Language Awareness Robert Buckmaster Independent Language - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Language Awareness

Robert Buckmaster Independent Language Researcher

5th January 2018

1. Transformations 2. Language Awareness and Folk Rules 3. Nouns 4. The Language Awareness Challenge

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Transformations

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Transformations 1: The Passive

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Active vs Passive The police arrested him yesterday. He was arrested yesterday.

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Transformations 1: The Passive

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Start here The police The police arrested The police arrested him The police arrested him yesterday.

Transformations 1: The Passive

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Start here He He was He was arrested He was arrested yesterday.

Transformations 1: The Passive

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Start here He was arrested yesterday.

Transformations 1: The Passive

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

The police were accused

• f brutality

Transformations 1: The Passive

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

The police arrested him. He was arrested.

Transformations 1: The Passive

The enemy attacked us We were attacked.

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Transformations 2: Questions

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Transformations 2: Questions

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Transformations 2: Questions

I am a teacher.

Be = Condition marker verb Are = Present + you/they/we Initial be = question

Are you a teacher?

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Transformations 2: Questions

He likes her.

do = truth verb do = Present + you/they/we/I Initial do = question about the truth of a proposition

Do you like her?

Language Awareness

and Folk Rules

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Language Awareness and Folk Rules 1

I used to smoke [but I don’t now]. I used to live here when I was a boy; I’m glad to be living here again.

‘something which happened in the past but does not happen now’

used to

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Language Awareness and Folk Rules 2

I like any kind of modern music. Could I have some more please?

‘some for positive statements, any for negatives and questions’

Some and Any

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Language Awareness and Folk Rules 3

a few [positive] and few [negative]

Few people come here in the winter. It’s great: peace and quiet. A few people came. It was very disappointing: we’d expected more. Few and a few

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Language Awareness and Folk Rules 4

annoying habits

Present Continuous She’s always biting her nails. He’s always buying me flowers or chocolates

• r expensive trinkets. It’s so sweet.

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Language Awareness and Folk Rules 5

I saw a man walking down the street. The man was wearing a trench coat. I saw a man walking down the street. He was wearing a trench coat.

‘use ‘a/an’ for the first mention, and ‘the’ for the second’.

a/an and the

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Language Awareness and Folk Rules 6

The blue whale is the world’s largest animal. A blue whale is the world’s largest animal.

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

a/an and the

‘use ‘a/an’ for the first mention, and ‘the’ for the second’.

Language Awareness and Folk Rules 7

He’s bought a house. She owns many houses. They bought too much house and now are having trouble paying off their mortgage. Countable or Uncountable?

House

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Language Awareness and Folk Rules 8

Countable or Uncountable?

Work

She owns many works by Picasso. This is a fine piece of work. I have too much work to do.

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Language Awareness and Folk Rules 9

Countable or Uncountable?

Chair

There are two chairs in the picture. Could I have some chair please?

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Language Awareness and Folk Rules 10

In a shop: Assistant: Can I help you? Customer: I was wondering about that jacket. The Past Continuous

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Language Awareness and Folk Rules 11

Two friends talking: Alex: What are you up to this weekend? Harry: I was thinking about going to the cinema. Do you want to come? The Past Continuous

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Language Awareness and Folk Rules 12

‘The form of the second conditional is past, but the meaning is not.’ [Longman Wordflo]. If I had a car, I could drive there. [had = past simple, would = past of will] The Past Simple

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Language Awareness and Folk Rules 13

He’ll be there now – let’s call him.

[i.e. there now]

He’ll be arriving at the station about now.

[i.e. happening now]

He’ll have arrived at the station by now.

[i.e. before now: in the past]

Will is ‘the Future’

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Language Awareness and Folk Rules 14

Tense does not = Time.

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Tense = Distance. [see the Language Awareness Challenge].

Nouns

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Humpty Dumpty

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean- neither more nor less." "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things." "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master-that's all."

Nouns 1

Sarah is a beautiful girl. [You and I know Sarah.] France is a lovely country. [You and I know France.] Tigers are endangered. [You and I know about tigers.]

