English vocabulary lesson 2

English Vocabulary

Session 1

Lesson 2 "Introduction to the linguistic study of words"

Learning outcome:

To identify word classes, word families, word formation, multiword units and collocations. To recognize sense relations of words. (lexical semantics)

What's a word?

I like looking for bits and pieces like old second-hand record players and doing them up to look like new.

How many words can we identify?

Word classes

I like looking for bits and pieces like old second-hand record players and doing them up to look like new.

nouns

pronouns

verbs

adjectives

adverb

prepositions

conjuction

determiner

Word classes

I like looking for bits and pieces like old second-hand record players and doing them up to look like new.

nouns

bits, pieces, record, player

pronouns

I, them

verbs

like, looking, doing, to look

adjectives

old, second-hand, new

adverb

up

prepositions

for, like

and

conjuction

determiner

Word classes

nouns

pronouns

verbs

adjectives

adverb

prepositions

conjuction

determiner

bits, pieces, record, player

I, them

like, looking, doing, to look

old, second-hand, new

up

for, like

and

Grammatical words (function words)

closed set

Content words

open set

Word families

affixation (the process of adding affixes to a root)

play: plays - played - playing

Inflections

play: player - playful - replay (noun)

derivatives

Observe: suffixes (er, ful, etc) come at the end of the root. Prefixes (re, un, pre, etc) come at the beginning.

Word families

understands

understanding

understood

understandable

misunderstand

misunderstood

Word formation

Compounding

Combining two or more independent words

Examples: word processor, paperback, dishwasher, hairdryer, bus driver, goalkeeper, classroom, teapot, etc

Blending

Two words form a new one

Examples: breakfast + lunch : brunch, information + entertainment: infotainment, situation + comedy: sitcom

Word formation

Conversion

Typically: nouns converted into verbs.

Example: brunch: Let's brunch tomorrow.

Preposition converted in verb

Example: up: They upped their clients.

Example: must: Watching that film is a must.

Verb converted to noun

Clipping

Longer words shortened

Example: influenza - flu, dormitory - dorm, refrigerator - fridge

Read the following text and identify: 1. affixation 2. compounds 3. conversion 4. clipping

Weighed down by details? The 40MB clik! PC card drive from Lomega, a lightweight, removeable, storage drive for PC users, will soon sort that out. Designed with people on the go in mind, the Clik! PC Card Drive removes the need for additional cables and cumbersome storage back-up. Each Clik! has the capacity to store 40 megas of information quickly and conveniently. With packaging akin to your favorite pair of Cutler and Gross specs, this stream-lined system is an essential lubricant to life in the fast lane. (from Wallpaper magazine, Time Life)

Read the following text and identify: 1. affixation 2. compounds 3. conversion 4. clipping

Weighed down by details? The 40MB clik! PC card drive from Lomega, a lightweight, removeable, storage drive for PC users, will soon sort that out. Designed with people on the go in mind, the Clik! PC Card Drive removes the need for additional cables and cumbersome storage back-up. Each Clik has the capacity to store 40 megas of information quickly and conveniently. With packaging akin to your favorite pair of Cutler and Gross specs, this stream-lined system is an essential lubricant to life in the fast lane. (from Wallpaper magazine, Time Life)

Multiword units

Multipleword units or lexical chunks

For example:

KEITH: It's amazing how the bleeding car industry 's swung round. It's Holdens for years and now Fords have got it. Well and truly, ... year after year they're laying more workers off towards the end of the year so they knew this was coming - it wasn't out of the blue. JO: I think they shipped a lot of the accesory overseas too. Before they did a lot of the bits and pieces themselves.

From Slade D, The Texture of Casual Conversation

Multiword units

Multipleword units or lexical chunks

KEITH: It's amazing how the bleeding car industry's swung round. It's Holdens for years and now Fords have got it. Well and truly, [...] year after year they're laying more workers off towards the end of the year so they knew this was coming - it wasn't out of the blue. JO: I think they shipped a lot of the accesory overseas too. Before they did a lot of the bits and pieces themselves.

sentence frames

phrasal verbs

vague quantities or qualities

semi-fixed

idiomatic and fixed

Teamwork

Word formation: The following words are coinages in English. Match each with its definition and then decide what principle(s) of word formation each one is an example of:

1.

a.

2.

b.

c.

3.

d.

4.

e.

5.

f.

6.

7.

g.

8.

h.

i.

9.

Collocations

It generally refers to the way in which two or more words are typically used together.

The olympic runner set a new world _______.

Other examples: He set the junior record in 2010. I think there has been some misunderstanding so I’d like to set the record straight.

Corpus data

Read the following text and underline the collocations.

