BEGE 103 -COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN ENGLISH

BLOCK

Block1- some concepts for communication in English. BLOCK 2- Listening and speaking in informal contexts. Block 3 – Listening and speaking in formal contexts. Block 4- writing Block 5- print media Block 6- Mediated communication. Block 7- The world wide Web and corporate communications. Block 8- using language for communication : Rhetoric and

argumentation.

WHAT IS MULTILINGUALISM?

Language constructs the way of communication as these two are interrelated. A child learns to talk naturally and spontaneously as it learns to walk. When a child grows up speaking more than one language and these languages are spoken at home and in the neighbourhood, it is called ‘multillingualism‘.

WHAT ARE THE TERMS USED FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE?

English is now considered ‘global language’, ‘world language’, ‘international language’. In India English is considered ‘associate language’.

WHAT IS DIALECT?

Language changes over time and across space. One variety of language may differ from other in three different ways: accent, pronunciation and grammar. If a variety of language differs from others in all these three ways, we call it ‘dialect’.

BLOCK-1:READ THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.

WHAT IS SOFT SKILL?

A soft skill refers to the cluster of personality traits, social graces, felicity with language, personal habits, friendliness, and optimism that mark each of us to a varying degrees. The persons with good soft skills are generally the people that most employees want to hire.

Behavioural traits such as attitude, motivation, time management, business etiquette, personal appearance, team spirit, negotiation skills, problem solving skills, leadership qualities – all these are important in communication skills.

DEFINE ‘ONE WAY‘, ‘TWO WAY’, ‘VERBAL’ COMMUNICATIONS: All types of communication involve a flow of information. ‘One-way’ communication

informs the receiver but does not receive any response. Sometimes we do not require response either, ex- School bells, factory sirens, traffic signals etc. One way communication between two or more persons has the danger of being understood wrongly.

Two way communication is an exchange of information and ideas. In two way communication we need active participation from both sides.

Verbal communication is communication through words. This can occur in either of two modes, Oral or written. Written communication is more formal than oral communication and not everyone can communicate effectively in writing.

The oral mode is used where personal authentication is needed, social needs must be met, situation is given maximum understanding , an atmosphere of openness is desired and information has to be communicated quickly.

MENTION THE BARRIERS OF COMMUNICATION.

Semantic and linguistic barriers.

Socio-psychological barriers.

Cross-cultural barriers.

Besides the points mentioned above, ambiguity in expression, excessive use of homophones(similar pronunciation but different meanings) are responsible for communication barriers.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS:

Which of the 12 international domains of English is applied to the remarks below?

1.English is likely to be used if a German sales manager conducts business in China. 2. For the airlines of 157 millions (out of 168 in the world), English is the agreed international language of discourse. 3. Languages do not change over time. (True/false)4.Changes in spoken sanskrit and spoken Latin led to the birth of languages such as Bengali, French and sanskrit. (True/False). 5. Historically in writing the varieties of languages have been guarded against change by grammarians and teachers (True/False).

6. A British Man (native speaker/non-native speaker) of English.

7. An Indian (native speaker/non-native speaker) of English.

8.Define the terms standard English, global village, ‘accent training’, accent neutralization.

9. What are the words from Indian languages for which standard English words exist?

10.Mention three factors that you have been agreed to distinguish ‘native’ from the ‘non-native’?

CHECK YOUR ANSWERS.

1.International banking, economic affairs and trade, 2. International safety, 3.False, 4. True, 5. True, 6. Native speaker, 7. Non-native speaker.

STANDARD ENGLISH: Standard English is that dialect most often spoken by educated members of society; it is the form usually employed in writing, and generally used by the media. It is also the form of the language used and promoted in schools. Two types of standard English are British English and American English.

GLOBAL VILLAGE: Marshall MCLuhan coined the term to refer to a communication explosion where one part of the world is connected with the other by means of information and communication.

Accent training and neutralization: An accent training is a matter of unlearning obvious regionalism and arriving at a neutral speech. Accent neutralization is the process of avoiding regionalism and adopting standard language.

9. Bandar- ‘monkey’, ‘god-man’- a holy man

10. a. Where you learn the language.

b. At what age you learn it.

c. Whether it is the only language you speak.

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BLOCK 2: INFORMAL INTERPERSONAL FUNCTIONSREAD THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

MENTION SOME WORDS USED FOR INFORMAL WAY OF SPEAKING? We have first known the informal ways of greeting. ‘Hello!’ is a common form

of greeting among friends. There can be variations in tone in which it is said, depending upon emotional state of speakers and the degree of intimacy between the people engaged in communication.

Informal speech usually involves half sentences and phrases. Facial expressions and gestures play an important role in informal communication.

‘How do you do?’is a common greeting among the British. ‘Hi‘, ‘Hello’, ‘Good Morning’ , ‘good evening’ are also used in informal

speaking. These expressions are mainly used in the starting of informal way of conversation.

WRITE SOME WAYS OF EXTENDING INVITATIONS, ACCEPTING AND DECLINING INVITATIONS, AND TAKING LEAVE. Invitation: ‘All right.... I would be delighted if both of you could come to

my party next Sunday...’ Invitation accepted: ‘yes, of course, I must attend your party.’ Invitation declined: ‘I am sorry, my aunt has not been keeping too well,

lately.’ Leave taking: ‘He hasn’t come yet.... I think I should leave.’ There are some rules of practising pronunciation. The letter ‘a’ has

different sounds in these common words like ‘take’, ‘call’, ‘along.’

WHAT ARE THE VARIATIONS OF SOUND IN PRONOUNCING THE LETTER ‘a’?

The letter ‘a’ , when it is pronounced by itself, rhymes with the ‘a’ in take. But in phrases like ‘a book’, it rhymes with the ‘a’ in ‘among’. When ‘a’ is pronounced in this short way, it is called a ‘weak form’. Also note that in the word ‘and’, ‘ a’has the sound as ‘e’ in ‘egg’.

‘a’ before ‘ck’ is usually pronounced as in ‘rat’. Example- ‘back’, ‘tack‘.

