English Next was commissioned by the British Council and written by researcher David Graddol – a British applied linguist, well known as a writer, broadcaster, researcher and consultant on issues relating to global English.
The new report argues that we are already in a very new kind of environment and a new phase in the global development of English. What are the new rules and who will be the winners and who will be the losers? In this new study David Graddol suggests some of the answers by analysing demographic and economic trends in the Twenty First-Century which affect Global English and language policies worldwide and will influence its future.
David Graddol
Download English Next 1.8mb
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/english_next.pdf
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Friday, December 04, 2009
Free English discussion on 'Manners'
News from Jason West (EnglishOutThere)
Hi everyone...
This is an open discussion on Weds 9th Dec at 7pm GMT that will be based on the free EOT lesson on 'Manners' that you can get here:
http://www.facebook.com/EnglishOutThere?v=app_7146470109
Send it to your friends!
Download it, print it, work on it, listen to the MP3 and then come to the discussion.
Come to www.Facebook.com/EnglishOutThere and click on 'voice chat'.
Try to have a headset and microphone, it sounds better for everyone :-)
Thanks and see you there...
Jason
www.Facebook.com/EnglishOutThere
Hi everyone...
This is an open discussion on Weds 9th Dec at 7pm GMT that will be based on the free EOT lesson on 'Manners' that you can get here:
http://www.facebook.com/EnglishOutThere?v=app_7146470109
Send it to your friends!
Download it, print it, work on it, listen to the MP3 and then come to the discussion.
Come to www.Facebook.com/EnglishOutThere and click on 'voice chat'.
Try to have a headset and microphone, it sounds better for everyone :-)
Thanks and see you there...
Jason
www.Facebook.com/EnglishOutThere
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Useful websites for learners of English
I receive a number of queries related to English language learning from readers of my column 'English Matters', published every Monday in Education Express, a weekly supplement with The New Indian Express (India). Recently, some readers asked me to review the websites that are useful for English language learners and discuss the same in my column. Here are useful websites for learners of English.
Enjoy learning English!
Enjoy learning English!
1. ToLearnEnglish.com
You can join the free club and learn English.
The newsletter includes
- ONE FREE WEEKLY LESSON...
- all the latest lessons published on the site
- the news of the site
To know more visit the site at http://www.ToLearnEnglish.com
--
2. TOPICS Online Magazine for Learners of English
This publication offers learners of English the opportunity to express and publish their ideas in English to an online audience.
http://www.topics-mag.com/index.html
--
3. ESL Independent Study Lab
http://legacy.lclark.edu/~krauss/toppicks/toppicks.html
Contains over 250 of the best Internet resources for ESL/EFL students!
All Web sites are clearly annotated. Organization is by skill area and language level.
--
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Communication Skills for Teachers (part 2)
In the first part of the article entitled ‘Communication Skills for Teachers of English” that appeared last week, I discussed the importance of communication skills for students of English literature who aspire to become teachers of English. I concluded the article with the statement that teachers of English should have proficiency in the language, positive motivation, appropriate body language, good presentation skills, sense of humour and interpersonal skills in order to be effective communicators.
The article also stressed the urgent need to develop students’ communication skills through literature. Not many teachers of English literature in India have been trained to use the communicative approach in the literature class.
As a student at a reputed college in Tamil Nadu, I was taught English literature by many teachers. A few of them were great professors who spoke impeccable English and delivered excellent lectures. Some were mediocre professors who just read literary pieces and dictated notes they had plagiarized from low standard books. One or two were really communicative and they encouraged students to communicate in the class.
Professor David (name changed) was an original thinker. We enjoyed attending his classes. His English was good and it was pleasure listening to him. His interpretation of literary pieces was food for thought for those students who had passion for English literature. The only problem with the professor was he spoke the whole period of 50 minutes and never allowed the students to interact with him. The students were passive listeners. How nice it would have been if we had discussed as a class on what the professor had said!
Professor Kumar (name changed) was a mediocre person. His pronunciation was not good and I always wondered how he was recruited to the teaching position at the reputed college. He used to read literary texts and dictate notes to us. He encouraged his students to read abridged versions of novels and buy ‘bazaar’ notes to prepare for examinations. Almost all his students could get pass marks in the courses Professor Kumar had taught but they could not develop their communication and critical thinking skills.
