“Do not believe what your teacher tells youmerely out of respect for the teacher”

Gautama Buddha02

vocabularyimprove yourimprove your

HOW TO

MIND YOUR LANGUAGE

Do you find grammar confusing?Do you get stuck with wordswhen writing a letter, an essay ora blog? Do you have a fear ofpublic speaking? Or do you simplywant to improve your communica-tion skills? Times NIE is here tohelp you to master the intrica-cies of the English language.Just shoot us your queries on

toinie175 @gmail.com

Read voraciouslyThe more you read — especially nov-els and literary works, but also mag-azines and newspapers — the morewords you’ll be exposed to. It’s unde-niable that reading is the most effec-tive way to get new vocabulary. Whenyou read, you see words being used incontext — and that’s what makes itmuch more effective than, for exam-ple, merely memorising word lists. Ifyou’re not able to infer the meaningof new words, it’s probably becauseyou are reading a piece of work thatcontain advance vocabulary. In thatcase, try reading easier materials.The bottom line: make reading apleasurable experience.

Use new wordsUse a word immediately afteryou learn it. Try to make a gameout of using a new word as soonas you learn it. Every day, try toslip in a new word into the con-versation, a journal entry, an as-signment or an email to afriend. Do this as often aspossible, and repeat theword to yourself.

Look up anywords youdon’t recogniseWhile reading don’t skip an unfamil-

iar word. It’s abad habit. Try to

guess the meaning ofunknown words us-ing the other wordsaround it to help you.This practice iscalled guessing fromcontext. It will help

you read faster andmake reading a lot

pleasurable when youdon’t have a dictionary near

you. Also, maintain a smallnotebook where you jot down un-known words while reading and checkthem.

Do word puzzles andplay gamesWord puzzles in the newspaper or amagazine aren’t just a fun way to filltime, they’re also perfect for boostingyour working vocabulary. Crosswordpuzzles are a challenge that get yourbrain working hard to search yourmemory for words you do know butdon’t use, and this can help you movewords from your memory banks intoyour working set of vocabulary whichwill come across in your writing. Trydownloading fun word games ontoyour phone or computer so you can

get some practicewhile you unwind after a

busy day. Some games are designed tobuild vocabulary skills, but thereare plenty of others that willhelp you practice spelling,phonics, and even typing skills.

LimitDon’t try to memorise the dic-tionary in a day! Limit yourselfto 5 words per day to avoid feel-ing overwhelmed and you willbe more successful in remem-bering the vocabulary.

Make up associationsStart by saying the new word

aloud, then relate it to a word you al-ready know. A good example of thisis gargantuan, which means “verylarge” or “gigantic.” Say a sequence

aloud: small, medium, large, verylarge, gargantuan. Then list thingsyou think are gargantuan.

Use right words andphrases“The difference between theright word and the almost rightword is the difference betweenlightning and a lightning bug,”says Mark Twain. Having agood vocabulary is all aboutchoosing words with greaterprecision. Don’t use three wordswhen one will do. For instance,the phrase “dolphins and

whales” can be replaced with theword “cetaceans,” making

“cetaceans” a useful word.Think of your vocabulary asyour “communication tool-

box”: every word is a tool, readyto be used at the right time. The

purpose of learning words is to makeyour communication simpler. Re-member, the best writers aim for con-cision and accuracy.

WriteActually using vocabulary can helpit stick in your mind. Write sentenceswith new vocabulary words or com-pose a story using a group of wordsor expressions. If you are out andabout, you can make the example sen-tences in your mind if you don’t havea pen and paper handy.

Ask for feedbackDo you think your writing could usesome help? If you’re struggling withyour written vocabulary, try askingsomeone else for help. A second set of

eyes can offer a great deal of insightand spot problems you may not no-tice yourself, including poor wordchoice. Don’t be afraid to ask afriend or a teacher to review yourwriting for feedback on your vo-

cabulary.

Appreciate the language

This is important. You can tryevery trick in the book, but noth-ing will work if you don’t truly ap-

preciate the language…for its in-tricacies, its depth, the subtle dif-ference between identical words and

phrases. English must be observedand internalised. When you

will fall in love with the lan-guage learning new words

becomes effortless and fun.

Hi friends. We are

You can improve how you sound andwrite to those around you by addinga few words to your vocabulary. Butdon’t go randomly searching through

the dictionary. You don’t want tocome off sounding pretentious

Photo: Getty images

Photo: Getty images

IDIOMS ONHARD WORKBLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARSMeaning: A lot of effort and sufferingExample: It must have taken the author’s blood, sweat,and tears to write this really good novel.

BURN THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDSMeaning: To get little sleep because you are busyExample: With the deadline only one week away, he hasto burn the candles at both ends to finish his draft.

SINK YOUR TEETH INTOMeaning: To start to do something with a lot of enthusiasmExample: Software development is something she hasalways wanted to sink her teeth into.

WORK YOUR FINGERS TO THE BONEMeaning: Work very hardExample: I worked my fingers to the bone to give mychildren a good life.

BACK-BREAKING WORKMeaning: Very hard, physical workExample: Digging the hole was back-breaking work.

BUCKLE DOWNMeaning: To have strong determination and work hardtowards a goalExample: We have to buckle down and finish this assign-ment by tonight.