‘a’ followed by ‘ke’ is pronounced like ‘take’, ‘rake’,and ‘lake’.

In the phrase ‘tea or coffee’, ‘or’ is pronounced with a weak sound. Another form of ‘o’ can be heard in ‘of course’.

WHAT IS SMALL TALK? GIVE AN EXAMPLE. Small talk or small conversation is possible in any social gathering, where the

subject of conversation may be about the affairs of everyday world, day to day incident, any entertaining topic.

Short conversation may deal with weather, food, entertainment etc. Let’s see how this short conversation can be formed up along with all these issues mentioned above.

Talking about weather: ‘terribly hot! Isn’t it?’WHAT IS SYLLABLE? Words can have one or more sounds, units or syllables. A syllable is a unit that

has a vowel sound. Example- coast(1), wa+ter(2).

WHAT ARE THE TWO BEHAVIOURAL TRAITS WE SHOULD MAINTAIN WHILE MAKING ENQUIRIES?

Politeness and clarification.

MENTION A WAY OF MAKING ENQUIRIES?

Direct questions begin with wh-words but we don’t generally ask questions in this form. We use modal verbs for more politeness. Example: ‘could I know your name please?’, ‘May I know your address please.’

WHAT ARE SOME COMMON PROBLEMS WE FACE WHILE TALKING OVER PHONE? Failing to identify themselves. Not sure of the right number. Speaking unclearly. Speaking unnecessarily loudly. WHAT EXPRESSIONS SHOULD WE USE FOR AGREEING WITH SOMEONE? For agreeing with someone, we should respond appropriately, politely

and with proper voice modulation. For agreement we can use expressions like ‘that’s right’,’exactly’, ‘correct’ etc.

WHAT WORDS SHOULD WE USE FOR DISAGREEMENT?

For disagreement, we need to use certain words that will tone down the negative quality of what we say. Disagreeing involves making contrary statements. Connectives like ‘but’, ‘however’, ‘and’are frequently used.

MENTION SOME WAYS OF PRONOUNCING WORDS.

We should know that the noun in nominal compound is stressed. Example- in compounds like ‘sewing machine’, ‘air conditioning’ , the nouns ‘sewing’ and ‘air’ are stressed.

Adverbs at the end of sentences carry the stress of the phrase. Example- ‘what he says is clear enough.’, ‘don’t talk much’,. Here adverbs enough and much are stressed.

Short adverbs like ‘here’, ‘there’, ‘now’ are not stressed when they are in final position. The words preceeding them receive the stress. Example- I’ve never been there. Here ‘been’ is stressed and ‘there’ is unstressed.

The main verb is used when it is with auxiliary or any helping verb. I don’t believe it again.Main verb ‘believe’is stressed here.

But the auxiliary verbs are stressed to show emphasis on intention. Example : you must manage them yourself. Here ‘must’ is stressed to emphasize the intention.

HOW TO CONCLUDE A CONVERSATION? Conversation does not end abruptly. They need to be brought gradually to a

natural close. Unwillingness to respond could be an indication for closure of conversation. Closure of conversation can be indicated in another ways, example- ‘hope for

future meeting.’ For proper pronunciation one has to know voice modulation. A single word can be a statement, question or exclamation, depending on

voice modulation. Voice may rise for asking questions, for expressing exclamations and voice

may decline to show an agreement.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS.

1.Write some common forms of greetings among friends. 2.Mention some ways of leave taking. 3. Break the words into syllables: water, conversation, oranges. 4.What are the expressions you should use while receiving a call? 5.What are some common problems we notice with people who make or receive a call? 6. In the following sentences which words are stressed and why? A show has been arranged. He invited us to stay. He drank a glass of milk.

7.Choose the right one: ‘That’s right’, ‘Exactly’- these expressions are used for (agreement/disagreement).

8.What are the four major principles of conversation?

9. Write some expressions used to conclude a conversation.

10. Mention some words used for informal way of speaking.

Answers

1. ‘Hello’, ‘Good Morning’, ‘Hi’, ‘Nice to see you after so long’, ‘Hi! It seems ages since we met! How are you?’

2. ‘I’Il go now’, ‘No, I’ll call later, thank, ‘I must leave now’.3. Wa+ter, con+ver+sa+tion, O+ran+ges4. ‘May I know who I am speaking to?’, ‘could you repeat your name please?’,

‘May I know who is calling?’5. Failing to identify themselves, not making sure they have the right number,

speaking unnecessarily loudly. 6. Show, arranged, invited, stay, drank, glass, milk. These words are stressed

because they are nouns and verbs. 7. Agreement.

8. Quantity, quality, relevance, manner.

9. ‘There are quite a few other details to be dismissed, if we have the time.’,

‘Yes, all this seems very interesting, but perhaps we could meet again?’,

‘Some other time, I’m rather busy.’

10. Hi! , hi friends! , hi guys! , hello friends! etc.

* IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR QUERIES RELATED TO THE TOPIC DISCUSSED ABOVE, PLEASE MAIL: sahaarunk@yahoo.co.in

BLOCK 3: LISTENING AND SPEAKING IN FORMAL CONTEXT

READ THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

WHAT IS AN INTERVIEW? An interview is an essential part of a selection process. The interviewer, who

conducts the interview and asks questions to evaluate the interviewee, who is evaluated, selects a suitable candidate to fulfill a purpose. For example, in a job interview, the interviewer evaluates the candidates’ qualifications, personality (for traits such as language proficiency, and clarity) and forms an overall impression about each. The candidate, who fulfills all or most of the requirements that the interviewer has , gets the job.

The purposes of interview are to evaluate qualification, personality, work experience, communicative ability and further enquire about the candidates’ personality and professional qualifications. It is also conducted to verify interviewee’s qualifications and experience, to find out knowledge in depth, to determine communicative abilities and interviewee’s way of thinking.

MENTION THE TYPES OF INTERVIEW:1. The informal conversational interview: questions in this interview are not

predetermined. It deals with mainly first time applicants and this type of interview is mainly for job interview or placement.

