English Vocabulary Elements

Fascination with words-their meanings, origins, pronunciation, usages-is something most of us experience at some point. This book aims both to fuel and to satisfy that fascination. The book is based on a course that each of the authors helped to develop at Stanford University over the past twenty years. The aim of the course was to help students master English vocabulary and to provide the fundamentals for pursuing an interest in English words. To this end, the book offers a detailed but introductory survey of the developments that have given English a uniquely rich vocabulary, taking into account both the changing structure of the language and the historical events that shaped the language as a whole. Anyone who believes that changes in the language are robbing it of its elegance or expressive power will see this view challenged by the developments described here. At the core of the book are a set of several hundred vocabulary elements that English borrowed, directly or indirectly, over the past fifteen hundred years, from Latin and Greek.; These elements, introduced gradually chapter by chapter, provide a key to understanding the structure and meaning of much of the learned vocabulary of the language. The chapters trace the history and structure of English words from the sixth century onward, laying out the major influences that are still observable in our vocabulary today. Each chapter ends with a large number of exercises. These offer many different types of practice with the material in the text, making it possible to tailor the work to different sets of needs and interests. Upon finishing this textbook, students will be able to penetrate the structure of an enormous portion of the vocabulary of English, with or without the help of a dictionary, and to understand better how an individual word fits into the system of the language. This second edition incorporates improved and refined text as well as examples and exercises, with thorough revision of pedagogy as a result of their significant classroom-based expertise. The new edition also updates cultural references, accounts for variations in pronunciation among students, and clarifies when historical details are important or peripheral.

"This book is designed for college-level courses about English words and word structure. It explores how units of a language-sounds, word elements, words-function together and how a language functions in society over time. The ultimate aim is to acquaint native and non-native English speakers with aspects of English vocabulary that may be new to them. This includes practice in analyzing complex words, tracing how English got to its present state, and outlining factors that influence people's attitudes toward English usage. We hope this book will serve students in any field of study looking for better comprehension of English vocabulary as well as anyone curious about the language, its development over time, and its growing importance as a world language"--

Drawing extensively on the methods and results of modern linguistics, especially word analysis, this remarkable text provides the student with the necessary tools to acquire an effective understanding of learned, specialized, and scientific vocabulary. English Vocabulary Elements helps develop familiarity with over 350 Latin and Greek word elements in English and, by demonstrating the variety of word-building techniques, shows how these roots are reflected in thousands of different words. In their treatment of word formation, the authors introduce and illustrate many of the fundamental concepts of linguistics, including phonetics, phonology, morphology, sociolinguistics, and historical linguistics, offering a more thorough and principled approach to the expansion of one's vocabulary. Also included are an abundance of details about words themselves, ranging from events in the remote history of the language to modern-day developments, showing how words have changed their meanings and forms over time--often despite the resistance of some "authorities". From the importance of English as a world language to the language's use as an expression of creativity, this invaluable work offers students of verbal aptitude, English grammar, or scientific writing not only a larger, more expressive vocabulary, but a deeper understanding of the language that has become the international medium of verbal communication.

Presents an overview of the development of the English language and examines the formation of words especially from Greek and Latin roots. Also discusses definitions and usage.

For more than forty years, English Words from Latin and Greek Elements, by Donald M. Ayers, has shown thousands of students the way to a broader vocabulary by teaching them to recognize the classical roots found in many English words. When the second edition of that text appeared in 1986, it was joined by a workbook that has proven exceptionally popular in reinforcing those vocabulary skills. Each lesson in the Workbook complements the text with a variety of exercises: short-answer, matching, multiple choice, word analysis, fill-in-the-blank, and true-false. The Workbook has now been revised to make it more relevant and useful. It features a new dictionary exercise and word analysis exercises, the replacement of true-false exercises that have caused the most difficulty for students, and the elimination of archaic words and other items that have become dated. The authors have also improved the clarity of the instructions for individual exercises, in some cases adding notes or providing sample answers. As part of the revised front matter, there is a new introduction written just for students to help them get the most out of the workbook. English Words and the Workbook have met with unqualified success in English and Classics courses at both the advanced secondary and college levels. This revision of the Workbook helps to ensure the continuing relevance of the roots approach to vocabulary building for tomorrowÕs students.

Stan Malles and Jeff McQuain have written this brief, yet very important glossary in the spirit of E.D. Hirsch’s bestselling Cultural Literacy. Here is a dictionary of basic terms for literature, composition, and grammar that every American, no matter their age, needs to know. Perfect for home and classroom use, The Elements of English is simple to use, unintimidating to read and easy to understand. Each area of language arts is divided into its own section, and a comprehensive index is also included. Each entry is concise, yet explained very clearly. Examples are listed to illustrate meanings, as are reminders, hints, and tips that further define and elucidate the terms. The Elements of English has been used very successfully in classrooms across the country. This revised and expanded edition includes new entries plus three additional appendices. This is a little book that fills a big need, and it deserves a wide distribution and readership.

Using English Words examines the impact that the life histories of people have on their vocabulary. Its starting point is the taken-for-granted fact that the vocabulary of English falls into two very different sections. Randolph Quirk mentions this striking incompatibility between the Anglo Saxon and the Latinate elements in English: "the familiar homely-sounding and typically very short words" that we learn very early in life and use for most everyday purposes; and "the more learned, foreign-sounding and characteristically rather long words" (1974, p. 138). It is mainly the second type of word that native speakers start learning relatively late in their use of English, usually in the adolescent years of education, and keep on learning. It is mainly the one type of word, rather than the other, that ESL/ EFL students have more difficulty with, depending on their language background. This book shows how discursive relations, outside education, 'position' people through their vocabularies. Some are prepared for easy entry into lifetime prospects of relative privilege and educational success, while others are denied entry. In writing this book, I share an aim with other writers who observe the many discontinuities that exist between discursive practices in communities outside schools, and the discursive demands that schools make (e. g. Hamilton et a1. [19931, Heath [1983], Luke [19941, Philips [1983], Romaine [1984], Scollon & Scollon [1981]).