7thL10
Name
Date
Page 01
Vocabulary Lesson 10
Words in Context:
The First Americans- American Indian Languages
Just as Italian is similar to Spanish, so Navajo and Apache are related to languages in Alaska and northwestern
Canada- the Athapascan family. Language families can be used to trace the migration of people. Because
Cherokee is an Algonquian language, historians believe that the Cherokee travelled south from the land of the
Oneida and Mohawk. Over one hundred American Indian languages are still spoken.
Read the ten vocabulary words below and decipher each word's definition based on its context within the
sentences below.
1) Consecutive- "Class," Mr. Lee smiled, "we will now hear Gene speak for three consecutive minutes, that
is, three minutes straight, on the language of American Indians." I took a deep breath and stood up.
2) Creative- "Scholars estimate there were more than two hundred languages in North America before
Europeans arrived. Each language was a creative system of sounds, capable of great expressiveness."
3) Diction- "Within each language, however, diction most likely varied from person to person. Each
speaker would naturally put the word together in a slightly different way."
4) Durable- "The ancient languages were durable, as they had lasted through the centuries. However,
dialects had evolved as different peoples migrated far from their homelands.
5) Feasible- Spoken language was not the only feasible form of communication. American Indians who
lived on the Great Plains developed sign language as another possible way of communicating.
6) Hilarious- American Indians used different forms of communication- spoken language and sign
language to name two- to express different ideas. Sign language, for example, may be more suitable for
telling a joke- a story that is supposed to be hilarious might draw more laughs if it were signed that if it
were spoken."
7) Immense- "The vocabulary of sign language was not immense. Because it was limited, few complex
ideas could be communicated through signing."
8) Ingenious- "Many American Indian languages were never recorded in writing. But a Cherokee named
Sequoyah invented an ingenious system of symbols for writing. This imaginative system had eighty-six
characters."
9) Insoluble- "Some American Indian words present almost insoluble problems to translators. One Kiowa
name meant, 'A Warrior Always Fighting Who Had No Time to Even Take the Saddle Blanket from His
Horse'".
10) Ordeal- At last, my ordeal was finished. It really hadn't been as hard as I'd feared it might be, and I
probably learned more about American Indian languages than anyone in class.
Name
Date
Page 02
Vocabulary Lesson 10
Scan the definitions in Column A. Then, think about how the boldface words are used in the sentences in
Column B. To complete the exercise, match each definition in Column A with the correct Vocabulary
Word from Column B. Write the letter of your choice on the line provided. Finally, write the Vocabulary
Word on the line before the definition.
COLUMN A
_____ 01. word:
adj. very large; enormous; boundless
_____ 02. word:
adj. having the ability to create; imaginative; having
originality or expressiveness
_____ 03. word:
adj. not able to be dissolved; not able to be solved
_____ 04. word:
adj. following in order or without interruption;
successive
_____ 05. word:
adj. capable of being accomplished or carried out;
possible
_____ 06. word:
n. a person's choice of words in speech or writing;
manner of pronunciation in speaking or singing
_____ 07. word:
adj. long- lasting able to resist wear or decay;
enduring
_____ 08. word:
adj. clever; skillfully inventive; resourceful;
imaginative
_____ 09. word:
adj. cheerfully funny; producing great amusement
_____ 10. word:
adj. a painful or difficult experience
COLUMN B
(A) Sequoyah's system of symbols is a work of creative
genius, or great originality.
(B) Sequoyah was fascinated by the possibility of a way
of writing, words on paper. Once he knew written
language was feasible, he set to work.
(C) The immense task of inventing a written language
would have seemed too much form most people, but
Sequoyah was not overwhelmed by the enormous job.
(D) For twelve consecutive years he analyzed the
Cherokee language. Success did not come easily. Year
after year, he struggled.
(E) This long, twelve- year struggle proved to be an
ordeal for Sequoyah, but one that he felt was worth all
the distress.
(F) There were many times when the problem seemed
insoluble to him. One solution was to draw a symbol for
every word, but then there would be too many symbols.
(G) He had to be concerned about diction when he
recorded the words of a speaker.
(H) Europeans' efforts at translation were often
laughable, even hilarious.
(I) Sequoyah produced an ingenious written language of
over eight symbols. His system was a resourceful
solution to the problem of recording the Cherokee
language.
(J) Thanks to Sequoyah, the durable Cherokee
language, which had already existed for centuries, was
preserved in writing for centuries more.
Name
Date
Page 03
Vocabulary Lesson 10: Like Meanings and Opposite Meanings
Directions. For each item below, circle the letter of the choice that means the same, or about the
same, as the boldface word.
ingenious invention
D) choice of subject
A) clever
creative people
A) imaginative
B) generous
C) from the island of Crete
D) friendly
B) not generous
C) gas- powered
D) fanciful
consecutive days
A) business
B) meaningful
C) vacation
D) successive
immense mountains
A) rocky
B) dangerous
C) gigantic
D) nearby
a speaker's diction
A) notes
B) choice of words
C) lecture
Directions. For each item below, circle the letter of the choice that means opposite, or about the
opposite, of the boldface word.
a year long ordeal
A) distressing experience
B) vacation
C) painful experience
D) assignment
a feasible plan
A) complicated
B) simple
C) rewarding
D) impossible
a hilarious movie
A) boring
B) very funny
C) serious
D) set in the hills
insoluble materials
A) heavy
B) solid
C) dissolvable
D) varied
a durable product
A) inexpensive
B) artificial
C) short-lived
D) exciting