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wikipedia
writes:
Communication is a process of transferring information
from one entity to another. Communication processes are sign-mediated
interactions between at least two agents which share a repertoire of
signs and semiotic rules. Communication is commonly defined as "the
imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by
speech, writing, or signs". Although there is such a thing as
one-way communication, communication can be perceived better as a
two-way process in which there is an exchange and progression of
thoughts, feelings or ideas (energy) towards a mutually accepted goal
or direction (information).
Communication is a process
whereby information is enclosed in a package and is channeled and
imparted by a sender to a receiver via
some medium. The receiver then decodes the message and gives the
sender a feedback. All forms of communication require a sender, a
message, and a receiver. Communication requires that all parties have
an area of communicative commonality. There are auditory means, such
as speech, song, and tone of voice, and there are nonverbal means,
such as body language, sign language, paralanguage, touch, eye
contact, and writing.
Definition of communication
1) notion of abstraction
2) articles
3) verb
4) tips: adapted from: Marcia
Yudkin - Writing articles about the world around you./Ted
Hughes writes: Poetry in the Making from the programme
"Listening and
writing"
At advanced level, we aim to improve speech, comprehension, research, transcription and writing.
ABSTRACTION
A
word is said to be abstract when you cannot take a picture of it.
“cat”, “Mr Smith” “the United Kingdom” are concrete
because you can take a picture of them, but it is not possible to
take a picture of “beauty”, “idea”, “evil” - we may be
able to use real images as a metaphor or a symbol of these words,
beyond that, it's not possible to illustrate an abstract noun. In
order to understand an abstract word, you need to look at a
dictionary definition or read some philosophical comments. You will
find abstract nouns, adjectives, adverbs and verbs
ARTICLES
the nominal group
PRONOUN
or ARTICLE + (ADJECTIVE )+ NOUN
a red
guitar (= the
guitar is red)
THE
NOUN, THE ARTICLE, THE PRONOUN
a
nominal group answers the question "what is it", "Who is it"
It can be a name
- name of a person (or group of people):
--> Nathan Fisher, The Libertines, man, singer, Northern Railways
- name of an object --> table, guitar,
- name of wildlife
- flower, animal, bear,
- place: ---> London, studio,
-
brand --> Google,
- idea --> structuralism, politics,
-
abstract --> July, metaphor, friendship, quality
a
proper name is always written in Capitals, many of these proper names
cannot be translated. Your clever dictionary will tell you how they
are called in the other language. It is generally agreed that
people's names, group names, companies and brand names should not be
translated.
a common name is a noun that cannot be placed
into a sentence without an article which tells you more about it.
During the beginner and intermediate levels, we mostly focussed on nouns and adjectives and used a few articles (or equivalent expressions like "one half of")
ARTICLES
simple definite article singular: THE
(means, one and
this one that I mean)
the forum --> I mean this forum that I
am talking about
simple definite article plural: THE
(means
more than one and the ones that I mean)
the horses --> I mean
these horses (more than 1) that I am talking about
simple
definite article negation: NO
(means there is none at all of the
ones that I mean)
no horse --> I mean the horse that I am
talking about is not here
no horses --> I mean that there is
no horse at all where I am looking at
demonstrative article
singular: THIS, THAT
(means the noun I am talking about is here
(near distance) or there (further away)
THIS man (the man in the
near distance), THAT man (the man further away)
demonstrative
article plural: THESE, THOSE
(means the nouns (more than one) are
here (near distance) or there (further away)
THESE men (the
men in the near distance), THOSE men (the men further away)
demonstrative article negative: NONE OF THESE, NONE OF THOSE
means the nouns (usually in plural) that I mean are not in my
near distance, nor are they further way.
