Building Vocabulary

1. Building Vocabulary AP English Language and Composition

2. Vocabulary-Building Habits • Close reading of texts both for school and outside of school • Reading challenging texts including pre-20th-century literature • Watching film adaptations of classic works of fiction, especially pre-20th-century texts (Dickens, Austin, James, et al.) • Using newly acquired vocabulary in your own writing

3. Vocabulary-Building Resources • College Board Web site (for example: http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-study-plan) • Vocabulary-building games • Lists of Greek and Latin roots • Common prefixes and suffixes • Resources on my Web site: http://www.uhseport.net/published/j/gl/jglass/collection/40/

4. Context Clues: Definition • Authors sometimes provide definitions for unfamiliar words within their texts. • Example from Franco’s “Armstrong and the Tenuous Nature of Heroism”: “We have many heroes: historic figures who battled for freedom, a man who jumps on the railway tracks to save someone from certain death, a whistle-blowerwho identifies corruption in government of industry”

5. Context Clues: Definition/Syntax Where are you likely to find a definition clue? • within a relative clause : whistle-blower[who identifies corruption in government of industry]RC • within another phrase or clause set off by commas or long dashes: parenthesis or apposition • within the next sentence

6. Context Clues: Synonym Within the Text • Often synonyms for an unfamiliar word can help you infer the meaning. • Example from Gerson’s “Gun Policy’s Slippery Slope”: “[Gun-control supporters’ actions] showed all the sensitivity and consideration of starting a food fight at a funeral.”

7. Context Clues: Provide a Synonym • If the author does not provide a synonym, try replacing an unfamiliar word with one you know that fits the logic of the sentence. • Example from Stockman’s “Paul Ryan’s Fairy-Tale Budget Plan”: “We need a national sales tax — a consumption tax, like the dreaded but efficient value-added tax — but Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan don’t have the gumptionto support it. “

8. Context Clues: Provide a Synonym--Practice “We need a national sales tax — a consumption tax, like the dreaded but efficient value-added tax — but Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan don’t have the gumptionto support it. “ • With what synonyms could we replace “gumption”?

9. Context Clues: Antonym • Often an antonym for an unfamiliar word can help you infer the meaning. • Example from Snowe’s “How the GOP Can Mend Its Image Among Women”: “Romney should vigorously, not timidly, disassociate himself from the extremes within our party.” • vigorously≠ timidly

10. Context Clues: Antonym/Syntax Where are you likely to find an antonym clue? Look for contrast markers such as: • not “Romney should vigorously, NOT timidly, disassociate himself… • unlike • as opposed to • rather than

11. Context Clues: Tone • If you have a sense of the overall tone of a sentence or passage, you may be able to infer connotation and/or meaning. • Example from Dowd’s “Just Think No”: “[Ryan’s] just a fresh face on a Taliban creed — the evermore antediluvian, anti-women, anti- immigrant, anti-gay conservative core. Amiable in khakis and polo shirts, Ryan is the perfect modern leader to rally medieval Republicans who believe that Adam and Eve cavorted with dinosaurs. “

12. Context Clues: Dowd Excerpt in More Detail • The Dowd passage includes tone clues, a synonym for the underlined word, and an antonym clue. Discuss the words in red. • Example from Dowd’s “Just Think No”: “[Ryan’s] just a fresh face on a Taliban creed — the evermore antediluvian, anti-women, anti- immigrant, anti-gay conservative core. Amiable in khakis and polo shirts, Ryan is the perfect modernleader to rally medieval Republicans who believe that Adam and Eve cavorted with dinosaurs. “

13. Morphological (Word Form) Clues: Definitions • A morpheme is the smallest grammatical unit within a language that carries meaning. • Most words contain more than one morpheme. For example, any word with a prefix or a suffix contains at least two morphemes. • Morphological clues can help you infer meaning and part of speech.

14. Morphological (Word Form) Clues: Types • Types of morphemes useful for vocabulary building: *suffixes *prefixes *Greek roots *Latin roots *Germanic roots • Interesting morphology and etymology (word origins) resource: http://www.etymonline.com/

15. Examples of How Morphological Clues Work Let’s revisit an example from the Dowd article: ante-diluv-ian • ante- = prefix meaning before • diluv: comes from the Latin word “diluvium” = flood or inundation (related English word: deluge) • -ian = suffix indicating the word is an adjective or a noun

16. “Translation” Based on Morphological Clues ante-diluv-ian before + flood + adjective (describes a noun: “core”) • Having the quality of being beforethe flood • “The flood” = Biblical allusion • In the context, “antediluvian” means absurdly outdated. • The Biblical reference also mocks Young Earth Creationism (belief that the Earth is approximately 6000 years old).

17. Practice Using Morphological Clues Let’s analyze a common SAT word: impecunious The prefixim- means? The -oussuffix indicates it is what part of speech?

18. Practice Using Morphological Clues, 2 Based on what we already know, what is the most likely meaning of the word impecunious? a) a leader or executive b) having great status or fame c) lacking monetary wealth d) in an inappropriate manner

19. Practice Using Morphological Clues: Answer Based on what we already know, what is the most likely meaning of the word impecunious? a) a leader or executive b) having great status or fame c) lacking monetary wealth d) in an inappropriate manner

20. Why Morphological Clues Matter • Helpful for inferring meaning b) having great status or fame X –im means without • Helpful for inferring part of speech *Knowing the part of speech can help you eliminate incorrect answers. a) a leader or executive X NOUN d) in an inappropriate manner X ADVERB

21. Why Morphological Clues Matter, 2 • Knowing the part of speech is also crucial for usage. • What is wrong with this sentence? The impecunious asked me for money outside the Safeway.

22. Revising an Ungrammatical Sentence The impecunious asked me for money outside the Safeway. • How can we revise the sentence so that both the meaning and the grammar are effective?

23. Common Noun Suffixes -er (V+er) -icle/acle -ine -ism -ity -ium/-ia -ment -ology -or -(t)ion -(t)ude -ure -yte/ite

24. Common Adjective Suffixes -able/ible -al -(i)an -(i)ary -ed (deverbal) -esque -est -ful -ic -ile -ish -ist -ive -less -ous

25. Common Verbal Suffixes & Endings -eek/eech -(i)ate -oin -urn -(e)s marking 3rd Person Singular -edmarking past tense -ed/-en/-n marking past participle -ingmarking progressive tenses

26. Adverb Suffixes Although not all adverbs end this way, the basic adverb suffix is: -ly The –ly suffix often appears after or combined with one or morpheme marking a word as an adjective, as in: - ably (-able + -ly) -arily (-ary + -ly) -ically (-ic + -al + ly) -ingly (-ing + ly)

27. Conclusion: Key Questions Whenever you encounter a new vocabulary word, ask yourself these questions: • What can I infer about the meaning from the context? • What can I infer about the meaning from the word form (e.g. the prefix)? • What can I infer about the part of speech based on both context and word form?