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Inside The Language

Inside The Language

Date: Sep 26 2011

Topic: Conversational English

Author: englishteacher24/7

Lesson

Inside the Language – Lesson No. 1

Learning English can be challenging and the beginning is to learn the basic Parts of Speech which will provide the rules of the language. In many countries, English is the native language and others it’s taught in junior and high school.

This structured study is necessary and the teachers are limited by time and the vastness of the language. My area of teaching English is to focus on the area that is not taught or is only taught by way of mentioning it. The side of English that is not taught is as large or larger than the structured parts of English.

This side of English is an area that doesn’t have any rules and many times cannot be understood by using logic. This is what I call “Inside the Language” which I will attempt to reveal to you in a brief lesson.

The areas I’m speaking of are comprised of the following:

1. Figures of speech- Using words in a distinctive manner to guide or mis-guide the listener. The titles below can all be placed under this name.

2. Puns- A word or phrase that has a double-meaning and used to allude the listener. William Shakespeare was known to use puns in his plays.

3. A play on words- Using puns to express a thought that has a double meaning.

4. Phrases and Idioms- Using a phrase to express a thought. Examples: A pretty penny (something was expensive), a drop in the bucket (a small contribution to the amount that is required.)

“An idiom is a phrase where the words together has a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words.” (UsingEnglish.com)

5. Homophones (homonyms)- Words that are spelled differently but have the same pronunciation sound. Example: Night /knight, bear /bare, hear/here

6. Personification- A figure of speech in which an inanimate object is used having human qualities. Example: “The ocean screamed in it’s fury!”

In this example, oceans don’t have a voice to scream, but the word “screamed” is used as if it were a human. In other words, the waves of the ocean produced a loud sound.

7. Euphemisms- Substituting an offensive or less desirable word for a non-offensive more desirable word. Example: Instead of saying a person died, you could say they passed away or a pre-owned car instead of a used car.

On this side of learning English, you will have to:

1.  Expose yourself to reading informal English materials.

2.  If possible speak to native speakers.

3.  Write down expressions you hear and make it your goal to learn the meaning.

Step-by-step you will increase your knowledge and you’ll see your improvement over time.

Lesson No. 2 will be: Determining the mood of the speaker

Comments

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tashauna22

tashauna22

United States

good noteLaughing

05:41 AM Jan 15 2012 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

A new lesson has been posted in my “Do You Understand This Dialogue” section on my profile page, here’s the link:  http://www.englishbaby.com/lessons/5517/member_submitted/do_you_understand_this_dialogue

05:54 AM Jan 14 2012 |

kotlesya

kotlesya

Belarus

Dear, Alston , I’m really glad that I have “made your day”. I’m looking forward to your new lessons.Smile

03:36 PM Jan 13 2012 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

Lesya, you have “made my day” by your comments, I’m delighted you received clarity on the use of the word “bad” as “good” when it’s used as slang. 


I have plans for starting several new categories of lessons this year using various different angles to teach English.  For example: using poetry, short stories, jokes, conversational English, etc. and continue the current lessons.  Please be alert to them which should be in the lessons section on my profile page.


Julito and Snoopyboy, I appreciate your participation in the forum and would like to encourage all others to take this opportunity to gain experience in writing English on a conversational basis.


Have a nice day everyone!

03:25 PM Jan 12 2012 |

kotlesya

kotlesya

Belarus

The rapport is amazing, indeed. I have noticed it some time ago. :) The more fun people have here the more happy people will be in their real lives.

11:41 AM Jan 11 2012 |

 julito

julito

Argentina

Dear Kotlysa, we are here not only learning english  but also as a bonus  having a lot of fun .The rapport among us is amazing. Smile   

11:34 AM Jan 11 2012 |

kotlesya

kotlesya

Belarus

Julito, I always like your calm and meaningful comments :) Thank goodness, Englishteacher24/7 is here, indeed Smile

11:28 AM Jan 11 2012 |

 julito

julito

Argentina

Dear friends .  I agree ,there is no logic  in the english language, The” bad “boys could it also mean cool.     insane.     Thanks english teacher  for your valuable lessons.

11:19 AM Jan 11 2012 |

kotlesya

kotlesya

Belarus

Dear, Englishteacher24/7, I would never understand the logic in the word “bad” to express the delight of the young person up untill you explained it in the very easy, modern and wise way like “it’s the same type of logic that some people wear hats backwards with the visor facing the side or rear. ” What a talent  with explanation you have got!!! Million thank that you try to find  time to make the lessons interesting here. I have to admit that it is very difficult to create an interesting lessons like you do. We all remember from our school and University times how boring the lessons can be! ;) It never happens with you as I can see. Best regards

10:56 AM Jan 11 2012 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

Ahoo, Lesya, and Snoopyboy: You’re all correct, you got it! :)


In regards to “hardly,” it means “barely” or you could choose not to use the word and use “can’t” instead. In this case, the sentence would be: “I can’t wait for the test scores.”


However, if you use it this way, it can have a double-meaning, because it would imply that the person don’t have the time to wait and have to leave. Compared to using “hardly” this word would impress upon the listener the thought of “anticipation” in waiting for the test scores.


This is a perfect example of the value of physically hearing the person make the statement.  This would allow you to consider the tone, intonation, facial expression, body language, context, etc. The best you can do to express how a person may be making this statement in written form would be like this: “I can h-a-r-d-l-y wait for the test scores!!!” The emphasis is on “hardly” with exclamation points to express emphasis.


