English for Careers Chapter 1 Mastering Language Resources

English for Careers Chapter 1 Mastering Language— Resources and Words

Your goals for Chapter 1: n n n Develop the “dictionary habit” Use all parts of your dictionary Use a thesaurus Use a reference manual Expand your vocabulary English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 2 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Why study the English language? Standard English is the language of the workplace. It is essential to career success. English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 3 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Vocabulary-building tools … n n n Books General interest magazines/Web sites Trade organization journals/Web sites Radio and television Speeches and lectures Conversations English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 4 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Help you develop strong communication skills: n n n Vocabulary Pronunciation Standard English Current usage Industry language Career information English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 5 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Dictionaries describe how English is used, including: n slang n street language n and other non-Standard words AIN’T has been in some dictionaries since 1951! English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 6 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Dictionaries don’t prescribe how to use words… They just tell you how words are used… It’s up to YOU to make intelligent and appropriate word choices! English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 7 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

The dictionary helps you decide. So does your textbook, which focuses on Standard English – spoken and written in the workplace English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 8 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Can you identify these printed versions? n n n Abridged Pocket College Encyclopedic Unabridged Combination English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 9 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Now see if you can identify various sections of a dictionary: n § n § Front Matter Everything before the first A word Entries All words from A to Z Back Matter Everything after the last Z word English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 10 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Identify parts of a dictionary entry: Etymology History of a word Usage label Context in which the word is used Run-ins Words derived from entry word Guide words Show alphabetical range of page English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 11 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Some words have more than one correct spelling. n n n The spelling shown first is the preferred spelling. The dictionary will show them joined by “or” the. ater or the. atre When “also” precedes a second spelling, the second one is less acceptable. lovable also loveable Avoid using the second one in business writing. English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 12 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

The dictionary also clarifies when compound words require hyphens. n n hand-me-down apple pie nationwide recover (get well) or re-cover (cover again) English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 13 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Dictionaries use codes. Here are possible examples for the word interpret: n n n Syllables – in. ter. pret Pronunciation – in-'tƏr-prƏt, -pƏt Definitions – to explain or construe meaning Parts of speech – n. adj. conj. vt. vi. Etymology – Middle English, French, & Latin English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 14 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

If you’re writing and you can’t think of the right word, where should you look for inspiration? A Thesaurus English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 15 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

A thesaurus lists n n n Synonyms Antonyms and other related words English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 16 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Can you think of a better word? §Offensive unsuitable §Ugly unattractive §No good not acceptable English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 17 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Can you think of a better word? n Stupid unintelligent n Outdated retro n Bad unsatisfactory English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 18 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

How a REFERENCE MANUAL can help you… Explains grammar rules and shows examples of proper sentence structure. Lists rules for … n. Punctuation n. Capitalization n. Expressing numbers in writing n. Abbreviations … and more English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 19 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Other uses for a reference manual … n n n Answers word questions – choosing the correct spelling and usage of “troublesome” words Provides writing guidelines – content, tone, paragraphs, sentences, and writing style Shows formats for producing business documents English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 20 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.

Checkpoint Your Keys to Career Success n Expand your vocabulary n Use Standard English n Read widely n Use reference tools and resources English for Careers: Business, Professional, and Technical, 10 th ed. Smith and Moore 21 © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. • All Rights Reserved.