A record number of 54 teams will be competing in three sections as the Bryants Carpets Intermediate Snooker League gets underway this week. Once again, three sections are likely to be very closely contested. In section A, defending champions Mariner Automatics, captained once again by the most successful skipper, Jhon Stevens will be the team to beat. The biggest threat is likely to come from Grimsby Snooker Club A, and P and J Builders who will have Steven Singleton at the helm for the first time.

From the Grimsby Evening Telegraph

Read the following text and underline the collocations.

A record number of 54 teams will be competing in three sections as the Bryants Carpets Intermediate Snooker League gets underway this week. Once again, three sections are likely to be very closely contested. In section A, defending champions Mariner Automatics, captained once again by the most successful skipper, Jhon Stevens will be the team to beat. The biggest threat is likely to come from Grimsby Snooker Club A, and P and J Builders who will have Steven Singleton at the helm for the first time.

From the Grimsby Evening Telegraph

Lexical semantics

Homonyms

Homophones

Words that have different spelling but the same pronunciation (literally same sound). Different meanings.

a tale

a tail

hoarse

a horse

Homographs 1

Words that have the same spelling (literally same writing) but have different pronunciation . Different meanings.

A windy day

A windy road

A lead singer

A lead pipe

Homographs 2

Words that have the same spelling (literally same writing) but have the same pronunciation . Different meanings.

a well

well

a bat

a bat

Polysemes

A word that has multiple(but related) meanings.

For example:

• This isn't fair to anyone but it just happens.
• We have a fair size garden and we as well make use of it.
• She was only a fair cook.
• The sun's rays can be very harmful, beating on unprotected fair skin.
• This fair city of ours.It will be fair and warm.

pleasing

Polysemes

A word that has multiple(but related) meanings.

For example:

• I held the picture up to the light.
• I was held overnight in a cell.
• You need to hold a work permit.
• Mrs. Smith is holding a party next week.
• Marxists hold that people are all naturally creative.
• He was finding it a strain to hold his students' attention.
• They'll probably hold the London train if we're late in.
• The theater itself can hold only a limited number of people.
• Will you tell her the offer still holds?
• These books hold the bed up.

keep

Examples taken from Collins COBUILD English dictionary

Synonyms and antonyms

Synonyms are words that share similar meaning.

For example:

old, elderly, aged, ancient, antique

However:

an old record player (not an elderly record player)

Antonyms are words with opposite meanings.

old / new , old / young

For example:

However:

Your old boyfriend( could be one that is not young, or one that is not new)

Hyponyms

Words that share a kind of relationship

Examples:

A hammer is a kind of tool, A kiwi is a kind of bird

Tool

superordinate term (hypernym)

saw

screw

hammer

co-hyponyms

chainsaw

jigsaw

co-hyponyms

fretsaw

Lexical fields

Words that have the same kind of thematic relationship.

We were at my sister's house for Christmas eve, fire in the fireplace, lights on the tree, Christmas carols playing on the stereo. Outside the window a light snow blew down. Icicles hung from the gutters and in the yard the grass looked sprinkled with powder. By morning everything would be white.

Words connected to the same idea: Christmas

Teamwork

Lexical relations: What's the relationship between the words in the following groups?

1. a) big loud oval green sensitive involuntary b)make surrender understand grab belong2. a) feminine femininity feminist feminism b) ease easy easily easiness uneasy uneasily3. a) strange odd funny peculiar weird b) help assist aid lend a hand4. a) like dislike b) freezing boiling c) turn on turn off d) friend enemy5. a) goldfish trout sole eel shark b) boil fry bake roast grill braise6) lean bank tender tap plain mean flounder7) a) log on monitor download browser b) hand luggage gate number check in boarding pass

Lexical relations: In the text below, find examples of the following:

5. three words belonging to the same lexical field 6. a root word and its derivative 7. two words derived from the same root

1. two synonyms 2. two antonyms 3. two co-hyponyms 4. a hyponym and its supordinate term

Conclusions

1. Words have different functions, some carrying mainly grammatical meaning, while other bear greater information load. 2. The same word can have a variety of forms. 3. Words can be added to, or combined, to form new words. 4. Words can group together to form new units that behave as if they were single words. 5. Many words commonly co-occur with other words. 6. Words may look and/or sound the same but have quite different meanings. 7. One word may have a variety of overlapping meanings. 8. Different words may share similar meanings or may have opposite meanings. 9. Some words can be defined in terms of their relationship with other words - whether ,for example, they belong to the same set or co-occur in similar texts. 10. Words can have the same or similar meanings but be used in different situations or for different effects.

What did you learn about vocabulary today?

Can you identify homonyms?

References:

Lessar-Clouston, M (2014). Teaching Vocabulary. English Language Teacher Development Series. TESOL International Association. Thornbury, Scott (2002). How to teach vocabulary Scott Thornbury (1ra). USA: Essex Pearson Education

Words that have a similar sound or spelling with other words but have a distinct meaning are called homonyms. Homonyms can be classified into two main categories: homophones and homographs.