Receiving spelling rules EI-IE: unveil the ceiling for this lie, as in believe

the worst rule: " I before E except after C when the sound is EE "

How to organize the chaos of these words?

concierge, Madeira, caffeine, weird, glacier, their, Sheila, Keith, receive, protein, obey, seize, ancient, diesel, either, tried, science, view, weight, height, sleigh, piece, field, quiet, pier, niece, neighbour, society, experience, patience, 

the government was telling primary teachers they shouldn't teach their children the spelling rule :

" 'i' before 'e' except after 'c' " 

Look at the words below and make up your own mind. How many of these words follow the rule:

Stephen Fry claims there are over 900 exceptions to the 'i before e' rule. You could argue with his figures. Some of his guests do, but ... well, watch for yourself:



Johanna

That’s Not My Job or anybody can make a joke on somebody

That’s Not My Job

This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.

Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.

  

Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when .... >>>Nobody did what Anybody could have done. >>> actually nobody asked anybody >>> Consequently, it wound up that Nobody told Anybody, so Everybody blamed Somebody. This is the story of four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. Consequently, it wound up that Nobody told Anybody, so Everybody blamed Somebody. 3. Everybody, somebody, anybody, nobody This is a story about four people: Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was this important job to be done and everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure that somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was everybody's job. Everybody thought that anybody could do it, but nobody realized that everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that everybody blamed somebody when actually nobody asked anybody.

I heartily approve of verbing words: Zero affixation in verbs

How to call it?  Zero affixation -verbing -Zero derivation - denominal verbs

Derivation without affixation. 

There is a name for verbing and nouning and otherwise changing the Word Class (or, as word class was called in Latinate grammar, part of speech) without benefit of suffix. It's called Zero Derivation. That means that, instead of taking the usual route of adding a derivational suffix to change word class, one adds Zero, like the Zero that marks the past tense on He cut the ribbon.

the formation of verbs from nouns is pretty productive in English:

the verbs to film, to pocket, to shape, to house, to napalm may have once unacceptable, but not any more.

Considering just the human body, you can:

  [head  a  committee, scalp  the  missionary, eye a babe, stomach someone's complaints], and so on -- virtually every body part can be  verbed. 

Find 5 more: .............. .............. ................... .................... ....................

In a single work day, we might            head a task force,      eye an opportunity,      nose around for good ideas,          mouth a greeting,     elbow an opponent, strong-arm a colleague,          shoulder the blame,       stomach a loss, and finally hand in our resignation.

Calvin and Hobbes once discussed verbing in Bill Watterson's great comic strip:

Calvin: I like to verb words.
Hobbes: What?
Calvin: I take nouns and adjectives and use them as verbs. Remember when "access" was a thing? Now it's something you do. It got verbed. . . . Verbing weirds language.
Hobbes: Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding.

With zero-derivation

Some verbs and adjectives in English can be used directly as nouns without the addition of a derivational suffix. Some examples include: Change or murder

• I need a change. (change = noun)
• I will change. (change = verb)
•      The murder of the man was tragic. (murder = noun)
•      He will murder the man. (murder = verb)

In addition to true zero-derivation, English also has a number of words which, depending on subtle changes in pronunciation, are either nouns or verbs. One such type, which is rather pervasive, is the change in stress placement from the final syllable of the word to the first syllable.

progress

• Progress is important. (progress /ˈprɒɡrɛs/ = noun)
• Our plan must progress nicely. (progress /prəˈɡrɛs/ = verb)
• (add 5 others)

When there is no morphological change marking the word-class shift from noun to verb, it is called "conversion" or (by some) "zero derivation" (meaning there is an invisible or zero morpheme).

To the extreme, we have 

W. Shakespeare's  King Richard the Second when the Duke of York  says,

"Grace me no grace, and uncle me no uncles."

Shakespeare demonstrates that when you understand how language works, the more simple rules that help the rest of us just get in your way.