Professor John (name changed) was very popular among students. His interpretation of literary pieces was original and he encouraged his students to give their own interpretations. His classes were always very interactive. Thanks to him many students developed their critical thinking and communication skills. Professor John was a perfect example of ‘Developing Communication Skills through Literature’.
We can find many Davids, Kumars and Johns in any college where English literature programmes are offered at the UG or the PG level. Not many teachers of English literature are used to the communicative approach to teaching literature.
The need of the hour is to introduce the communicative approach in the literature class. In a typical communicative literature class, students will be engaged in many activities: reading various literary pieces, interpreting them, taking part in discussions, giving presentations, debating, etc. The classroom environment should be conducive for developing their creativity, critical thinking and communication skills.
Very recently, I asked a colleague of mine to share with me how her professors taught English literature and whether she was happy about the way they taught literature. Though she was quite positive about most of her teachers’ approach, she was not happy with her own classmates’ lack of communication skills and some teachers’ inability to enhance the students’ communicative competence. “Most students had communication apprehension and they were never trained to overcome it. Even after completing their MA in English they were never comfortable speaking in English. Many of them did B.Ed. and became teachers at the secondary level and some of them did MPhil and became teachers at the tertiary level. I don’t know whether they have learnt to manage their communication apprehension and developed their communication skills now.”
Developing learners’ communicative competence is one of the main responsibilities of a teacher of English. It is true that most students suffer from communication apprehension which refers to “a feeling of fear or anxiety about a situation in which one must communicate.” It is possible that they can manage and control their communication apprehension to some degree. Beattty, McCroskey and Richmond who have carried out research in the field of communication give the following suggestions to manage communication apprehension: i) Acquire skills and experience, and ii) Focus on success
In the context of developing communication skills through literature to ESL (English as a second language) students, the above suggestions can be applied as follows:
Acquire skills and experience
A lack of proficiency in the target language can cause communication difficulty and create apprehension. A lack of interpersonal skills can also cause communication difficulty. So it is important to gain language skills and also the skills of effective interpersonal interaction.
Focus on success
Giving oral presentations, attending job interviews, taking part in role plays and similar tasks are anxiety-provoking largely because they are highly evaluative. “The more you perceive a situation as one in which others will evaluate you, the greater your apprehension will be.” Prior success generally reduces apprehension and prior failure increases apprehension. It is important to train students to think positively and visualize others giving them positive evaluations. The teacher should give constructive feedback.
How to make the English literature class interactive and communicative?
The third part of the article will appear next week.
Send in your feedback to the article to Albert P’Rayan at rayanal@yahoo.co.uk
The article also stressed the urgent need to develop students’ communication skills through literature. Not many teachers of English literature in India have been trained to use the communicative approach in the literature class.
As a student at a reputed college in Tamil Nadu, I was taught English literature by many teachers. A few of them were great professors who spoke impeccable English and delivered excellent lectures. Some were mediocre professors who just read literary pieces and dictated notes they had plagiarized from low standard books. One or two were really communicative and they encouraged students to communicate in the class.
Professor David (name changed) was an original thinker. We enjoyed attending his classes. His English was good and it was pleasure listening to him. His interpretation of literary pieces was food for thought for those students who had passion for English literature. The only problem with the professor was he spoke the whole period of 50 minutes and never allowed the students to interact with him. The students were passive listeners. How nice it would have been if we had discussed as a class on what the professor had said!
Professor Kumar (name changed) was a mediocre person. His pronunciation was not good and I always wondered how he was recruited to the teaching position at the reputed college. He used to read literary texts and dictate notes to us. He encouraged his students to read abridged versions of novels and buy ‘bazaar’ notes to prepare for examinations. Almost all his students could get pass marks in the courses Professor Kumar had taught but they could not develop their communication and critical thinking skills.
Professor John (name changed) was very popular among students. His interpretation of literary pieces was original and he encouraged his students to give their own interpretations. His classes were always very interactive. Thanks to him many students developed their critical thinking and communication skills. Professor John was a perfect example of ‘Developing Communication Skills through Literature’.