2. The general interview, guided approach: In this type of interview information is collected from each interviewee who pertains to the same general idea. There is a degree of freedom and adaptability in getting information from the interviewee.

3. The standardized, open ended interview: All interviewee’s are asked the same open-ended questions. An open ended question is one that requires something more than yes/no or true/false answer.

4. The close, fixed-response interview: All interviewees are asked the same questions and asked to choose answers from among the set of alternatives.

HOW TO BE PREPARED FOR AN INTERVIEW? Preparation for an interview: The best possible preparation for an interview is to

expect the unexpected and the best way to deal with an interview is to ‘be yourself’, brush up your knowledge about subject, educational background, opinions, reasons behind your decision in life, your presence of mind,and to know the exact location and time of interview.

Preparing for effective verbal communication: one should listen to radio, watch television programmes, read various good newspapers and magazines, think about what you have read, discuss these with friends to improve fluency.

For physical preparation, one should monitor posture, gesture, facial expressions, organize thoughts, rehearse and practise, be present with appropriate dress code.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT INTERVIEW AND JOB SEARCH ETIQUETTE? It is necessary for one to understand oral communication and acquire good spoken skills

in English, prepare telephonic interview, accustom oneself with frequently asked questions in a job interview.

During an interview and after it: This includes a good communication, question-answer session, and expressing gratitude.

After an interview: This part of an interview includes recollection of the information that the interviewee has collected. After completing interview, one should give contact no. to the receptionist, collect any extra information, or reflect own opinion and analyse the questions. Self evaluation is necessary in this regard.

The interview as oral communication emphasizes vocabulary, pronunciation, articulation, voice modulation, language specific speech skills. For vocabulary improvement, one should check level of formality and avoid slang or derogatory remarks, find out the grammatical characteristics of a word and know synonyms and antonyms.

WHAT IS THE BASIC DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TELEPHONIC INTERVIEW AND FACE TO FACE INTERVIEW? Basic difference between telephonic interview and face to face interview is

that in telephonic interview it is not possible to see each other. This type of interview depends only on articulatory skills. It depends on phone manner clarity of speech, voice tone or control and listening skills.

HOW TO BE PREPARED FOR TELEPHONIC INTERVIEW? Preparing for telephonic interviews: correct and up to date contact

information about Interviewee should be given. All the details of the job the interviewee has applied for should be kept by the interviewee. The details of the company applied for should be noted down. Mock interview should be practised by the interviewee. The interviewee should prepare questions to ask the employer.

JOB SEARCH ETIQUETTE

WHAT IS THE FIRST STEP OF JOB SEARCH ETIQUETTE? The first step: find out the advertisement in popular newspaper, employment,

journals or magazines, or job sites/think of the unadvertised job as well/contact with people working in the same field. /seek help from a consultant/ understand job according to your qualifications/get some experience, training, project based work experience.

WHAT IS A JOB FAIR? A job fair: A job fair is an event usually organized by a third party recruitment

consultant at a neutral venue like a school or college auditorium where multiple employers come under one roof to select people according to their requirements. If you are a fresh graduate or an executive with 1-2 years of experience, a job fair can be a great event to evaluate your career options in BPOs, hospitals, banks or IT sectors.

HOW SHOULD ONE PREPARE ONESELF FOR JOB FAIR? Before you come to job fair you have to bring all copies of educational

qualifications, skills and abilities with a proper professional way. You must come with proper dress code or professional attire.

While you are there, don’t hit multiple stalls with friends, make your own positive impressions, know basic information about yourself, be prepared for interview. You can prepare some questions to ask the employer for genuine interest.

Know the exact salary you will be given. Follow up-to-date business card, brochure. CD or pamphlet. Send a

thank you note if possible.

WHAT SHOULD ‘THE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS’ BE IN AN INTERVIEW?

General Question: ‘how would you describe yourself.’, ‘what are your major strengths?’

Professional Questions: ‘why are you interested in our organization?’, ‘describe the kind of position that you’ve held.’

Personal Questions: ‘what do you do in your spare time?’, ‘Do you have any plan for higher studies?’

GROUP DISCUSSIONS AND MEETINGS

WHAT IS GROUP DISCUSSION?

Group Discussion: A group discussion is a discussion with your friends on any topic. The topic may be about anything to express your ideas, points of view, agreement or disagreement. It helps us with a more definite understanding to get the ideas beneficial for problem solving, creating new avenue. A group discussion is a means of interaction within a team or between various teams and a common procedure in competitive exams and job interviews. A group discussion is a great technique to generate ideas, summarize them, assess levels of skills and understanding.

WHAT IS MEETING?

Meeting: A meeting forms a part of the various activities in an organization and serves to bring together the members of the organization to fulfill one or more objectives. The following components are important for a meeting. They are a chairperson, an agenda, a process for making decisions, a well managed discussion, a productive physical set up. An agenda contains an outline of the points to be discussed in the meeting.

HOW TO BEGIN A GROUP DISCUSSION? You can begin a group discussion by saying ‘to begin with, I would say.. ‘, ‘the first thing

that comes to my mind when I think of... ‘. We need to consider what is known, what may be unacceptable, what level of detail is needed, what depth of ideas is required to deal with possible questions related to the topic.

During the discussion you may use phrases like: ‘I would like to add a point here.. ‘ Group communication skills are important in group discussion. It is necessary for all the

members of the group to understand a task, goal and common resources. Feeling oneness is important in group discussion. We should use ‘we’ instead of ‘I’ and ‘you’ and address the point of disagreement politely.

WHAT IS AGENDA? Agenda of meeting: It gives the necessary details about the meeting, time and place of

the meeting and the names of the people who will attend it, the time when the meeting starts and ends, activities in the meeting.

UNIT 14-ORAL PRESENTATIONS SKILLS AND PUBLIC SPEAKING.

HOW DO ORAL PRESENTATIONS SKILLS AND PUBLIC SKILLS HELP IN INTERVIEW? Style and substance in public speaking: we must pay attention to both content

and delivery of content .Emotions and thoughts are common elements of content of our speech. We should be careful about right kinds of word for different expressions, language and vocabulary. Delivery of speech puts emphasis on aesthetic of speech like breath control, posture, voice control, pitch volume, articulatory clarity etc.

