|
|
 |
|
Portico Books |
|
© 2000-2011 Portico Books |
 |
LinguaPhile, June 2004
A monthly e-mail newsletter nurturing the development and enjoyment of English language arts at home and at school.
IN THIS ISSUE . . .
Welcome New Subscribers
We welcome new subscribers from the following conferences attended since the last issue of LinguaPhile was published in February: IAHE, NCEA, Home School Book Fair (Arlington, TX), FPEA, and NICHE.
*************************
Back to Top
Hot Off the Press: The Second Edition of Hands-On English!
The second edition of Hands-On English is, at long
last, a
reality. For those of you who are fond of the first edition,
don't worry; I think you'll recognize the second edition as your trusted friend. It has the same clear, concise explanations, the
same tidy layout, and the same icons to represent parts of speech
and sentence constructions.
The second edition is even more conversational than the first and
is thirty-two pages longer. Most of the additions are in the
Reading and Writing sections. There is new material on decoding
(dividing words into syllables, determining the correct vowel
sound, and placing the accent) and on finding the main idea. The
Writing section has new information about paragraph development
and conciseness.
The Activity Book has been updated to correspond with the
new
handbook. It includes fifteen new pages -- as well as some pages
that have been revised to cover expanded content. In addition to
"Reproducible" and "Consumable" editions --
housed in a one-inch
binder with tests, answers, teacher's notes, and an annotated
resource list -- a student workbook is now available. The
workbook has perforated pages, which are three-hole drilled so
that they can be kept for reference after they're completed.
Prices of the new Activity Book remain the same as for the
first edition: $14.95 for the Consumable Edition and $29.95 for
the Reproducible Edition. The workbook and the second edition of
Hands-On English are $14.95 each.
I had hoped to have new pages posted on the GrammarAndMore
website before I announced these new products to you. Everything
is taking longer than I anticipated, however, and I couldn't
wait any longer! You can order by calling (toll free) 1-888-641-5353. You can also order on the GrammarAndMore website, but if
you want the second edition, be sure to indicate that -- and
confirm the price -- in the Comment section. The order forms and
the shopping cart should be updated within a couple of weeks.
If you want first edition books, I encourage you to order those
right away. I have several hundred copies of Hands-On English
and about 150 Activity Books. Those will not be reprinted.
*************************
Back to Top
Could You Benefit from Hands-On English?
People in a variety of situations have found Hands-On English to be a valuable resource:
people who teach English at any level, whether their students are gifted or struggling. While Hands-On English is a great resource for teachers, it is even more effective when each student has a personal copy. Having the information at their fingertips helps students develop independence and confidence with English. And when students can quickly find and understand the information they need, teachers can more easily meet the diverse needs of students in their classes.
students fourth grade or older, including adults
homeschoolers
parents who are not homeschoolers. (Homeschooling Today deemed the book "a worthwhile addition to any home library.")
adults who are not necessarily parents. Everyone needs to check usage or mechanics rules from time to time -- how about copies for your home and your office?
student teachers -- in any subject
people learning English as an additional language (the vocabulary section and irregular verb lists are especially helpful)
people trying to strengthen basic skills in order to improve their employment options
Many teachers and home educators have told me that Hands-On
English is the clearest English book they've found. Get your
copy today -- and get additional copies to give as gifts.
You can order by phone, fax, snail mail, or on the Internet.
MasterCard and Visa are accepted, and purchase orders are
accepted from institutions. Discounts are available on quantity
purchases.
http://www.GrammarAndMore.com/product/hoe.htm
If you have questions, mailto:Fran@GrammarAndMore.com
or call (toll free) 1-888-641-5353. This number will also accept
fax orders.
*************************
Back to Top
Upcoming Conference: St. Louis
A conferences is a great place to
• get a firsthand look at Hands-On English products
• introduce your colleagues to Hands-On English products
• give feedback on products you're using (including
suggestions!)
• get your questions answered
• avoid shipping costs on Hands-On English purchases
If you'll be attending the Christian Home Educators Fellowship
conference (CHEF) at the Heart of St. Charles Banquet Center June
23 and 24, be sure to stop by the Portico Books table to say
hello to Fran and take a look at the second edition of Hands-On
English. Take your friends along!
If you won't be attending the conference but know people who will
be, please encourage them to do the same. Becoming familiar with
Hands-On English products on the website
can give you a good background for seeing the products in person:
http://www.GrammarAndMore.com/product/hoe.htm
*************************
Back to Top
Bloomsday Centennial
The day detailed and immortalized in James Joyce's
revolutionary stream-of-consciousness novel, Ulysses is
June 16, 1904. Sites
around the world are having special celebrations to mark the
centennial. (Dublin is celebrating for five months.) A Google
search will let you know what is happening in your area.