NONE OF THESE men --
NONE OF THOSE men
simple indefinite article singular : A
means: 1 of these is alright by me they'll do the trick:
a
man: 1 man and any will do
simple indefinite article plural:
--
(in english there is no word for it)
means any number of
these is alright by me, they'll do the trick:
men: more than one
and any will do.
numeric article:
0 = none of them
1
= one of them
treat like indefinite article singular
fraction:
1/3, 2/3, 50% etc
treat like indefinite article singular
over
1: same rule as simple indefinite article plural
(mathematics
uses minus numbers, treat them like simple, indefinite article
plural)
units:
a unit is a complex indefinite article
- the structure is :
numeric article (or A) + unit/fraction + OF
+ noun in plural
one kilogramm of potatoes.
simple
possessive articles
they give you a clue to whom the noun belongs
to:
my --> belongs to me
your --> belongs to you
his
--> belong to him
her --> belongs to her
its -->
belongs to it
our --> belong to us
your --> belongs to
you (plural)
their --> belong to them
a variation of the
simple possessive article is the genitive:
noun in genitive +
noun
ex: my car, your car, his car, her car, its car, our
car, your car, their car, Sam's car
the caretaker's car
possessive pronouns do not need a common noun after them. by
definition a pronoun replaces a noun.
mine --> belongs to me
yours --> belongs to you
his --> belongs to him
hers
--> belongs to her
its --> belongs to it
ours -->
belongs to us
yours --> belongs to you (plural)
theirs -->
belongs to them
owner in genetiv --> belongs to the owner
it's mine, it's yours, it's his, it's hers, (you say it's its
--> it belongs to it), it's ours, it's yours, it's theirs, it's
sam's, it's the caretaker's.
personal pronouns:
they can
replace any noun.
I --> this is me
you --> this is the
person I am talking to
he --> this is a male creature
she
--> this is a female creature
it --> this is an object, an
idea, a brand, a place, this is anything that is not a creature
we
--> this is me and a few other people
you --> this is the
person I am talking to plus other people
they --> this is a
group of people, objects, etc
(some languages make distinctions
according whether they are creatures or according to male/female
gender)
all you need to do is now look into your dictionary
to see how they translate all the articles and pronouns I have given
you and make a list of them.
art. = article
pron. = pronoun
THE (art.)
THE (plural) (art.)
NO (art.)
THIS
(art.)
THAT (art.)
THESE (art.)
THOSE (art)
NONE
OF THIS (art.)
NONE OF THAT (art.)
NONE OF THESE (art.)
NONE
OF THOSE (art.)
THIS (pron.)
THAT (pron.)
THESE (pron.)
THOSE (pron.)
NONE OF THIS (pron.)
NONE OF THAT
(pron.)
NONE OF THESE (pron.)
NONE OF THOSE (pron.)
A
(art.)
(plural of A) (art.)
(measurements) --> check
out if your dictionary has a measurements/conversion table
my
(art.)
your (art.)
his (art.)
her (art.)
its (art.)
our (art.)
your (art.)
their (art.)
mine (pron.)
yours (pron.)
his (pron.)
hers (pron.)
its (pron.)
ours (pron.)
yours (pron.)
theirs (pron.)
Proper
noun's (pron.)
article + noun's (pron.)
I (pron.)
you
(pron.)
he (pron.)
she (pron.)
it (pron.)
we (pron.)
you (plural) (pron.)
they (pron.)
You can make a noun
more specific by adding an adjective to it. your dictionary will
label an adjective as (adj)
in English the place of an adjective
is always:
| 3) THE VERB
many
people don't like the verb because it changes according to the past
present and future, the person subjected to the verb, and the
conditions the verb gets into.
my job here is to make things a
bit easier until you become more fluent and start speaking like nobel
prize winner of languages.
Revision: Intermediate Verb Dictionary
what is a verb?:
a verb tells
us what's going on in a sentence (description, action, etc), it tells
us who does the action or who is described, it tells us when all this
happened and if it happened.
DESCRIPTIVE VERB:
to be -->
gives us information about the nature of the subject
to have -->
gives us information about what the subject owns
can --> gives
us information about what the subject is able to do
may, might
--> give us information about the possibility of something the
subject will do or can do.
must --> gives us information about
the obligations of the subject
ACTIVE VERBS
all the others except the ones which have
similar meanings to the ones above. ex: to go to ---> tells us
that the subject is doing something (going) to do
amongst
active verbs you will find:
TRANSITIVE VERBS
these are verbs
that do not need further words attached to them She does her
housework --> "her housework" follows directly after the
verb when you find a verb in the dictionary, it should say "vt"
--> verb transitive.Take note of it and write it down on your list
when you look it up.