Articulatory and good communication: you should use your tongue, lips and jaws correctly. Common problems we face are speaking through clenched teeth, speaking with hands or palm in front of mouth, failing to open the mouth enough to make sound,failing to spread lips, failing to modulate voice properly.

Content of oral presentation should be prepared with new thoughts, creativity, novelty and proper expressions.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1. What are the qualities of a candidate evaluated at the time of interview? 2. What are the four types of interview? 3. Which one is important in interview. (Personality/property) 4. What should you do during an interview? –(Greet your interviewers with a

smile/keep your head down all the time) 5. What are the four speech skills that are important during interview? 6. What are the four areas that you need to concentrate on for telephonic

interview? 7. When a group and its members share a task, a goal and common

resources, it is called ___________________.

8. What are the steps in group decision making?

9. What are the qualities that make your speech appealing?

10. ___________ gives the necessary detail about the meeting.

ANSWERS

1.Qualifications, personality (for traits such as confidence and reliability) , work experience, communication abilities (for traits such as language proficiency, fluency and voice clarity)

2.A.the informal, conversational interview.

B. The general interview, guided approach.

c.The standardized, open-minded interview.

D.The closed, fixed-response interview.

3.Personality

4. Greet your interviewers with a smile.

5.Breath and voice, posture, organizing the content of speech, speaking while considering the situation.

6.Phone manners, clarity of speech, voice tone or voice control, listening skills.

7.Positive interdependence.

8.Define the problem, ask for alteration, explore the pross and cons of each idea, choose an alternative, evaluate the outcome.

9.Breath control, posture, voice control:pitch, volume, and rate, articulatory clarity, ability to convey nuances and emphases, using the voice: irony, wit, quotation etc.

10.The time and place of the meeting, the names of the people who will attend it, the time when the meeting starts and end.

* IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR QUERIES RELATED TO THE TOPIC DISCUSSED ABOVE,PLEASE MAIL: sahaarunk@yahoo.co.in

BLOCK 4- WRITING

READ THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

DEFINE ‘CV’, ‘BIO DATA’ AND ‘RESUME’? A CV or resume is a piece of paper that tells a prospective employer who

you are, what you have done and why they should hire you. It is an organized summary of a person’s educational and professional history and qualifications, usually used when applying for a job. The term is Latin and means ‘the course of life’.

‘Bio data’: A term in South Asia for a more succinct CV that gives basic information, although it tends to be used synonymously with CV.

Resume: The Americans use the term resume. A resume is usually one or two pages long, used in business, non-profit, govt., and other types of organization.

Who needs a CV? School/college leavers, graduates, those who wish to change jobs, writers

or publishers, and speaker or chief guest. HOW TO WRITE CV? Writing CV for different jobs: A CV needs ordering of information. It usually

includes personal details (name, address, contact no, email address), education and training received, work history, skills you possess, awards and achievements, names of referees. It should be kept to one page or two.

Name and address: 1. Name, 2.Local address, 3.Email address, 4.phone number

Career objectivs: Career objectives will be all about your aims and goals in accomplishing your job in that particular organization. A career objective should be kept short and crisp as possible. It should be specific.

Education: You should give your educational background in details, choosing facts that support your case. The ordering should be like:

Name and location of schools or colleges, the term of enrollment and year, your major and minor fields of study, the degrees or certificates you have, scholarships, awards, any off campusing training, relevant seminars or workshops attended,. Degree/diploma , university/education, subject, percentage of marks, year of passing.

HOW TO WRITE WORK EXPERIENCE IN CV? Work Experience: Follow the order

1.Name and location of employer. 2.briefly describe it.

3.If an organization’s name or location has changed, we need to state the old name in parenthesis (formerly...) 4. Your functional position in that organization. 5. How long you worked there.

6. Mention whether it was part time or full time job.

Relevant skills: computer skills, language skills, Co-curricular activities etc.

Activities and achievement: this includes positions of responsibility, travel, members of club, society, and professional organization, certificates on music, sports and hobbies.

Referees: The names of two referees can be mentioned (one professional and one academic).Designation, telephone number, email address, of the referees should be mentioned .

Language used: you should be careful about languages used, spelling errors and grammar errors.

WRITE ABOUT THE APPEARANCE OF RESUME?

paper: use paper of good quality, white colour and A4 size.

Font: Type the fonts on computer and take print out of it. Arial, Times New Roman or Verdana font style should be adopted,. Font size should be equivalent to Times New Roman style 12 pt. The text in the body should be 11-12 point, your name between 14- 16 points. Use hold point, bold, underline, italics to highlight important points

If you have access to a personal computer you can quickly and easily develop a polished resume by using a resume software package.

WRITE ABOUT THE STRUCTURE OF A LETTER. Letter writing is a skill in which customs and conventions are used to address

correctly on envelop. THE ENVELOPE: For the addressee we need to write addressee’s name and

address correctly on envelop. The addressee name and title: Mr. /Mrs./Miss/Ms/Dr/Fr(priest) /sr(nuns). Use these

titles to address an individual. If you send the letter to an Institution or organization, you may write to secretary, registrar, manager, director etc. Information in an address: 1.name, 2.number or name of the house. 3.name of

the street, 4.name of the area/location, city and pin code. If you write to someone for the first time and do not know the pin code, just

write the address without it.

THE LETTER OPENING: Some points you have to keep in mind. 1.who the letter is from, 2.who it is addressed to, 3.when it was written, 4. What the letter is about.

Put your address on the top left hand corner. In business letter, it is helpful to give as complete a contact address as possible.

DATE: you may write the date in different ways. January 1,2005 or Jan 1,2005. or 1 January, 2005 or 1/1/05.

ADDRESSEE’S ADDRESS: In official or business letter the name and address of the Person you are writing to come next.

