phrase because I was explaining it in the third person.


Thanks for your inquiry.

12:17 PM Oct 21 2011 |

1 person likes this

kotlesya

kotlesya

Belarus

Excuse me please, I can’t understand the phrase “pulling the leg”. Thank you in advance for the help.

11:12 AM Oct 21 2011 |

kotlesya

kotlesya

Belarus

You are a master of the explanations. You are a great teacher,indeed! Thank you for that. I will copy, save and print it out to memorize it.

11:07 AM Oct 21 2011 |

1 person likes this

englishteacher24/7

United States

Here’s the answer to the “mood of the speaker” sampler:


A man was walking two small dogs and another man said to him: “they sure look vicious to me!” The man walking the dogs, laughed!


Question: Why did the man walking the dogs laugh?


Answer: The man who made the comment was “pulling the leg” (joking) of the man walking the dogs.  In other words, he was using hyperbole in a joking manner to promote goodwill to a stranger.  Hyperbole is when you use exaggeration to make a strong impression.


The dogs were not literally vicious, the owner could have said: “are you kidding?  These dogs wouldn’t harm a fly!”  That’s why he laughed, because he knew the person was joking in a fun way.


When you’re listening to a native speaker, use caution in interpreting what they’re saying, because they could be using hyperbole, and joking!

04:53 AM Oct 19 2011 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

You’re welcome Dody.  The mood sample question is still open, would anyone like to answer why the man walking the dogs laughed?


 

02:53 AM Oct 13 2011 |

dody_2011

dody_2011

Egypt

Thank you

03:25 PM Oct 08 2011 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

You’re welcome La Princes and foz.  I shoe-horned this lesson in by request.  The next lesson will help you to determine the mood of the speakerHere is a sample:


A man was walking two small dogs and another man said to him: “they sure look vicious to me!”  The man walking the dogs, laughed!


Question:  Why did the man walking the dogs laugh?

07:09 AM Oct 08 2011 |

foz12

foz12

Saudi Arabia

Thank you for your useful lesson : )

02:24 PM Oct 07 2011 |

La Princesse de la vie

Egypt

 i don’t know what to say ,mr. englishteacher24/6 , i just wanna thank you so much as i really got benefit of every word and every information



the idea of prefixes and suffixes is really marvelous and helpful


 i’m waiting for , with no patience, the next lessons 

11:30 AM Oct 07 2011 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

How to memorize vocabulary- Lesson 1B I have written by request of a student who wanted to know how to increase and memorize vocabulary.  For your information, the writer (EnglishTests) is another name I have created that I intend to help students pass various English tests which I’m planning for the future.


I hope this information will be helpful for you to learn the construction of words, thus, to increase your vocabulary.

09:16 AM Oct 07 2011 |

EnglishTests

United States


How to memorize vocabulary – Lesson 1B


1. Select appropriate words that relate to your life and other words that have the same meaning as the one you’re learning. For example: Car, vehicle, automobile/ slang words for Car would be: ride, wheels. Another example: Money, cash, funds/ slang words for Money would be: dough, bucks, bread, moola, dust. Last example: Job, work/ slang word for Job would be: gig


It would be a better use of time to learn 100 words that describe things you are familiar with than 100 words that you are not familiar with.


2. Spend time learning pre-fixes and suffixes which are added to the front or rear of a root word. By learning this, you will be able to understand a word without the use of a dictionary. You may not know the exact meaning but you can get a general idea, later you can use a dictionary to get the exact meaning. For example, take the word: BIOLOGY, if you take apart the word, you can learn it’s meaning, that is, BIO=life / LOGY=the study of something, therefore putting this information together, you have BIOLOGY=THE STUDY OF LIFE. This is not the exact dictionary definition but it gives you a good idea of what the word means.


Below you will find a list of pre-fixes and suffixes to study to help increase your vocabulary by learning the construction of words. Once you have learned words that relate to your environment, you can proceed to learn other words you encounter.


The least effective way is learning a whole list of words you may never encounter.


