Search results for 'tag:Grammar tag:Pronunciation' matching tags 'Grammar' and 'Pronunciation'

Re: Proper Use of Apostrophes (Dos and Don'ts about Do's and Don't's)

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:32:00 GMT

According to the Gregg Reference Manual: "To form the possessive of a singular noun that ends in an s sound, be guided by the way you pronounce the word. If a new syllable is formed in the pronunciation of the possessive, add an apostrophe plus s."

Ex: your boss's approval (you pronounce it as bosses); therefore, add the apostrophe.

Also according to the Gregg Reference Manual: "However, if the addition of the extra syllable would make a word ending in s hard to pronounce, use the apostrophe only."

Ex: Los Angeles' freeways (try saying Los Angeleses). Difficult to do; therefore, just use the apostrophe.

Best grammar books are The Gregg Reference Manual and the Simon & Schuster Handbook for Writers.

I have no problem with boss' approval. At least this is a rule where one can understand why people get it wrong. There are grammar errors that bother me more; I cannot understand why people misuse apostrophes.

Re: Alternately vs. Alternatively

Cool Breeze — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:13:40 GMT

Mr Wordy
Different people have different opinions on this, so you pays your money and you takes your choice I guess. Here are a few (randomly Googled) definitions that agree with my position:

Yes, of course. I wasn't even saying you were wrong. I just found a definition in a dictionary that is fairly descriptive in its views and consequently it records actual usage, unlike prescriptive usage experts. Personally, I have no strong opinions either way. The fact remains, though, that 'alternate' is very often used to mean 'alternative'.

My liberal and descriptive attitude towards grammar and usage may have something to do with my studying the history of the English language. The only unchanging thing about it has been change. The grammar has changed, the vocabulary has changed, the pronunciation has changed and the meanings of words have changed - and will keep changing. Nice derives from Latin nescius, which means 'ignorant' but very few people object to its modern meanings even though every one of them was grossly incorrect when first used. Once a word has been used incorrectly for long enough by enough people, it becomes standard English.

People usually have nothing against changes that have happened before they were born but many object vehemently to changes that are taking place in their lifetime. That is human nature. It happens in all languages. It is a common belief that changes that are happening right now somehow seem to be spoiling the language.

Re: spoken english center in chennai,India

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:06:23 GMT

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Re: Which language is most difficult language for people to learn?

Kooyeen — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:03:07 GMT

Just some quick comments:

1) It is obvious you can't tell which language is the most difficult to learn, because it's a subjective thing. "Difficult" means you are not able to do it well, but someone else might have no problems. Playing the guitar might be difficult for those who never learned how to use one, but it's pretty easy and enjoyable for many others. So I think I wouldn't have problems with Spanish grammar, since I'm Italian, but I doubt I would find Chinese ideograms quite easy.

2) Every language has some aspects you would find difficult, and others you would not find so difficult after all. All this is still very subjective. Some aspects you might want to consider are grammar, pronunciation, writing, speech registers, cultural aspects, regional aspects, etc.

3) The more a language it taught, the simpler it is to find what you need (more material = a better perspective and understanding). So English and Spanish, no matter how difficult and who finds them difficult, have a huge advantage: they are taught a lot. On the net you'll find an avalanche of websites to learn them, for free. Lots of teachers, lots of courses, lots of material. But now try to learn Finnish for example... how many forums to learn Finnish for free from volunteers are there online? As many as those for ESL? Hmm, no way. So less material --> higher probability of confusion and slower improvement.

4) What do you mean by learning a language? Learning the basic words? The basic grammar? Advanced vocabulary? Good style too? Perfect pronunciation? Learning about the major dialects too? And about the cultural aspects?
So the point is, at what level are you going to use a language you are learning? Maybe it's simple to learn how to say the most basic things ("hello, how are you?") in every language, but how about talking about eye surgery like a professor would? Attending a history lecture and understanding basically everything? You need "mastery" for that, and it's probably extremely hard to achieve for every language, no matter how subjective the difficulty might be.

Just my thoughts

Re: Which language is most difficult language for people to learn?

Cool Breeze — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:18:45 GMT

Hi Forbes

I agree with you completely. Of course grammar includes syntax. I wrote about the very first experiences of a person who is beginning his language studies. All such experiences are very subjective!