Steve Pinker states the issue: 

The contradiction begins in the fact that the words "rule" and "grammar" have very different meanings to a scientist and to a layperson.   The  rules  people learn  (or  more  likely,  fail  to  learn) in school are called [prescriptive] rules, prescribing how one "ought"  to  talk.  Scientists  studying  language propose  [descriptive]  rules,  describing  how  people [do] talk -- the way to determine whether a construction is "grammatical" is to find people  who speak the language and ask them.  Prescriptive and descriptive grammar are completely different things, and there is a good  reason  that  scientists  focus  on  the descriptive rules. 

Through the ages, language professionals have  deplored  the  way  English  speakers convert  nouns  into verbs. The following verbs have all been denounced in the XX century:  to input  - to host  -  to nuance  -  to access  -  to chair  - to dialogue - to showcase  -  to progress - to parent -  to intrigue  - to contact - to impact   In fact, easy conversion of nouns to verbs has been part of English grammar for centuries; it is one of  the  processes  that  make English  English. I have estimated that about a fifth of all English verbs were originally nouns. 

Consider the following pairs of sentences in which the same words appear in different functions (e.g., as a noun and as a verb):

• This is a major oversight. 
• She graduated with a major in geography. 
• She majored in geography.

My account is overdrawn. I can’t account for where the money went.

They weighed anchor at 6:00 a.m. Tom Brokaw anchored the news at 6:00 p.m.

They gave aid and comfort to the enemy. They comforted the enemy.

We don’t have any doubt it’s correct. We don’t doubt that it’s correct.

It’s no trouble at all. Don’t trouble yourself.

In all these cases the verb or adjective and noun look alike and sound alike. There is reason to believe that the verbs are derived from the nouns. They are called “denominal verbs” for that reason, and they are said to be derived by a process of conversion – the noun is converted into a verb. I

The process of conversion is, furthermore, extremely productive today:

 we can chair a meeting, air our opinions, panel the walls, weather the storm, storm the gates, e-mail the students, floor our enemies, polish the car, try to fish in troubled waters, and so on. 

To conclude, Verbing makes English English. Analyse the syntax of thise sentence:
Does verbing weird language? (to visualise the answer read up to the end).

to find more info on verbing, read  Nordquist's the excellent post on

 Nordquist at About.com:  

New forms of words--as well as new uses for old words--take some getting used to. But the truth is, if those forms and uses stick around for awhile, we do get used to them

English has lost a lot of inflection and also derivation. English goes to the other extreme (it's an analytic language. We don't make a big fuss in English any more about the difference between a verb and a noun. Both are regular in conjugation. And we get most of our grammar from collocations, particle and auxiliary choice, and word order, instead of inflection.

So English is more like Chinese than most other Indo-European languages in this regard, though of course the details are quite different.

As Calvin and Hobes expressed clearly, verbing does something: "Verbing Weirds Language" only if you're expecting it to work in a simple way. This is a special case of the more general truth that Language Weirds.

"Language is the most  massive  and  inclusive  art  we know,  a mountainous and anonymous work of unconscious generations."   - Edward Sapir    Language (1921)

No excuses in ESL - or how you were not excused

The Mother of All Excuses Place, News and Credits.

Well friends, this is where I'll announce the most recent additions to this web site, give credit to the wonderful people out there that submit new excuses.

CNN -Twelve amusing excuses for being late to work

If you are running late for an important meeting, have an excuse prepared to justify your tardiness.

There is no worse feeling than waking up in the morning, rested from good night's sleep, and glancing at the clock, only to do a double-take: You're late!

For most people, knowing they're running late for work strikes the fear of God within them and as a result, they move like there's a fire under their feet to get ready. They hustle, scramble, frantically throw things into a bag and are out the door to ensure a timely -- though unkempt and graceless -- arrival at the office.

But for a smaller group people, knowing they are running late for work does absolutely nothing except stimulate their creative juices in order to make up the latest excuse as to why they are late for work -- again.

Check your own estimates about a survey (February 2009CareerBuilder.com ) of more than 8,000 workers, ad copy them in order of frequency!!!:

•  ............ percent of workers said they arrive late to work at least once a week, 
•  ............  percent said they are late at least twice a week.
• ............ of workers blamed traffic for their tardiness, 
• ............ percent said lack of sleep was the guilty one. 
• ............ percent of workers said getting their kids ready for school or day care was the main reason they ran late in the morning. 

