English Language

free study notes showing example pages from our software program

free study notes showing example pages from our software program

Vocabulary – how to use it correctly

September 14, 2009 by Roy Johnson

free pages from our English Language software program

Vocabulary – definition

Vocabulary is a general term to describe the particular selection or type of words chosen in speech or writing.

It refers to individual items of content such as words.

Stylistic analysis picks out specific vocabulary items and analyses them as distinct from the grammar of the statement.

Examples

Here is a statement [from the world of computer technology] with certain vocabulary items selected for analysis.

“JavaScript is not a standalone programming language, and JavaScript programs cannot run outside the context of a Web browser.”

JavaScript technical jargon and the proper name for a programming language

standalone a recent coinage used as an adjective describing the nature of the programming language

program an American borrowing, useful as it distinguishes it from the English ‘programme’ which is now kept for reference to theatrical or TV content lists

Web more technical jargon, and the [abbreviated] proper name of the World Wide Web

browser the name of software for exploring the Web [a very recent coinage]

Use

Every individual has a collection of vocabulary items stored up in memory for use in speech and writing.

This collection can be referred to as a person’s lexicon.

The lexicon of any group is the sum-total of its word-stock.

This public lexicon is recorded in dictionaries — which have to be kept up to date as word meanings change and new items of vocabulary are created.

Vocabulary (or ‘lexis’) is usefully distinguished from grammar in textual analysis. The grammar of any utterance is the underlying structure. The vocabulary or the lexical level is the immediate content or subject-matter of a statement.

The passage which follows contains a normal mixture of grammatical items and vocabulary items.

Bananas are cheap and plentiful and can be used in many interesting ways, either as desserts or in main meals.

With the grammatical items removed, the sentence still makes some sense.

Bananas cheap plentiful used many interesting ways either desserts main meals.

Without the lexical items however, the grammar words mean nothing as a sequence.

are and can be in as or in

As part of the language acquisition process, children build up a vocabulary which is like a personal archive of words or utterances. These may be called on as part of the natural act of speaking.

Much research has been carried out to assess the volume of a child’s vocabulary at a young age. It has been impossible to gain accurate results in this field because a child utters only a fraction of its total vocabulary.

Saussure applied the terms langue and parole to this phenomenon. Langue referred to the total individual vocabulary comprising the words learnt and understood (but not necessarily uttered). Parole referred to the vocabulary actually spoken.

There is an added complexity surrounding this topic. That is the definition of ‘knowing’ a vocabulary item. A person could utter a word or a phrase without knowing its meaning. Moreover, the quality of understanding is not always easy to assess, especially in children.

Vocabulary is one level of stylistic analysis, along with graphology, phonology, grammar and semantics.

In anylysing the vocabulary of a text or a speech, patterns of usage would be the subject of comment. For instance, the frequent occurrence of technical terms in car repair manual, or of emotive terms in a tabloid newspaper article.

Aberrant usage would also be of interest. In advertising for instance, words are sometimes spelt deviantly as in Beanz meanz Heinz. Coinages are also used, as is rhyme and onomatopoeia. All these features become issues of vocabulary in stylistics.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar

Writing – how to understand it

September 14, 2009 by Roy Johnson

sample page – English Language software

Writing – definition

Writing is the use of visual symbols which act as a code for communication between individuals or groups.

Writing and speech are the two main language varieties.

Examples

Writing is a material form of communication which can comprise:

handwriting on paper
carving on wood, stone, or metal
electronic writing on screen or disk
printed lettering on public signs

Use

Writing and speech should usefully be regarded as two entirely separate systems.

Writing has to be acquired as a skill in the same way as driving, sewing and cooking are learnt.

Speech is acquired by means of innate programming, in the same way as we grow taller or acquire a second set of teeth.

The code of written language consists of letter-forms [the alphabet] used to form a visual approximation of spoken words.

These words are formed in accordance with the conventions of spelling, then combined using the rules of grammar and syntax to form meaningful statements.

Writing is a code or a set of symbols which serve to produce material forms of communication.

It is interesting to consider the differences between speech and writing:

Writing can be preserved indefinitely, whereas speech is transient unless it is deliberately recorded.

Writing is usually a solitary act of communication, whereas speech is a social act.

Writing expects a delay in reply, whereas speech usually solicits an immediate response.

Writing does not contain non-verbal gesture, whereas speech employs non-verbal gesture constantly.

Writing is often drafted, so that the audience receives an edited version. With speech, the audience hears the first attempt with all its faulty starts, hesitations, contradictions and corrections.

Writing is pre-planned, whereas speech is usually spontaneous.

Writing and speech have discrete functions in society. Speech is more appropriate for some purposes, whereas writing is more appropriate for others.

a lengthy shopping list is better written down
a job interview is better conducted verbally, but accompanied by written notes
a wedding invitation is usually written because it contains lots of factual details

No language can have an exact correlationship in terms of its speech and its writing. English is no exception to this principle.

It is important to appreciate [and worth repeating] that writing is an arbitrary code and as such is learnt separately from speech.

A competent literate person usually has little difficulty in reading, comprehension, or pronunciation.

One important reason for the disparity between pronunciation and spelling is the fact that written language stays relatively fixed, whereas the spoken language is always developing rapidly.

The spoken language is alive, and therefore grows and develops from moment to moment. Pronunciation styles alter and shift, as does the lexicon of the language. Terms and idioms are imported from various societies whose pronunciation differs greatly from our own.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar

English Language

free study notes showing example pages from our software program

free pages from our English Language software program

Vocabulary – definition

Examples

Use

sample page – English Language software

Writing – definition

Examples

Use

Get in touch