1ST LECTURE

Introduction

This lesson is in two parts. In the 1st part you will learn about the

• uses of a language dictionary

• how to use a dictionary

In the second part of the lesson you will listen to (a)

interesting story (ies).

Definition of Dictionary

A dictionary is a book that not only lists and records the words of a language but it also tells you how
speakers of the language spell, pronounce, define, explain and use the words of their language.
Reference Book - provides useful information. Valuable only if you learn how to use it correctly and
efficiently

List of Dictionary Uses (9)

The following is a list of things that can be learned from a dictionary.

(i) spelling
(ii) Pronunciation
iii) part of speech
iv) Origin of word
(v) meaning/explanation
(vi) usage/restrictive labels
(vii) synonyms & antonyms
(viii) foreign words & phrases
ix) general information.

Spellings

Many students find English spellings very confusing. So what do you do? Consult your dictionary. It will
clarify your confusion by showing you the different spellings of the word.

Look at the words catalogue and theatre. You must have noticed that the dictionary lists both BR E and
AE/US spelling of the words. Both are correct.
Exercise Spelling:
Use the dictionary to answer the following questions about
spelling.
a) What other possible spellings does your dictionary
give for these words?
Theatre Catalogue
b) Does your dictionary say anything about the spelling
‘theatre’ and ‘catalogue’.
c) How is the past tense of the following verbs spelling?
If there are two possibilities, write both.
Theatre Catalogue

Pronunciation:

Students have problems pronouncing English words. A dictionary will help you learn the pronunciation of
any word but only if you are familiar with the symbols in which they are written. We will discuss this in
greater detail in the next lesson.

All language dictionaries carry a pronunciation key/table. Be sure to read it.

Part of speech:
All dictionaries indicate what part of speech a word belongs to - whether the word is commonly used as N,
ProN, V (tran, intr), Adj, Adv, Conj, Art, or Prep.

Origin of Words

Some dictionaries indicate the origin & derivation of a word before it became an English word.

Meaning/ Explanation / Definition of words:

This is the most important information about a word is its meaning. Most words have many meanings or
shades of meaning. Do not read just the first meaning listed of the word you are looking up. Go down the
numbered list. Look for meaning that best suits the context in which the word is used.
Also look up words above & below the word you are looking up. You will find that words are often closely
related. It will help to extend your recognition of the word in other forms & contexts.

Exercise (iv-a) Meaning:

Lookup the words ‘fast’ and ‘set’. Write the total number of different meanings of each word. Include all the
numbered and lettered meanings for each part of speech.

Exercise (iv-b)
Meaning/Explanation / Definition of words:

Use the dictionary to find the specific meanings of the word

‘play’ in each of the following.

1. The boys like to play a on the hard court

2. Amna will play the sitar in the concert.
3. The play produced by the arts club was a success.
4. It was a clever play that won the football game.
5. The gardener played the hose on the flower beds.
6. A ‘week without water can make one weak’ is a play
on words

(vi)Usage/Restrictive Labels:

Br / Am; formal / informal, colloquial, dialectal, archaic, poetic, slang. This information is important in
writing.

A dictionary will tell you the usage of words and phrases, idioms / proverbs of the language. It will also tell
you about the limitations of the use of the word. Special labels are used to show this. If a word is no longer
in current use it will be labelled archaic (arch) or obsolete (obs). Other labels will tell you of the level of
usage: whether the word has literary flavour (poetic) or is slang (sl), formal (fml) informal (infml).

Exercise( vi-a )Usage Restrictive Labels

Idioms / Two-word Verbs / Phrasal Verbs / Noun Phrase:

Look up the underlined words in the following sentences

& write their meanings.

1. Prof. Widdowson held forth for over an hour about the

need for communication language teaching.
2. I don’t get how you found the answer.
3. My roommate is pretty hard up these days.

Exercise (vi-b) Restrictive or Usage Labels:

a) Look up the words / phrases, write whether its use is

primarily slang, informal or colloquial.
Guys Cool
Example
Will it be O.K. if I met you at the library about eight.

Label: Colloquial
Meaning: All Right

Synonyms and Antonyms:

Similar and opposite meanings of words. Frequently given but not in all dictionaries.

