Halloween, Spelling, and Structured Word Inquiry
Learn about Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) by studying the spellings of some vocabulary words related to the Halloween holiday. More
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in Linguistics
A Short History of the English Language
Prior to c.450, the peoples of Britannia (Britons) spoke Celtic languages. Between 388 and 400, Romans occupied Britannia (modern England and Wales). Celtic-speaking Scots and Picts lived north of the Romanized Britons. In c.450, Germanic tribes including the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invaded Britannia. The language that developed was Old English. Just as there are […] More
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Zero Phones and Markers: Not All Letters Spell Sounds
Writing is not sounds written down. The primary function of English spelling is to represent meaning. Sounds do matter, but not just any grapheme can spell any sound. The grapheme that spells a sound in a word is informed by meaning, relatives, and etymology. If writing were sounds written down, why does English have so […] More
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in Linguistics
Introducing ‘A Form-Function Description of the Grammar of the Modern English Language’
As an undergraduate, I decided that I wanted to write my one grammar book one day. After years of study, note making, and blog posts, I began writing the book on April 5, 2019. I am now excited to announce that A Form-Function Description of the Grammar of the Modern English Language is finally available […] More
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Word Matrix: Tract
<tract> “draw, drag, move,” from stem of trahere “to pull, draw” Words Sums Tract -> tract Tract + s -> tracts Tract + or -> tractor Tract + or + s -> tractors Tract + or + Beam -> tractorbeam Tract + or + Beam + s -> tractorbeams Tract + ion -> traction Tract + ion […] More
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Word Matrix: Augur(e)
<augur(e)> “predict, foretell” from French inauguration and directly from Late Latin inaugurationem, presumably originally “installment under good omens,” from in– “on, in” + augurare “to act as an augur, predict” Words Sums Augur(e) -> augur Augur(e) + s -> augurs Augur(e) + y -> augury in + Augur(e) + ate -> inaugurate in + Augur(e) […] More
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Word Matrix: Thank
<thank> “thought, gratitude; think, feel,” from Old English þancian, þoncian, compare related Old English noun þanc, þonc Words Sums Thank + s -> thanks Thank + ed -> thanked Thank + ing -> thanking Thank + ful -> thankful Thank + ful + ness -> thankfulness Thank + ful + ly -> thankfully un + Thank + ful -> […] More
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English Sentences: From Declarative to Interrogative
Two types of sentences in English are declarative sentences and interrogative sentences. Declarative sentences, or declarations, convey information or make statements. Interrogative sentences, or questions, request information or ask questions. Periods indicate declarative sentences in written English. Question marks indicate interrogative sentences in written English. Declarative Sentences Declarative sentences are subject-verb (SV) in word order. […] More
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Word Matrix: Sign
<sign> from Latin signum “identifying mark, token, indication, symbol; proof” Words Sums (248) Sign -> sign Sign + s -> signs Sign + ed -> signed Sign + ing -> signing Sign + ing + s -> signings Sign + er -> signer Sign + er + s -> signers Sign + ee -> signee […] More
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in Blog, Linguistics
Introducing ‘Teach a Student to Read’
If you have been following along on my LinguisticsGirl Twitter feed, you know that I have been working on a reading program for my second child. My reading program developed in response to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, which I used with my oldest child. When the time came to teach […] More
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The Habitual ‘be’
What is the habitual be? Who uses the habitual be? I began writing this post a few months ago as I investigated verb constructions outside the tense-aspect paradigm of the mythical standard English for the grammar book that I am writing. Writing about a topic helps me with my understanding. Habitual be refers to the […] More
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English Nouns: Common and Proper
A noun can be defined semantically as “a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea.” In English, nouns can be singular or plural. Singular means “one.” Plural means “not one.” English nouns can also be possessive or non-possessive. English nouns can be classified into categories: common and proper. Common Nouns A common noun […] More
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The Word ‘another’ Is Not an Adjective
If I had to pick a single grammar topic to focus on for the rest of my life, I would likely choose determiners. I did not learn the term determiner until my junior year as an undergraduate when I took the linguistics class that inspired my subsequent study of all things linguistic. I have often […] More
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Is “Some Years Back” Grammatically Correct?
Earlier today I came across a tweet that argued against the use of the word back in the phrase some years back. Tweeter Darlink (@NW6Rd) stated: “While standing on the platform some years back…” No. ‘ago’ ‘some years AGO’ #grammar I love adpositions, of which a postposition like back is a subcategory. As a closed, […] More
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Why Are <talk>, <walk>, and <stalk> Spelled with <l>?
Yesterday I introduced my 5-year-old to the words <talk> and <walk>. He knows that graphemes can spell sounds, specifically that <l> can spell [l]. But he also knows that letters can perform other functions. Some letters are zeroed. Others are markers. The letter <l> can function as an etymological marker. Both <talk> and <walk> (along […] More
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Why Is <broad> Spelled with the <oa> Digraph?
Yesterday I posted on my social media about the spelling of the word <broad>. I just introduced the <oa> grapheme to my 5-year-old. The digraph <oa> typically spells the phone [oʊ] as in <oak>, <boat>, <soap>, <road>, and <hoax>. So why does the <broad> spell [bɹɔd] (or [bɹɑd] in Englishes with the cot-caught merger)? The […] More
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Word Matrix: Leve
I always misspell the word <relevant> as <*relavant> based on a thinking that <relevant> is related to <relative>. I recently decided to look up <relevant> to do a word study in the hopes of teaching myself the correct spelling. If SWI could help me remember the spelling of <tomorrow> by learning that <To + Morrow […] More
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<*tion> Is Not an English Suffix
<*tion> is not an English suffix. I repeat: <*tion> is not an English suffix. I previously wrote a post entitled The -ion Suffix, Connecting Vowel <i>, and Phonological Markers in which I explain the reason that only <ion> is a suffix. To avoid repeating myself again, I suggest reading my original post first before continuing […] More
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<Urine> and My Phonics Phail
I grew up in the 1990s. I entered kindergarten in 1990 and began learning to read that year. Phonics and sight words still stick out for me. I remember being handed lists of “sight words” to learn to read and spell. I would ask questions like “why is X spelled ABC?” The only answers I […] More