GEN 101 ENGLISH LANGUAGE Lecturer: Salifu N. Alhassan Department of African and General Studies

1. GEN 101 ENGLISH LANGUAGELecturer: Salifu N. AlhassanDepartment of African and General Studies Lecture 1 -3.

2. E-mail from a long essay group please sir find attach the proposal on the topic, and particulars of the group. we are most pleased of you been our supervisor, and we hope you can contain us online. Thank you. • Please Sir, find attached the proposal on the topic, and particulars of the group. We are most pleased of you being our supervisor, and we hope you can contain us online. Thank you. • we are pleased to have you as our supervisor..

3. 1. SPELLING • 1. English spelling is arbitrary and at variance with its pronunciation; any appearance of regularity falls apart after a few instances. • There is a long vowel sound /i:/ in meet, sheep, sleep, feet, see, etc.

4. But the same sound can be represented in other ways as in: • be, sea, key, quay, ski, esprit, • deceit, field, people, • amoeba/ameba, aeon/eon, leave, these, etc.

5. The same /i:/ sound is also spelt ie: niece, priest, siege, believe • Exceptions – seize, weird. • After c it is spelt ei: deceive, receive, ceiling, receipt, conceive, etc.

6. 2. c before a/o/u is hard – • cat, cot, cut, come, cup, can... • but before e/i it is soft – • cent, center, certificate, cite, city,... • exceptfaçade

7. 3. Words with aberrant letter values • any, gaol (BrE) for jail, • laugh,phantom, • colonel, woman, sugar, • xenophobia, • indict, etc.

8. HOMOGRAPHS AND HETEROGRAPHS • 1. Homonyms: Words that have the same spelling and sound, but distinct meanings. • tender feelings, (adj) • fire tender, (noun) • totender one’s resignation(verb) • These do not usually pose any problem when they are in context.

9. 2. Homographs: • Words that have the same spelling but different sound (pronunciations). • bow [bow and arrow] bow [bow down your heads] • refuse (verb) refuse (noun) • These cause ambiguities for readers, but not for writers.

10. Most homographs are very closely related: for example, "absent" as an adjective meaning "missing", and as a verb meaning "to make oneself missing". Many of these words only exhibit stress alternation.

11. ‘cool’ (verb) – Let the machine to cool for an hour • ‘cool’ (adj) – The weather is cool. • ‘cool’ noun- Don’t panic; keep your cool.

12. Many of these words only exhibit stress alternation. • convict (verb) – The judge convicted the accused. • convict (noun) – The convict was whisked away to start his sentence in jail.

13. row (noun) – The row over the 45 new constituencies is now over. • row (noun)- He always sits in the front row. • row (verb) – He rowed the canoe while his father fished in the stream. • See List A.

14. 3. Homophones: • Two or more words thatare SPELTDIFFERENTLY, but have the SAME sound/ pronunciation. • There are over 600 pairs in English (The Oxford Companion of the English Language, 1992).

15. pair/pare/pear • right/rite/write/wright • cent/scent/sent • In reading they present no problem, but in writing they require an effort of memorization as one word can easily be confused for the other; e.g. when flairis written for flare or fare for fair.

16. Note: Some words may not be true homophones; that is, they are not exactly the same in sound, but they are close enough in sound to cause confusion in spelling, e.g. • temporal/temporary; • loose/lose; • once/ones/one’s. • See List B

17. 4. Problem words • Confusion over doubled consonants: supprise* for surprise accomodate* for accommodate commitee* for committee dissapear* for disappear

18. Other problem words: acknowledge allege argument (argue) calendarcemetery committee concede conscience embarrass exceed existence(not existance*) February foreign government harass inoculate inaugurate restaurant

19. library necessary • occasionparliament • precede secede • supersede privilege • maintenance explanation • secretarypronunciation

20. 5. British Spelling/ American Spelling • There are differences in spelling between British and American English. In some cases the two occur. • AmericanBritish • catalog catalogue • check cheque • offense offence • program programme • color colour

21. neighbor neighbour • labor labour • flavor flavour • honor honour • vigor labour • centercentre • meter metre • fiber fibre

22. literlitre • ameba amoeba • diarrheadiarrhoea • esophagus oesophagus • archeology archaeology • gynecology gynaecology • encyclopedia encyclopaedia

23. -ise or –ize • -ize: capsize, seize, • -ise: advise, surprise, • Both ise/ize are acceptable in some words: civilise/civilize, civilisation/civilization organise/organize organisation/organization analyse/analyze paralyse/paralyze BUT analysis/paralysis

24. Watch out for words which must be only -ise: advertise advise comprise compromise disenfranchise enterprise franchise improvise merchandise revise supervise televise, etc.

25. SPELLING CHECKER • Computer software for checking spelling. • Identifies words not in the program’s list, e.g. non-words such as ther, for there. • Where there is confusion between there and their this cannot be detected.

26. 6. Sentence Structure • The general view about physical exercises is that the use of gross muscle groups to generate heat and energy in the body for a person’s total strength, health and recreation.

27. -Subject and Predicate • A sentence normally has a subject and a predicate. • The subject: the word or group of words that tells who or what performs or undergoes the action named by the verb, or experiences the condition named. • The predicate: the word or group of words that normally follows the subject and tells what it (i.e. the subject) does, has, is, or what is done to it, or where it is.