Reference: A reference line looks like the following :

Ref. LG/261/DN/2004

And it is usually placed at the centre between the receiver’s address and the greeting. A businessman who writes a lot of letters, naturally keeps record of them. In most of the cases we use ‘with reference to.... ‘,

Then write the subject line. It should be about the topic of your letter in a few words. Subject line should be very specific.

SALUTATION: You can start the letter with dear sir, madam, father, friend in informal letter writing and respected sir or madam for formal way of writing.

THE LETTER ENDING: You can write thanking you, yours obediently, yours faithfully at the end of the letter.

Signature: Generally we should write our names just as we write for informal letter writing and for formal letter writing we first write our names and then the names should be typed in block letters.

Formats –block and indent BLOCK FORMAT: In case of block format, all lines –the address, the date,

the greeting, the Paragraph of the letters, the complementary close and the signature- are all aligned to the left margin. No lines are indented.

INDENT FORMAT: The Sender’s address, the date, the complementary close and signature are aligned to the right margin.

WRITE ABOUT LANGUAGE OF FORMAL LETTERS.

THE LANGUAGE OF FORMAL LETTERS: We should pay attention to languages and words used in formal letters. We should use ‘death’, ‘sincerely’ ‘thank you’, ‘best wishes’ in formal letters. Our letters should express a point of view, make a case, register an opinion or profess a need. This purpose requires the writer’s language to be precise, formal, friendly and polite.

You should adopt formal style of writing in formal letters. Use formal words, ‘dear’.Don’t use slang or colloquial languages like ‘guy’, ‘I am cheered off’.

The tone in official letters should suggest that you should be sensible, objective, interested in facts.

WHAT ARE THE STYLES ADOPTED FOR WRITING FORMAL LETTERS?

We’ll talk about two styles here for writing formal letters. They are as follows. 1. A personal and friendly style 2. An impersonal and indirect style.

A PERSONAL AND FRIENDLY STYLE: This style is mainly adopted for sales, promotion letter from bank, credit cards, companies, shopping malls, Here the language used is completely personal. A personal letter uses personal pronouns like we, you, use active voice, short sentences, direct question at the reader.

AN IMPERSONAL AND INDIRECTLY STYLE : In writing bad news letters (refusing permission, declining request) it is often better to use an indirect and impersonal style.

We should avoid overused phrases in letter writing and make our letter gender neutral. It is safer to use plural pronouns like we, they, their. Now some phrases like human resources, mail carrier, chairperson have replaced the words like manpower, mailman, chairman respectively.

WRITE ABOUT KINDS OF FORMAL LETTERS.

SOME KINDS OF FORMAL LETTERS: Formal letters are used for different purposes like gratitude, dissatisfaction, eagerness, willingness to help etc.

WRITING REQUEST LETTERS: LETTERS OF ENQUIRY: We should ask for more information by this kind of letter. We often write such a letter in response to an advertisement that we have seen in the news paper magazines or television. This type of letter generally uses expressions like ‘would (could) you please send me... ‘, ‘I would also like to know.. ‘. Letters of enquiry can be sent via email too.

THANK YOU LETTERS: This type of letter thanks guest or speaker for a presentation in your college. It is easier to start with ‘thank you for... ‘ or ‘I am writing to express my sincere application for..’

LETTERS OF CONGRATULATIONS: We need to learn to write good official letters to congratulate a colleague or a team member on opening a new firm, publishing book, getting award or scholarship. It includes good wishes, praises, appreciations etc. Some phrases like ‘we are proud to...’, ‘you truly deserve etc.

WRITING BAD NEWS LETTERS: Letters of complaint are written when we are dissatisfied with a product or service.

ANSWERING LETTERS OF COMPLAINTS: By this type of letter we Provide adequate explanation for the bad or wrong service. We should use polite expressions and apologize.

DECLINING REQUEST: A supportive and appreciative tone is used in this letter. Company informs about its disability to accomplish what it is requested for. Politeness and friendly expressions should be maintained. Declining an invitation to a conference or events are also treated with Politeness and tolerance. Declining request should be without hurting anyone.

HOW TO WRITE A RECOMMENDATION LETTER? A recommendation letter contains 1. The full name of the candidate. 2. The job the candidate is seeking for. 3. The nature of the relationship between the writer and the candidate. 4. Facts relevant to the position. 5. The writer’s overall evaluation of the candidate‘s skill or ability for the job.

Recommendation letters are usually confidential. They are mailed directly to the person or committee who requested for them and these letters are not shown to the candidate.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1.Write the full form of CV? 2. A CV usually includes _________.3.A CV or resume is submitted to __________.4.For writing a letter you have to put your own address ____________.5.The expression ‘Thanking You’ is ( on the top/at the bottom) of your letter. 6. ‘Yours faithfully’ is (informal/formal) way of closing a letter. 7. You should make your letter (gender neutral/gender biased). 8. You need a(personal/aggressive) tone in your letter. 9.For making your letter gender neutral, you have to use________, instead of ‘a lady doctor'

ANSWERS

1.Curriculum vitae. 2.Personal details and educational qualifications. 3.Prospective employer. 4.On the top left hand corner. 5.At the bottom. 6.Formal7.Gender neutral. 8.A personal and friendly tone. 9.’doctor’* IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR QUERIES RELATED TO THE TOPIC DISCUSSED ABOVE, PLEASE MAIL: sahaarunk@yahoo.co.in

BLOCK 5: PRINT MEDIA

READ THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

WHAT KIND OF LANGUAGE IS USED FOR FORMAL REPORTS? LANGUAGE OF FORMAL REPORTS: We have to be careful about three elements for language of

formal reports. They are different types of reports, language of reports, and writing for newspaper. Reports play an important part in any professional field: they are a link between writer and the world. Whether we are in business, administration or academics, a considerable proportion of our working goes in preparing and reading reports

MENTION DIFFERENT TYPES OF REPORTS. DIFFERENT TYPES OF REPORTS: Oxford Advanced Learner Dictionary (2000) defines the word

report in different ways. Report means ‘an account presenting the facts after investigation or consideration’. In journalism, this may be a news report or a weather report. In the practical world of business or govt., a report is usually requested by people who need information for a specific purpose. It may be a police report, a progress report, a sales report or a medical report. Reports are not like academic essays. They have some other characteristics : They are factual, they provide information that can be verified. They follow a specific format, they are usually aimed at people with a specific interest in that area.