Foreign words and Phrases:

Dictionaries define / explain many common foreign words and phrases either with the main entries or in a
special section at the back.
Exercise (viii) Foreign Words & Phrases
Look up each of these foreign words of phrases. Write its
English meaning.
et cetera, e.g., et al., a prior, coup d’état, per se.

General Information

This section varies dictionary to dictionary. Names of important persons, places, countries, nationalities, are
listed either in the alphabetical arrangement of words or in special sections at the back. Some dictionary
may include rules for spelling, punctuation, list of common first names in English, systems of weights and
measures, conversion tables, etc...

How to use a dictionary:

Time spent on learning what a dictionary contains & how it should be

used will save you much time later.

Step I: Know the correct order of letters of the English alphabet

- all entries in dictionary arranged in alphabetical order

- words arranged according to the 1st letter
- when words begin with the same letter, they are arranged according to the 2nd letter
- if both the 1st and 2nd letters are the same words are arranged according to the 3rd
letter, & so on...

Step 2: Finding Words Quickly

A) When looking for a word first thumb through pages quickly
- Look only at guide words
- When you come to the guide word nearest the word you want then look
down that page for the word.

Guide Words
B) Look at top of any page in the dictionary. Words in heavy type/bold
face.
These are the GUIDE WORDS. They guide you to the word you are
looking up.

- The word on the top left same as the first bold face word on that page.
- Word on the top right of the page is the last bold face entry on that page.

RECAP

- As students of English you need to know how to use a dictionary

- Dictionary a tool - must learn to use it, to discover the full potential of the language.
- It will make you an independent learner
- Helpful like a friend.
That concludes the 1st part of lesson 1.

This concludes the first part of our lesson.

Now we move to the second part which, I hope you will enjoy.
We are going to first show you the text of a story.
Then I will read it out aloud and you can listen carefully for the general meaning of the story.
You will listen to a folk tale from N. America. The story is about a natural event.

Exercise 1

Raven and the Coming of Daylight

By
GAIL ROBINSON AND DOUGLAS HILL

When the earth was very young, it was dark and old like a winter’s night through all the year’s
seasons. Gull was the Custodian of Daylight, and he kept it locked tight in a cedar box beneath his wing.
Being Custodian made Gull feel very important, and he was not going to lose his position by letting Daylight
out of the box.
“He is too vain!” screeched Owl, at a meeting of the People upon Meeting Hill.
“We can never travel, in this darkness, to our half-homes in this south,” cried Robin. Her breast was
bleached of colour for the lack of light.

Gull agreed to come to the meeting. But it was clear, when he came, that he was not going to change his
mind or listen to what Raven said. He had come only because it made him feel even more important to
have Raven pleading with him.
“I was made Custodian of Daylight in the beginning of things,” said Gull. “I am to keep Daylight safe.
And I will keep it safe.” And he curved his swing tighter around the cedar box.
Raven had run out of words to make Gull see the People’s need for light. He thought angrily to
himself, “I wish this Gull would step on a large thorn.”
No sooner had he shaped this thought than Gull cried out, “Squee! My foot!”
“A thorn, Cousin?” asked raven innocently. “Let me see-I will take it out for you.”

But of course it was so dark that he could not see the thorn to remove it.
“I must have light to take out the thorn,” said Raven.
“Light? Never!” said Gull.
“Then the thorn will remain.”
Gull complained and hopped on one foot and wept, and he finally opened his cedar box a crack, a
crack so narrow that out glanced a shaft of light no brighter than a single star.
Raven put his hand to Gull’s foot, then pretended not to see the thorn. Instead, he pushed it in
deeper.
“Squee!” cried Gull. “My foot!”
“More light, more light!” shouted Raven.

And the lid of the box rose a further crack, so that light gleamed forth like a winter moon. Then Raven
reached again for the thorn and pushed it even further into the soft flesh of Gull’s foot.
“More light!” roared Raven.
“Squee, squee, squee!” screamed Gull, and in his pain he flung off the lid of the cedar box.
Like a molten fish the sun slithered from the box, and light and warmth blazed out over the world.
Nor was it ever to be recaptured, no matter how loudly or how sadly Gull called to it to return to its
safe hiding place beneath his wing.

Exercise 1

You have heard the story. Now answer questions on the story.

