chapter 2 using proper words

1 ABasicCourseinWriting Chapteriiusingproperwords I formalandinformalwords 2 Nonstandardwords Formaloccasions informaloccasions formal technicalwordscommoncolloquialwordswords slangs nonstandardwords Thereisnothingnewintherecognition withinagivenlanguage ofadistinctionbetweencommonusageandusesofthelanguageformorerestrictedpurposeandoftenenough perhapscharacteristically moreelevatedpurposes ThemonolithicnatureofEnglishisnotquestionedwhenliteraryessayistslikeEmersoncontrastpoetryandcommonspeech ThelatterisrecognizedinAmericatobethepropersubjectfortheinvestigationoflinguistswho however nowshowsomeincipientinclinationtoinvestigatepoetry too andothernocasualutterancesinagivenlanguage Youhaveyourtension Sometimesyoucomeclosetohavinganaccidentthatupsetyouandjustescapebyahairorso Sometimesmaybeyougetadisgruntledpassengeronthere andstartsabigargument Sometimesyouhavesomeonewhocutsyouofforstopsinfrontofthebus There salotoftensionbehindthat Yougottowatchallthetime Youarewatching thedrivers you rewatching othercars Mostofthetimeyouhavetodrivefortheotherdrivers toavoidhittingthem Soyoutakethetensionhomewithyou Onhearingthathisfatherhadkickedthebucket wewrotehimalettertoexpressoursympathies I llattendtothatmyselfinth mornin I lltakekeero im Heain tfromthiscountynohow I llgodownthereinth mornin andsee im Lettin youleaveyourbooksandgallivantalloverth hills Whatkindofaschoolisitnohow Didn tdothat myson whenI salittleshaverInschool in ingkeer careain t isn tI s I mnohow anyhow Suchnonstandardwordsandexpressionsareoftenseeninstoriesdescribingpoorlyeducatedpeople ForeignstudentsofEnglishneedtounderstandthem butshouldnottrytousetheminspeechorwriting II Generalandspecificwords General AgoodmanSpecific kindhonestjustgeneroussympatheticwarm heartedselflesshonorableGeneral GoodfoodSpecific tastynourishingrichwholesomehigh pricedfreshsubstantial Professionalismoregeneralthanscientist doctor teacher lawyer Journalist etc Butscientistmaybecalledageneralwordwhencomparedwithphysicistorchemist which inturn ismoregeneralthanbiochemist General inspring theweatherinbeijingcanbeverybad Specific inspring itisoftenwindyanddustyhere Morespecificwiththehelpofdetails inspring thewindblowsalldaylong Theairisthenfilledwithfinedustwhichsometimesshutsoutthesun Thereisnoescapefromthefinedust Itgetsintoyoureyes yourears yournostrils andyourhair III Synonyms sin nim Twoormoreformswithverycloselyrelatedmeaning whichareoftenbutnotalways intersubstitutableinasentence EarlyEnglishFrenchLatinsmall littlepetitediminutiveaskquestioninterrogatetimeageepochRisemountascend send Generally LatinwordsaremorebookishthanearlyEnglishandFrench Denotation di n u tei n andConnotation k n u tei n Denotationisthebasic direct literalmeaningofaword Asdefinedbythedictionary Connotationistheassociationaroundandtheovertoneabouttheword it sthefeelingorideasuggestedbytheword E g GuojiaCountryemphasizestheterritory Nationemphasizesthepeople Stateemphasizespoliticalorganization Landisoftenusedtoconnotecertainfeeling Anislandcountry neighbouringcountryApeace lovingnation theawakingnationofAfricaState ownedenterprisesOurstatesystemisthepeople sdemocraticdictatorship Afar away foreignland alandofliberty opportunity Allthefollowingadjectivesmean thickinbodybecauseofpresenceofsuperfluousflesh butdifferwidelyinconnotation Stout suggestingrobusthealthPortly suggesting ratherfatPlump suggestingapleasantfullnessoffigureRotund r t nd suggestingasphericalshapeChubby suggestingthebouncyroundnessofacheruborawell fedsuggestingbabyFat suggestingtheneutral generaluncomplimentaryconnotationCorpulent k pjul nt suggestinganunbecomingbulkinessObese u bi s implyinganunhealthyexcessoffat differentconnotationreflectingtheattitudeofthespeaker ComplimentaryderogatoryneutralPublicservantbureaucratgovernmentemployee bju r ukr t FinancierspeculatorinvestorLawofficercoppolicemanCaptainofindustrytycoonsuccessfulbusinessmanInvestigatorspydetectiveCaptivejailbirdprisoner informalformalleavedepartscaredapprehensiveblowupexplodequitresignjobpositiontiredfatiguedflunkfail acuteperceptiveintelligentsmartontheball Usingwordscorrectly 1 misuseofformalwordsininformalsituationsorviceversa Hi Rose Hi Jack Howaboutcomingtomyhometomorrow I llextendawarmwelcometoyou 2 Misuseofgeneralorspecificwords IamveryhappybecauseIhavemetaperson Inarrangingbusinessmeetingswithpeopleoutsidethecompany itisoftenwisetoconfirminpersonorbytelephone 3 overcomeChinglish I mnotafraidofthehotweather Idon tmindthehotweather Ifelttheroomrathercold Ifoundtheroomrathercold OnSundaysIalwayssleeplate OnSundaysIalways