Sunday November 13, 2011Importance of grammarEXPLORING ENGLISHBy KEITH W. WRIGHTBesides the traditional aspects of formal definitions, the functional purpose of words in context should also be exmphasised when teaching grammar. MANY of the e-mail queries received from readers of this column often relate to grammar. Some teachers have questioned the rules they are required to teach. Many seem to find grammar a difficult subject to impart to students while others have challenged the need for grammar at all. One of the problems teachers and learners face today centres on “uncertainty”, arising from the fact that many grammarians have different opinions on terminology, particularly in relation to the various Classes of Speech, even arguing about what are the Parts of Speech. For this reason, over the coming weeks, Exploring English will focus on this prerequisite to being a superior speaker and writer of English. First of all, we need to determine the answer to the question: what is grammar? Grammar means different things to different people. It can be: ·Speaking and writing in accordance with accepted rules or principles and standards of usage; ·The systematic study or analysis of words, word forms and sentences - their arrangement and construction - functions or uses – classes – characteristics – features - patterns and interrelationships in spoken and written language; ·The systematic study and description of a language sentence structure, i.e. the way that the words and word forms in a sentence are arranged to show their relationship to each other; lA systematic analysis or study that deals with those aspects of a language that demonstrate the relationship between words in speech and writing; or lA science involving the study of such aspects of language as phonology, orthography, syntax, etymology, semantics and prosody. To teach English grammar, the 4S-Accelerated English Programme (4S-AEP) uses a formal-functional approach, which is a combined technique that focuses on the traditional aspects of formal grammar while emphasising the functional or purpose of words and word groups in context. This approach is like starting out on a hike across unknown and difficult terrain, progressing slowly but surely from the easy to the difficult and from the known to the unknown. Its underlying objective is to ensure that the grammar skills being taught are meaningful and purposeful with the emphasis on the function of words and word groups in various language situations. 4S-AEP contends that learners benefit most when knowledge of traditional definitions and class categories is combined with the newer terminology that has evolved in recent decades. It is a “partnership” between the traditional and the modern. However, while 4S-AEP recognises the value of learners knowing about the various grammatical categories or classes of speech into which words and word groups can be placed (such as the traditional parts of speech), its main goal is to ensure that speakers and writers are able to use English correctly and understand why. To this end, 4S-AEP emphasises the fact that every word or word group used in written or spoken English should have a specific function or purpose. Otherwise, it should not be used. The primary objective of 4S-AEP in the realm of grammar is to ensure that speakers and writers master the skill of using words and word groups competently and correctly and in a meaningful and purposeful way – not just adhering to a specific definition or set of rules. To be competent and confident in the language, 4S-AEP also strongly promotes the exploration and usage of various facets of “the art of the alternative” in grammar, which has been studied in previous columns. For this reason, we will adopt the analogy that speaking and writing is like painting by an artist. Just as a professional artist applies different techniques, media and elements and seeks to portray specific meaning and emphasis in a painting by using colours, shapes, lines and textures, so too does the accomplished writer and speaker through the use of different and superior words and constructions, formats and structure. Furthermore, 4S-AEP quickly raises individual English language proficiency levels by systematically and gradually addressing the everyday, common grammatical errors that speakers and writers make in conversation and communication by pursuing a simple but effective and practical “problem – solution” approach. There are 10 common problem areas in grammar — all of which are considered in great detail in the 4S-SCILLS companion and audio booklet, an e-learning, self-pacing programme, namely: ·Wrongly using adjectives instead of adverbs; ·Using wrong prepositions to begin phrases; ·Using wrong pronouns; ·Using verb forms wrongly; ·Using words and word groups incorrectly; ·Dealing with contractions, conjunctions and constructions; ·Common pronunciation errors; ·Subject-verb agreement; ·Using correct verb form tenses; and ·Using correct irregular verb forms. Over the next few weeks, some of these 10 areas and other grammar-related issues will be addressed in this column.● Keith Wright is the author and creator of the 4S Approach To Literacy and Language (4S) – a modern, innovative and proven method of accelerating the learning of English. The 4S methodology and the associated Accelerated English Programme (AEP) mentioned in this fortnightly column are now being used internationally to enhance the English proficiency of people with different competency levels. E-mail contact@4Sliteracy.com.au for a free copy of the PDF file on Case in Grammar.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
The King Canute of Spelling? by Reg Connolly
The King Canute of Spelling?
