Language Archives - Page 11 of 16

Oxymoron – how to understand it

September 11, 2009 by Roy Johnson

free pages from our English Language software program

Oxymoron – definition

Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two incongruous or apparently contradictory words are combined to make a special effect.

An oxymoron is a contracted paradox.

Examples

He has a strong weakness for drink.
I’ll try the sweet and sour duck.
She is something of a cheerful pessimist
Their affair is an open secret.

Use

Oxymoron is used for emphasis or stylistic effect.

It’s often used in advertising.

NB! By the way, it’s pronounced ‘ox-ymoron’ — not ‘oxy-moron’.

The oxymoron is closely related to antithesis and paradox. Both of these are figures of speech.

An oxymoron is ‘a contracted paradox’. That is, the paradox is an apparently contradictory statement; whereas the contradiction in an oxymoron is reduced to just two antithetical terms.

It is the sort of playful and often witty effect used by those who wish to draw attention to their command of language.

The device is much-loved by poets, because it enables them to express complex ideas in a very compressed form:

Where grey-beard mirth and smiling toil retired
The toiling pleasure sickens into pain

[Oliver Goldsmith]

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar

Paradox – how to understand it

September 11, 2009 by Roy Johnson

free pages from our English Language software program

Paradox – definition

Paradox is a figure of speech in which a statement appears to be self-contradictory, but contains something of a truth.

Examples

The child is father to the man.
Cowards die many times before their death.

Use

Paradox is used for emphasis or stylistic effect.

The paradox is closely related to oxymoron — which is sometimes defined as ‘a contracted paradox’.

That is, the paradox is an apparently contradictory statement; whereas the contradiction in an oxymoron is reduced to just two antithetical terms – as in ‘living dead’ or ‘open secret’.

Paradox was much-used by the Metaphysical poets of the senteenth century — of whom John Donne is perhaps the best known. The following example is taken from one of his religious sonnets in which he appeals to God to strengthen his beliefs. He packs three paradoxes into these last four lines:

Divorce mee, untie, or breake that knot againe,
Take mee to you, imprison mee, for I
Except you enthrall mee, never shall be free,
Nor ever chast, except you ravish mee.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar

Paragraphs – how to write them

September 11, 2009 by Roy Johnson

free pages from our English Language software program

Paragraphs – definition

Paragraphs are (usually) a group of sentences which deal with one topic.

The sentences are related to each other to produce an effect of unity.

The group of sentences form a single unit of meaning.

Examples

The following example of a paragraph is itself the definition of a paragraph:

The central thought or main controlling idea of a paragraph is usually conveyed in what is called a topic sentence. This crucial sentence which states, summarises or clearly expresses the main theme, is the keystone of a well-built paragraph. The topic sentence may come anywhere in the paragraph, though most logically and in most cases it is the first sentence. This immediately tells readers what is coming, and leaves them in no doubt about the overall controlling idea. In a very long paragraph, the initial topic sentence may even be restated or given a more significant emphasis in its conclusion.

Use

Paragraphs are used to divide a long piece of writing into separate sections.

Each of these sections should deal with one issue, or one topic in a sequence.

Paragraphs are a device to create firm structure in writing.

They can also be used to give rhythm, variety, and pace to writing.

NB! If in doubt, keep your paragraphs shorter, rather than longer.

The recommended structure of a typical paragraph in academic writing is as follows. [It is rather like a mini-version of the structure of a complete essay.]

The opening topic sentence
A fuller explanation of the topic sentence
Supporting sentences which explain its significance
The discussion of examples or evidence
A concluding or link sentence

The start of a new paragraph is usually signalled by either a double space between lines, or by indenting the first line of the new paragraph.

Very short paragraphs are often used in literary writing for stylistic effect.

One of the most famous examples of this device comes from the Bible [John 11:35].

When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled. And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
Jesus wept.

The longer the paragraph, the more demands it makes on the reader.

The length of paragraphs can be varied to give rhythm and ‘pace’ to a piece of writing [rather like variations in sentence-length].

The last sentence in a paragraph is often used to provide a link to the next.