We can find many Davids, Kumars and Johns in any college where English literature programmes are offered at the UG or the PG level. Not many teachers of English literature are used to the communicative approach to teaching literature.
The need of the hour is to introduce the communicative approach in the literature class. In a typical communicative literature class, students will be engaged in many activities: reading various literary pieces, interpreting them, taking part in discussions, giving presentations, debating, etc. The classroom environment should be conducive for developing their creativity, critical thinking and communication skills.
Very recently, I asked a colleague of mine to share with me how her professors taught English literature and whether she was happy about the way they taught literature. Though she was quite positive about most of her teachers’ approach, she was not happy with her own classmates’ lack of communication skills and some teachers’ inability to enhance the students’ communicative competence. “Most students had communication apprehension and they were never trained to overcome it. Even after completing their MA in English they were never comfortable speaking in English. Many of them did B.Ed. and became teachers at the secondary level and some of them did MPhil and became teachers at the tertiary level. I don’t know whether they have learnt to manage their communication apprehension and developed their communication skills now.”
Developing learners’ communicative competence is one of the main responsibilities of a teacher of English. It is true that most students suffer from communication apprehension which refers to “a feeling of fear or anxiety about a situation in which one must communicate.” It is possible that they can manage and control their communication apprehension to some degree. Beattty, McCroskey and Richmond who have carried out research in the field of communication give the following suggestions to manage communication apprehension: i) Acquire skills and experience, and ii) Focus on success
In the context of developing communication skills through literature to ESL (English as a second language) students, the above suggestions can be applied as follows:
Acquire skills and experience
A lack of proficiency in the target language can cause communication difficulty and create apprehension. A lack of interpersonal skills can also cause communication difficulty. So it is important to gain language skills and also the skills of effective interpersonal interaction.
Focus on success
Giving oral presentations, attending job interviews, taking part in role plays and similar tasks are anxiety-provoking largely because they are highly evaluative. “The more you perceive a situation as one in which others will evaluate you, the greater your apprehension will be.” Prior success generally reduces apprehension and prior failure increases apprehension. It is important to train students to think positively and visualize others giving them positive evaluations. The teacher should give constructive feedback.
How to make the English literature class interactive and communicative?
The third part of the article will appear next week.
Send in your feedback to the article to Albert P’Rayan at rayanal@yahoo.co.uk
Communication Skills for Teachers of English
Communication skills include many things – using the target language effectively, the way in which to the person we are speaking to, our body language including facial expressions, pitch and tone of our voice, interpersonal skills and a lot of other things. Effective communication skills are now required in each and every aspect of our life. Teachers of English are expected to have good command over the language and possess excellent communication skills.
A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to visit a school in Chennai, India and interact with the teachers and the students of the school. Most of the teachers had good communication skills. Even students were able to express themselves in English well. Later, I met the principal and complimented the teachers on their communication skills: “Your teachers have good communication skills. With these teachers you can do wonders and produce students who can become powerful communicators.” The principal said, “We recruit only those teachers who can speak good English and communicate well.” Yes, teachers are expected to possess excellent communication skills. For a teacher, it is not just important to give a quality lecture but it is more important for the presentation of a lesson or lecture in class. A teacher with communication skills can enhance the learning process of students.
A week ago, I was a resource person at a workshop on ‘Effective Communication Skills’ at a rural arts and science college for women. The participants were students of English literature. Most of them want to do B.Ed. after completing their B.A. English and become teachers of English. When the organizer of the workshop approached me I was reluctant to accept his invitation to conduct a workshop at the college thinking it would be a tough task to train the students. The organizer gave me a clear picture of the college and the students studying there in one of his emails. “It is a rural college. Almost all the students are from villages. They are very poor in communication skills. We, teachers, try to make them speak but we find it difficult to develop their communication skills. We want you to speak on the importance of soft skills, including communication skills, and motivate them to speak.” On the eve of the workshop the person contacted me over the phone and said, “Sir, your target audience is a group of final year students of English literature. They are future teachers of English.”