Q1. Listen to 4 statements. Select the one which best expresses the
main idea of the story.
a) The removal of the thorn from Raven’s foot.
b) The meeting of birds and animals upon Meeting Hill.
c) The release of daylight over the earth.
d) The capture of daylight in the cedar box.

‘C’ is the correct statement. “The release of daylight over the earth”.

Q2. Listen to the following 8 statements: As you hear each statement write T if it is true or F if it is false.

a) Raven and Gull are birds.

b) Gull and Raven are related.
c) Raven felt important being custodian of Daylight
d) Daylight was kept under a wing.
e) Raven pushed a thorn into Gull’s foot.
f) Gull at once opened the box for Raven to see the thorn.
g) The sun slipped out of the box.
h) Gail Robinson is the author of the tale.

Statements a, b and g are true.

Statements c, d, e, f and h are false.

What is the meaning of this story?

A human attempt at rationalising and explaining natural phenomenon.

What is this story about?

What natural event is this story trying to explain?

What is a myth?

Its an ancient story containing magical and religious ideas. An early attempt of mankind to understand their
surroundings and to give meaning to life.
Exercise 2

THE COUNTRY MOUSE AND THE TOWN MOUSE

An honest, plain sensible Country Mouse is said to have entertained in his hole, one day, a fine
Mouse of the Town. Having formerly been playfellows together, they were old acquaintances, which served
as an apology for the visit. However, as master of the house, he thought himself obliged to do the honours
of it, in all respects, and to make as great a stranger of his guest as he possibly could. In order to do this,
he set before him a reserve of delicate grey peas and meat, a dish of fine oatmeal, some parings of new
cheese, and to crown all, with a dessert, a remnant of a charming mellow apple. In good manners her
forbore to eat any himself, lest the stranger should not have enough, but, that he might seem to bear the
other company, sat and nibbled a piece of wheaten straw very busily. At last, said the spark of the town,
“Old Crony, give me leave to be a little free with you: how can you bear to live in this nasty, dirty,
melancholy hole here, with nothing but woods, and meadows, and mountains, and rivulets about you?

Do you not prefer the conversation of the world to the chirping of birds; and the splendour of a court to the
rude aspect of an uncultivated desert? Come, take my word for it, you will find it a change for the better.
Never stand considering, but away this moment. Remember we are not immortal, and therefore we have no
time to lose. Make sure of to-day, and spend it as agreeably as you can; you know not what may happen
tomorrow.” In short, these and suchlike arguments prevailed, and his country acquaintance was resolved to
go to town that night. So they both set out upon their journey together, proposing to sneak in after the close
of the evening. They did so, and about midnight made their entry into a certain great house, where there
had been an extraordinary entertainment the day before, and several titbits, which some of the servants has
purloined, were hid under the seat of a window. The country guest was immediately placed in the midst of a
rich Persian carpet: and now it was the courtier’s turn to entertain, who indeed acquitted himself in that
capacity with the utmost readiness and address, changing the courses as elegantly, and tasting everything
first as judiciously as any clerk of the kitchen.

The other sat and enjoyed himself like a delighted epicure, tickled tot he last degree with this new turn of his
affairs; when, on sudden, a noise of somebody opening the door made them start from their seats, and
scuttle in confusion about the dining-room. Our country friend, in particular, was ready to die with fear at the
barking of a huge mastiff or two, which opened their throats just about the same time, and made the whole
house echo. At last recovering himself. “Well,” said he, “if this be your town life, much good may it do you;
give me my poor quiet hole again, with my homely, but comfortable grey peas.”

Exercise 2

Does the fable teach you any lesson?

Possible answers: To each his own environment
(discuss)

How important are Freedom and Security in life?

Reading exercises:

Just read the stories — Do not look up the meanings of words in the dictionary.

Q.1 Is there anything common between the two stories?

Q.2 Are there any specific lessons the authors want you to learn?
This brings us to the end of our first lesson
Let us recapitulate/ recall what we learnt today;

We learnt to use the dictionary by…….

Then we read simple texts to find the general meaning.
Consult your reading package for assignments related to the first lesson. Your next lesson will deal with
using the dictionary for learning pronunciation of English words.
I hope you enjoyed your first English lesson of virtual University.