The following example [written by E.M.Forster] shows the skilful use of an attention-grabbing first sentence, and a concluding sentence which whets the reader’s appetite to know more about the subject:

John Skelton was an East Anglian: he was a poet, also a clergyman, and he was extremely strange. Partly strange because the age in which he flourished – that of the early Tudors – is remote from us, and difficult to interpret. But he was also a strange creature personally, and whatever you think of him when we’ve finished – and you will possibly think badly of him – you will agree that we have been in contact with someone unusual.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar

Pardon My French

July 20, 2009 by Roy Johnson

Unleash your inner Gaul

Don’t be misled by the title. This book isn’t about swearing or euphemism. It comes from the long tradition of the English writing about French language and culture as if it were that of another planet – but with a certain amount of self-deprecation and lots of affection. Charles Timoney went to live in France speaking only a few remnants of his GCE French – and what he offers here is what he’s learned in the years since – working in the country and learning from his French wife and in-laws. You can avoid making the same mistakes, and even get to understand some of the slang, idioms, and puzzling anomalies which he writes about so amusingly.

The entries are arranged in themes such as food and drink, travel, education, the office, history, slang, and the family. What you get is not only an explanation of linguistic oddities, but an insider’s glimpse into a foreign culture too. He explains how to survive in a French restaurant for instance, how to order steak well done and even ask for tap water, and why you should not call the waiter ‘Monsieur’.

There are also warnings that gateau doesn’t always mean cake (more likely a biscuit) and how French vegetable names are used as slang insults (Banane = idiot)

Because the French (like the English) have a habit of changing and abbreviating words, this guide is useful for explaining the quasi-slang terms for everyday things – such as apéro (aperitif) DOM – TOM (former colonies) Bac (A levels). He also explains why people in the provinces refer not to Parisiens but to les neufs trois (ninety-three being the number of a particularly low-rated parisian département).

He explains why nobody in their right mind would use the full name L’aéroport Charles de Gaulle when they can more easily use it’s original name of Roissy.

Buried within all the jokes there’s actually a lot of useful information regarding French culture such as getting married, driving round roundabouts, where to sit in a football stadium, and the fact that French cinemas change their films on a Wednesday, not Thursday as they do in the UK.

There’s an excellent chapter on slang (Mec = chap) backslang (Meuf = girl) and even instructions on how to use Merde! politely. It’s the sort of book you read with a permanent smile on your face.

Buy the book at Amazon UK

Buy the book at Amazon US

Charles Timoney, Pardon My French, London: Penguin, 2007, pp.233, ISBN: 1846140528

Participles – how to understand them

September 11, 2009 by Roy Johnson

free pages from our English Language software program

Participles – definition

The term participles refers to the lexical component of the verb or the part which conveys the information or meaning.

Participles can express the present tense as in swimming or the past as in swam.

Examples

PRESENT PARTICIPLES

jumping thinking being

rowing considering maintaining

PAST PARTICIPLES

ran came went was

thought made helped socialised

Use

Participles are usually used along with pronouns as verbs, but they are also used as adjectives as in The Killing Fields and The Hanging Gardens.

Participles can be used also as nouns as in ‘the cleaning’, ‘the washing’, or The Shining [film title].

NB! Speaking, listening, reading, and writing add up to communicating.

The term ‘participle’ is a technical grammatical term. It is useful to be able to identify this portion of the verb.

A verb is usually referred to in its infinitive form, with the prefix ‘to’ — as in:

to learn to be to have

to walk to converse to seem

An alternative form of reference to a given verb is to express it as a participle:

running walking sitting

wondering scribbling seeming

The participle has been very adaptable in creating new terms recently. This is particularly true in the USA, where Americans seem to have a more flexible and pragmatic approach to linguistic creativity than the British — who are perhaps inhibited by notions of traditional restraint where language development is concerned.

The scope of the noun ‘parent’ has been extended to include a verb form, and the participle is the most common form of this. Parenting is now the title of a magazine, and the activity is often referred to as ‘parenting’. However, we do not often hear other forms of the verb used — as in ‘I parented two children’ or ‘I have learnt to parent my child’.

The phrase ‘the reason being’ contains the participle form of the verb ‘to be’. This phrase seems to have recently become idiomatic. That is, it has become a compound or stock phrase which speakers find useful when expressing cause and effect, especially in speech.

Often a speaker will use the idiom as in the utterance: ‘The reason being is that I don’t like driving late at night’. In a mechanical sense, the participle ‘being’ has been substituted for ‘is’ in the conventionally grammatical utterance ‘The reason is that I don’t like driving late at night’.

The result is ungrammatical, but it is quite possible that this deviant form could become Standard English if enough speakers adopted it into their everyday repertoire. [But let’s hope not!]

