Diphthong: Contrasting / əʊ/ and /ʊə/

Speech Work: Diphthong Contrasting / əʊ/ and /ʊə/

/ əʊ/ sound

This is another diphthong. A long sound made up of two shorter ones. The sound begins with /ə/ in the middle of the mouth, and then moves to /ʊ/. The lip becomes very slightly rounded. The sound is spelt in different ways.

·         So

·         Go

·         Tone

·         Phone

·         Moan

·         Goat

·         Toe

·         Hoe

·         Know

·         Grow

/ʊə/ sound

This diphthong is the last diphthong in English. To say /ʊə/ you have to first say /ʊ/ then change it to /ə/. Say the following words.

·         Poor

·         Pure

·         Tour

·         Fury

·         Endure

·         Europe

·         Fuel

Contrasting / əʊ/ and /ʊə/

·         So           sore

·         To           tour

·         Foe         fury

·         Row        roar

 Grammar: Revising noun, pronouns, verbs and adjectives

Nouns

A noun is a word for a person, place, or thing. (You might like to think of nouns as “naming” words.) Everything we can see or talk about is represented by a word that names it. That “naming” word is called a noun. But sometimes a noun will be the name for something we cannot touch (e.g., bravery, mile, joy). Examples of Nouns include; soldier, rat, house, kindness, cooking etc.

There are also different types of nouns. Namely; common nouns, proper nouns, abstract noun, collective noun, compound noun, concrete nouns, count and non- count nouns and gerunds.

Pronouns

A pronoun is defined as a word or phrase that may be substituted for a noun or noun phrase, which once replaced, is known as the pronoun’s antecedent. The examples of pronouns include; she, they, it, we, who. There are also different types of pronouns which are; personal pronoun, reflexive pronouns, demonstrative pronoun, possessive pronoun, relative pronoun, interrogative pronoun, reciprocal pronoun and intensive pronoun.

Verbs

The verb signals an action, an occurrence, or a state of being. Whether mental, physical, or mechanical, verbs always express activity. There are also different types of verbs namely; transitive, intransitive verbs, regular, static, dynamic, modal verbs and phrasal verbs.

Adjective

Adjectives are words that describe or modify other words, making your writing and speaking much more specific, and a whole lot more interesting. Words like small, blue, and sharp are descriptive, and they are all examples of adjectives. There are also different types of adjectives which are indefinite adjectives, attributive, interrogative, number, coordinate, demonstrative adjectives and infinite adjectives.

Composition: Revision on the types of essays

Revise the types of essays discussed earlier. Revise the argumentative, expository, descriptive and the narrative essays. Study the essays and pay close attention on the differences between the essays and also the similarities between them e.g. that every essay has the introduction, the body and the conclusion even as there are differences.

Literature-in-English: More on figure of speech

 A figure of speech is a word or phrase that has a meaning something different than its literal meaning. It can be a metaphor or simile that is designed to further explain a concept. Or, it can be a different way of pronouncing a word or phrase such as with alliteration to give further meaning or a different sound.

1. Alliteration: The repetition of an initial consonant sound. Example: Sally sells seashells.

2. Allusion: The act of alluding is to make indirect reference. It is a literary device, a figure of speech that quickly stimulates different ideas and associations using only a couple of words.

Example: David was being such a scrooge! (Scrooge” is the allusion, and it refers to Charles Dicken’s novel, A Christmas Carol. Scrooge was very greedy and unkind, which David was being compared to.)

3. Anaphora: The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses. (Contrast with epiphora and epistrophe.). Example: I came, I saw, I conquered – Julius Caesar

4. Antaclasis: It is a rhetorical device in which a word is repeated and whose meaning changes in the second instance. Antanaclasis is a common type of pun. Example: Your argument is sound, nothing but sound. – Benjamin Franklin.

5. Anticlimax: Refers to a figure of speech in which statements gradually descend in order of importance. Example: She is a great writer, a mother, and a good humorist.

6. Antiphrasis: A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is used to mean the opposite of its normal meaning to create ironic humorous effect. From the Greek: anti “opposite” and phrasis, “diction”. Example: She’s so beautiful. She has an attractive long nose.

ASSESSMENT

1. Give an example of ALLITERATION as a figure of speech
2. Define Anticlimax
3. Give five examples of a noun
4. What is an Adjective
5. Define the term Allusion

ANSWER

1. Sheep should sleep in a shed.
2. Anticlimax refers to a figure of speech in which statements gradually descend in order of importance.
3. John, Lagos, Goat, Plate, Apple.
4. Adjectives are words that describe or modify other words
5. Allusion is a figure of speech that quickly stimulates different ideas and associations using only a couple of words.