Meaning of Words
Meaning of Words
We may note three important properties concerning the meaning of words. First, there is no logical meaning between words and what they stand for. This means there is no reason why a book should be called a book, a chair or a man. Each of them could be another name, and indeed is called other names in other languages. In fact, the name language may refer to the same object by different names at different times in the history of it’s speaker. It would be interesting and rewarding if you can look for such words in English and in your own Language.
Secondly, all words and their meanings, whether such words are technical or everyday ones are arrived at through a sort of a common agreement by all people using the Language. This is why Language is said to be conventional as could be seen from the lack of logical relationship between words and their meanings, referred to by the words. The pig is not so called because it is dirty.
Finding Meaning of Words
Do you still turn to a dictionary every second? Yes, the dictionary is a good student companion but it is not an end in it’s self, it is the last resort after all other attempt to deduce the meaning of the word have failed. One way to enhance your reading ability and to increase your word power is to guess the meaning of a word or expression from the context.
There are number of ways meaning of words can be deduced from a context. Some of these ways are: through word attack, searching round the passage, using past experience and turning to the dictionary or asking colleagues.
A. By Word Attack
As you have learnt in the previous articles, words are made up of prefixes, suffixes and infixes. They are in most cases like a structure which can be broken down into their component parts.
When you are in a context (which can be a passage or a book) you can break the words down into it’s divisible or component parts such as Prefixes (attachment after the root word). Not all words can be broken down into these component parts, but a great majority can.
Before you attack the words, you must first of all decide the function of the word in the passage. The word aggrieved is acting as an adjective describing the manners that will fit into the context. With word attack, words are broken down into the following parts:
• Ag- one (one who is sad)
• Grieve- sad
• Ed- past
B. By Searching Round the Passage
If you look at the environment in which occurs in a passage, you may be able to find words and expression which are similar in meaning to the actual words in question, word and Expression that are opposite in meaning or a related idea which suggests the meaning of words in question. All these give clues to the meaning of the word.
C. By Using your Past Experience
Sometimes your experience of the idea being discussed in the passage or your experience of the actual word or part of the word in another context not quite similar to the context at hand, may give clues to the meaning of the word in another context and continue to change meaning in different context.
D. By Turning to the Dictionary or asking your Colleague
This is, in fact the last resort and a lazy students. In extensive reading, you can’t always turn to your Dictionary, but by all means, when all other suggestions in this article fail, please feel free to turn to the dictionary. A good dictionary will never fail you. But do not rush into it, try to deduce the meaning of the word in the context first. Words are always in context and the meaning of the same word in another context. That’s why the dictionary itself gives many different meanings to the same word.
E. Things to Note while trying to Guess the Meaning of Words in Context
When you come across a word meaning you do not know, always try to pause to deduce the meaning. These are additional suggestions you could use while pondering on the word:
I. Look at the function of the word in the context. See whether the word is playing the role of a noun or a verb, an adjective or an adverb, and so on. See the word is shedding light on another word in it’s surrounding can shed light on the word.
II. Look for it’s grammatical form. Is the word in the past, present or future tense? Is it in an in-ing form ending in -ly, -sm, or -ty?
III. Use all clues available In the context to determine the meaning of the word.
IV. Relate the meaning of the word to the context so that the meaning fits into the passage structurally.
V. Insist on only one meaning of the word that fits into the passage rather than listing different meaning, all of them as guess work, thinking one of them will be correct.
VI. When reading a novel or reading extensively, complete a whole passage or paragraph before trying to deduce the meaning of an unfamiliar word. The wider the context to which you look at the word, the more readily you may be able to deduce it’s meaning.
VII. Do not think you have to get the meaning of every word in a context before you understand the passage. You may not need to know the meaning of some words in a passage before you understand the entire passge.
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