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar

Phonology – how to understand it

September 11, 2009 by Roy Johnson

free pages from our English Language software program

Phonology – definition

Phonology is the study of the sounds in any language.

The smallest unit of sound is known as a phoneme.

The phonemic alphabet is a complete set of symbols, each of which represents a single sound belonging to a specific language.

Examples

Here are some of the phonemic symbols representing sounds in English [received pronunciation]:

/ æ / = the ‘a’ in hat

/ k / = the ‘c’ in cap

Use

Phonology is a study of how sounds are organised in languages.

It is the province of linguists who study language varieties and who chart language change and development.

Phonemic symbols are used in all dictionaries to indicate the received pronunciation of each word.

Phonology is also used in therapeutic fields such as audiology and speech therapy.

NB! Phonetics [as distinct from phonology] is the study of how speech sounds are made, transmitted, and received.

The International Phonetic Alphabet [IPA] is a set of symbols which attempts to represent every unit of sound contained in every known language. [In this context the symbols are known as phonetic symbols.]

For instance, the words ‘butter’, ‘carriage’, and ‘chocolate’ (spoken in received pronunciation) would be represented as follows:

Butter =

Carriage =

Chocolate =

The term phonemic symbol is used to refer to a set of sounds representing a specific language such as English, Turkish, Urdu, Icelandic, or any other.

It is as if there were a box containing all phonetic symbols for all languages, and when we select those which serve our own language we call that selection a set of phonemes.

A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in any language.

It is represented in writing by placing a phonetic symbol between slanted lines. This indicates that it is part of a language.

For instance the simple word ‘pig’ would be represented by
/p/I/g/ because it is composed of three separate sounds.

Phonemes are the sounds of a language in received pronunciation. Regional varieties of that language may use sounds which differ from the RP version — and the symbols used to represent the dialect version are known as allophones.

An example of an allophone in English is seen in the vowel sound of words such as ‘bath’, ‘path’ and ‘castle’. The phoneme for the RP version of these sounds would be a: — representing the long open vowel b/a:/ð in ‘bath’.

The northern dialect version of the same sound in the context of those same words would be an allophone represented as b/æ/ð in ‘bath’.

Even though the symbol used is a phoneme representing RP, it becomes known as an allophone in the context of regional pronunciation.

It is important when attempting to grasp the concept of phonology and phonetics, to put to aside all notions of the orthodox spelling system.

An introduction to phonetics is useful to students of language in understanding the important distinction between speech and writing.

Phonetics also highlights the differences between spelling and pronunciation. When we learn to read [that is, to understand writing] we are learning a code. This is related to the spoken language in a crucially significant way, but in its nature and function it is distinct and discrete.

Phonology in context. The pronunciation system in English is extremely varied, and this variety springs from context.

The geographical context or the social context can be seen to determine the speech style of both individuals and of groups of speakers.

On a smaller scale, certain words themselves are context-specific in terms of pronunciation.

For example, ‘hand’ is pronounced roughly as it is spelt if it is spoken in isolation as a single word. However, in ‘handbag’ it is pronounced ‘ham’ or ‘han’.

The reason for this is ease of articulation. Clusters of consonants [three in succession in ‘handbag’] are difficult to pronounce.

If ‘hand’ is spoken after the adjective ‘left’ in ‘lefthand’, the initial aspirant [h] of ‘hand’ is to varying degrees eliminated to produce the sequence ‘left’and’.

Similarly, if the word ‘crisp’ is spoken in isolation, it is pronounced as written. If the plural ‘s’ is added however, the ‘p’ almost disappears to produce the sequence ‘criss’.

The definite article itself is subject to phonological variation which is determined by its context. That is, if it precedes a vowel sound as in ‘the other’ ‘the’ is pronounced ‘thee’. If it precedes a consonant, or is articulated in isolation, it is pronounced ‘the’, with the narrower vowel sound.

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar

Phrases – how to understand them

September 11, 2009 by Roy Johnson

free pages from our English Language software program

Phrases – definition

Phrases are part of a sentence which does not contain a finite verb.

[This feature distinguishes a phrase from a clause, which does have a finite verb.]

It is a group of words which acts as a noun, adjective, or an adverb.

Examples

up the street my father’s dog

to hunt the killer the house with big windows

strawberries and cream having a wonderful time

Use

Phrases are sequences of meaning and are used in both speech and writing.