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Nouns 2

I’m not sure the Sarah I know is the one you know. The France I know is not the inner cities but the beautiful countryside. The tigers over there came from other zoos.

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Packets of Information

the Sarah I know - a Noun Packet Verb Packets: have been being followed Preposition-Fronted Packets: over there at the end of the day

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Nouns 3

He grew up in a Vienna of high inflation and unemployment, intrigue, and political violence. The Vienna he grew up in was dominated by high inflation and unemployment, intrigue, and political violence.

Vienna

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Nouns 4

• 1. By pointing to them as close or distant: this book; that book;

these books; those books

• 2. By numbering them: There are ten books missing. This is the

first time I’ve been here.

• 3. By specifying a quantity: I have some books with me. [also

much, many, some, few, any etc.]

• 4. By possessing them: That is my book. Here is your book. [also

his, her, their, mine etc.]

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Nouns 5

• 5. By naming their owner: That’s John’s car.
• 6. By identifying them as one of many possible ones of the

class/type: Look! There’s a rabbit.

• 7. By identifying them as the one [of the class/type] we know:

There’s the moon.

• 8. By identifying them as the one [of the class/type] which will

be known [defined] later: The thing I want most in the world is to kiss you; The one I mean.

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Nouns 6

(1) nouns need to be identifiable enough, (2) the marks nouns are the one you know already or (3) the one you will know when you are told which one it is.

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Nouns 7

Identifiable Enough: Name + Type/Type + Name Pitcairn Island Easter Island London Road Regent’s Street High Street Ben Nevis [Mount] Everest Annapurna Scarfell Mount Blanc Victoria Falls Angel Falls Loch Lomond Lake Ontario

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Nouns 8

The One We Know I’m just popping out to the shops. I went to the doctor today. The train was late. Let’s meet at the cinema. I’ll see you in the pub. The moon looked beautiful last night. There are some more shop closures on the High Street

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Nouns 9

The Defined Noun Love is a many splendoured thing. The love I have for you is infinite. Their love is very fragile. Politics is a nasty business. The politics of personal destruction is a dangerous game. John's politics are not very coherent. Look on the first page. I live in the tallest building.

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Nouns 10

The Type of a Name/Thing the city of London the United States of America

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

That’s the type of car I’d like to buy. That’s the kind of silly remark I don’t like. That’s the sort of thing I’m talking about. the best of times, the worst of times the politics of personal destruction

Nouns 11

Example Full Name Opposition/Type the Pacific the Pacific Ocean the Atlantic Ocean/Oceans The Noun in Opposition to Other Members of the Class

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Nouns 12

There have been ten cyclones in the Pacific [Ocean] this year. Pacific [Ocean] currents are weaker this year. The new play at the Palace [Theatre] is fantastic. Palace Theatre employees went on strike yesterday. The British Museum is London's best. British Museum exhibits attracted 2 million visitors last year.

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Nouns 13

The Pacific [Ocean] currents we measured are weaker this year. The Palace [Theatre] employees who went on strike have been sacked. The new British Museum exhibits attracted 2 million visitors last year.

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Nouns 14

Whales Whales are large mammals which live in the sea. Look! There’s a whale. Look at that whale over there A whale is a large marine mammal. Look at the whale over there - it’s quite unusual. The whale is the largest marine mammal.

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Nouns 15

Questions

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

What does this noun mean? How do I know what it means? How do I make this noun mean what I want it to mean? Will people understand what I want it to mean?

The Noun Phrase

Before the Noun Noun After the Noun

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Identifier Adverb Adjective Noun The very large petrol station Relative clauses Done Clause Do-ing clause Prepostitional clause Prospective to clause

The Ideas of English Grammar

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Formal Intensity of Study and Amount of Data

Intensity

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Amount of Data

Formal Intensity of Study and Amount of Data

Intensity

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Amount of Data

High intensity Low data High intensity High data Low intensity Low data Low intensity High data

The Language Awareness Challenge

Robert Buckmaster 5th January 2018

Language Awareness Challenge

Language Awareness Challenge

Go to www.englishideas.org Find ‘The Language Awareness Challenge’

And Finally…..

Thank You! Merry Christmas