I took it as a challenge and accepted the invitation. As soon as I entered the seminar hall, I was greeted by the students. Most students were bubbling with enthusiasm and their desire to learn new things and acquire essential soft skills was reflected in many ways. Inaugurating the workshop the principal of the college stressed the need for good communication skills for students who want to excel in the job market. When my turn to interact with the students came, I narrated a couple of anecdotes on the importance of soft skills and threw a few questions.
Why are you here today? Do you really need to develop your communication skills?
Why did you opt for English literature?
What are the career opportunities for those who specialize in English literature?
What do you want to become after completing your degree?
What are the characteristics of an effective teacher of English?
What are soft skills? Why do we call soft skills by that name?
Which is more important: confidence or competence?
Very interesting answers were given by the participants. My friendly approach helped me break the ice and establish a rapport with them. As a trainer, my main objective was to motivate the students and make them speak in English in public without fear and shyness. How to help the students channelize their enthusiasm and enable them to develop the much needed communication skills? My interaction with the students helped me understand the situation of the rural students better.
- Communication skills are often neglected in schools and colleges.
- The students have never had an opportunity to take part in group discussions, oral presentations, mock interviews, etc. - Some teachers of English are not proficient in English.
- Those teachers who are keen on teaching communication skills have not been trained in the field.
- The teachers have not heard the term ‘communicative approach’ and are not aware that they can teach communication skills through literature.
I spoke to the participants on the importance of communication skills and conducted a workshop on developing group discussion skills. For the first time, many students took part in group discussion. Though many were shy and helpless, some of them exhibited confidence and enthusiasm. There were a number of grammatical errors in their utterances, but they spoke confidently. “Had we had opportunities before, we would have done much better now,” said one of the students.
For me it was a very enriching experience. The participants realized that mere reading of literature will not help them make progress with their life and that they should develop their communication skills. “Can’t literary pieces be used as a tool to develop students’ soft skills including communication skills? asked a highly motivated student. “We don’t know how to guide our students. We teach them English literature the way we were taught when we were students,” said one of the lecturers. “What strategies should we follow to improve our students’ interaction skills?” asked another lecturer. “How can we teachers develop our own communication skills? What is communicative approach? Can we develop students’ communication skills through literature?” were a few other questions asked by the teachers.
Teachers of English must possess the following communication skills: proficiency in English, positive motivation, effective body language, sense of humour, interpersonal skills, etc. The second part of the article will focus on these aspects of communication skills.
A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to visit a school in Chennai, India and interact with the teachers and the students of the school. Most of the teachers had good communication skills. Even students were able to express themselves in English well. Later, I met the principal and complimented the teachers on their communication skills: “Your teachers have good communication skills. With these teachers you can do wonders and produce students who can become powerful communicators.” The principal said, “We recruit only those teachers who can speak good English and communicate well.” Yes, teachers are expected to possess excellent communication skills. For a teacher, it is not just important to give a quality lecture but it is more important for the presentation of a lesson or lecture in class. A teacher with communication skills can enhance the learning process of students.
A week ago, I was a resource person at a workshop on ‘Effective Communication Skills’ at a rural arts and science college for women. The participants were students of English literature. Most of them want to do B.Ed. after completing their B.A. English and become teachers of English. When the organizer of the workshop approached me I was reluctant to accept his invitation to conduct a workshop at the college thinking it would be a tough task to train the students. The organizer gave me a clear picture of the college and the students studying there in one of his emails. “It is a rural college. Almost all the students are from villages. They are very poor in communication skills. We, teachers, try to make them speak but we find it difficult to develop their communication skills. We want you to speak on the importance of soft skills, including communication skills, and motivate them to speak.” On the eve of the workshop the person contacted me over the phone and said, “Sir, your target audience is a group of final year students of English literature. They are future teachers of English.”
I took it as a challenge and accepted the invitation. As soon as I entered the seminar hall, I was greeted by the students. Most students were bubbling with enthusiasm and their desire to learn new things and acquire essential soft skills was reflected in many ways. Inaugurating the workshop the principal of the college stressed the need for good communication skills for students who want to excel in the job market. When my turn to interact with the students came, I narrated a couple of anecdotes on the importance of soft skills and threw a few questions.