INTRANSITIVE VERBS
She goes to Paris
---> "Paris" is separated from "to go" by the
word "to"
"to" is a preposition (see next
section),
in the dictionary the abbreviation is "vi"
--> verb intransitive.
PAST- PRESENT -FUTURE
-CONDITIONAL
or known as conjugaison.
I would suggest
that you get a copy of the rules from the dictionary. What I can
suggest in the meantime is a by-pass method in the style of
telegrammes until you feel confident enough to incorporate the proper
conjugaison.
step one: take note of this:
TO BE:
(present) I am, you are, he is, she is, it is, we are, you are,
they are
(past): I was, you were, he was, she was, it was, we
were, you were, they were
(future): I shall, you will, he will,
she will, it will, we shall, you will, they will
(conditional) I
would, you would, he would, she would, it would, we would, you would,
they would
(gerund): being
(past form): been
TO
HAVE
(present): I have, you have, he has, she has, it has, we
have, you have, they have
(past): I had, you had, he had, she
had, it had, we had, you had, they had (future): I shall have, you
will have, he will have, she will have, it will have, we shall have,
you will have, they will have
(conditional): I would have, you
would have, he would have, she would have, it would have, we would
have, you would have, they would have
(gerund): having
(past
form): had
can --> use the verb "to be able to"
must --> use the verb "to have to"
TO DO:
(present): I do, you do, he does, she does, it does, we do, you
do, they do (past): I did, you did, he did, it did, we did, you did,
they did
(future): I shall do, you will do, he will do, she will
do, it will do, we shall do, you will do, they will do
(conditional): I would do, you would do, he would do, she would
do, he would do, it would do, we would do, you would do, they would
do.
(gerund): doing
(past form): done
TO GO (TO)
(present) I go to, you go to, he goes to, she goes to, it goes
to, we go to, you go to, they go to.
(past): I went to, you went
to, he went to, she went to, it went to, we went to, you went to,
they went to
(future): I shall go, you will go, he will go, she
will go, it will go, we will go, you will go, they will go.
(conditional): I would got to, you would go to, he would go to,
she would go to, we would go to, you would go to, they would go to.
(gerund): going
(past form) gone
(in time, you
will be able to know the conjugaison of most verbs but for the moment
concentrate on those)
Of course you need other verbs to make
a conversation, here comes the bypass method (which, remember) is not
grammatically correct
let's say we have a verb called "to
verb", this is how it works:
Present: I do (verb), you
do (verb), he does (verb), she does(verb) it does (verb), we do
(verb), you do (verb), they do (verb)
(in english you only use
the verb part, in other languages you will need the "infinitive
form" of the verb (which is the way it is given in dictionaries)
Past: I did (verb), you did (verb), he did (verb), she did
(verb), he did (verb), we did (verb), you did (verb), they did (verb)
(in other languages they use to be and to have to make what is
called a composed past tense, so it makes more sense doing it that
way)
Future: I will (verb), you will (verb), he will (verb),
she will (verb), it will (verb), we shall (verb), you will (verb),
they will (verb)
some latin-based languages use the infinitive
form of the verb and add the endings of one of the modals.
conditional: add the _expression: "it is possible that"
in front of the sentence
THE NEGATIVE FORM
in english,
it's relatively easy: you add "not" after the verb.
if
the verb is "composed" = more than two elements of verb,
then the negation slots in between.
I do not
I do not have a
cat
some languages have two particles of negation, usually
the first one slots just before the verb and the second bit just
after the first part of the verb. You dictionary should give you some
rules and examples.
THE QUESTION FORM (interrogative form)
rotate the subject and the verb and you have a question form:
You do. ---> do you?
if the verb is composed form then the
subject slots between the two parts of the verb.
You (do) have a
cat -> Do you have a cat?
Don't forget the question mark.
it
is possible to ask a question without changing the place of the
words, but make sure that people realise you are asking a question,
and do not forget the question mark.
if all this is too
confusing, leave the verb in infinitive form in your sentence, if you
are writing then put : (?) which means: I am not sure about the
correct word and wait till you gain more experience in speaking
and reading the language to attempt again. Remember, this teaching
method is not about ramming things into your head, but help you
understand how the language works so that you can help yourself if
you want to venture out in the world of a foreign language. Travel
lightly, enjoy yourself, and take the option of just letting words
flow above your head. One day if you persevere, you'll realise that
you are there.