BURNING A CANDLE AT BOTH ENDSMeaning: To work extremely hardExample: You’ll wear out if you keep burning the candleat both ends.

PULL OUT ALL THE STOPSMeaning: To do everything you can to make somethingsuccessfulExample: We’re going to pull out all the stops to get thisshow ready in time.

WONDERFUL WORDSWONDERFUL WORDSWITH NO ENGLISH EQUIVALENTWITH NO ENGLISH EQUIVALENT

Iktsuarpok (Inuit)You know that feeling of anticipa-tion when you’re waiting for some-one to show up at your house and youkeep going outside to see if they’rethere yet? This is the word for it.

Gumusservi (Turkish) Meteorologists can be poets inTurkey with words like this at theirdisposal. It means moonlight shin-ing on water.

Slampadato (Italian)Addicted to the UV glow of tanningsalons? This word describes you.

Zeg (Georgian)It means “the day after tomorrow.”OK, we do have “overmorrow” inEnglish, but when was the last timesomeone used that?

Pelinti (Buli, Ghana)Your friend bites into a piece of pip-

ing hot pizza, then opens his mouthand sort of tilts his head aroundwhile making an “aaaarrrahh”noise. The Ghanaians have aword for that. More specifi-cally, it means “to move hotfood around in your mouth.”

Boketto (Japanese) To gaze vacantly into the distancewithout thinking.

Mamihlapinatapai (Yaghanlanguage of Tierra del Fuego)

This word captures that speciallook shared between two people,when both are wishing that theother would do something thatthey both want, but neither wantto do.

Luftmensch (Yiddish)There are several Yiddish words todescribe social misfits. This one isfor an impractical dreamer with nobusiness sense. Literally, air person.

Faamiti (Samoan) To make a squeaking sound by suck-ing air past the lips in order to gainthe attention of a dog or child.

Koi No Yokan (Japanese)The sense upon first meeting a per-son that the two of you are going tofall in love.

Photo: Getty images

BailoutBailout is a general term for extendingfinancial support to a company or a countryfacing a potential bankruptcy threat. It cantake the form of loans, cash, bonds, or stockpurchases. The reason for bailout is to sup-port an industry that may be affecting mil-lions of people internationally and could beon the verge of bankruptcy due to prolongedfinancial crises.

LiquidityLiquidity means how quickly you can getyour hands on your cash. In simpler terms,liquidity is to get your money whenever youneed it. Description: Liquidity might beyour emergency savings account or the cashlying with you that you can access in case ofany unforeseen happening or any financialsetback. Liquidity also plays an importantrole as it allows you to seize opportunities.

Ease of doing businessEase of doing business is an index publishedby the World Bank. It is an aggregate figurethat includes different parameters whichdefine the ease of doing business in a country.

Fiscal policy Fiscal policy refers to the policies framed bythe government in order to regulate taxationand for allocation of budgets to variousdepartments for their functioning. The annu-al economic survey and the annual budget listout these policies of the government. From

paying the income tax, to our demand for bet-ter roads and infrastructure, everything isaffected by the government’s fiscal policies.

Macroeconomics andMicroeconomicsMacroeconomics is the branch of economicsthat studies the behaviour and performanceof an economy as a whole. It focuses on theaggregate changes in the economy such as

unemployment, growth rate, gross domesticproduct and inflation. Microeconomics is thestudy of individuals, households and firms’behaviour in decision making and allocationof resources.

Direct Tax Traditionally, these are taxes where the bur-den of tax falls on the person on whom it islevied. These are largely taxes on income orwealth.

Indirect Tax In case of indirect taxes, the incidence of taxis usually not on the person who pays the tax.These are largely taxes on expenditure andinclude Customs, excise and service tax.

Unemployment rateThe unemployment rate is defined as the per-centage of unemployed workers in the totallabour force. Workers are considered unem-ployed if they currently do not work, despitethe fact that they are able and willing to do so.

StartupsThe Silicon Valley in California is well-known for their many technology startupcompanies. A startup can generally bedescribed as a new business venture that’sexpected to grow very quickly.

Consumer SpendingWe all buy goods and services for our per-sonal and household use. That makes us allconsumers. So then, consumer spendingrefers to the purchase of goods and servicesby consumers like us.

KEY WORDS FOR TALKINGABOUT ECONOMY

QUERIES RELATING TOLANGUAGE SKILLS

10

All mighty & AlmightyALL MIGHTY means very; to a greatdegreeExample: The guests were all might-ily pleased to see the dance floor.ALMIGHTY means having unlimitedpower; omnipotent, as God.Example: By the grace of thealmighty the roads were cleared ofthe boulders.

All together & AltogetherALL TOGETHER means used of agroup whose members acted orwere acted upon collectively.Usage Example: The clothes lay

all together in a heap on the floor.ALTOGETHER means wholly; entirely;completely; quite.Usage Example: The premises wasaltogether destroyed I the fire.

Allay & Alley ALLAY means to lessen or relieveExample: He managed to allay thefears of the small child.ALLEY means a passage, as through acontinuous row of houses, permittingaccess from the street to backyards,garages, etc.Example: The alleys were dingyand badly lit.

CONFUSING WORDS

Photo: Getty images