Learning about Origins & Syllables to help you understand word meanings! |
The pie chart to the left shows that approximately 25% of English words come from Germanic languages, 28% come from Latin, 28% come from Norman French, 5% come from Greek, and the rest are names or have other or unknown origins.
One reason English spelling is so crazy is that people around the world all pronounce English differently, but we all use the same spelling. Therefore, someone has to have a spelling that doesn’t reflect how they talk. It's important to understand that only stressed or strong syllables in English are really pronounced – all others are reduced to the schwa (uh) sound (IPA symbol /Ə/ in a dictionary!), so it’s hard to tell from hearing a word how you should spell it. Getting a sense of this stress pattern will also help you sound more natural and understand natural speech better as well. |
Let's relate this to something we've seen firsthand, Spellbound:Many different kids get different words from different parts of the history of English, as Harry’s mom mentioned. Harry, a Jewish boy, got a Catholic word, while another boy got yenta, a Yiddish/Jewish word meaning a gossipy old woman. If you don't have the origin knowledge, the word meaning gets lost and more difficult to spell.
Remember the wh- sounds that Angela got on the word "wheedle"? This shows how pronunciation of a word is important. The “wh” sound and old pronunciation as H-wen. This is important for Spellbound, because Angela gets the word wheedle and is very shocked by the pronouncer’s Hweedle pronunciation. Some Americans still pronounce the h, but Angela looked like she had never heard it. Most people who pronounce things that way have somewhat British-influenced pronunciation and are probably from places like New England, where many old WASPs still live. Angela’s not from there! Now about Ted’s word, distractible. The suffixes, –able vs –ible, are a big challenge for spellers! Think of all the words you can that end with –able or –ible. You can refer to this website for ideas: http://www.spelling.hemscott.net/ends8.html. You will end up with a great list that shows that most –able words have roots that are English words, while most –ible words have roots that come from Latin but cannot stand on their own in English. Distractible is an exception! Poor Ted! There are more! But if you translate the Latin roots (credo = belief, aud- is hear like audio, vis- is see like vision, poss- is to be able to, leg- is write, such as legend, etc. you will see what I am saying about the rule. The negative forms and how the original in- prefix adapts to the next letter to become im- (a sound made with the lips like p), il-, or ir-. That’s why there are two l’s or two r’s in words like that. For example: irregular, impossible, and illegible. |
Stressed/unstressed syllable distinction practice:In multi-syllable words the stress falls on one of the syllables while the other syllables tend to be spoken over quickly. This leads to sounds that are not clear (muted) on unstressed syllables. In order to improve your pronunciation, focus on pronouncing the stressed syllable clearly. However, don't be afraid to "mute" (not say clearly) the other unstressed vowels.
Say these words allowed to understand the syllable stress which should be placed on the capital letters: PersonNEL TOtally InDUstrial ToMAto FanTAstic The podcast is a required assignment. Listen to the podcast on stressed and unstressed syllables to help you practice identifying them. You can find the dialogue and/or listen online at http://www.eslnewscast.com/2013/05/31/stressing-the-strong-syllable-week-in-review/ to help you read along, if you wish.
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Watch the video about roots, suffixes and prefixes. This rap discusses the importance and usefulness of the root word, along with a catchy way to help you remember some of your own assigned words. |
Test Yourself
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The Lesson QuizPractice the Flocabulary study set on Quizlet at the link provided above under "The Assignment". This quiz is over the reading from my webpage, the podcast, the video, and the Flocabulary roots. Please make sure you receive a confirmation message before exiting. If you do not receive one after hitting submit, scroll back up and find the missing response!
****PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU COMPLETE THE QUIZ BY WEDNESDAY FOR CREDIT.****
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