Examples
of verbs:
PICK
UP, CHANGE, ACCUSE, TURN ON, ENDURE, RELAX, BAKE, BATHE, ORDER, KEEP,
PRETEND, VISIT, START, BITE, RECOVER, OCCUPY, MOVE, BEND, OFFER,
BIND, ASK FOR, BLOW, STAY, FRY, BREAK, BURN, BRING, THINK, HIT,
PRESS, IMAGINE, RECOMMEND, ARRIVE, EXPLAIN, WAKE UP, CONSIDER, EAT,
DRIVE, FALL, CATCH, FIND, FLY, FLEE, FLOW, FREEZE, FEEL, LEAD, GIVE,
THRIVE, COMMEMORATE, GO, SUCCEED, ENJOY, HAPPEN, WIN, GET USED TO,
POUR, BELIEVE, COMPARE, GLIDE, GLOW, DIG, GRAB, HAVE, BE, LIFT, HELP,
HEAR, HOPE, BUY, KNOW, GOSSIP, CLIMB, PINCH, COOK, CRAWL, LAUGH,
LOAD, LET, FUNCTION, SUFFER, LIVE, TEACH, LEARN, READ, LOVE, LIE
DOWN, LIE, MAKE, GRIND, AVOID, MEASURE, LIKE, MUST, TAKE, NAME,
WHISTLE, PRAISE, OPEN, ADVISE, RUB, TRAVEL, RIP, RUN, SMELL, CALL,
REST, BOOZE, SUCK, MANAGE, DIVIDE, SEEM, PUNISH, SEND, PUSH, SHOOT,
SLEEP, WOLF DOWN, THROW, MELT, CUT, WRITE, SCREAM, PACE, KEEP SILENT,
SWELL, SWIM, DWINDLE, SWING, SWEAR, SEE, SING, MUSE, SINK, SIT,
SHOULD, PART, SPIT, GO CRAZY, TALK, JUMP, PRICK, STAND, STEAL, CLIMB,
DIE, PAINT, ARGUE, SEARCH, (NOT) KILL, CARRY, MEET, TO BE UP TO,
KICK, DRINK, DO, TRANSFER, CHANGE, MOVE AWAY, FORBID, SPOIL, FORGET,
COMPARE, FALL IN LOVE, LOSE, SELL, FORGIVE, APOLOGIZE, PLAN, PREFER,
GROW, RISK, WASH, DUCK, CRY, WEEP, POINT AT, PROMOTE, BECOME, THROW,
WEIGH, KNOW, WANT, WISH, PAY, MIGRATE, FORCE,
Here
are some tips for advanced learners.
adapted from:
Marcia
Yudkin - Writing articles about the world around you.
Writers
Digest Books (an imprint of F&W Publications Inc.) Cincinatti,
Ohio, USA
ISBN: 0-89879-814
Strong style
Your
writing needs to be descriptive, with colourful specific details.
Give readers descriptions that their visual - and auditory,
olfactory, gustatory and tactile - imagination can go to town with.
Break abstractions, especially enormous numbers, down into more
familiar terms.
1a) More than $ 160 Billion...
1b) More than $
160 Billion or about $ 689 for each man, woman and child in the
United States.
Add concrete examples to general comments.
As well as a conversational tone, you have to master that of
specific, concrete writing.
You can use "I", "who"
instead of "whom", as well as, "and" and "but"
at the beginning of a sentence. You can also repeat a word: there is
no need to find a complicated synonym.
A) When you encounter
writers whose style sings to you, go back and observe observe how the
winds they choose contribute to the overall effect of the text. As
with music, which creates miracles out of a limited number of notes,
you may find that you know every word used by a writer you admire.
The arts lies in which one ends up where.
B) Types of
sentences
At intermediate level, you should be able to manage
writing sentences as depicted in 1a, 1b and 2. At advanced level,
ideally, you need to balance all the following types of sentences in
a paragraph. On this site, we offer you the possibility to practise
sentence structures with the quiz on the home page.
1a)
Simple one subject-verb unit. eg: The sun rises in the East.
