GATEWAYS TO WIDEN

VOCABULARY
Lecture 2: Study and Thinking Skills
OBJECTIVES
Gain skill in associating words quickly
Comprehend word meanings rapidly
Know the structure of words
Apply knowledge of context clues and
idioms
Enrich ones vocabulary through different
kinds of word formations
Build more power through analysis and
use of foreign words

A word is a label for an
internal reality which helps
create a new perception.
The richer ones vocabulary,
the greater his or her
reading power becomes.
-Freebody and Klausmeir, 1981
Facts about Vocabulary Acquisition
Its acquisition is very crucial to academic
development.
The knowledge of a word not only implies
a definition but also how that word fits
into the world.
It is known to play a key role in a persons
proficiency in both his and her first and
second language.
It has also been proven to correlate highly
with global assessment of writing quality
and with general language proficiency
scores.
Studies have revealed that students are
required to understand 95% of the words
they read for text comprehension.
If one does not understand most of the
words he or she reads, he or she cannot
possibly comprehend as a whole.
Vocabulary acquisition is not something
that can ever be mastered overnight.
Building Your Word Power
A limited vocabulary is a setback to
efficient reading. One who wants to
get most from the printed page must
therefore have a relatively wide
vocabulary.
Vocabulary is the most unstable
component of a language.

Rapid Word Association
School- mother, current, desk, majesty, crayon,
teacher
Vacations-magnify, camp, belong, holidays, beach,
poor
Table-determine, dining, gentle, wood, oblong,
furniture
Library- temperature, shelves, cause, hardly, lending,
research
Street- manhole, crossing, traffic, hasty, madness,
deck
Rapid Word Association
City- books, hopeful, mayor, street, hospital,
hotels
Reporter- technique, sham, assignment, news,
journalist, spin
Electricity- electorate, demerit, switch, twine,
current, power
Farmer- riding, crop, hammer, harvest, shower,
fertilizing
Weather- clock, barometer, twine, hurricane,
forecast, showers
Word Associations
When you come across a word, a
number of ideas may come into your
mind. You are able to think of other
words. The process of forming links
as you think of the word is called
word association. The more links
there are between words, the more
you understand them.
Word Associations [next]
1. Similarity
2. Contrast
3. Sound
4. Classification
5. Part-whole
6. Derivation
7. Predication
8. Completion
9. Characteristic or property

[back]
This means words have the same
meaning or a meaning that is the
same.
(road-street, path, highway)
(talk-chat, speech, address, oration)
(unmarried-spinster, bachelorette,
old maid)
[back]
This means words are opposite in
meaning.
(volatile-calm)
(indigent-wealthy)
(wide-narrow)
[back]
This means words have exactly
the same sound or are similar
in pronunciation.
(site-cite, sight, scythe)
[back]
Words belonging to the same genus
may also be called grouping because
the relationship between the words is
one of similarity of certain
characteristics.
(animal-[four legged beast] lion,
tiger, elephant)
(stringed musical instruments-
guitar, violin, base)
[back]
Here, a part of something may
stand for the whole, or vice versa.
In figurative language this would
be called SYNECDOCHE.
The sail was like a dot in the
open sea.
[back]
This refers to words that grow out of
other words. This means that from
one root word, many words can be
formed by adding affixes, or even by
adding other root words to form
compounds.
(friend-befriend, friendly,
friendliness)

[back]
This is the relationship between a
noun and its verb, a doer and its
action and the action and its
receiver.

(bird-fly, eat, drink)
[back]
This is the relationship
between the words in a
compound word.
(black-blackboard)
(back-background)
[back]
This is the relationship
between a word and its
modifier.
(teacher-strict, intelligent)