A grammatically complete sentence requires a finite verb. However, in some contexts phrases can convey as much meaning as is required.

In these cases the verb may not be expressed but will be implied by the speaker and understood by the listener.

In writing, the phrase would only be punctuated as a sentence in special cases and for special effects.

NB! Remember – a phrase does not contain a finite verb, but a clause does.

The term ‘phrase’ is used generally to suggest a saying or a brief statement.

The most interesting thing regarding phrases is that when uttered in isolation they have a verb which is understood or implied.

If we say to a child ‘Up those stairs!’ it usually means something like, ‘It’s time you went up those stairs to bed’. In the more complete utterance ‘you went’ is a finite verb.

Similarly, the question ‘Where are the glasses?’ may be answered by ‘Inside the cabinet’. The semantic implication is ‘The glasses are inside the cabinet’ in which ‘are’ is the finite verb whose subject is ‘the glasses’.

Many proverbs are expressed as phrases but with the finite verb understood.

For instance ‘More haste less speed’, suggests that, ‘more haste results in less speed’. However, this addition of the finite verb ‘results’ makes the saying less succinct and epigrammatic.

A very unscientific but efficient way to test whether an utterance is a sentence or a phrase is to imagine addressing a stranger with the statement. The response to a phrase would be ‘What on earth are you talking about?’

For example, imagine making any of the following statements to someone. They would not know what you meant.

‘The green book’
‘A lovely surprise’
‘Over there’

On the other hand, even a stranger would make some sense of the following sentences:

‘That’s the green book I left in the park.’
‘The bus stops over there.’
‘I have a lovely surprise for you.’

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

English Language 3.0 program
Books on language
More on grammar

Pocket Oxford Spanish Dictionary

August 2, 2009 by Roy Johnson

dictionary + grammar + culture + communication

Don’t be misled by the title of this book. The Pocket Oxford Spanish Dictionary is not simply a Spanish dictionary. It’s a full English-Spanish and Spanish-English dual-language dictionary, aimed at intermediate students and the everyday user. In fact it’s even more than that, because the two big lexicons are surrounded by lots of other support materials. There is enough supplementary material in this book to provide a substantial insight into Spanish culture and society.

There are guides to pronunciation; a list of traditions, festivals, and holidays; an A to Z gazette of life and culture; guidance notes on writing letters; and even notes on grammar plus verb tables. These are presented in both languages in all cases. The only thing that struck me as very odd is the fact that pronunciation is given for English words, but not for Spanish. Since this book is aimed at English buyers, this ought to be the other way round, at least.

It covers over 90,000 words and phrases and 120,000 translations of contemporary Spanish and English, and the technical supplement provides full information on all the key points of Spanish and English grammar,

In addition to a new 32 page grammar supplement for this edition, there are example letters, emails, postcards, and CVs.

Language is now studied in the context of its culture, so the existing culture section has been revised and expanded to offer lively and useful information on life in the Spanish-speaking world – everything from political institutions to how weddings are celebrated.

So – the presentation of a typical entry goes as follows – for the verb perder – to lose.

perder
[E8] vt 1. (en general) to lose; perdi el pasaporte I lost my passport; quiere ~ peso he wants to lose weight; con conguntar no se pierde nada we’ve/you’ve nothing to lose by asking; ~ la vida to lose one’s life, to perish; • CABEZA 1E, VISTA 3; yo no pierdo las esperanzas I’m not giving up hope; ~ la práctica to get out of practice; ~ el equilibrio to lose one’s balance; ~ el conocimiento to lose consciousness, to pass out; ~ el ritmo (Mús) to lose the beat; (en trabajo) to get out of the rhythm

2. (a) (autobús/tren/avión) to miss (b) (occasión o opportunidad) to miss; sin ~ la detalle without missing any detail (c) (tiempo) to waste; no me hagas ~ (el) tiempo! don’t waste my time!; no hay tiempo que ~ there’s no time to lose

3. (a) (guerra/plaito/partido) to lose (b) (curso/año) to fail; (examen) (Ur) to fail

4. (agua/aciete/aire) to lose

One thing is for certain however. Unless you are wearing an oversized hunting jacket, this book will definitely not fit in your pocket. But it’s an excellent dictionary and a good source of reference about everyday communication in Spanish.

