Vocabulary The Key to Meaning

1. VocabularyThe Key to Meaning Reading and Study Skills By TSIM Kam Wan

2. Objectives: • Expand your vocabulary • Aid in reading comprehension • Improves both your ability to learn and your ability to recall information.

3. General Approaches to Vocabulary Expansion • Read Widely • Use Words You Already Know • Look for Five-Dollar Words to Replace One-Dollar Words • The movie was very good.” • The movie was thrilling and inspiring.” • Build Your Word Awareness • Consider Working with a Vocabulary Improvement Program • Using Reference Sources • Dictionary, Thesaurus, Subject Area Dictionaries • Pronouncing Unfamiliar Words • Drawing Semantic Map

4. Vocabulary Expansion Skills –Building Word Awareness Part 1 - Context Clues Part 2 - Word Formation Clues: - Roots, Prefixes, Suffixes

5. Part 1Building Word Awareness Context Clues Definition Synonyms Restatement Contrast Explanation Examples Inference

6. Context CluesWhat is Context? “Phobias, such as fear of heights, water, or confined spaces are difficult to eliminate.” How could you determine that phobiameant “fear of specific objects or situations” if you couldn’t use a dictionary or ask someone the definition? You would use the words surrounding the unknown word to help determine the unknown word’s meaning.

7. Context Clues 1: Definition The unknown word is defined immediately following its use by using a brief definition, synonym, or restatement using punctuation--commas, parentheses or dashes. Notice with a straight definition the use of a “be” verb to show that the two ideas are the same. • A chemical bond is a strong force that holds two or more atoms together. • A dialect is a form of speech from a specific region.

8. Context Clues 2 -Synonyms A writer using a difficult word will often choose a more familiar word or words with the same meaning to make the difficult word understandable. • Ballet students appear so lithe; they are so limber and flexible. • The cataract was spectacular; the steep waterfall dropped abruptly eighty feet.

9. Context Clues 3 - Restatement Close to a synonym, a restatement differs in that a difficult word is usually restated in a simpler form—usually set of by commas. • The poetry was sublime, lofty and moving, and brought tears to my eyes. • The village was depopulated, most of the residents dead or moved, but the livestock remained untouched.

10. Context Clues 4: Contrast Sometimes writers use a contrast to clarify a word’s meaning, and an antonym, a word of opposite meaning (notice the restatement?) Often, contrast clue words such as but, however, or in contrast to are used. These are contrast signal words. • The gentleman was portly, but his wife was thin. • The mayoral candidate praised the town council,but the mayor deprecated it.

11. Context Clues 5: Explanation An explanation is close to a definition. As an aid to the reader, the difficult word is explained, usually in simpler words, to make the meaning clearer. The explanation is generally longer than a definition and is usually found in one of more different sentences. • The chrome is beginning to corrode. It shows signs of pitting and of being eaten away gradually. • It was a martial parade: signs of the military were everywhere. Everyone was in uniform; guns, cannon and tanks were on display, and jets flew overhead. • The puppy was a complete bother and an annoyance to all the neighbors. It was a continual nuisance.

12. Context Clues 6: Example Writers may include examples that the reader may know to help explain a new and unfamiliar concept or term. A major section or the entire passage may be used. Pay attention to signal words—such as, for example, for instance, to illustrate, specifically • Legumes, such as peas and beans, produce pods. • Forest floors are frequently covered with fungi-molds, mushrooms, and mildews

13. Context Clues 7: Inference Some writers help you figure out unfamiliar words by having you use reasoning and prior knowledge. Your experiences provide common-sense clues to the meaning of a word. This context clue is often a little harder to spot. • Since Reginald was nervous, he brought his rabbit foot talisman with him to the exam. • His alibi was upheld when John’s friends offered personal testimony, letters of documentation, and three videotapes showing that he was present at the party.

14. Limitations of Context Clues • Context clues only give the immediate definition for that particular context. • Context clues seldom lead to a precise, complete definition. • Sometimes the passage will not contain clues to the meaning of the unfamiliar word.

15. Part 2 – Building Word AwarenessWord Parts Words Parts Prefixes Roots Suffixes

16. How many English words do we have? • An excess of 200,000 words.. • Paper-back dictionaries are around 30,000 - 40,000 words • Pocket dictionaries often include around 10,000 to 20,000 words. • A recent children's dictionary had 5,000. • A vocabulary of around 60,000 words is considered PHD graduate material, so for most people, something around 50,000 words should be more than plenty.

17. Why do we need to learn Word Parts? Many students build their vocabularies word by word. If they study 20 words, they can recall 20 new words. However, by learning the meaning of the parts that make up a word, you will be able to figure out the meanings of many more words.

18. Kinds of Words In English there are two kinds of words:1.       Words that can stand alone: the words in this group can stand alone as a complete word. For example:  Phone ,Sharp, Green, Ship, Run, Walk,, Live, Die, Tell, Can, See, Read,Sleep, Ship, Chair 2.      Words that can’t stand alone: The words in this group can’t stand alone as a complete word. It must be combined with prefixes, suffixes, or other roots (stem or base). For example Stem Meaning Examples Vis see vision, visible Ject throw project, reject Dent teeth dentist, denta

19. Formation of Words Many English words are made up of three parts: a root (base or stem), a prefix, and a suffix. It can be formed in three ways: 1. prefix + root e.g: re + place = replace 2. root + suffix e.g: break + able = breakable 3. prefix + root + suffix e.g: un+break+able =unbreakable

20. Roots • Roots carry the basic or core meaning of a word. • Hundreds of root words are used to build words in the English language.