Other common reasons included (choose 3):

fire in the kitchen / public transportation / wardrobe issues / 

    flooded bathrooms / dealing with pets.

Read the answers:

One-third (33 percent) of workers blamed traffic for their tardiness, while 24 percent said lack of sleep was the culprit. 
Twenty percent of workers said they arrive late to work at least once a week. Twelve percent said they are late at least twice a week. Ten percent of workers said getting their kids ready for school or day care was the main reason they ran late in the morning. Other common reasons included public transportation, wardrobe issues or dealing with pets.

"While some employers tend to be more lenient with worker punctuality, 30 percent say they have terminated an employee for being late," said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder.com.

"Workers need to understand their company's policies on tardiness and if they are late, make sure they openly communicate with their managers. Employers have heard every excuse in the book, so honesty is the best policy."

If you've decided honesty is not the best policy for you, don't try using any of the following excuses as the reason why you're late -- they've been heard before.Use your imagination

Here are 12 of the most outrageous excuses employees have heard for being late to work:
1. My heat was shut off so I had to stay home to keep my snake warm.
2. My husband thinks it's funny to hide my car keys before he goes to work.
3. I walked into a spider web on the way out the door and couldn't find the spider, so I had to go inside and shower again.
4. I got locked in my trunk by my son.
5. My left turn signal was out so I had to make all right turns to get to work.
6. A gurney fell out of an ambulance and delayed traffic.
7. I was attacked by a raccoon and had to stop by the hospital to make sure it wasn't rabid.
8. I feel like I'm in everyone's way if I show up on time.
9. My father didn't wake me up.
10. A groundhog bit my bike tire and made it flat.
11. My driveway washed away in the rain last night.
12. I had to go to bingo.

I should be working.... All work and no play is boring, stressful, and unhealthy. Check out these great websites that poke fun at the rat race in one way or another (or at least give you something to do while you're on break).
or were you making a cup of coffee -- you're late.

Chunks

Short conversations  at http://bogglesworldesl.com/TEFL_article4.htm

Chunking

Lettering by Collins: Photograph by Andrew French           By BEN ZIMMER

It becomes clearer how “chunky” the language is, with certain words showing undeniable attractions to certain others. Many English-language teachers have been eager to apply corpus findings in the classroom to zero in on salient chunks rather than individual vocabulary words. This is especially so among teachers of English as a second language, since it’s mainly the knowledge of chunks that allows non-native speakers to advance toward nativelike fluency. In his 1993 book, “The Lexical Approach,” Michael Lewis set out a program of action, and the trend has continued in such recent works as “From Corpus to Classroom: Language Use and Language Teaching” and “Teaching Chunks of Language: From Noticing to Remembering.”

Not everyone is on board, however. Michael Swan, a British writer on language pedagogy, has emerged as a prominent critic of the lexical-chunk approach. Though he acknowledges, as he told me in an e-mail, that “high-priority chunks need to be taught,” he worries that “the ‘new toy’ effect can mean that formulaic expressions get more attention than they deserve, and other aspects of language — ordinary vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and skills — get sidelined.”

On chunks and language learning

Posted on September 19, 2010 by Nigel Caplan

Ben Zimmer has a great column in today’s New York Times about chunking. A chunk is a fixed piece of language that frequently occurs in particular contexts to fulfill the same function. Zimmer gives examples like “make yourself at home” as well as Halliday’s classic observation that we drink “strong tea” but get caught in a “heavy rain” (and never “heavy tea” and “strong rain”).

In academic writing, chunking (or collocations, or fixed expressions) is essential for proficiency. In the last week, I’ve been teaching phrases like “pose a threat to” and “raise an issue.” And it’s hard to imagine empirical research papers without clauses like “the results are statistically significant.”

For my take on this topic, check out the three-part video presentation I made an UNC (you can also just read the PowerPoint slides!).