Structural Analysis
Structural analysis is a process of decoding
unfamiliar words by visually examining
the words to discover component parts
which may lead to pronunciation and
meaning. One who uses structural analysis
must be able to recognize the root word or
base word; inflectional endings, and
affixes
Rootword
A word from which other words are
formed by adding a beginning part or an
ending part
The underlined part of each of the words is
the root:
rewrite
reading
kindness
hopeful
Prefixes
PREFIXES MEANING EXAMPLES
a-, ab- Not, without, away
Abduct, away,
agnostic
ad- Motion toward Admit, adjoin
ante- Prior to, before
Antecedent,
anteroom
com- (col-, cor-,
co-, con-)
With, together
Combine,
compact, collide,
coexist, correlate,
connive
PREFIXES MEANING EXAMPLES
de-
Away from, of,
down, undo
Decline, defrost
poly- Many
Polyandry,
polychromatic
homo-
Same, equal,
like
Homogenize,
homocentric
mono-
One, alone,
single
Monogamy,
monosyllable
non- not
Nonresident,
nonchalant
Suffixes
SUFFIXES MEANING EXAMPLES
-able Able to, capable of
being, having
qualities of
Durable,
drinkable, lovable,
comfortable
-acy Quality, condition,
position
Accuracy, celibacy
-ate (noun suffix) Office, function,
group of officials
Potentate,
directorate,
consulate
-ate (verb suffix) To become, to
form or produce,
to provide with
Evaporate,
ulcerate, vaccinate
SUFFIXES MEANING EXAMPLES
-ation, -ition
State, action,
quality
Combustion,
location,
integration
-ism
Act, practice of,
condition of being,
characteristic of
Terrorism,
barbarism,
pauperism
-itious
Having the nature
of, characterized
by
Nutritious,
seditious,
repetitious
-fy
To make, cause to
be or become
Liquefy, glorify,
emulsify
Context Clues
Clues are words used in a sentence
which help in understanding the
specific meaning of a new unfamiliar
word.
The special meaning of a word
depends on the other words in the
sentence or the surrounding group of
sentences (context).
. Context refers to the parts of a piece
of writing or speech that precede or
follow a word and contribute to its
full meaning.
For instance, when a student is asked
to get meaning from context, he is
encouraged to rely on his natural
intelligence and not use the
dictionary or consult a resource
person.
Definition Clue
This is an outright explanation
of the meaning of a word by
introducing and describing it
within the same context.
The cornea is the transparent
outer coating of the eyeball.
Synonym
The meaning of the unknown
word is understood because the
idea is repeated in familiar
words.
In his complete uniform and
with his shining sword, the
man appeared bellicose or
warlike.
Simile
The word as and like are used
to show an idea of comparison,
hence, suggesting the meaning
of the word to be learned.
The boys eyes glistened like
the bright stars in the sky.
Example
An example helps illuminate
the meaning of a word.
The artist engages in aesthetic
activities such as writing
poems about the beauty of
nature and painting scenic
spots.
Apposition
An appositive is a descriptive word,
phrase, or clause placed beside the
unknown word and is often enclosed
or set off by commas.
An ecologist, a scientist who
specializes in the relationship between
living things and their environment, is
likely to have authoritative opinion on
the problem of pollution versus mans
survival.
Antonym
An antonym is a word which
has an opposite meaning. The
word but is often used to show
contrast.
Lynne is calm but her mothers
anxiety over trivial things
sometimes makes her tense.
Inference
To infer is to reach an opinion based
on the given facts. It involves making
a conclusion as a result of reasoning.
When he passed the sentry, Jose gave
his forged ID card and held his
breath. The guard on duty was busy
talking to a friend and gave it a
perfunctory glance, so Jose breathed
easily again.
Analysis
Many words are made of word parts
which give direct clues to meaning.
The word parts (i. e., root, affixes,
compounds and syllables) are
separated and analyzed.
The new recipe of the cook was
unpleasant to the taste. In fact, it was
inedible.
Pair off. Construct at least five phrases by joining
any of the words below. Use each word once.
APPLE THE A CATS DAYS
FACE BELL THE SAVED EYE
ARE ITS WEARING AND
NUMBERED
LONG OF RAINING BY DOGS
Idioms
An idiom is an expression peculiar to
a language.
Idiomatic expressions are usually
forcible, terse, and vivid.
These expressions have meanings
which are not readily understandable
from their grammatical constructions
and from the meaning of their
separate elements.
Idioms
Crocodile tears - pretended sorrow
Blackmail - money extorted by threat or
intimidation
Argus-eyed-jealously watchful
Chicken-hearted (fellow) - a timid,
cowardly fellow
Absent-minded - to be inattentive of what
is going on
Fair weather friend - one who desserts you
in times of difficulties
Idioms
Rainy day a time of adversity
Sideline work done apart from ones
main work
Bread and butter means of living
An iron hand a tyrannical hand
Herculean task work requiring very
great effort
Small fry insignificant person
Loan Words
Loanwords are words adopted by the speakers
of one language from a different language (the
source language). A loanword can also be
called a borrowing. The abstract noun
borrowing refers to the process of speakers
adopting words from a source language into
their native language.
"Loan" and "borrowing" are of course
metaphors, because there is no literal lending
process.
Loan Words
Borrowing is a consequence of cultural contact
between two language communities. Borrowing
of words can go in both directions between the
two languages in contact, but often there is an
asymmetry, such that more words go from one
side to the other. In this case the source
language community has some advantage of
power, prestige and/or wealth that makes the
objects and ideas it brings desirable and useful
to the borrowing language community.
Loan Words
Ad interim (L. in the meantime)
Apartheid (Af. apartness)
Carte blanche (F. complete discretion)
Coup d etat (F. stroke of the state)
Esprit de corps (F. pride in belonging)
Faux pas (F. false step)
Persona non grata (L. person not
acceptable)
Status quo (L. the state in which something
is)
Loan Words
bon voyage (literally: good journey!): farewell
femme fatale (literally: fatal woman): an
irresistibly sexy woman, a woman-siren
nom de plume (French for "pen name"):
(writer's) pseudonym, pen name
alma mater (Latin for "bountiful mother"):
one's former school, college, or university; the
official song (hymn) of a college or university
modus operandi (Latin for "mode of
working"): a characteristic method, a procedure
typically followed by someone (esp. a criminal)