If you aren't particularly fond of Joyce, plan to celebrate
Bloomsday by immersing yourself in literature, by expressing
yourself in writing, and/or by carefully observing the details of
your surroundings.
Of Ulysses Joyce said, "I want to give a picture of
Dublin so
complete that if the city one day suddenly disappeared from the
earth it could be reconstructed out of my book." Compare
this
with what David R. Francis, president of the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition, said about his marvelous world's fair held in St.
Louis -- also in 1904: "So thoroughly did [the Fair]
represent
the world's civilizations that if all man's other works were by
some unspeakable catastrophe blotted out, the records established
at this Exposition by the assembled nations would afford the
necessary standards for the rebuilding of our entire civilization." I wonder if this similarity is coincidence or
if
one of these geniuses modeled his remarks upon the other's.
For more on James Joyce and his work (and other sites that
commemorate Bloomsday) see the June 2001 LinguaPhile:
http://www.grammarandmore.com/edu/archive/issue11.htm
*************************
Back to Top
Father's Day Writing Ideas
For a number of writing suggestions for Father's Day, see the
June 2002 LinguaPhile:
http://www.grammarandmore.com/edu/archive/issue23.htm#mday
*************************
Back to Top
Quote of the Month: Lessons from Literature
The lesson intended by an author is hardly ever the lesson the
world chooses to learn from his book.
-- George Bernard Shaw, Irish dramatist, critic, and novelist
(1856-1950). Quoted in Oxymoronica.
*************************
Back to Top
Sharpen Your Vocabulary: oxymoron
You may know oxymoron as a rhetorical device involving
an expression that appears illogical because of self-contradiction.
On a deeper level, however, an oxymoron often reveals a profound
truth. An oxymoron can involve a single word, a short phrase, a
complete sentence, or even a longer passage.
Did you know, though, that the word oxymoron is itself
oxymoronic? As Dr. Mardy Grothe explains in his new book
(reviewed below) oxymoron is forged from two Greek roots:
oxus, meaning "sharp or pointed," and moros,
meaning "dull,
stupid, or foolish." An oxymoron, then, is "a sharp
dullness." Another oxymoronic word is sophomore (the same moros
root
combined with sophos, meaning "wise or clever").
One of the
most appropriate oxymoronic words is preposterous (pre
meaning "before" and post meaning
"after"). How could one
better communicate the idea of absurdity (preposterousness) than
with an oxymoron?
The word oxymoron appears in English for the first time in
1640. However, as Dr. Grothe's book illustrates, people had been
creating oxymora (or recognizing contradictory circumstances) for
millennia.
Hands-On English includes more than 200 morphemes, along
with their meanings and examples. Knowing the meanings of morphemes
can help you unlock hundreds of words the first time you
encounter them. Reviewers of Hands-On English have said
that
the vocabulary section alone is worth the book's modest purchase
price. Learn more -- and place your order -- at
http://www.GrammarAndMore.com/product/hoe.htm
*************************
Back to Top
Q and A: Newsletters
Question: I haven't been receiving your newsletters lately. Am
I
still subscribed?
Answer: If you receive this newsletter, you are subscribed, and
it is likely that you haven't missed any mailings. This is the
first issue of LinguaPhile I have sent since February --
and I
have sent only three issues of Acu-Write in the last three
months. Preparation of the second edition took more time than I
expected. Additional chunks of time were taken by traveling to
spring conventions.
Be sure to keep me apprised of your e-mail address though -- and
be sure that your mailbox will accept the newsletters. About 100
newsletters bounce back to me with each mailing -- either
because they are rejected by a filtering system or because the
recipient's mailbox cannot accommodate them.
I appreciate your patience with recent sporadic publication, and
I hope to be back on a regular publishing schedule by the end of
June.
Hands-On English will put a wealth of information at your fingertips so that you can quickly find what you need to know
about grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and more. Get details -- and place your order -- at
http://www.GrammarAndMore.com/product/hoe.htm
We invite your questions for this feature:
Fran@GrammarAndMore.com
*************************
Back to Top
Review: Oxymoronica: Paradoxical Wit and Wisdom from History's Greatest Wordsmiths by Dr. Mardy Grothe
Dr. Mardy Grothe, author of Never Let a Fool Kiss You or a
Kiss
Fool You, has written another gem -- Oxymoronica:
Paradoxical
Wit and Wisdom from History's Greatest Wordsmiths. The
subtitle
is perfectly apt: Wit and wisdom form the crux of an oxymoron, and Grothe's examples -- drawn from around the world -- span
millennia.