(From The Pegasus NLP Newsletter – 22 August 2000)
King Canute is reputed to have had his throne placed on the beach so he could sit and command the tide not to come in. It did, of course, and he and his throne began to get wet.
The story is often use as an example of somebody trying to do the impossible. It's usually wrongly quoted, incidentally.
In some respects my attempts to maintain a distinction between English and American is as doomed to failure. And provokes occasional comments.
The latest of these came after yesterday's article on Crazy Thinking. It was a very pleasant and courteous email and included a request that I use a spell-checker! I do use one – and it checks against the commonly accepted English as used in England.
Because of the amount of American-produced software, incorporating American spell-checkers, it is becoming almost the norm to spell in American.
Microsoft has played no small part in this. Their software, even when sold in the UK and Ireland, features spell-checkers which seem to have a habit of reverting their default to American even when set to what they call “English (UK)”.
There is a further challenge. A lot of English software now features American spelling, too. Either because it is aimed at the American, and much larger, market or because the people who wrote the software have been using American spell-checkers for so long that they can no longer spell in English.
My sister visited recently and on reading something I had written pointed out that I had incorrectly spelt 'programme'. In her mind it should be spelt 'program'. Where she works computers are workhorses and the staff are not interested in tweaking and customising(!) the programmes. Subtleties like changing the defaults are ignored. As a result she and her colleagues have been using American spell-checkers for so long they think the American way is correct for this part of the world (England and Ireland)!
So, really, a chap has to take a stand somewhere, doesn't he!
I've had a look through some recent newsletters and switched between American and English spellings to get a list of some common differences between the two “languages” (as they are rapidly becoming!) I then used an English dictionary – a real old-fashioned paper one rather than a software one, just in case… And I came up with the following:
English Spelling American Spelling
recognise recognize (sometimes Eng. too)
behaviour behavior
recognising recognizing (sometimes Eng. too)
paralyse paralyze
generalisations generalizations (sometimes Eng. too)
labelling labeling
analyse analyze
programme program
hypoglycaemia hypoglycemia
travelling traveling
revitalise revitalize (sometimes Eng. too)
practise (the verb) practice (Am. both
verb and noun!)
apologising apologizing (sometimes Eng. too)
defence defense
channelled chanelled
finalised finalized (sometimes Eng. too)
Now for a lovely one…
English American
fulfil fulfill
fulfilling fulfiling
fulfilment fulfillment
fulfiller fulfiler
So we sometimes have two 'l's' in English and one in American...
But, other times, we have one in English and two in American. Got it? Easy isn't it…!
All of which goes to show what a pointless exercise it is becoming to try and get it 'right'!
English is a living and dynamic language – and is becoming the standard on the Web. And there are more Americans using the Web than English, more American products available, and more non-English speakers using American products to learn English.
English as some of us Europeans have known it may not have long to go. Yet I'm sitting here in my chair ranting at the world to stop and do it my way. Rather like King Canute is supposed to have been doing. And as long as I, and others, don't take it too seriously it's a harmless little exercise.
It's like a lot of things in life. As long as we do not lose sight of the big picture that's fine. The big picture is what is really important to me or you at any moment. The big picture of the web site and of the newsletter is to make available a few ideas, tips, and insights that I have come across and have found helpful for myself and when coaching others.
(So what about old Canute? Well, he was not trying to stop the tide from coming in. He was a lot wiser than that. He wanted to demonstrate to his over-demanding subjects that even the king was not omnipotent. That's what he intended. But along the way, over the centuries, people forgot what his big picture was – they missed his point.)
I really enjoy hearing about peoples views on the information in the newsletter and web site. And, especially, their experiences in applying the ideas.
