Introductory Unit – Presentation 1
• What is Grammar?
“a set of shared assumptions about how language works”
• What does ‘Grammar’ mean?
Coming from Greek ‘gramma’ it means a letter/ sth
written.
Why is Grammar important?
Loose ‘bricks’ cannot hold up an edifice
To get here,
you need some sort of frame
…where everything falls into place
and builds on top of the others…
…in a neat, orderly way!
Literary
• Λογοτεχνική/ Φιλολογική = the kind of words used in
stories, poems, etc but not in normal speaking/ writing.
e.g. Mallet had talents enough to keep his literary reputation
alive as long as he himself lived.
Formal
• Δόκιμη/ Επίσημη = serious and correct/ suitable for official
use.
e.g. Pertaining to the statutes hereby stipulated.
Informal
• Δημώδης/ Ανεπίσημη= suitable for friendly settings but not
for official use.
e.g. The word ‘informal’ is one of the worst enemies to higher
civilisation. It is only a synonym for ‘free-and-easy’.
Colloquial
• Δημοτική/ Καθομιλούμενη= every-day language used in
informal situations.
e.g. Such sentiments do your heart good.
Slang
• Λαϊκή/ Αργκό= very informal to the point of unsuitable for
most situations, usu. used only by certain groups of people.
e.g. The police-officers think that the robbery was a put-up
job.
Jargon
• Εξειδικευμένη/ επαγγελματική φρασεολογία= special words
and phrases, usu. used and mainly only understood by
people doing the same kind of work.
e.g. We have to okay L1 use for monolingual classes. (teaching
jargon)
Terminology
• (Επίσημη) Ορολογία= words and phrases used in a particular
business, science or profession.
e.g. You can use JavaScript on an HTML webpage to optimise
its output.
Literal
• Κυριολεκτική= words used in their most basic meaning.
e.g. I have had the honour to give you a literal and faithful
narrative of the conversation.
Figurative/ Metaphorical
• Αλληγορική/ Μεταφορική= words used outside their most
basic meaning to make them more impressive or appealing.
e.g. There is a figurative sense in which things are said to be in
the mind.
Discursive
• Πλατειαστική/ -ός Λόγος= including information not
immediately relevant to the main subject.
e.g. Racism as a social phenomenon has been around for
centuries. It was during the last two hundred years, though,
that hatred toward ethnic minorities went to other
extremes.
Picturesque
• Παραστατική/ Γλαφυρή= unusual and interesting use of
language to make it more attractive.
e.g. The moment our discourse rises above the ground line of
familiar facts and is inflamed with passion it clothes itself
in images.
Register
• Κοινωνιόλεκτο/ Γλωσσικό ιδίωμα κοινωνικής ομάδας= type
of language used in particular situations or when
communicating with particular groups of people.
e.g. Letter-writing has its own very distinct register.
Genre
• Εκφραστικό Ύφος/ Είδος (Γραπτού/ Ομιλίας)= (in cinema,
writing, art) a certain style that is easily discernible by its
unique features.
e.g. The novel did not really exist as a genre before the 17th
century.
Oxymoron
• Οξύμωρο σχήμα= an expression of words with opposite
meanings.
e.g. a passive activity, a bitter sweet experience
Paradox/ Irony
• Παράδοξο/ Ειρωνεία= contradictory ideas that point out
some underlying truth.
e.g. I noticed the following paradox on board an Italian ferry
once: in the smokers’ area there were ashtrays with the
‘no-smoking’ sign plastered on them.
Euphemism
• Ευφημισμός= using a less offensive or more agreeable term.
e.g. senior citizen.
Hyperbole
• Υπερβολή= exaggeration of a statement.
e.g. At 1.75m, Samuel towers above his classmates.
Metaphor
• Μεταφορά= stating one entity is another for the purpose of
comparing them in quality.
e.g. She used the metaphor of war to describe the fight
against disease.
Neologism
• Νεολογισμός= a term recently created, or an old one used
with a new meaning. Opp. archaism
e.g. The class which, to use a modern neologism, ‘formulates’
the ideas.
Personification
• Προσωποποίηση= attributing human qualities to inanimate
things & animals.
e.g. The personification of the elements was common practice
in ancient Greece.
Simile
• Παρομοίωση= comparison between two things using like or
as.
e.g. They work like slaves.
Pronunciation
• Προφορά= the way in which you say the letters or words in
any given language.
e.g. I don’t know how to pronounce the name ‘Eustace’.
Accent
• Ιδιοπροφορά= the way of saying words that shows what
country, region, or social class someone comes from.
e.g. James has completely lost his Irish accent.
Intonation
• Επιτονισμός= the way in which your voice rises or falls when
you speak.
e.g. Surely, you know that your intonation should rise when
asking a question!
Tone
• Τονισμός= the degree to which the sound of a word or part
of a word is high or low OR the sound of someone’s voice
that shows what they are feeling.
e.g. Her surprised tone of voice could only mean she really
didn’t know about us coming!
Rhythm
• Ρυθμός= a regular pattern of sounds.
e.g. You can’t expect the Listening Test at A2 level to be
delivered at the same rhythm as B2.
Simplified IPA
SHORT
VOWELS
LONG
VOWELS
ALMOST
VOWELS
CONSONANTS
CONSONANTS
cont’d
DIPTHONGS
cont’d
/ɪ/ pig, lid
/e/ pen,
edge
/æ/ hat,
fat
/ʌ/ bus,
ugly
/ɒ/ long,
cot
/ʊ/ put,
book
/ə/ river,
other
/i:/ leaf,
meet
/ɑ:/farm,
aunt
/ɔ:/ horn,
August
/u:/ room,
lose
/ɜ:/ nurse,
first
/j/ few,
euro
/w/ we,
wake
/m/ come,
lamb
/n/ net, know
/ŋ/singer,
climbing
/l/ lot, beetle
/r/ write,
marry
/s/ city, sack
/f/ fear, photo
/v/ van, of
/p/ pet, stop
/b/ bet, rib
/t/ task, art
/d/ do, mad
/k/ cat, kit
/ɡ/ gain,big
/tʃ/ chair, itch
/dʒ/ bridge,
jar
/θ/ thank,
tooth
/ð/ the, that
/ʃ/ charade,
she
/z/ zoo,
prison
/ʒ/ treasure,
Asia
/h/ he, whose
/ɔɪ/ oil,
boil
/əʊ/ low,
boat
/aʊ/brow,
our
/ɪə/here,
deer
/eə/ fair,
hare
/ʊə/ lure,
endure
DIPTHONGS
Problem
Sounds
/eɪ/ eight,
late
/aɪ/ buy, icon
ə (schwa),
æ, tʃ, ʃ
ŋ, ɜ: