This document covers various aspects of English language structure including word formation methods like affixation, compounding, and loan words, alongside spelling conventions and phrasal verbs. It highlights the complexities of English spelling, its history, and the challenges students face in adhering to spelling rules. Additionally, it discusses coherence and cohesion in writing, emphasizing the importance of sentence connectors and cohesive devices for effective communication.

1. UNIT IV: Lexis

2. First Point
1. Word formation - Affixation - Conversion Compounding - Clipping - Port Manteau Onomatopoeia - Loan words- other minor
devices.
2. Patterns of spelling.
3. Phrasal verbs and prepositional phrases.
4. Sentence connectors -Devices for cohesion
and coherence

3. Word formation
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Loan Words (Borrowing)
Eponyms – cassio, xerox, apple, sandwitch
Conversion – text, skype
Respelling – picz
Port Manteau (Blending) - smog
Acronyms - AIDS
Clipping - Demo
Affixation – prefix & suffix
Onomatopoeia – giggle
Backformation - enthusiasm
Compounding

4. Patterns of Spelling
• English is one of the first non-Latin / non-Greek
languages to develop a writing system of its own.
• Early English spelling was very consistent
• After that the English language had changed.
• The peasants had done away with most of the Latin
grammar rules.
• The language had also acquired many different
words and sounds from Norman French.

5. • The early printers were nearly all foreign.
• Caxton, who set up the first printing press
in London, was English but had lived
mainly in Belgium and had written mostly
in Latin.
• All his assistants came from the Continent.
• English spelling rules were therefore
devised almost entirely by non-native
speakers of English.

6. • Dr. Johnson stamped his authority on
English spelling with his famous dictionary.
• In his day many words were spelt
differently by different writers.
• He chose his preferred versions, or linked
different meanings to different spellings,
e.g. 'there - their', paying very little heed to
pronunciation.
• Many of our worst problems are due to him.

7. The Basic English spelling system is more
complicated
• English spells many identical sounds
differently when they occur in different
positions in a word.
• For example, the Sh-sound is spelt as in
shop, station, vicious and session;the
long A-sound as in plate and play; the
long I-sound as in mine and dry.

8. Several basic spelling patterns are
not followed
• The 'ee' pattern is not used in at least 305 words:
bead, beak, beam, bean; legal, lenient, legion ...
• The -er endings pattern of 'mother, father, brother,
sister' has at least 140 exceptions: actor, grammar,
centre ...
• The -en endings pattern of 'hasten, soften, weaken'
is not followed by 134 words: abandon, urban,
cousin ...
• The -a...e- pattern of 'cake, make, take, same' is not
followed by 107 words: main, great, eight,
straight ...

9. Words which could be easy have difficult,
unpredictable spellings
• frend - friend; sed - said; ses - says;
Wensday - Wednesday; sistem - system;
cof - cough; cum - come; meel - meal;
teech - teach; deleet - delete; sardeen sardine, shreek - shriek; theef - thief;
weerd - weird; ate - eight; nite - night;
buty - beauty; groop - group; moov move; yor - your; yung - young.

10. Students misspell words which do not
follow the basic spelling rules
• They fail to double the 'correct' consonants: acount, aply,
ocurred. They double wrong consonants instead: accross,
affraid, gett, leggs.
• Spellers often fail to insert silent letters: bild, dout, frend, yor,
yung. They put the surplus letters in the wrong place: freind,
detb, lauhg.
They insert surplus letters: chaeous, nervious, suddenely,
vigourously, gowing, hellow.
• When memory fails children try to spell logically: sed, thay,
cupl, conjest, wate.
• When identically sounding words are spelt differently,
spellers often pick the wrong alternative, e.g. there/their,
here/hear, two/too/to, allowed/aloud, see/sea, by/bye/buy,
weather - whether.

11. Teachers Role
• strike a balance between explaining
spelling patterns and conventions, and
building
on
pupils'
existing
knowledge;
• strike a balance between recognising
patterns
and
conventions,
and
acknowledging exceptions.

12. Phrasal verbs and prepositional phrases
• A phrasal verb is a combination
verb +preposition
verb +adverb
verb +adverb and a preposition.
• Phrasal verbs are frequent in English
• A phrasal verb has a meaning which is different
from the original verb.
• Alternative terms for phrasal verb are ‘compound
verb’, ‘verb-adverb combination’ and ‘verb-particle
construction.

15. Prepositional Phrase
• A prepositional phrase is a phrase
whose head is a preposition. For
example:
To the store
From the house
Under the fence

16. • A prepositional phrase is made up of a
preposition and a noun phrase.

17. 4. Sentence connectors –Devices for
cohesion and coherence
• It is a very important skill for
students.
• Cohesion is the grammatical and
lexical link.
• This includes use of synonyms,
lexical sets, pronouns, verb, tenses,
time
references,
grammatical
reference, etc.

18. • The term coherence refers to content
aspects.
• The arguments must be clear and
comprehensible.
• It avoids unnecessary deviation.
• The term cohesion refers to formal
aspects of writing about the paragraph
and sentence level.
• In good papers there is a tight fit of
meaning and form.

19. • Cohesion is the glue that holds a piece
of writing together.
• Cohesive devices include transitional
words and phrases - therefore,
furthermore.
• Repetition of key words and use of
reference words are also needed for
cohesion.

20. • Coherence can be the meanings and
sequences of ideas that relate to each other.
• Typical examples would be
general > particular;
statement > example;
problem > solution;
question > answer;
claim > counter-claim.
When sentences, ideas, and details fit together
clearly, readers can follow along easily, and
the writing is coherent.
The ideas tie together smoothly and clearly.

21. Repetition of a Key Term or Phrase
• This helps to focus our ideas and to keep our
reader on track.
Example: The problem with contemporary art is
that it is not easily understood by most
people. Contemporary art is deliberately
abstract, and that means it leaves the viewer
wondering what she is looking at.

22. Synonyms
• Synonyms are words that have the same
meaning, and they provide variety.
Example: Myths narrate sacred histories and
explain sacred origins. These traditional
narratives are, in short, a set of beliefs that are
a very real force in the lives of the people
who tell them.

23. Pronouns
• This, that, these, those, he, she, it, they,
and we are useful pronouns for
referring back to something previously
mentioned.
Example: When scientific experiments do not
work out as expected, they are often
considered failures until some other scientist
tries them again. Those that work out better
the second time around are the ones that
promise the most rewards.

24. Transitional Words
• There are many words in English that cue our
readers to relationships between sentences,
joining sentences together.
• Words such as however, therefore, in
addition, also, but, moreover, etc.
Example: I like autumn and therefore I used to
go for long walks in the evening. I used to
collect the fallen leaves and admire their
colours. But my sister never likes autumn
and also she sleeps in the evening.

25. Sentence Patterns
• Sometimes, repeated or parallel sentence
patterns can help the reader follow along
and keep ideas tied together.
Example: (from a speech by President John F.
Kennedy) And so, my fellow Americans: ask
not what your country can do for you--ask
what you can do for your country.