Why are you here today? Do you really need to develop your communication skills?
Why did you opt for English literature?
What are the career opportunities for those who specialize in English literature?
What do you want to become after completing your degree?
What are the characteristics of an effective teacher of English?
What are soft skills? Why do we call soft skills by that name?
Which is more important: confidence or competence?
Very interesting answers were given by the participants. My friendly approach helped me break the ice and establish a rapport with them. As a trainer, my main objective was to motivate the students and make them speak in English in public without fear and shyness. How to help the students channelize their enthusiasm and enable them to develop the much needed communication skills? My interaction with the students helped me understand the situation of the rural students better.
- Communication skills are often neglected in schools and colleges.
- The students have never had an opportunity to take part in group discussions, oral presentations, mock interviews, etc. - Some teachers of English are not proficient in English.
- Those teachers who are keen on teaching communication skills have not been trained in the field.
- The teachers have not heard the term ‘communicative approach’ and are not aware that they can teach communication skills through literature.
I spoke to the participants on the importance of communication skills and conducted a workshop on developing group discussion skills. For the first time, many students took part in group discussion. Though many were shy and helpless, some of them exhibited confidence and enthusiasm. There were a number of grammatical errors in their utterances, but they spoke confidently. “Had we had opportunities before, we would have done much better now,” said one of the students.
For me it was a very enriching experience. The participants realized that mere reading of literature will not help them make progress with their life and that they should develop their communication skills. “Can’t literary pieces be used as a tool to develop students’ soft skills including communication skills? asked a highly motivated student. “We don’t know how to guide our students. We teach them English literature the way we were taught when we were students,” said one of the lecturers. “What strategies should we follow to improve our students’ interaction skills?” asked another lecturer. “How can we teachers develop our own communication skills? What is communicative approach? Can we develop students’ communication skills through literature?” were a few other questions asked by the teachers.
Teachers of English must possess the following communication skills: proficiency in English, positive motivation, effective body language, sense of humour, interpersonal skills, etc. The second part of the article will focus on these aspects of communication skills.
Monday, August 24, 2009
How to make your speech and writing sparkle?
Reading students’ written assignments and listening to their presentations could be an interesting or a boring activity for any teacher of English. Recently, a teacher commented on his students’ assignments: “The students are fond of using clichés and they think that it is the right thing to do. I don’t know how to make them realize that they should avoid using clichés.” Yes, teachers do come across cliché-ridden speeches and writings of their students. Not only intermediate learners of English but also advanced learners use clichéd expressions while communicating.
What is a cliché? A cliché is a trite, overused or tired expression or stock phrase. It is an expression that has lost its freshness. The listener or reader considers such expressions boring. “Often the language that is now considered cliché is language that was, at one time, new and fresh, such as figures of speech. Today, “as red as a rose” is recognized pretty universally as a cliché, but at some time, it must have been fresh and inventive figurative language.” Most similes have become clichés. Here are some examples:
· busy as a bee
· drunk as a skunk
· free as a bird
· happy as a lark
· poor as church mice
· sick as a dog
· blind as a bat
Some journalistic expressions, proverbs, sayings, and the like are also likely to become clichéd after repeated use. Examples of this type of cliché include:
· in the nick of time
· fall on deaf ears
· nipped in the bud
· cry over spilled milk
· by hook or crook
· Christmas comes but once a year.
· You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.
· What goes around comes around.
Here is a list of clichés and better alternatives:
· In today’s society (today, currently)
· Pros and cons (advantages and disadvantages)
· This day and age (today, presently)
But, standard expressions such as ‘Happy birthday’, ‘Many happy returns of the day’ and ‘How do you do?’ are not clichés.
Rank Cliche
1 at the end of the day
2 back on track
3 the fact of the matter
4 few and far between
5 a level playing field
6 in this day and age
7 to all intents and purposes
8 when all's said and done
9 in the final analysis
10 come full circle
11 par for the course
12 avoid someone or something like the plague
13 think outside the box
14 in the current climate
15 mass exodus
16 at this moment in time
17 the path of least resistance
18 a baptism of fire
19 in any way, shape, or form
20 not fit for purpose
Send in your comments and queries to Albert P’Rayan at rayanal@yahoo.co.uk .