So do kepe your coments roling in, pleeze…
Reg Connolly
(From The Pegasus NLP Newsletter – 22 August 2000)
King Canute is reputed to have had his throne placed on the beach so he could sit and command the tide not to come in. It did, of course, and he and his throne began to get wet.
The story is often use as an example of somebody trying to do the impossible. It's usually wrongly quoted, incidentally.
In some respects my attempts to maintain a distinction between English and American is as doomed to failure. And provokes occasional comments.
The latest of these came after yesterday's article on Crazy Thinking. It was a very pleasant and courteous email and included a request that I use a spell-checker! I do use one – and it checks against the commonly accepted English as used in England.
Because of the amount of American-produced software, incorporating American spell-checkers, it is becoming almost the norm to spell in American.
Microsoft has played no small part in this. Their software, even when sold in the UK and Ireland, features spell-checkers which seem to have a habit of reverting their default to American even when set to what they call “English (UK)”.
There is a further challenge. A lot of English software now features American spelling, too. Either because it is aimed at the American, and much larger, market or because the people who wrote the software have been using American spell-checkers for so long that they can no longer spell in English.
My sister visited recently and on reading something I had written pointed out that I had incorrectly spelt 'programme'. In her mind it should be spelt 'program'. Where she works computers are workhorses and the staff are not interested in tweaking and customising(!) the programmes. Subtleties like changing the defaults are ignored. As a result she and her colleagues have been using American spell-checkers for so long they think the American way is correct for this part of the world (England and Ireland)!
So, really, a chap has to take a stand somewhere, doesn't he!
I've had a look through some recent newsletters and switched between American and English spellings to get a list of some common differences between the two “languages” (as they are rapidly becoming!) I then used an English dictionary – a real old-fashioned paper one rather than a software one, just in case… And I came up with the following:
English Spelling American Spelling
recognise recognize (sometimes Eng. too)
behaviour behavior
recognising recognizing (sometimes Eng. too)
paralyse paralyze
generalisations generalizations (sometimes Eng. too)
labelling labeling
analyse analyze
programme program
hypoglycaemia hypoglycemia
travelling traveling
revitalise revitalize (sometimes Eng. too)
practise (the verb) practice (Am. both
verb and noun!)
apologising apologizing (sometimes Eng. too)
defence defense
channelled chanelled
finalised finalized (sometimes Eng. too)
Now for a lovely one…
English American
fulfil fulfill
fulfilling fulfiling
fulfilment fulfillment
fulfiller fulfiler
So we sometimes have two 'l's' in English and one in American...
But, other times, we have one in English and two in American. Got it? Easy isn't it…!
All of which goes to show what a pointless exercise it is becoming to try and get it 'right'!
English is a living and dynamic language – and is becoming the standard on the Web. And there are more Americans using the Web than English, more American products available, and more non-English speakers using American products to learn English.
English as some of us Europeans have known it may not have long to go. Yet I'm sitting here in my chair ranting at the world to stop and do it my way. Rather like King Canute is supposed to have been doing. And as long as I, and others, don't take it too seriously it's a harmless little exercise.
It's like a lot of things in life. As long as we do not lose sight of the big picture that's fine. The big picture is what is really important to me or you at any moment. The big picture of the web site and of the newsletter is to make available a few ideas, tips, and insights that I have come across and have found helpful for myself and when coaching others.
(So what about old Canute? Well, he was not trying to stop the tide from coming in. He was a lot wiser than that. He wanted to demonstrate to his over-demanding subjects that even the king was not omnipotent. That's what he intended. But along the way, over the centuries, people forgot what his big picture was – they missed his point.)
I really enjoy hearing about peoples views on the information in the newsletter and web site. And, especially, their experiences in applying the ideas.
So do kepe your coments roling in, pleeze…
Reg Connolly
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The percularities of the English language
At my house, the mealtime implement used for cutting is called a ka-nife. The joint located between thigh and calf is called a ka-nee. And the medieval warriors who wore suits of armor are called ka-ni-guh-ts.