WHAT IS THE NATURE OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL REPORT WRITING?

The nature of scientific and technical report writing often requires using the passive voice. Professional reports emphasize results and the objects of action. In technical reports, business reports and newspaper reports, Personal pronouns like ‘I’ll, ‘we’re, ‘you’ are not usually used. Formal reports use a specific language and vocabulary.

WRITE ABOUT FORMAL VOCABULARY IN REPORT WRITING.

FORMAL VOCABULARY: Some formal words should be known in this regard. Examine, reveal, evaluate, decrease, reduce can be used instead of find out, show, test, go down, keep down respectively.

We should make our report by replacing phrasal verbs with one-word verbs. Example- use ‘assist’ instead of ‘help out’.

FORMAL EXPRESSIONS: Expressions like ‘a lot’, ‘ right now’, ‘You may ask.. ‘, ‘It’s high time‘ are colloquial and writer should avoid these informal expressions in report.

Colloquial vocabulary includes words and expressions that are used in everyday spoken language. They do not provide the exactness needed in technical reports. Expressions like ‘and so forth’, ‘and so on’ or ‘etc’ are not usually seen in formal reports.

WORD SUGGESTING STRONG EMOTIONS: The formal style of reports can not be achieved by strong expressions and attitude. Judgemental words ‘I believe‘, ‘I disagree’ make the reader aware of the writer’s expressions like ‘It is repulsive... ‘, ‘I was appalled’ .This makes the text subjective. The text should be more objective through use of formal and impersonal language.

WHAT IS SURVEY REPORT? SURVEY REPORTS: A survey can include everything from a few interviews to the

distribution of thousands of questionnaires. Survey reports not only present data/facts but also persuade or help in decision making.

SURVEY CONFIRMS WIDESPREAD ADOPTION OF SMS AS BUSINESS COMMUNICATION TOOL IN INDIA: A survey may be conducted on SMS and email for business purposes in India. The use of SMS for business purpose shows widespread adoption within the India market. Survey reports include the person for survey, people who participated in the survey, the way in which information is gathered.

Survey often requires the information to be put in tables, graphs and pie charts. Reports are often for graphic representation of facts and figures.

WHAT IS REPORT ON EXPERIMENTS? REPORTS ON EXPERIMENTS: RESEARCH REPORTS: A research report describes the

results of a scientific investigation. Thousands of papers are written each year by scientists at research universities and institutions all over the world. The goal of the research report is not to prove that you have got the right answer, but to document your findings and communication knowledge you have acquired from an experiment. The report is divided into distinct sections, with own characteristic heading. They are abstract, introduction, apparatus and experienced procedure, pursuits, discussion and conclusion.

WHAT IS MEMORANDUM? MEMORANDUM: Standard memos are usually brief because it recognizes that

readers have time only to skim messages. Unlike letters which may be sent to outsiders, memos are used for the routine, day-to-day exchange of information within an organization.

WHAT IS PARAPHRASING? To paraphrase is to rewrite something using different words without changing

the original meaning: this is what usually meant by the phrase, ‘’in our own words”. The purpose of paraphrasing is to convey the meaning of the original message and, in doing so, you have to prove that you have understood the passage well enough to restate it in your own words.

WHAT IS PRECIS? The precis is derived from the word ‘precis’. A pecis usually reduces the length

of the original passage by at least two-thirds. A summary is much shorter than the original text and communicates the main idea of the text and the main supporting points written again ‘in one’s own words’. Writing a summary therefore requires a combination of precis writing abilities and the ability of paraphrasing.

WHAT IS NOTE MAKING?

Effective note making is a key writing skill with a number of practical uses.Good note making techniques lead to accurate essays. Usually when we are making notes from a written text or taking down notes while listening, we develop our own style of note making. It is possible to use abbreviations and signs which we can read later. You have to put down the information in a clear manner.

WHAT IS SUMMARY?

Summary is a balanced coverage of the original and it presents the source material in a natural fashion while it offers a concise, general version of the original information. In academic writing, when you write a project report or a dissertation or term paper, a common practice is to use material from the internet or from text books without telling your reader that you have taken them from somewhere.

WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?

DEFINITION OF PLAGIARIZE: To steal and pass off (the ideas or words of others) as one’s own, use without crediting the source, to commit literary theft, present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

WHAT DOES THE TERM ‘PRINT MEDIA’ REFER TO? The term ‘print media’ refers to variety of publications. These include daily

newspapers and news magazines, special interest and niche magazines, trade and industrial publications, professional journals. Apart from journalistic media, there are other forms of communication that employ point to get to the message across, such as advertising, public relations, advocacy and the emerging arena of infotainment and edu-tainment.

WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF PRINT MEDIA? CHARACTERISTICS OF PRINT MEDIA: All writings are dictated by three factors.

They are the message, the audience, and the sender. A printed document has a permanence that other forms of mass media do not have. The newspaper is organized from front to back, from beginning to end, in a linear pattern. It is possible for readers to use it in a lateral(sideways) fashion, jumping from one page to the other at random, not necessarily in the order the pages appear.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1.___________ includes words and expressions that are used in everyday spoken language.

2.What purposes are memos used for?

3.What are Minutes?

4.You should (add more/eliminate) the unnecessary words for condensation.

5. Shorten the phrase into single words :’The employee with ambition’

6.Identifying key ideas in summary writing means (pointing out main idea/copying the whole text)

7.What are the three ways for avoiding plagiarism?

8.When we run our eyes over headlines and the beginning of the article, we call it____________.

9.When we read something with minute observation, this is called_________.

10.All the writing depends on three major factors. What are they?

ANSWERS

1.Colloquial vocabulary

2.Memos are used to announce working schedules, promotions, acquisitions, opening of branch offices, to designate responsibility, and confirm oral agreements or decisions.

3.On report that is written at all places of work is a report of the meetings held. There are called Minutes.