What is a cliché? A cliché is a trite, overused or tired expression or stock phrase. It is an expression that has lost its freshness. The listener or reader considers such expressions boring. “Often the language that is now considered cliché is language that was, at one time, new and fresh, such as figures of speech. Today, “as red as a rose” is recognized pretty universally as a cliché, but at some time, it must have been fresh and inventive figurative language.” Most similes have become clichés. Here are some examples:
· busy as a bee
· drunk as a skunk
· free as a bird
· happy as a lark
· poor as church mice
· sick as a dog
· blind as a bat
Some journalistic expressions, proverbs, sayings, and the like are also likely to become clichéd after repeated use. Examples of this type of cliché include:
· in the nick of time
· fall on deaf ears
· nipped in the bud
· cry over spilled milk
· by hook or crook
· Christmas comes but once a year.
· You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.
· What goes around comes around.
Here is a list of clichés and better alternatives:
· In today’s society (today, currently)
· Pros and cons (advantages and disadvantages)
· This day and age (today, presently)
But, standard expressions such as ‘Happy birthday’, ‘Many happy returns of the day’ and ‘How do you do?’ are not clichés.
In order to be effective your speech and writing should sparkle. What should you do to make your presentations or writings sparkle? These are some tips:
Communicate clearly.
Use appealing words.
Use positive language.
Avoid clichés.
Use the language creatively.
Don’t use any word or phrase repeatedly.
Bid bye to your pet words and phrases.
Ask yourself these questions:
Do I get sick of hearing people use any trite or overused expressions? What are the expressions?
Do I use clichés in my presentations and writings? What are the clichés? Why do I use them?
Once you know answers to the above questions, you will be able to identify trite, overused, and tired expressions and know why they should not be used in presentations and writings.
Using a cliché can bore your reader or listener. It can annoy them. They may lose interest in your speech or writing. Clichés can become a barrier to effective communication.
Here's a list of 20 popular (or unpopular!) clichés, ranked in order of their frequency in the Oxford English Corpus, a database consisting of hundreds of millions of words of contemporary written English.
Rank Cliche
1 at the end of the day
2 back on track
3 the fact of the matter
4 few and far between
5 a level playing field
6 in this day and age
7 to all intents and purposes
8 when all's said and done
9 in the final analysis
10 come full circle
11 par for the course
12 avoid someone or something like the plague
13 think outside the box
14 in the current climate
15 mass exodus
16 at this moment in time
17 the path of least resistance
18 a baptism of fire
19 in any way, shape, or form
20 not fit for purpose
Send in your comments and queries to Albert P’Rayan at rayanal@yahoo.co.uk .
Clarity vs Ambiguity
“India on Monday reported its first death due to the H1N1 flu infection, with a 14-year-old girl from Pune succumbing to the deadly influenza virus.”
I came across the above sentence on 4 August 2009 in a news report of a leading daily. What is wrong with the sentence? What does the word ‘its’ refer to? Very obviously the word refers to India. If that is the case, is it India’s first death? Is India going to die again?
The sentence is ambiguous. It is a faulty sentence construction and as a result the meaning changes. In order to convey the intended meaning clearly the sentence can be reconstructed as follows:
India on Monday reported the first swine flu death in the country, with a 14-year-old girl from Pune succumbing to the deadly influenza virus.
If a piece of writing is concise and clear, it conveys the intended meaning to the reader. A good piece of writing is free from ambiguity. Ambiguity can be defined as “a statement that contains two or more meanings, or a statement that is unclear”.
There are two types of ambiguity: semantic ambiguity and syntactic ambiguity.
Syntactic ambiguity arises as a result of the structure or syntax of a sentence. It arises not from the range of meanings of single words, but from the relationship between the words and clauses of a sentence, and the sentence structure implied thereby.
Look at this example of syntactic ambiguity.
· My teacher killed the robber with a gun.