We adopted these unusual pronunciations after my 5-year-old son, Teddy, noticed something odd about the English language. While sounding out words on the page in the way we’d taught him, he realized that many words didn’t sound at all the way they looked. Yacht. Trough. Colonel. And what was that letter k doing at the start of words that sounded like they began with n?
Such irregular spellings, my husband and I explained, were the result of the English language’s long, rich history: a mix of Anglo-Saxon, Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, among other languages, melded over centuries of use. Teddy was unimpressed. Words should sound the way they look, he insisted: hence, ka-nife.
As anyone who’s lost a spelling bee or failed a spelling test will affirm, the English language is more ornery than most. About 25% of its words employ irregular spellings, and many of these terms are among the most frequently used in the language. Cross-cultural research demonstrates that the trickiness of English affects how quickly American children learn to read and write. After just a few months of instruction, for example, children living in Italy are able to read and write any word they encounter, because their language is almost perfectly regular: each letter or combination of letters maps reliably onto a particular sound. Children in the U.S., on the other hand, must endure years of drills before they have mastered the intricacies of bough and bow, weigh and way. (American pupils can console themselves with the knowledge that kids in China have it even harder: there, lessons on reading and writing the thousands of symbols in the Chinese language extend into students’ teenage years.)
(MORE: Laodicean and Other Spelling Bee Winning Words)
Big deal, you might think — so it takes a few years to learn written English. With practice, our peculiar spellings become second nature. But there is evidence that for some English users, the knottiness of the language leads to lasting problems with reading. About twice as many Americans as Italians fit the definition of dyslexic, even though brain-scan studies suggest that the two populations have similar proportions of people with the mental processing deficit associated with the disorder. The irregularity of English ruthlessly exposes this brain anomaly, while the consistency of the Italian language allows readers to compensate for it. Dyslexia, remarkably enough, may be partly culturally induced.
So what can be done about the quirks of our native tongue? Are we stuck with English’s ungainly spellings?
Not necessarily. The way words are spelled could be changed. Dictionary author Noah Webster did it in 1806, removing the u from words like colour and honour and changing the c in words like offence and pretence to an s. In general, however, top-down spelling reforms have met with little success. Steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie helped found the Simplified Spelling Board, and President Theodore Roosevelt directed his government to use plainer spellings in its publications. Neither effort amounted to much.
Language change is largely a bottom-up affair — and the moment is ripe for a mass movement to simplify English spelling. Digital communication by email, text and tweet has nudged our staid language into its most dynamic state of flux since the invention of the printing press. Linguists even have a name for the pared-down language we employ when using digital devices: chatspeak. It is, effectively, a newly created dialect of English, and chatspeak will surely shape in turn its more conventional progenitor.
(MORE: Digital Literacy Will Never Replace the Traditional Kind)
This may already be happening, especially among the young. Naomi Baron, a professor of linguistics at American University, reports that teachers of elementary school children increasingly “tolerate IM novelties in classroom written assignments.” While some of these Internet-age innovations are frivolous or trivial — Shakespeare managed to amuse his audiences without recourse to LOL — other shifts may prove more meaningful. Beverly Plester is a psychologist at Coventry University in England who has conducted research on how young people express themselves in electronic media. “When using text language, or ‘textisms,’ children revert to a phonetic language,” she observes, spelling words the way they sound. Such streamlining is similar to the way in which the simplified coinages of commercial English have slipped into wider use — donut for doughnut, nite for night, thru for through.
As an avid reader and a longtime Anglophile, I’ll admit that I’m fond of English’s odd spellings — and that words like nite and thru make me wince. But watching my son and his kindergarten classmates labor to learn English’s many idiosyncrasies, I wonder if it wouldn’t be better for them to fall by the wayside. We might have fewer cases of dyslexia and illiteracy. Students could spend their time thinking about the meanings of words instead of their treacherous spellings. And during dinner at my house, a ka-nife could be just a nife.
Paul, the author of Origins, is at work on a book about the science of learning. The views expressed are her own.