4.Eliminate.

5.Ambitious employee

6.Pointing out main idea

7.Quoting, paraphrasing, giving references, using reporting verbs.

8.Skimming

9.Scanning

10.The audience, the message, the medium

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BLOCK 6: MEDIATED COMMUNICATION

READ THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

What is a medium of communication? A medium is a channel that carries information. So when two people are

speaking face to face, we may say they use the oral-aural medium. OUR SENSORY SYSTEMS AS MEDIA: We have five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. These five sensory systems work as medium. Most of us do not have very well developed senses of smell and taste. MEDIA EXTENDED OUR SENSE: In the world of globalization, media extend

our sense across space and through time. It is not only the electronic media that has property to extend our senses. Even a simple mirror can be a medium to extend our sense. But the electronic media are now a constant and pervasive presence in our lives.

DEFINE ONE WAY AND TWO WAY COMMUNICATIONS.

One-way COMMUNICATION AND Two-way COMMUNICATION: Communication is classically described as a Two-way process: an interaction between a sender and a receiver. The media professionals construct messages, and the audience is a consumer of the message. Media houses have therefore always invested in audience research surveys. Traditionally they have also invested in programmes that allow the audience to interact with them, such as request programmes for songs, listener’s letter programmes. But advances in technology have made possible a more direct and immediate interaction between the mass media and their audience.

WHAT ARE SPATIAL MEDIA? Audio and video tapes are spatial media , in which the tape can be stopped, rewound or fast forwarded or replayed as many times as the listener chooses or wishes, just as the pages of a book can be skimmed through, and reread as often as you choose. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? Every aspect of the environment may be regarded as a source of information but only those aspects which are subjected to the kind of interrogation will be described as communication. Communication demands a level of inference from the receiver, about the message and its authorship. The media especially lead to a situation where such inference becomes necessary. This is because it is the media that allow a message to exist independently of the person who creates the message. WHAT IS GREY AREA? There is a grey area where the communicator may not be consciously transmitting a message

but a message can be inferred by the recipient. This is the area of body language which is said to communicate moods and attitudes.

HOW DOES THE RADIO HAVE A GREATER REACH THAN THE TELEVISION: Radio has a greater reach because radio frequencies are received in

geographically difficult areas like deserts and polar regions. The radio is an exciting medium for the spread of information and entertainment. AIR (all India radio) is now widespread and is developed and operated by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting under the Govt. Of India.

WHAT IS COMMUNITY RADIO? COMMUNITY RADIO: The rise of local radio(FM stations, university radio and

community radio) is a recent development that shows how the radio can constantly reinvent to adapt itself to the new communication needs of the society.

WHAT ARE RADIO FEATURES AND RADIO DRAMA?

RADIO FEATURES: Radio features may be fifteen or 45 minutes long. Radio features or talks tend to become boring if Some points are not constantly kept in mind by the presenter. The points are simplicity, clarity, accuracy, concreteness, a conversation style etc.

Radio drama: Radio dramas are good entertainment and are specially effective in dissemination of information.

TELEVISION:

HOW DOES TELEVISION HELP IN EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION? Television has an important role in education and communication. The main

purpose of television is to give us information and entertainment. Television acts as a liberal educator. It allows us to become citizens of the

world while setting a village at our home and becoming conscious of the universe when we stay rooted on earth.

THE ELECTRONIC BABYSITTER: HOW MUCH DO CHILDREN WATCH TV AND WHAT DO THEY THINK: Television has been called an electronic babysitter. In the 1980s, according to the estimate, children spent an average of 27 hours a weak watching TV. TV has the potential to be both an electronic school and a library for children. Some television programmes are designed to promote reading among slightly older children.

THE IMPACT OF MOVING FEATURES AND SPOKEN WORDS: Some book series are screened on television, which helps the book readers to understand the story with audio visual effects.

THE POTENTIAL OF TELEVISION: AND A REALITY CHECK: The potential of television is not always checked because of inadequacies in

how programmes are conceived. Television liberally educates because through television we are faced by alternative lifestyles, cultures based on difference of gender, race, culture, generation and subculture.

THE AURAL-ORAL ASPECTS OF A VISUAL MEDIUM: Sound on television consists of the spoken words, music, natural sound produced on location and sound effects. These sounds contribute to the illusion of reality created by television and about the impact of the medium on the spoken words. Use of television and acceptance of realities of English as they are spoken are of enormous educational importance.

A WORLD OF MANY VOICES: Speech has characteristics of spontaneity and thinking. While we speak that get reflected in hesitation, self-correction and sentences that do not strictly ‘hang together’ grammatically.

SOME POPULAR FORMATS IN TELEVISION: Some popular formats are as follows. Audience participatory (game show, quizz), expert panel (election coverage), studio based discussion programmes, field documentation (on wild life), folk(forms, puppetry, folk theatre), demonstration, live programmes, news and current affairs etc.

THE GRAMMAR OF TELEVISION : SHOTS AND TRANSITIONS:

Shot size: News programmes and group discussions are the reasons why television is sometimes called a medium of ‘talking head’. The television screen can project an image of a person up to their bust and chest, which is almost the size of a person sitting across you at that distance. Television is an intimate medium. This picture size is called ‘bust shot’. For a walking interview you can have the background scenario, landscape, the height of the interviewer and interviewee.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1.When you are giving a lecture without anyone’s interference, it is an example of___________.

2.When you are interacting with someone, it is an example of ________.

3.phone-in-programmes are example of _________.

4.Radio is (one-dimensional/two-dimensional)

5.What is the type of medium that is used on radio and why?

6.The print uses _______ medium.

7.What is the basic difference between communication and information?

8.Radio has not a greater reach than the television (true/false).

9.Who invented radio and what is the full form of AIR?

10.What is called the liberal Educator?(Television/Radio).

ANSWERS

1.one-way communication

2.two-way communication.

3.Mix media

4.one-dimensional

5.temporal, because it is restricted to specific time. The listeners can listen to radio till the programmes on it continue.

