Vocabulary

Prepared by: Prof. Victor Rey Fumar

WORD BUILDING

Over the centuries, the English

language has undergone a great
deal of change. It has many
layers. Each time a new wave of
people has come to live in the
British isles a new layer has been
added, which then blends into the
existing language.

ANGLO-SAXON
The first layer, the original English language, is
sometimes called Old English, and sometimes
Anglo-Saxon. It gets its name from two Germanic
tribes, the Angles and the Saxons, who brought it
with them when they sailed across the sea in the
5th century, fought the Ancient Britons who
sensibly moved over into Wales and Cornwall and
settled in Britain. Their language is almost
unrecognizable to us today, but gives us all our
most basic, simple words like earth, sea, sun,
moon, child, friend, love, heart. They are mainly
the homely, ordinary words in English and also
the poetic ones.

The VIKINGS

The next layer came with the Vikings.

Their language was very close to
Anglo-Saxon, so didnt cause much
change. We have about 40 Viking
words in English today : law, skirt,
raise, kirk.

The NORMANS
When William the Conqueror arrived in
Britain in 1066, he and all his barons spoke
French. French then became the official
language which over the next three
centuries gradually blended with the native
Anglo-Saxon, adding another layer to
produce what is called Middle English the
language of Chaucer and his
contemporaries. Over ten thousand French
words were adopted into English: liberty,
infant, nobility, courtesy, gentleness.

The RENAISSANCE

During the 16th and 17th centuries, in response to

the new ideas and learning from the Italian
Renaissance, a further layer was added to
English, in the form of learned Latin and Greek
words. A huge number of the words in the English
dictionary come from Latin or Greek. You can
usually recognize them because they tend to have
several syllables. English took over about a
quarter of the Latin words existing at the time.
Latin: significant, expectation, emancipate,
extravagant, consider. Greek: autograph,

The MODERN WORLD

English has continued to add to its

vocabulary words from Native
Americans, from India, China,
Africa, Australia. Wars have been
another source. And each
scientific discovery or new
technology brings with it the need
for new words.

English as a World Language

There isnt just one kind of English

spoken today. English is now the
first language in many different
countries across the world, and
each country tends to develop its
own variety of English: British,
American, Australian,
Singaporean, Philippine.

Structural Analysis
Affixation

A prefix is a word part added

to the beginning of a base
word:
Prefix
a (not)
de (out)
para (like)

Base Word
historical
plane
military

New Word
ahistorical
deplane
paramilitary

WORD PARTS AS MEANING CLUES

PREFIX
pre-

BASE

SUFFIX

caution

-ary

Structural Analysis
Affixation

A suffix is a word part added

to the ending of the base
word.
Base Word
cloud
lion
rhino

Suffix
let (small)
ize (to make)
plasty (surgery)

New Word
cloudlet
lionize
rhinoplasty

Structural Analysis
Affixation

A root is a base upon which a

word is built.
Root
hippo
potamus

Meaning
(horse)
(water)

proto
ceratopsia

(first)
(horn)

Word
hippopotamus

protoceratops

Base
anthrop
arch, archi

Meaning
man
rule, govern

Example
anthropology
archbishop

cogn
cred
jud
soph
vol
spect, spic

know
belief, trust
judge
wise, wisdom
wish
look

recognize
creditable
prejudice
sophisticated
benevolent
conspicuous

English Root Words

Structural Analysis
LOAN

WORDS

Latin : angel, altar, priest, disciple, martyr,

Greek : atmosphere, catastrophe,
thermometer
French : dozen, poverty, dessert, accuse,
Scandinavian : window, anger, wrong, they
Indian : scandal, jingle, bungalow, yoga
Spanish : adobe, siesta, rodeo, patio

Processed Words
COMPOUNDING

Combining two words to form one

word that takes the meaning of its
own, different from the individual
meaning of each component word
One

Word : swineherd, online, scatterbrain

Two Words : tall tale, hard hat, oil spill
Hyphenated Words : forget-me-not, be-all,
Cluster of Words : cock and bull story, bed of
roses

