It’s Not in the Dictionary

1. Susan Holzman ETAI 2011 It’s Not in the Dictionary

2. THE POWER OF WORDS • Our goal when teaching reading comprehension is to give our students the knowledge and skills they need. • However authentic texts contain vocabulary that has not been taught and is not yet in the dictionary. • The problem will be presented and some solutions will be offered.

3. Vocabulary just ain’t what it used to be Some ancient fairy tales.. Once upon a time ….. Michael West produced A General Service List of English Words With Semantic Frequencies And Supplementary Word-list For The Writing Of Popular Science And Technology Longmans, 1936.

4. 2000 General Service words.. “..considered suitable as the basis for learning English as a foreign language“ (vii)

5. Once upon a time Our English Curriculum listed 2,500 lexemes (i.e. word families) as the “recommended minimum core for vocabulary acquisition in Israel schools” (1988 p. 15)

6. Today… We no longer fool ourselves that vocabulary can be confined to a list or a lexicon..we have lost our innocence and come of age ….

7. The new curriculum “Most pupils, at whatever age they start learning English in school, have already learned words and phrases of the language. Any simple listing of items to be taught will therefore be arbitrary and over-rigid.” From: The rationale http://www.education.gov.il/tochniyot_limudim/eng1.htm#2_1

8. A recent mailing I got from Macmillan Dictionary listed “frequent buzzwords relating to the environment” • Cookprint-the environmental impact of using energy and other resources to prepare food. • E-waste- used electronic devices that have been thrown away • Eco-bling- ecological gadgets and technology which do not save or produce very much energy relative to their cost

9. There was recycle….and then there was… • Upcycle- to reuse an object or materials to create a product of higher value or quality than the original product or materials • Downcycle- the process of taking rubbish and reducing it to a material ready for re-use (recycle) • Precycle- to buy particular products based on how recycable or environmentally-friendly they are

10. We know that … • Carnivores are meat eaters • The proper diet for a herbivore consists of plants, algae, and fruits.Omnivores eat a variety of meat and vegetable matter. BUT

11. What do • Locavores and ecovores eat?

12. Locavores Are people who only eats food which is grown or produced locally.

13. Ecovores are People who eat in an environmentally-conscious way

14. The previous buzzwords were created with prefixes or through compounding….and then you have blending Trashion Fashion items and objects which are created from, used, thrown out and recycled elements

15. Word formation The process of creation of new lexical units

16. First some terms • “The field of grammar is often divided into two domains: Morphology & Syntax” Morphology focuses on the structure of words Syntax focuses on the structure of sentences.

17. Morphology • Deals with the way words can be built up from smaller units • Affixes: Prefixes and suffixes Prefixes: have a lexical role (un-, de-, anti-, super-) Suffixes: two kinds lexical (-ness, -ship, -able, -less) grammatical (plural s, past tense ed, comparative er)

18. Compounding • The process in which two different words are joined together to denote one thing • Full-time worker, ever-lasting love (hyphenated) • A raincoat, a teaspoon, (one word) • A bank account (two words)

19. Compounding Silverware Pewter ware Tupperware (Mr. Tupper) Hardware Software Compounding Waterproof Bulletproof Dustproof Childproof Tiger-proof Word formation processes

20. Tiger-proof

21. The White House or the white house?

22. A paperboy or a paper boy?

23. A blackbird or a black bird ?

24. Blending • Taking only parts of words and joining them • Blogs (web log) • BAGGRAVATION, n. A feeling of annoyance and anger one endures at the airport when one’s bags have not arrived at the baggage carousel but everyone else's bags have [blend formed from words bag and aggravation].Context and source: "Nancy couldn't help but feel baggravation as she watched other passengers get their luggage and leave the airport." (Internet)

25. Clipping • Shortening or reducing long words • DETOX, n. A clinic or treatment facility at which substance abusers attempt to rid themselves of dependency on a particular drug. Part of this process entails the actual physical removal of toxins present in the body due to the abuse of a substance [clip of detoxification ].Context and source: "Mrs. Herrod checked herself into detox..." (Conversation)

26. Coinage • Creation of a totally new word (often eponyms) (and not very common) • Do you have an acamol? • Please xerox this document • I googled it . • I need a kleenex.

27. Borrowing • Taking a word from one language and incorporating it into another • Tsunami (tidal wave) from Japanese http://www.krysstal.com/borrow.html

28. Borrowing Last year I said this sentence during my mom’s visit here: “Remind me on the way home from the country to buy cottage.” (Of course, she had no idea what I was talking about)

29. Borrowing and clipping “Remind me on the way home from the country to buy cottage.” Country club and cottage cheese • borrowed from English into Hebrew. • Clipped - the adjective is now used to represent the the noun

30. Acronym • A word formed from the initial letters of a few words in a phrase or name • BFE , adj. Very far away: Beyond Fu**ing Egypt. also B.F.E., b.f.e. [Acronym. Egypt was chosen somewhat arbitrarily as a country on the opposite side of the world. Variant: Bomfoq Egypt]Context and source: "My car is parked BFE!" (Conversation) Contrast: NATO (pronounced as a word) NAACP & UN (pronounce the letters) (NATBAG & LUZ in Hebrew)

31. Backformation • A process in which a word changes its form and function • back-form from "back-formation" — oddly enough • bushwhack from "bushwhacker" • greed from "greedy" (the noun was originally "greediness") • lase (v.) from "laser" • liaise from "liaison" • resurrect from "resurrection" • televise from "television"

32. Conversion • A change in a function of a verb without changing it form • (nouns as verbs and verbs as nouns—and maybe an adjective as a noun?) If not, then this is my bad.

33. Derivation • Adding affixes (prefixes, suffixes, infixes) • The de-pigging of Israeli kitchens • The expellees were found and deported

34. Word formation • An exciting on-going development in language, offering opportunities for creativity and invention.

35. Down as a verb

36. Compound: arrest-freeSuffix: -less (= without)

37. Cruelty-free world

38. De-conversion

39. Medicide (suicide, genocide, infanticide, feticide, fratricide, matricide, etc.)

40. Free Mayonnaise& Salad dressing (that cost $3.05 & $1.43?)(compounding and clipping)

41. Compound adjectives

42. Compound adjectives

43. Compound adjectives

44. Diet free (now what does that mean?)

45. Our text books today do not prepare them for this. The texts are: • Not authentic • Adapted • Simplified • Cleaned up • Purified • Sanitized • Dummied down

46. Have a lesson ready for that dreaded day when you have to fill in for another teacher at the last moment

47. Teach English acronyms used in texting (and since when was there a verb “to text???) as an opener (google them—I don’t know them either!)

48. Take the newspaper any day and you will find current examples: