The Vocabulary of Vocabulary

1. The Vocabulary of Vocabulary Useful Words We Use to Describe and Identify Words

2. Denotation & Connotation • Denotation: The denotation of a word is its specific dictionary meaning. • Connotation: The connotation of a word is its tone – that is the emotions or associations it normally arouses in people using, hearing, or reading it. • A word may be favorable (positive) or unfavorable (negative, pejorative).

3. Connotation • A word that does not normally evoke strong feelings of any kind has a neutral connotation. • Examples: • WordConnotation • bereftunfavorable • adroitfavorable • swerve neutral

4. Literal and Figurative Usage • Word used in a Literal Sense: • strict dictionary meaning • Makes sense from purely logical/realistic point of view • Yesterday I read an old tale about a knight who slew a fire-breathing dragon. • In this sentence, fire-breathing is employed literally. • The dragon is pictured as breathing real fire.

5. Literal and Figurative Usage • Figurative or Metaphorical Usage • Words are used in a symbolic or non-literal way. • Situations do NOT make sense from a purely logical or realistic point of view. • Example: • Suddenly my boss rushed into my office, breathing fire.

6. Figurative Language • In the previous sentence, breathing fire is NOT being used in a literal sense • The boss was not actually breathing fire out of his nostrils. • The expression is intended to convey (show) graphically that the boss was very angry.

7. Synonyms & Antonyms • A synonym is a word that has the same or almost the same meaning as another word. • An antonym is a word that means the opposite of or almost the opposite of another word.

8. Vocabulary Strategy: Using Context • Context of a Word • The printed text of which that word is a part • By studying the context, we may find clues that lead us to its meaning • We might find clues in the immediate sentence or phrase in which the word appears. • We might find clues in the physical features of a page itself. (Photographs, illustrations, charts, graphs, captions, and headings are examples).

9. Using Context • When you do the various word omission exercises in the book, look for context clues built into the sentence or passage to guide you to the correct answer. • Three types of context clues appear in the exercises in the vocabulary workshop book. • Restatement clues • Contrast clues • Inference clues

10. Restatement Clues • Consists of a synonym for, or a definition of, the missing word. • The summer humidity seemed to make everything wilt, and I could feel the ______ in the air. a. wetness b. pollen c. excitement

11. Contrast Clues • A contrast clue consists of an antonymfor, or a phrase that means the oppositeof, the missing word. • Though she was exhausted, she worked on the production with admirable (energy, lethargy). • In this sentence, exhausted is in contrast with the missing word, energy. This is confirmed by the presence of the word though. • Exhausted thus functions as a contrast clue for energy.

12. Inference Clue • An inference clue implies but does not directly state the meaning of the missing word or words. • It took a great deal of _____________ to keep up with the rest of the pack as they sped across the broken and hilly ____________ that separated them from the finish line in the cross country race. • a. dispatch…apparel c. stamina…terrain • b. misgiving….repast d. diversity…barrage

13. Inference Clue • In the previous sentence, there are several inference clues. • Keep up with the rest of the pack suggests the word stamina because people who keep up must by definition have stamina. • The word sped suggests the same thing • The words broken and hilly suggest terrain because they are both terms that describe terrain. • All of these words are inference clues because they suggest or imply, but do not directly state, the missing word or words.