Processed Words
BLENDING

Fusing two words to form one

word in such a way that both
partly get into each other
splurge

= splash + surge
smog = smoke + fog
brunch = breakfast + lunch
diesoline = diesel + gasoline

Processed Words
CLIPPING

Shortening words for

purposes of ease and
breeziness of speech
ad, exam, phone, frat, mike,

bike, flu

Processed Words
ACRONYMY
Deriving a new word from a
combination of first letters or
first two letters of a long word
scuba = self-contained underwater
breathing apparatus
radar = radio detecting and ranging

Processed Words
ABBREVIATING

Shortening a long word into a

cluster of letters, or into a set of
letters that stand as a symbol
of a word
ribonucleic acid = RNA
dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane
= DDT

Processed Words
REDUPLICATING

Repetition of a part of a word

which results in a playful
rhythmical pair (the repetition may
start after the first letter or at the
beginning and ending of the word)
wishywashy,

tick-tack

tupsy-turvy, dilly-dally,

Processed Words
INFLECTING

Varying the form of a word by

means of suffixing it with
different endings giving the
word varied applications
purity

(noun), pureness (noun),

purify (verb), purifying ( participle)

Idioms
An

idiom is an expression
whose meaning is very
different from the
individual words. The
idiom snake in the grass
really means traitor.

idioms

meaning

all ears
blown out of the
water

- very eager to hear

- to destroy or defeat
completely

cut corners

- to not do something
completely
- to feel hesitant or
afraid
- to watch out for

get cold feet

keep ones eyes
peeled

knocked off ones - to cause great

feet
surprise

idioms
let the cat out of
the bag
piece of cake
pull ones leg
quake in ones
boots
save ones own
skin

meaning
- to reveal a piece of
information
- easy to do
- to joke or kid
- to be very scared

sleep on it

- to think something
over before making a
decision

- to protect oneself
from danger or
difficulty

idioms
take five
think outside the
box
tie in knots
24-seven
under the weather

meaning
- to take a break during
work
- to think in a new, creative
way
- to make someone nervous
- constantly, all the time
- feeling ill or tired

up the creek
wrack ones brain

- in trouble
- to think hard to solve a
problem

zip it

- to keep quiet

Recognizing
Read each of the following
Idioms.
incomplete sentences

involving idioms. Give the

correct phrase to complete
the sentence. The idiom is
underlined.

Since

Kim is known to fly

off the handle every time
his team loses, he needs
a)better track shoes.
b)a new handle.
c)more self control.

If

your friendship with

your best friend was on
the rocks you would be
a) mountain climbing.
b) having trouble with your
friend.
c) need crayons.

If

you drew a blank

during the history exam
you would probably
a) promise yourself to study
harder next time.
b) fill it in with your name.
c) top the test.

If

your TV went on the

blink during the Paquiao
fight, you would
a) need to get your eyes
examined.
b) call a repairman.
c) change channels.

If

John were rolling in

money, he would
a) have his skates on.
b) get his clothes dirty.
c) be very rich.

If

the coach notices that

Nancy is on her toes when
she plays basketball, she
a) praises Nancy.
b) takes Nancy out of the
game.
c) tells Nancy to rest her
feet.

If

you put your house on

the market, you would be
a) putting it up for sale.
b) putting it in order.
c) moving it.

If

your father tells you to

keep your nose to the
grindstone, he wants you
to
a) find a precious stone
b) wash your face
c) work long and hard

Figures of Speech
Poets,

like other writers,

use figures of speech and
the sounds of language to
make their poetic images
vivid and alive.

Figures of Speech
A

simile compares two

different thing that have
something in common.
A simile uses the words like or
as to make the comparison.
O my loves like a melody
Thats sweetly played in tune.
--Robert Burns

Figures of Speech
A

metaphor compares two

different things that are alike in
some way, but it does not use
like or as. In this example, the
fog is compared to a cat.

The fog comes from a little cat

feet.
--Carl Sandburg

Figures of Speech
Personification

gives
human qualities to an
object, an animal, or an
idea.

The sun smiled. The stars

winked at me.

Figures of Speech
Hyperbole

is a form of
exaggeration. It is used for
the sake of emphasis, to
make a point. It helps a
reader or the listener picture
an idea clearly.