1b)
Simple sentence with one subject and a compound verb. Eg: The sun
rises and sets. 2) Compound sentence. Two or more subject-verb units
connected by a semi-colon (;) or conjunctions like "and"
and "but". Each segment of a compound sentence could stand
on its own as a separate sentence. Eg: The sun rises in the east, and
it sets in the west.
3) Complex. two or more subject-verb
units, and one of which should stand on its own, and the other not,
because it is introduced by a word like "when", "before",
"who" or "which". Eg: When all is working well,
the sun rises in the east.
4) Compound complex. Combination
of compound and complex sentences with at least two subject units
that could stand on their own, and at least one non-independent
subject-verb unit. eg: When all is working well, the sun rises in the
east and it sets in the west.
C) Expand your vocabulary
Apart from these guidelines, your writing thrives and
improves to the extent that you take a keen interest in words, your
medium. Keep a dictionary close at hand and use it when you encounter
unfamiliar words or expressions or when you well tempted to use a
word whose meaning is hazy for you.
D) Strong verbs If
possible, replace "to be", "There is" with strong
verbs.
eg: 1a) There is no finer artist in the history of art
than Pablo Picasso.
1b) No artist has ever deserved more
accolades than Pablo Picasso.
2a) Valerie was a rangy as a
newborn doe, and for years as ellusive as Houdini.
2b) As rangy
as a newborn doe, Valerie escaped notice for years.
3a) The
behind-the-scenes perpetrator of this crime was no other than the
wife Pamela Smart.
3b) Pamela Smart holds the real responsibility
for her husband's murder.
4a) There were tears in his eyes as
he delivered his son's eulogy.
4b) Tears came to his eyes as he
delivered his son's eulogy
Do not overuse "really",
"very", "extremely" nor adverbs.
5a) She
walked slowly up to the podium to accept her award.
5b) She
struggled up to the podium to accept her award.
6a) Her
grandson smiled proudly.
6b) Her grandson beamed.
Ted
Hughes writes:
Poetry in the Making from the programme "Listening and
writing", 1967.
published by Faber
ISBN: 0-571-09076-1
Reading Milton or Keats to children is one thing. Asking them, or
allowing them, to use such as models for their own writing is
another. All falsities of writing - and the consequent dry-rot that
spreads into the whole fabric - comes from the notion that there is a
stylistic ideal which exists in the abstract, like a special
language, to which all men might attain. (...)
So in my
examples I have avoided specimens whose great and celebrated charms
or powers are beyond the sympathies of children. I have stuck to
poems where the language is basically plain, modern speech, and the
mental operation simple or very simplified - as in description or
fable. At the same time, there will be inevitably more artistic and
intellectual complexity in these works than any child will exhaust.
How can a poem, for instance, about a walk in the rain be
like an animal? Well, perhaps it cannot look much like a giraffe, or
an emu or an octopus, or anything you might find in a menagerie. It
is better to call it an assembly of living parts moved by a simple
spirit. The living parts are the words, the images, the rhythms. The
spirit is the life that inhabits them when they all work together. It
is impossible to say which comes first, parts or spirits. But if any
of the parts are dead... if any of the words of images or rhythms do
no jump to life as you read them... then the creature is going to be
maimed and the spirit sickly. So, as a poet, you have to make sure
that all those parts over which you have control, the words and
rhythms and images, are alive (...)
Well, you will say, this
is hopeless. How do you control all that? When the words are pouring
out, how can you be sure that you do not have one of those side
meanings of the word "feathers" getting all stuck up with
one of the side meanings of the world "treacle", a few
words later. In bad poetry, this is exactly what happens, the words
kill each other. Luckily you don't have to bother about it so long as
you do one thing.
The one thing is, imagine what you are
writing about. See it and live it. Do not think about it laboriously,
as if you were working out mental arithmetics. Just look at it, touch
it, smell it, listen to it, turn yourself into it, when you do this,
the words look after themselves like magic... The minute you flinch,
and take your mind off this thing, and begin to look at the words and
worry about them... then your worry goes into them and they set about
killing each other. So you keep going as long as you can, then look
back and see what you have written. After a bit of practice, after
telling yourself that you do not care how other people have written
about this thing, this is the way you find it, and after telling
yourself you are going to use any old word so long as it seems right
at the moment of writing down, you will surprise yourself. You will
read through what you have written and you will get a shock. You will
have captured a spirit, a creature.
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