Here’s another example of what I mean:


A young person makes this statement after seeing a nice sports car pass by:


“Wow, that is a bad ride!”


Does the person mean the occupants of the car are having a harsh ride because the car is small? Literally speaking, “bad” means “no good or unacceptable.”


You can’t always take everything literally and make a word-for-word translation. If you do, a great error will be made.


The young person is saying that he/she really likes the car! If you heard the person making the statement, you would observe that the speaker is excited and using slang to express their emotion about seeing this car. In slang, “bad” equals “good” which gives it an opposite meaning, also “ride” is used as a noun (car).


Someone may think, what logic is that? Well, it’s the same type of logic that some people wear hats backwards with the visor facing the side or rear. The answer is: to be different and not conform to the status-quo (society).


As I write more on going inside the language, we’re going to go into areas that is outside of Formal English (with the exception of profanity).  Please prepare for my next lesson on “determining the mood of the speaker.”

09:14 AM Jan 11 2012 |

snoopyboy

snoopyboy

Antarctica

1.  The baby cried all night and I didn’t get any sleep!


2.  I can hardly wait for the test scores.


3.  We don’t want any money from you.


4.  The driver could not find any place to park.


(the driver could find no place to park)


5.  We don’t need any new laws on voting.


It’s a mistake I catch myself making during my speech. ):


Thanks Teacher, it’s good habit (:

01:52 PM Jan 10 2012 |

kotlesya

kotlesya

Belarus

Hello, dear Englishteacher24/7. First of all, thanks for the lesson. I will try to comment my thoughts about it, but I’m very doubtful that I will be correct in my answers. Here goes.   The sentences № 1,3,4,5 . I think we can replace “no” with “any” The sentence №2 is easy for me to understand, but the word “hardy” is not so easy to be replaced with another one. I would put the word “even” instead of “hardly”. Tell me your viewpoint and correction, please.


06:19 AM Jan 10 2012 |

Ahoo Golzar

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

Sometimes it gets difficult in some statments to determind weather needs no or any…could you please do explain about using “any” as well?


The sentences should be like this,I think so:


1.The baby cried all night and I got no sleep.


2.I hardly can wait for the test scores.


3.We don’t want money from you.


4.The driver couldn’t find a place to park.


5.We don’t need any new laws on voiting.


Appreciated en24/7…cheers :)

06:14 AM Jan 10 2012 |

1 person likes this

englishteacher24/7

United States

Lesson No. 2A – Double Negative Sentences


When you get “inside the language” many unusual expressions  will become evident.  Although grammatically incorrect, sometimes people will use double-negative words in a sentence.  Therefore, I want you to be aware of this and be able to understand what is being said.  Read the sentences below and determine if you know what is being communicated.


1.  The baby cried all night and I didn’t get no sleep!


2.  I can’t hardly wait for the test scores.


3.  We don’t want no money from you.


4.  The driver could not find no place to park.


5.  We don’t need no new laws on voting.


What do you think?


05:59 AM Jan 10 2012 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

Shaun: I’m planning to start a new lesson devoted to vocabulary building.


In the meantime, please use the link to dictionary.com at the bottom of this post.


Mr Nothing: I agree with you, let’s learn together!


Ahoo: Welcome to the website and thanks for your feedback!


Let’s make 2012 a progressive year and leave any disappointments in 2011!



Vocabulary Resource Link:


 julito

julito

Argentina

Thank you  Dear Teacher  , taking note.   Is like  learning to swim  ,we must jump headlong into the pool  and put into practice  what we have been taught  to.  By the way  , I am a plumber. hehe.

10:29 PM Jan 05 2012 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

You’re welcome Julito! 


To receive the maximum benefit, students must make every attempt to use what you learn when you have an opportunity to do so.


It’s like learning how to weld, a student can learn all of the fundamentals of welding, the theory of how metals change according to temperature etc., but until the student actually starts practicing welding and learning by doing, the information will remain in the mind.


Use this website to write comments on subjects that interests you, it should be something short.  This will give you practice in taking information from your mind and transferring it to your hand.


Learning a language is learning by doing!

10:22 PM Jan 05 2012 |

 julito

julito

Argentina

Thanks , we would very much  appreciate your lessons  and your unselfless commitment   to us. 

04:19 PM Jan 04 2012 |

1 person likes this

englishteacher24/7

United States

Thanks everyone for your comments, I want you to know that you can learn English and speak it fluently.  The main item is to make the decision to do it and don’t quit!


I am currently working on  some new methods to teach English for this year, using music and songs, poetry, jokes, conversational English to learn English and other angles to help you.  You owe it to yourself not to miss any lessons, they will be building blocks to the main goal of learning English.  Stay tune (return here).

04:17 PM Jan 04 2012 |

Ahoo Golzar

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

Awesome…I was rolling down with English resentely,but since found this site and using its lessons published by teachers and other blogs and comments by students,I’m going to feel progressing in my learning….I’m not a steady net user,as my work doesn’t let me to spend time on net,didn’t know any useful source,and englishbaby was one of the first sites which I found….I’m truly grateful of teachers and specially to Englishteacher24/7…I’m working on your lessons and they’re adding to my knowledge…..warm regards teacher :)

12:41 PM Jan 04 2012 |

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