Buy the book at Amazon UK

Buy the book at Amazon US

Pocket Oxford Spanish Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edition, 2009, pp.1088, ISBN: 0199560773

More on dictionaries
More on language
More on grammar

Port Out, Starboard Home

July 15, 2009 by Roy Johnson

folk etymologies and false word histories explained

This is a book of folk-etymologies, false-etymologies, pseudo-etymologies – call them what you will. As Michael Quinion explains, once a colourful explanation for the origin of a term is offered, it’s hard to shift, no matter how flawed it might be. His book title Port Out, Starboard Home is taken from one of the most famous – the assumption that the word ‘posh’ is an acronym from reservations made with the old steamship companies servicing the British Empire. The story seems plausible, and it’s attractive – but it’s not true.

He covers lots of others such as honeymoon (nothing to do with honey) Elephant and Castle (which actually has connections with one of my local towns, Bolton) and Jerusalem Artichoke, which is not an artichoke and isn’t from Jerusalem. En route he takes you through some interesting byways – such as the reasonably well known example of British servicemen in the First World War converting ca ne fait rien into san fairy ann.

Entries run from akimbo to Zzxjoanw, which was passed off for years as a Maori name for a drum – despite the fact that there is no Z, X, or J in the Maori alphabet.

He gives detailed and plausible explanations for difficult cases such as the Big Apple (New York) and you would hardly believe how much can be written about the origins of apparently simple words such as aluminium and jazz.

So in a typical example, such as Ballyhoo for instance, he lists all the supposed explanations for the word’s origins – then quietly explodes them as myths, and substitutes either a reasonable explanation, or an admission that we simply don’t know. The same is true for expressions such as break a leg, for which he gives several possible explanations, before coming up with the the most plausible.

Michael Quinion is a scholar, and as a researcher for the Oxford English Dictionary he knows his stuff. He cites his sources and he knows the etymological history of language back to the early Renaiassance. But I don’t agree with him that the negative should be removed from all mouth and no trousers.

And he also keep a very good web site at www.worldwidewords.org – from which many of these examples are drawn. I visit regularly when I get stuck, and I’m rarely disappointed. The site also has a weekly newsletter which gives updates on issues to do with problems, difficult words, and complications in English Language. But like most people, I like having something between hard covers.

Buy the book at Amazon UK

Buy the book at Amazon US

Michael Quinion, Port Out, Starboard Home and other language myths, London: Penguin, new edition 2005, pp.304, ISBN: 0141012234

Punctuation

May 21, 2009 by Roy Johnson

beginner’s guide to the basic principles of punctuation

Oxford University Press have just brought out a series of short beginners’ manuals on communication skills. Their emphasis is on compact, no-nonsense advice directly related to issues of everyday life. Punctuation in English can be almost as tricky as spelling. Robert Allen cleverly approaches the topic by explaining what punctuation is for, and how it can help you to write more effectively.

He recognises that choices are not always clear cut. Does a pause in a sentence warrant a comma, a semi-colon, or maybe even a dash? And his explanations of the answers are illustrated throughout by everyday, practical examples. Beginners in particular will find his explanations very reassuring. He describes the basics of constructing statements and how they are best expressed using the basic elements of punctuation – from the comma to the full stop. Next comes the more complex issues of representing speech and using such punctuation marks as the colon and the semicolon. Don’t worry – everybody has problems with that one!

In fact there’s a useful section on how to avoid the most common mistakes in punctuation – such as using too many commas, or using the comma as a substitute for the full stop.

The second part of the book is a simple checklist of each common mark of punctuation – showing how each is used. And he ends with comments on the most popular problems – including what he calls ‘the grocer’s apostrophe’.

This is easy to read and understand. It’s a book which will be suitable for anyone unsure about what is ultimately a matter of taste and style.

Buy the book at Amazon UK

Buy the book at Amazon US

Robert Allen, Punctuation, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp.104, ISBN: 0198604394

More on writing skills
More on language
More on grammar

free pages from our English Language software program

Oxymoron – definition

Examples

Use

free pages from our English Language software program

Paradox – definition

Examples

Use

free pages from our English Language software program

Paragraphs – definition

Examples

Use

Unleash your inner Gaul

free pages from our English Language software program

Participles – definition

Examples

Use

free pages from our English Language software program

Phonology – definition

Examples

Use

free pages from our English Language software program

Phrases – definition

Examples

Use

dictionary + grammar + culture + communication

folk etymologies and false word histories explained

beginner’s guide to the basic principles of punctuation

Get in touch