Read more: http://ideas.time.com/2011/11/02/are-americans-more-dyslexic-than-italians/#ixzz1ca1h2CdR
We adopted these unusual pronunciations after my 5-year-old son, Teddy, noticed something odd about the English language. While sounding out words on the page in the way we’d taught him, he realized that many words didn’t sound at all the way they looked. Yacht. Trough. Colonel. And what was that letter k doing at the start of words that sounded like they began with n?
Such irregular spellings, my husband and I explained, were the result of the English language’s long, rich history: a mix of Anglo-Saxon, Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, among other languages, melded over centuries of use. Teddy was unimpressed. Words should sound the way they look, he insisted: hence, ka-nife.
As anyone who’s lost a spelling bee or failed a spelling test will affirm, the English language is more ornery than most. About 25% of its words employ irregular spellings, and many of these terms are among the most frequently used in the language. Cross-cultural research demonstrates that the trickiness of English affects how quickly American children learn to read and write. After just a few months of instruction, for example, children living in Italy are able to read and write any word they encounter, because their language is almost perfectly regular: each letter or combination of letters maps reliably onto a particular sound. Children in the U.S., on the other hand, must endure years of drills before they have mastered the intricacies of bough and bow, weigh and way. (American pupils can console themselves with the knowledge that kids in China have it even harder: there, lessons on reading and writing the thousands of symbols in the Chinese language extend into students’ teenage years.)
(MORE: Laodicean and Other Spelling Bee Winning Words)
Big deal, you might think — so it takes a few years to learn written English. With practice, our peculiar spellings become second nature. But there is evidence that for some English users, the knottiness of the language leads to lasting problems with reading. About twice as many Americans as Italians fit the definition of dyslexic, even though brain-scan studies suggest that the two populations have similar proportions of people with the mental processing deficit associated with the disorder. The irregularity of English ruthlessly exposes this brain anomaly, while the consistency of the Italian language allows readers to compensate for it. Dyslexia, remarkably enough, may be partly culturally induced.
So what can be done about the quirks of our native tongue? Are we stuck with English’s ungainly spellings?
Not necessarily. The way words are spelled could be changed. Dictionary author Noah Webster did it in 1806, removing the u from words like colour and honour and changing the c in words like offence and pretence to an s. In general, however, top-down spelling reforms have met with little success. Steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie helped found the Simplified Spelling Board, and President Theodore Roosevelt directed his government to use plainer spellings in its publications. Neither effort amounted to much.
Language change is largely a bottom-up affair — and the moment is ripe for a mass movement to simplify English spelling. Digital communication by email, text and tweet has nudged our staid language into its most dynamic state of flux since the invention of the printing press. Linguists even have a name for the pared-down language we employ when using digital devices: chatspeak. It is, effectively, a newly created dialect of English, and chatspeak will surely shape in turn its more conventional progenitor.
(MORE: Digital Literacy Will Never Replace the Traditional Kind)
This may already be happening, especially among the young. Naomi Baron, a professor of linguistics at American University, reports that teachers of elementary school children increasingly “tolerate IM novelties in classroom written assignments.” While some of these Internet-age innovations are frivolous or trivial — Shakespeare managed to amuse his audiences without recourse to LOL — other shifts may prove more meaningful. Beverly Plester is a psychologist at Coventry University in England who has conducted research on how young people express themselves in electronic media. “When using text language, or ‘textisms,’ children revert to a phonetic language,” she observes, spelling words the way they sound. Such streamlining is similar to the way in which the simplified coinages of commercial English have slipped into wider use — donut for doughnut, nite for night, thru for through.
As an avid reader and a longtime Anglophile, I’ll admit that I’m fond of English’s odd spellings — and that words like nite and thru make me wince. But watching my son and his kindergarten classmates labor to learn English’s many idiosyncrasies, I wonder if it wouldn’t be better for them to fall by the wayside. We might have fewer cases of dyslexia and illiteracy. Students could spend their time thinking about the meanings of words instead of their treacherous spellings. And during dinner at my house, a ka-nife could be just a nife.
Paul, the author of Origins, is at work on a book about the science of learning. The views expressed are her own.
Read more: http://ideas.time.com/2011/11/02/are-americans-more-dyslexic-than-italians/#ixzz1ca1h2CdR
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