Who had the gun? It is not clear whether the teacher or the robber possessed a gun or whether the teacher killed the robber by using a gun.
If the intended meaning is that the robber who had a gun was killed by the teacher, then the sentence should be reconstructed as follows:
· The teacher killed the robber who had a gun.
If the intended meaning is that the teacher killed the robber by using a gun, then the sentence should be reconstructed as follows:
· The teacher shot the robber dead.
Here is another example:
· Presenting a paper on web-based language learning, the director of the language institute asked the research scholar a question.
Who presented the paper? The director of the institute or the research scholar? Because of faulty sentence structure, the intended meaning of the statement is not clear. The sentence can be rewritten based on the meaning intended by the speaker / writer of the sentence.
· While the director of the language institute was presenting a paper on web-based language learning, he / she asked the research scholar a question.
· While the research scholar was presenting a paper on web-based language learning, the director of the language institute asked the scholar a question.
Semantic ambiguity “arises when a word or concept has an inherently diffuse meaning based on widespread or informal usage.” Look at this example:
· Our mothers bore us.
The sentence is ambiguous. The word ‘bore’ has more than one meaning. In fact, it has 24 different meanings. As the past tense of the word ‘bear’ it means ‘to give birth to’ and the word ‘bore’ also means ‘to cause boredom or ennui’.
As the meaning of the sentence is not clear, it can be interpreted in two ways: 1) Our mothers are boring, and 2) Our mothers give birth to us.
Here is another example:
· Fifty-five teachers attended the refresher course and there was not a single woman.
The word ‘single’ has more than one meaning. If we assume that the meaning of the word ‘single’ is ‘not married’, the sentence can be interpreted as the teachers were married women.
Is ambiguity in writing a bad thing? It depends on the subject matter. Ambiguity in writing can be either intentional or unintentional. Ambiguity can be used as a literary device to effectively strengthen one’s writing in several ways.
The adverts below are funny because of spelling errors or ambiguity or faulty sentence construction.
1. Great Dames for sale. (Great Dane is a breed of dog whereas a dame is a woman)
2. Have several very old dresses from grandmother in beautiful condition. (Ambiguity: Is the grandmother in beautiful condition?)
3. For sale: an antique desk suitable for lady with thick legs and large drawers. (Ambiguity: Does the lady have thick legs and large drawers?)
4. Dog for sale: eats anything and is fond of children. (Ambiguity: The dog is fond of eating children)
5. Get rid of aunts: Zap does the job in 24 hours. (Spelling error: ants and not aunts)
6. A superb and inexpensive restaurant. Fine food expertly served by waitresses in appetizing forms. (Ambiguity: Are the waitresses in appetizing forms?)
7. For Sale -- Eight puppies from a German Shepherd and an Alaskan Hussy. (The Alaskan Husky is a type of dog whereas a hussy is a woman considered immoral.)
8. We do not tear your clothing with machinery. We do it carefully by hand. (Ambiguity: Do they tear your clothing by hand?)
9. Tired of cleaning yourself? Let me do it. (Ambiguity: What does ‘it’ refer to? Is the person going to clean you?)
10. Dinner Special -- Turkey $2.35; Chicken or Beef $2.25; Adults: $10.00 Children $5.00. (Ambiguity: Are adults and children served at the dinner table?)
Here is another funny sentence from a newspaper:
James Klindt, who spent more than a year in the Quad-City spotlight for murdering and dismembering his wife, has opened a tiny eatery at 4th and Howell streets in Davenport, called Eats and Sweets.
Send in your feedback and English language related queries to Albert P’Rayan at rayanal@yahoo.co.uk
I came across the above sentence on 4 August 2009 in a news report of a leading daily. What is wrong with the sentence? What does the word ‘its’ refer to? Very obviously the word refers to India. If that is the case, is it India’s first death? Is India going to die again?
The sentence is ambiguous. It is a faulty sentence construction and as a result the meaning changes. In order to convey the intended meaning clearly the sentence can be reconstructed as follows:
India on Monday reported the first swine flu death in the country, with a 14-year-old girl from Pune succumbing to the deadly influenza virus.