As Grothe says in his introduction, "Many examples of
oxymoronica appear illogical or self-contradictory on the surface. But at a
deeper level, they usually make a great deal of sense and are
often profoundly true."
A linguaphile extraordinaire, Grothe has been collecting
quotations for nearly four decades. From his eight to ten
thousand examples of oxymoronica, he has culled nearly 1500 for
inclusion in the present volume. He has arranged them into
fourteen chapters, each with a theme, such as romance, family,
politics, the arts, and literature. One chapter is devoted to
"ancient oxymoronica," another to "inadvertent
oxymoronica." Grothe provides commentary through about the first half of each
chapter, citing oxymora (the purists' plural) that illustrate
his points. The last half of each chapter presents additional
oxymora without commentary. Grothe advises readers not to read
these too quickly but to take time to savor each one as if it
were gourmet chocolate.
Here are a few of my favorites from Oxymoronica:
The obvious is that which is never seen until someone expresses
it simply.
--Kahlil Gibran
There is no exception to the rule that every rule has an
exception.
--James Thurber
People have one thing in common: they are all different.
--Robert Zend
We are never prepared for what we expect.
--James Michener
Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to
forget it.
--Montaigne
Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong
desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die.
--G. K. Chesterton
Fire is a natural symbol of life and passion, though it is the
one element in which nothing can actually live.
--Susanne K. Langer
Revenge leads to an empty fullness, like eating dirt.
--Mignon McLaughlin
The principal contributor to loneliness in this country is
television. What happens is that the family "gets
together"
alone.
--Ashley Montagu
I'm the Hiroshima of love.
--Sylvester Stallone
Oxymoronica is a linguaphile's paradise. It will delight
you
again and again with its double-faceted gems. It is a celebration
not only of people's wit and wisdom but also of the paradoxical
nature of our world.
Published by HarperResource, 2004. 256 pages, including an author index.
For more about oxymora, see http://www.oxymoronica.com.
To explore the phenomenon of chiasmus, see
http://www.chiasmus.com.
Available from Amazon.com: Oxymoronica: Paradoxical Wit & Wisdom From History's Greatest Wordsmiths
*************************
Back to Top
Puzzler: Match Wits with a Telephone
I was recently introduced to the idea of "predictive text
messaging," which I found fascinating. Telephones with this
capability can decode numerical messages by predicting which
letter (represented by a particular number on a key pad) that
number is most likely to represent in the context of a message.
For example "843" is most likely to be the. UHF,
VHF, and
vie, are also possible, however.
It seemed to me that a puzzle was inherent here. As far as I know,
this puzzle format is original (please let me know if you've seen
it before).
Decode this quotation, which is an example of oxymoronica from
Mardy Grothe's book. In case you don't have a telephone key pad
handy, here are the possibilities for each number:
| 1 (not used) | 6 M N O |
| 2 A B C | 7 P Q R S |
| 3 D E F | 8 T U V |
| 4 G H I | 9 W X Y Z |
| 5 J K L | 0 word space |
Here's the message:
"4 8 0 8 2 5 3 7 0 2 0 4 3 2 7 0 6 3 0 7 3 6 7 3 0 8 6 0
9 7 4 8 3 0 4 6 6 3 0 6 6 6 7 3 6 7 3." --6 2 7 5 0 8 9 2 4
6
My telephone, by the way, misinterpreted one of the numbers, so
you have a very good chance of besting the machine.
Answer to February Puzzler
Can you find a 15-letter word that suggests a good deal of
anxiety and contains no ascenders and no descenders?
overnervousness
*************************
Back to Top
Thank you for reading. If you find LinguaPhile helpful and interesting, don't keep it a secret! Consider which of your friends would also enjoy it, and send them information about subscribing. Those receiving this forwarded message can subscribe at http://www.GrammarAndMore.com . People who have e-mail but do not have Internet access can subscribe by clicking on this link and requesting to subscribe: mailto:LinguaPhile@GrammarAndMore.com .
We welcome your comments and suggestions: mailto:LinguaPhile@GrammarAndMore.com
The index to LinguaPhile, which is updated monthly, is now
available in either a text or .doc format on the GrammarAndMore Web site:
http://www.GrammarAndMore.com/edu/archive/archiveindex.htm
This makes the information from previous issues readily accessible. You are encouraged to print the index for your convenience or to share it with friends. Why not send them the URL of the text version?
http://www.GrammarAndMore.com/edu/archive/index.txt
It's a gift you can give, yet still have for yourself!
© 2004 Fran Santoro Hamilton
|
View Cart/Checkout |
| Buy Hands-On English, the Activity Book (Reproducible Edition), and Hands-On Sentences for $50.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
