I'm talking about real, turn the pages dictionaries, not the online dictionaries. Online dictionaries are handy and quick, but you won't be able to discover chance words or have the extreme tactile pleasure of holding a solid reference work.
I personally own many dictionaries, both old and new. I tend to use the Mirriam-Webster's 10th edition more often, though the new 11th Edition is certainly on my wish list! One of the features I love is the information on what year a word entered the language. (For example, the word "dyke" as a term for a lesbian entered the language in 1942 - something to do with the war, maybe? Unfortunately, the origin is unknown.)
The "word origins" is another great feature. Looking at the origins of English words will teach you a lot about common Latin and Greek prefixes, which will help you identify the meanings of words when there is no dictionary handy.
Looking up words in an actual dictionary will help you in two ways:
1/ you have to know or be able to work out the spelling of the word in order to look it up
2/ other words on the page will catch your eye as you scan and this will expand your vocabulary
Many times when I have a few minutes to spare I browse the dictionary, opening it to a random page and seeing what catches my eye. This is a great way to learn new words. One of my favourite chance discoveries was the word "infundibular", which means "funnel-shaped". I was surprised that there was another word for funnel-shaped, and very amused that a 5 syllable word could be used for a simple 3 syllable word. To date, I have never seen "infundibular" in anything I have read.
Discover for yourself the treasures in a good dictionary. And if you train your child to get in the habit of looking words up in the dictionary, that child will remember the definitions more easily from seeing it on the written page, will expand his or her vocabulary, and just may develop a love and passion for the English language.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Look It Up In The Dictionary!
There's a saying - "You have to know the rules in order to break them." - that certainly applies to the English language.
My father used to tell me he could only teach me one language (English), but if I learned to use it well, it would entertain me for a lifetime.
How true that is! How can you make witty comments or puns without understanding the basics of the language you're twisting?
And then there are all the other forms of language entertainment, from crossword puzzles to literary prose or poems, and everything in between.
My Dad instilled in me a lifelong love of English. One thing he always said when I was a kid and asked him the meaning of a word was "Look it up in the dictionary!". When I would ask why he couldn't just tell me he'd say "You won't remember if I just tell you. If you look it up, you'll remember."
When I would complain that I didn't know how to spell it to look it up, he would simply say "Work it out until you find the right spelling."
Sure, it was frustrating when I wanted a quick answer, but his method did help me learn. I even started picking up the dictionary in idle moments and looking for strange words, a habit I continue to this day.
Do yourself and your children a favour. Get a really good dictionary and when they ask for a meaning, say "Look it up in the dictionary.". Trust me, they will remember the meaning more than if you simply tell them.
Hey, they might even learn to love the language as much as I do!
P.S. This is THE reference work on style! Read it, learn the rules, then break'em!
The Elements of Style
My father used to tell me he could only teach me one language (English), but if I learned to use it well, it would entertain me for a lifetime.
How true that is! How can you make witty comments or puns without understanding the basics of the language you're twisting?
And then there are all the other forms of language entertainment, from crossword puzzles to literary prose or poems, and everything in between.
My Dad instilled in me a lifelong love of English. One thing he always said when I was a kid and asked him the meaning of a word was "Look it up in the dictionary!". When I would ask why he couldn't just tell me he'd say "You won't remember if I just tell you. If you look it up, you'll remember."
When I would complain that I didn't know how to spell it to look it up, he would simply say "Work it out until you find the right spelling."
Sure, it was frustrating when I wanted a quick answer, but his method did help me learn. I even started picking up the dictionary in idle moments and looking for strange words, a habit I continue to this day.
Do yourself and your children a favour. Get a really good dictionary and when they ask for a meaning, say "Look it up in the dictionary.". Trust me, they will remember the meaning more than if you simply tell them.
Hey, they might even learn to love the language as much as I do!
P.S. This is THE reference work on style! Read it, learn the rules, then break'em!
The Elements of Style
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Beware The Homonyms: Sound Isn't Everything
I received a couple of e-mails today from well-known marketers.
The first had this subject line:
Did You Here About This?
While this sounds correct, it is a confusion between 2 words that sound alike - homonyms.
The correct form is:
Did You Hear About This?
The next 2 subject lines both had the same mistake, and it is one of the common ones discussed in another post:
If you missed out...your still in luck!
If you are one fo the last to open this chances are your too late!
(Notice the typo "fo" for "of". Careful proofreading of at least the subject line would have helped!)
You're and Your sound alike, but mean 2 different things. You're is a contraction for "you are", and if you substitute "you are" when reading "you're", you can easily see whether "your" or "you're" is the right one.
Your is a possessive, as in your car, your hair, your wealth. If you're is used instead of your, then it would read you are car, you are hair, etc. Simply remembering that "you're" is "you are" and "your" means ownership should help you keep them straight.
English is a tricky language, and is made more difficult with all the words that sound the same.
If you want to see a very comprehensive list of homonyms, go to
http://www.cooper.com/alan/homonym_list.html
Until next time, watch out for those sneaky homonyms and above else, enjoy this wonderful language!
The first had this subject line:
Did You Here About This?
While this sounds correct, it is a confusion between 2 words that sound alike - homonyms.
The correct form is:
Did You Hear About This?
The next 2 subject lines both had the same mistake, and it is one of the common ones discussed in another post:
If you missed out...your still in luck!
If you are one fo the last to open this chances are your too late!
(Notice the typo "fo" for "of". Careful proofreading of at least the subject line would have helped!)
You're and Your sound alike, but mean 2 different things. You're is a contraction for "you are", and if you substitute "you are" when reading "you're", you can easily see whether "your" or "you're" is the right one.
Your is a possessive, as in your car, your hair, your wealth. If you're is used instead of your, then it would read you are car, you are hair, etc. Simply remembering that "you're" is "you are" and "your" means ownership should help you keep them straight.
English is a tricky language, and is made more difficult with all the words that sound the same.
If you want to see a very comprehensive list of homonyms, go to
http://www.cooper.com/alan/homonym_list.html
Until next time, watch out for those sneaky homonyms and above else, enjoy this wonderful language!
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