I don't think there is an objective way or method to measure and compare the difficulty of languages. I honestly believe that just like people prefer different tastes and colours and whatever, they also vary in their ability to learn languages (and other things as well). If somebody thinks and says that a certain language is easy or difficult for him, it is his subjective view but he is certainly right. At least he feels that way. He may have a very superficial knowledge of the languages he is studying but if he finds one language easier or more difficult than other languages he is certainly right.

I know from experience that even if someone has a flair for languages, not all languages are equally easy for him. A language that is easy for some may be difficult for others. That's a fact. There are teachers who have been teaching languages for 35 years to thousands of students in Finland. They have noticed the differences.

Learning a foreign language is extremely subjective. Every student studies at least two foreign languages in comprehensive school in Finland. After that, in secondary school many students study a third foreign language. Some take up a fourth language. Students and teachers have a lot of experience in foreign language acquisition here.

With regard to English, most students never get far enough in their studies to really comprehend the intricacies of the language. They don't have to: graduating from comprehensive school calls for nothing special and it is possible to pass the nationwide Matriculation Examination, which is required if you want to graduate from secondary school, with very low language skills. Perhaps that is just as well. There are other things than languages that are also important. For many it's enough to be able to use basic English on their travels abroad and to exchange a few words with foreigners.

It's no wonder many students consider English easy. They never get far enough to encounter the difficulties, apart from the spelling, pronunciation and idioms!

Cheers, CB

Re: disorderly conduct

Yoong Liat — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 16:00:37 GMT

New2grammar
No. I got it wrong. But do they sound the same to you?

EM BAR RAS ING
EM BAR RASS ING

Yes, they sound the same, but some words have letters repeated, for example, 'millennium','occurrence' and 'assassination'. I classify them as 'greedy words'. But 'harass' has one 'r'. Even if you spell it with two r's, the reader who is unaware that it is spelled wrongly will not pronounced it idifferently.

Re: The new EF is not as good as it was before, I feel

Pter — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 03:50:31 GMT

Yes, this also happens to me. I have been receiving notifications from Vocabulary and Idioms, Speech and Pronunciation, but never from General English Grammar.

Re: MM's 10-letter word

Mister Micawber — Fri, 30 May 2008 23:34:26 GMT

.
pejoration -- No. What happened to pluperfect?
Is it ... an adjective? a noun? a verb? -- A noun

Would you say it's related to ... grammar? vocabulary? pronunciation?-- Pronunciation.

I'm not going to be very coy with this one, because I don't think it's in anyone's active vocabulary. I just happened to think of it because it's related to Spoonerisms... and I had to look it up to check the spelling. It is a phenomenon which produced this mouldy old joke:

A Latino named Jose went to America to see the Yankees vs. the Red Socks. When he got his ticket, it was in the nosebleed section. He did not care what section he was in. Anyway, it was game day. Everyone stood for the National Anthem. When Jose got home, he said, "Mama, they made a song in America just for me." -- "How does it go, hijo?" -- "It goes, 'Jose, can you see?'

Re: MM's 10-letter word

Tanit — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:36:52 GMT

Is it ... an adjective? a noun? a verb?

Would you say it's related to ... grammar? vocabulary? pronunciation?

Re: If I'm used only to Standard English, might I have trouble understanding dialects?

Mr Wordy — Thu, 29 May 2008 14:26:35 GMT

There are some differences in vocabulary and idiom across the British Isles, and you might encounter some regional words and expressions that you're not familiar with. But the core vocabulary and grammar are not hugely different, and you might find that a bigger problem is pronunciation. If you're only familiar with the sort of English spoken by middle class people from the south of England, and you go into a pub in a rough part of Glasgow, say, then you might not even realise that the people there are speaking English at all.

The native speakers I (as a native speaker myself) have most difficulty with are young urban working class people. In this case, vocabulary (lots of "yoof slang" I've never heard of) and pronunciation both cause problems. I might overhear, say, a group of youths chatting in a London suburb and only catch about 50% of it.

There's no need to try to speak regional dialects of British English yourself (unless you're particularly interested in doing so, of course). If you speak something approximating to "standard" British English then you should be able to make yourself understood anywhere in the British Isles.