If a piece of writing is concise and clear, it conveys the intended meaning to the reader. A good piece of writing is free from ambiguity. Ambiguity can be defined as “a statement that contains two or more meanings, or a statement that is unclear”.
There are two types of ambiguity: semantic ambiguity and syntactic ambiguity.
Syntactic ambiguity arises as a result of the structure or syntax of a sentence. It arises not from the range of meanings of single words, but from the relationship between the words and clauses of a sentence, and the sentence structure implied thereby.
Look at this example of syntactic ambiguity.
· My teacher killed the robber with a gun.
Who had the gun? It is not clear whether the teacher or the robber possessed a gun or whether the teacher killed the robber by using a gun.
If the intended meaning is that the robber who had a gun was killed by the teacher, then the sentence should be reconstructed as follows:
· The teacher killed the robber who had a gun.
If the intended meaning is that the teacher killed the robber by using a gun, then the sentence should be reconstructed as follows:
· The teacher shot the robber dead.
Here is another example:
· Presenting a paper on web-based language learning, the director of the language institute asked the research scholar a question.
Who presented the paper? The director of the institute or the research scholar? Because of faulty sentence structure, the intended meaning of the statement is not clear. The sentence can be rewritten based on the meaning intended by the speaker / writer of the sentence.
· While the director of the language institute was presenting a paper on web-based language learning, he / she asked the research scholar a question.
· While the research scholar was presenting a paper on web-based language learning, the director of the language institute asked the scholar a question.
Semantic ambiguity “arises when a word or concept has an inherently diffuse meaning based on widespread or informal usage.” Look at this example:
· Our mothers bore us.
The sentence is ambiguous. The word ‘bore’ has more than one meaning. In fact, it has 24 different meanings. As the past tense of the word ‘bear’ it means ‘to give birth to’ and the word ‘bore’ also means ‘to cause boredom or ennui’.
As the meaning of the sentence is not clear, it can be interpreted in two ways: 1) Our mothers are boring, and 2) Our mothers give birth to us.
Here is another example:
· Fifty-five teachers attended the refresher course and there was not a single woman.
The word ‘single’ has more than one meaning. If we assume that the meaning of the word ‘single’ is ‘not married’, the sentence can be interpreted as the teachers were married women.
Is ambiguity in writing a bad thing? It depends on the subject matter. Ambiguity in writing can be either intentional or unintentional. Ambiguity can be used as a literary device to effectively strengthen one’s writing in several ways.
The adverts below are funny because of spelling errors or ambiguity or faulty sentence construction.
1. Great Dames for sale. (Great Dane is a breed of dog whereas a dame is a woman)
2. Have several very old dresses from grandmother in beautiful condition. (Ambiguity: Is the grandmother in beautiful condition?)
3. For sale: an antique desk suitable for lady with thick legs and large drawers. (Ambiguity: Does the lady have thick legs and large drawers?)
4. Dog for sale: eats anything and is fond of children. (Ambiguity: The dog is fond of eating children)
5. Get rid of aunts: Zap does the job in 24 hours. (Spelling error: ants and not aunts)
6. A superb and inexpensive restaurant. Fine food expertly served by waitresses in appetizing forms. (Ambiguity: Are the waitresses in appetizing forms?)
7. For Sale -- Eight puppies from a German Shepherd and an Alaskan Hussy. (The Alaskan Husky is a type of dog whereas a hussy is a woman considered immoral.)
8. We do not tear your clothing with machinery. We do it carefully by hand. (Ambiguity: Do they tear your clothing by hand?)
9. Tired of cleaning yourself? Let me do it. (Ambiguity: What does ‘it’ refer to? Is the person going to clean you?)
10. Dinner Special -- Turkey $2.35; Chicken or Beef $2.25; Adults: $10.00 Children $5.00. (Ambiguity: Are adults and children served at the dinner table?)
Here is another funny sentence from a newspaper:
James Klindt, who spent more than a year in the Quad-City spotlight for murdering and dismembering his wife, has opened a tiny eatery at 4th and Howell streets in Davenport, called Eats and Sweets.
Send in your feedback and English language related queries to Albert P’Rayan at rayanal@yahoo.co.uk
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