PREFIXES

Prefix

Meaning beginning

Examples

a-, an-
not, without


amoral, anesthetic, apolitical, asocial

ab-

away from


abduction, abstain, abnormal

ad-

to, toward

adjoin, adjacent (lying near to)

ambi-

both

ambidextrous, ambivalent

ana-

up, back, again

analogy, anatomy, anagram

anti-

against

antipathy, antiwar, antisocial

apo-

from, away from

apology, apologize

auto-

self

autobiography, automobile, autocracy, automaton

bene-

good

benediction benevolent benefactor

cata-, cat-

down, against

catastrophe—a turning down

centro, centri-

around, center

concentric, centrifugal

circum-

around

circumlocution circumference, circumvent

com-

with, together

communal, community

con-

with, together

connect, confide conspire

contra-

against

contradict, contravene

de-

down, away

descend, deject (cast down)

dia-, di-

through, across

diameter, division

dis-

apart, not

disengage, discord, discomfort

dys-

ill, difficult, bad

dysfunctional, dysentery

e-

out of, from

elect (choose out of), eject (throw out)

ecto-

on the outside

ectoderm—outer skin

en-, em-

in

empathy—feeling in

endo-

within, inside

endoscope—instrument for observing inside

epi-

upon

epitaph epidermis, epicenter

eso-

inward, within

esoteric—more inward, esophagus

eu-

well, good

euthanasia—good death

ex-

out of, from

exhume, exhale, exodus

hetero-

other, different

heterosexual, heterodoxy, heterodox heterogeneous

homo-

same

homosexual, homogeneous, homogenized

hyper-

over

hypertension, hypersensitive, hyperactivity

hypo-

under

hypotension, hypodermic

il-

not

illegitimate, illicit, illegal, illegible

im-

not

imperfect, impolite, impossible

im-

into

imbibe (drink in, take in)

in-

not

indiscreet, invisible

in-

into

incorporate (take into the body)

inter-

between

intervene (come between), interstate

intra-

within

intrastate, intramural

ir-

not

irregular, irrational, irredeemable

macro-

large

macrocosm, macroeconomics

mal, male-

bad, evil

malediction malevolent, malnutrition

meta-

beyond

metaphysical

micro-

small

microscope, microcosm, microeconomics

mono-

one, single

monologue, monotheism, monarchy, monogamy

neo-

new, recent

neologism, neo-liberal, neonatology. neolithic

ob-

against

object, obstruct (build against)

palin-, pali-

back, again

palindrome

pan-

all, every

pantheism, Pan-Hellenic, panorama, pandemic

para-

false

paramilitary, paralegal, parachute

per-

through

percolate (flow through) perforate (punch through)

peri-

around

perimeter, periscope

phil-, philo-

like, lover of

philosophy, Francophile, bibliophile, philanthropy

poly-

many, several

polygon, polygamy, polytechnic, polytheism

post-

after

postgraduate, posthumous postpone

pre-

before

precede, predict (tell before)

pro-

for, forward

promote, project

pros-

toward, in front

prospect—view in front, something coming up

proto-

first

prototype, protoplasm, protobiology

pseudo

false

pseudonym, pseudoscience

re-

again, back

repeat, recede, regress (step back)

retro-

back

retrogression, retroactive

se-

away from

seduce (lead away), secede

sub-

under

submarine, subject, subhuman subterranean

sur-, super-

over, above

superhuman, superego, superintend, surpass

syn-, sym-, syl-, sys-

with, together

symphony, synonym, system, syllable

tele-

distant, far off

telephone, telepathy, television, telegram

trans-

across

transient, Transatlantic, transport (carry across)

SUFFIXES

Suffix Definition: after

Example

-agog,


-a little star

-ism

the belief in

pacifism, terrorism, socialism, communism

-ist

one who believes in

pacifist, terrorist, socialist, communist

-ite

one connected with

meteorite, polite, cosmopolite

-logy

study field of

biology, geology, etymology, cardiology

-oid

resembling, like-shaped

asteroid, spheroid

-or, -er

one who takes part in

doctor, actor, teacher, driver

-phobia

exaggerated fear

photophobia, claustrophobia, agoraphobia

-sis

act, state, condition of analysis


 

09:03 AM Oct 07 2011 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

Thanks Buttafly you gave a superb response, ‘keep on truckin’ with your English teaching!


Bruce_zhou, welcome to the forum, your assessment of the value of English is right on!


On with the show!

05:41 AM Sep 27 2011 |

Bruce_zhou

China

I m defintely a new guy for studing english,even though i studied english since high school,but i have gave up after graduated from college,that’s why i still can not speak prefect english so far,many months ago ,i suddently realize english is very important in our life nowadays,if you want make friends with foreign country and want to know more different culture of the world,you have to learn english well and speak prefect english,on the other hand ,if you want to find a job which have higher salary ,you also need have stronger english skill as well,so in nowadays english is defintely important skill we should be have had.

01:49 PM Sep 26 2011 |

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