28. Subject and Predicate SUBJECT PREDICATE Helen is laughing. The movie starts at nine. The children have a new toy. This blade issharp. Two tenants have been evicted. The milk isin the refrigerator.

29. Basic sentence patterns • Note that the verb is obligatory in every sentence. • This gives the basic pattern of the English sentence as: • i.SUBJECT + VERB – (SV)

30. i. SUBJECT + VERB – (SV) Gases react. Languages change. Birds fly. Food satisfies. Education pays. We won.

31. ii. Some sentences require an object to make the sense complete. Teachers transmit ideas. Acids attack metals. Oxygen oxidizes iron. Students develop skills. Demand determines prices. Cleanliness saves lives.

32. SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECT - (SVO) The object is ‘affected’ by the action denoted by the verb.

33. iii. The verb may also require another word to throw more light on the subject itself. Bombsare dangerous. Human beings are mammals. Adam Smith was an economist. Theybecame University students. The child is happy. • SUBJECT + VERB + COMPLEMENT - (SVC)

34. iv. A complement may also give more light on the object. He named the substancealcohol. We painted the house green. Haemoglobinmakes blood red. The manager appointed her as farmmanager. Culture makes us human. Homer wrote The Iliad, a book of poetry. • SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECT + COMPLEMENT (SVOC)

35. v. We may throw more light on the verb by the use of an ADVERB Gases react violently. Languages change slowly. Birds fly high. We won convincingly. • SUBJECT + VERB + ADVERB - (SVA) or • SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECT + ADVERB - (SVOC) • We won the match convincingly.

36. He mixed the substancesquickly. The farmers harvest their cropsin January. Development helps societyenormously. • SVOA

37. vi. The verb in a sentence may affect two objects, one directly and the other indirectly. I gave my frienda birthday present. The agricultural officer gave the farmers some insecticides. Food costs usmoney. The student showed the counselor her essay. • SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECTdirect+ OBJECTindirect

38. It is not enough for a sentence to conform to one of these patterns; it must make sense. • ‘The mango swallowed the house.’ has the pattern SVO but does not make sense, and so is the following sentence; • ‘Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.’ (SVA)

39. A writer may get lost if the sentence is too long. The general view about physical exercises is that the use of gross muscle groups to generate heat and energy in the body for a person’s total strength, health and recreation. • The predicate of the above sentence is not complete: • ....that the use of gross muscle groups to generate heat and energy in the body for a person’s total strength, health and recreation... • A short sentence also can be incomplete: Because he slept late. The reason why he is not here.

40. 7. Expanding Sentences • The sentences used so far are basic types. To convey our thoughts effectively we connect the sentences through the processes of coordination and subordination. The Black Stars will win against Malawi. I will collect Ghȼ 200 from my roommate. He is betting against the Black Stars.

41. These can be combined for more effectiveness by turning some of the sentences into clauses. • Clause 1: If the Black Stars win against Malawi, • Clause 2: I will collect Ghȼ 200 from my roommate, • Clause 3: who is betting against the Black Stars. If the Black Stars win against Malawi, I will collect Ghȼ 200 from my roommate who is betting against them.

42. Every sentence consists of one or more clauses. A sentence is a clause, but not all clauses are sentences.

43. A. Coordination • i. He sold his maize. He bought a new bicycle. He sold his maize and he bought a new bicycle. • ii. He harvested his maize. He wanted a new bicycle. He sold the maize. He got 600 cedis. He used 200 cedis to buy a bicycle. He wanted a new bicycle, so he harvested his maize, sold it for 600 cedis and bought a bicycle for 200 cedis.

44. Words, phrases, clauses and sentences may be connected by using: • and, but, or, nor, so, for, yet- coordinating conjunctions/ connectives • either...or, neither...nor – correlative conjunctions • however, consequently, hence, moreover, furthermore, also, accordingly, likewise, besides, indeed, thus, meanwhile, namely, and then – conjunctive adverbs

45. Coordination may express • addition • contrast • choice • result

46. Addition • Coordination may be doneto indicate thatboth ideas are of equal rank and what follows is an addition or is supplementary to the first. • I love him and he loves me. • Connectives used to show addition include: • also both besides moreover and furthermore likewise then

47. I once had a cold. It gave me a terrible headache. I went to see the doctor. He said I had a sinus infection. • I once had a cold, and it gave me a terrible headache. I went to see the doctor and he said I had a sinus infection. • Note: This can still be improved with subordination (further below).

48. Contrast • Ideas may be coordinated to show contrast or conflict • I love him but he does not love me. • Connectives used to show addition include: but, however, nevertheless, still, yet.

49. -addition and contrast • The University for Development Studies has four campuses. Each campus offers both undergraduate and graduate programmes. The student population in all four campuses has grown in recent years. The facilities of the university have not expanded as fast. Revised:- The University for Development Studies has four campuses, and each campus offers both undergraduate and graduate programmes. The student population in all four campuses has grown in recent years, but the facilities of the university have not expanded as fast.

50. Choice • Coordination may show alternate possibility; • You buy it or I buy it. • Other connectives: either ...or, neither...nor, or, otherwise.