Sue bounced so high that she

touched the sky.

Context Clues
Definitions

or Descriptions.
This is the most obvious type of
clue. The sentence itself tells you
what something is. The tip-off for
this type of clue is some form of
the verb be (am, is, are, was,
were).
A zealot is someone who is
enthusiastic about a cause or an
activity in a way that goes far
beyond ordinary interest.

Context Clues
Synonyms.

A second,
easier word defined the first.
Sometimes, individuals display
altruistic, selfless behavior
toward complete strangers
who are in great need.

Context Clues
Comparisons.

A comparison is made
that helps you define the word.
Comparisons are often signaled by
words such as like and as.
After a war, the wrath of the
population often falls on those
people who have collaborated with
the enemy, like the people who
supported the Vichy government in
France during World War II.

Context Clues
Contrasts.

A contrast helps you

define the word. Contrasts are often
signaled by words such as although,
but, on the other hand, or on the
contrary.
Although modern medicine has proven
very effective in dealing with acute
conditions and traumas, it has not
been as successful in treating chronic
conditions for which surgery or
medication are problematic.

Context Clues
Restatements.

A term is restated in
other words. Demonstrative pronouns
such as this, that, and those may
indicate restatements: so do appositives
which are signaled by commas,
parentheses and dashes.

In an age of computers, typewriters have

become almost an anachronism, a thing
of the past.
Thousands of otherwise healthy adults
suffer from agoraphobia. This fear of open
spaces has been successfully treated by a
variety of methods from medication to
behavioral therapy.

Context Clues
Items

in a series. Even if you

dont recognize all the items in
the series, you can assume
that they are all part of the
same family.

Cantatas, concertos, oratorios,

sonatas and suitesall of these
were part of the enormous output
of baroque composer Johann
Sebastian Bach.

Context Clues
Tone

and Setting. Picturing,

or getting a sense of a
particular scene, will often
provide helpful clues to a
words meaning.

During the long and tedious trial,

the jury was kept sequestered
day and night from the public, in
quarters where they were no
televisions, radios or daily
newspapers.

Context Clues
Cause

and Effect. From a

cause-and-effect sequence in a
sentence, you can often
deduce the meaning of the
word.

Because genetic mutations can be

caused by the effects of
chemicals, radiation, or even
ordinary heat on DNA, reliable
genetic research requires
constant vigilance.

1. After the strong winds of the week

before, everyone welcomed the softly
blowing zephyr.

a. a heavy rain

c. a hot spell

b. a gentle breeze

d. a hurricane

2. Connecting the two land masses is a

narrow isthmus that separates the
Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
a. a strip of land with water on two sides
b. a cliff
c. an island with water on all sides
d. a valley

3. My first attempt at skiing was a

fiasco. Not only did I fall, but I
couldnt even get back up on my skis
without help.
a. a complete success
c. not successful
b. a boring experience
d. rather embarrassing

4. Pablo Casals played the cello so

expertly that he was widely
recognized as a virtuoso.
a. a spectator
b. a singer
c. an amateur musician
d. a skilled musician

5. It was hard to ignore the strident

voices of the protesters as they
shouted their demands.

a. harsh, insistent

c. soft, gentle

b. pleasant

d. melodic

6. There was a hiatus in the hostilities.

Both sides had agreed to a temporary
ceasefire.

a. a gap or break

c. a beginning

b. a continuation

d. a final ending

7. The Jacksons combined colonial,

Victorian, and modern furniture,
achieving a pleasing eclectic style.
a. unattractive
b. composed of the best from one
source
c. disagreeable
d. composed of the best from various
sources

8. Mr. Mercado never used more words

than he needed. In fact, he was
laconic even with his friends.

a. sarcastic

c. untruthful

b. using many words

d. using few words

9. Belen was abstemious at dinner last

night; however, today she returned to
her habit of eating everything in
sight.
a. hungry

c. restrained

b. greedy

d. sloppy

10. Although Marie worked hard to

give an excellent report, her lack of
information made it only mediocre.
a. of high quality
b. of ordinary quality
c. amusing in tone
d. angry in tone