21. Common Roots

22. Prefixes • Appear at the beginnings of many English words • Alter the meaning of the root to which they are attached Root = placed (to put) Prefix = mis (wrongly) Misplaced = put in the wrong place

23. 1. The prefix that have negative meanings Dis-    obey    =   disobeyIl-       legal    =   illegalIm-     polite   =   impoliteIn-      active   =  inactiveIr-       regular =  irregularMis-    lead      =  misleadNon-   stop      =  nonstopUn-     equal    =  unequal

24. 2. The prefixes meaning too much, too little , more than, under, lower, etc. • Out- more than Faster than • number outnumber • Over- too much confident overconfident • Sub- under way subway • Super- more than natural supernatural • Trans- across ship transship • Under- too little estimate underestimate

25. 3. The prefixes meaning before, after, again, together, former and against: • Anti- against, war antiwar • Co- together education co-education • Contra- against, conception contraception • Ex- former president ex-president • Post- after war postwar • Pre- before test pretest • Re- again arrange rearrange

26. 4. The prefixes meaning numbers • Multi, poly = many • mono=one • Bi=two • Tri=three • quart=four • penta=five • Hexa=six • sexta=seven • octa=eight 

27. 5. Other common prefixes with various meanings Prefix Meaning Example • Ante- before, preceding antechamber, antedate • Anti- against anti-goverment, antiwar • Circum- around circumnavigate • Co- together, joint coauthor, coeducation • Contra- against contradict • Ex- former ex-president, ex-member • Ex- out of expel, export • In- in, into indoors, inborn • Inter- between international • Intra- within intrastate, intradepartmental

28. 5. Other common prefixes with various meanings Prefix Meaning Example • Poly- many polysyllable, polyglot • Post-  after, later postwar, postgraduate • Pre- before, earlier prewar, prehistory • Pro- favor of pro-war, • Re- again readmit, refund, rewrite • Sub- under, below subway, subhuman • Super- over, above superhuman, superman, supernatural • Trans- through, across transatlantic, transcontinental

29. Suffixes • Suffixes are word endings that often change the part of speech of a word. • Expand your vocabulary by learning the variations in meaning that occur when suffixes are added to words you already know. For Example: • Class • -ify Classify • -ification Classification • -ic Classic

30. One Who (noun) -er, -or (teacher) -ee (referee) -ist (activist) State, Condition, Quality (adjectives) -able, -ible (touchable) -ive (permissive) -ish (foolish) Pertaining to or Referring to (noun) -ship (friendship) -hood (brotherhood) (adverb) -ward (homeward) State, Condition, Quality (noun) -ance (assistance) -ation (confrontation) -ment (amazement) Common Suffixes

31. Prefixes and Suffixes with specific meanings

32. Prefixes and Suffixes with specific meanings

33. Prefixes and Suffixes with specific meanings

34. Prefixes and suffixes with specific meanings

35. How to Use Word Parts • Look for the root (a word inside a larger word). Example: non/adapt/able • If you do not recognize the root, then you will probably not be able to figure out the word. • If you did recognize the root word, look for the prefix. Example: non/adapt/able • Locate the suffix. Example: non/adapt/able • Try out the meaning in the sentence in which the word was used. Nonadaptable = not able to change The dodo became extinct because it was nonadaptable.

36. Vocabulary Expansion Skills –Building Word AwarenessVocabulary

37. Vocabulary Expansion Skills –Building Word AwarenessVocabulary

38. Vocabulary Expansion SkillsUse Words You Already KnowVocabulary - Story-Making -Example 1 Philosophy(Noun) is to introduce students to the human experience of questioning and seeking to understand the meaning of our existence as persons. We will study the different approaches to the basic questions of human existence and the enduring issues of philosophy(Noun) offered by the classical, Greek philosophers(Noun) Plato and Aristotle. We will learn how these philosophers(Noun) deal with some central philosophical(adjective) problems such as questions about the nature of the human being. It will also address philosophically(adverb) the relation of a human being to other human beings. We aims to understand how the great men philosophize (verb-infinite) the nature and meaning of life.

39. Vocabulary Expansion SkillsUse Words You Already KnowVocabulary - Story-Making-Example 2 • Although Smile is a beginner in English, he is enthusiastic (adjective) about it. He shows his strong feeling of interest, enjoyment and determination in learning it even though it is hard. It is because he's enthused (verb-passive voice) by his new teacher and his American girl friend. He starts reading books and writing essay. He also joins the English corner every Tuesday enthusiastically (adverb) without stopping. I really think he is an English enthusiast.(noun)

40. Websites for roots, prefixes & suffixes • Links to Special Educational Information http://www.lexfiles.com/spec-links.html • An Abundance of Word Info about English-Vocabulary Sources http://www.logofiles.com/word-resources.html • Tameri Guide for Writershttp://www.tameri.com/edit/roots.html • Latin Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0907036.html