6.Spatial

7.Communication demands a level of inference from the receiver, about the message and its authorship.

8.False

9.Guglielmo Marconi, All India Radio

10.Television

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BLOCK 7: THE WORLD WIDE WEB AND CORPORATE COMMUNICATION.

READ THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

WHAT IS A DATABASE?

A database is an organized, integrated and letter related collection of computer based data. It has records or information that is machine-readable and it can be searched from a remote terminal. Books in print database are the world’s largest list of books currently available in market.

The USA has database of Feudal research in progress that provides access to information about govt. funded project in physical sciences.

In India, NISSA is a National Information system for science and technology.

WHAT ARE ‘LAN’,'MAN‘ AND ‘WAN’?

A LAN is a local area network that has a range of less than 10 kms. It is usually a privately owned network within a single building, or within a small campus such as university or institution.

A MAN is a Metropolitan Area Network with a range of 10- 100 kms. It uses dedicated telephone lines or fibre optic cable.

A WAN is a wide area network, with a range of 10-100kms.It uses telephone lines, or more usually satellite lines.

WHY DO ORGANIZATIONS USE COMPUTER NETWORK? : For resource sharing, reliability or access to same reliable information and

communication. WHAT ARE THE NETWORKS FOR PEOPLE? Our everyday lives are imperfected by computer networks in a variety of ways. They are

as follows. Access to remote information, person-to-person communication, interactive entertainment.

WHAT ARE THE WORDS USED FOR WEB? Many words relating to computer have become parts of our everyday language. A

desktop computer sits on your desk, and a laptop is meant to sit on your lap. The screen having icons or images that symbolize the programme is installed in our computer. The programmes or instructions in the brain of the computer constitute the software. The hardware is the machinery of computer, example-motherboard.

HOW TO START A PROGRAMME ON COMPUTER? To start a programme on computer, you have to click on icon to open window or a

screen. WHAT ARE THE TWO TYPES OF MEMORY OF COMPUTER? The computer’s memory is of two kinds: RAM and ROM. WHAT DOES THE WORLD WIDE WEB CONSIST OF? The world wide Web consists of a vast world wide collection of documents usually called

pages. A browser helps you to search web or find your way. URL is the web address which is necessary to go to a particular website. Computer virus is a kind of programming.

WHAT ARE THE LANGUAGES FOR COMPUTER? The languages in which web pages are written are HTML and JAVA. HTML is a ‘markup language’. In HTML (B) means to start boldface mode, (? B) means in boldface mode, (I) means to start italics mode and (/I) means to leave italics mode.

Java allows highly interactive web page. Using Java you can design a web page with which a user can play noughts and crosses , or chess.

MULTIMEDIA: WHAT IS MULTIMEDIA: Multimedia has been called ‘the rising start in the

networking firmament.’ It allows audio and video to be digitized and transported electronically.

WHAT IS DIGITAL SIGNAL: It is a signal that is not continuous. A digital signal specifies exact values for the signal at a series of chosen points.

Today the term ‘multimedia’ is used to mean ‘two or more continuous media’ that is ‘media that have to be played during some well-defined time interval, usually with some interaction.’

HOW TO CREATE CONTENT FOR THE WEB: There are a few things to keep in mind while structuring the information for the

web user. The characteristics of the medium- convergence, non-linearity, and hyper textuality- influence the way people read and writers write.

WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF THE WEB? WEB BROWSER: an interface tool that allows you to see and read content from

the internet. Example- internet Explorer, netscape, Mozilla firefox. WEB PAGE: Is a discrete unit of context, usually limited to use of screen or a

little more. A web page has a single address- a ‘URL’. A WEBSITE is normally made up of several pages of related contents that are

linked together.

A PORTAL is a web page that leads to several other sites or information sources tied together by a theme or common structure.

A WINDOW is a frame that is open on your computer screen, usually corresponding to a location on the web or a document from your computer.

‘URL’ is used for resource locator, an ‘address’ on the internet that identifies the location of a document.

HYPERTEXT is information linked to a word, image or phone that appears as pop up box inside the page you are viewing.

A HYPERLINK’ is a link to another page or document related to the one you are currently viewing.

CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS

Define corporate communications? corporate communication is a more expensive term that covers a somewhat broader range of

activities than do most public relations departments. Corporate communication is conceived more broadly and involves a wider range of functions including communicating policies and procedures internally, supporting marketing activities, training employees, creating and managing a company’s brand identity, advocacy with key opinion makers.

WHAT ARE THE SCOPES OF CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS? Corporate communication is seen as a strategic management function. In many companies,

corporate communication is needed by a senior level of executive. WHAT IS INTERNAL COMMUNICATION? Setting and implementing policies related to style and content of messages that are

disseminated within the organization. Managing house journals, intranet content, conducting corporate events for employees, working with human resources development to build cohesiveness and camaraderie among employees and fostering employee loyalty.

WHAT IS CLICHE?

A cliche is a word or an expression that is originally an interesting way of saying something, example- neat and tidy, by and large.

WHAT IS RETRONYM?

A retronym is ‘a newly necessary modification of an old word’. It is a word or phrase created because an existing term that was once used alone needs to be distinguished from a term referring to a new development.

WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF WEB CONTENT?

News, lifestyle features, technical writing, legal matters etc.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

1.Give some examples of access to remote information. 2.Email is an example of_________3.A portable computer is desktop/laptop4.HTML is the ________ in which web pages are written. 5.A digital signal is not continuous(true/false). 6.What is the full form of sms? 7.Metropolitan Area Network has a range of 10-100km/300km/400 km. 8.__________ is an interface tool that allows you to see and read content from the Internet.

9.What is the full form of URL ?

10.Some American English words are given here. Write the exact words that are used in British English and equivalent to those American English words and vice versa.

American English: bill, French fries, garbage

British English: Freight train, truck

ANSWERS

1.Electronic billing, banking shopping, on-line newspaper.

2.person-to-person communication.

3.Laptop

4.Markup language

5.True

6.Short messaging service

7.10-100km

8.Web browser

9.Uniform resource locator

10.note, chips, rubbish

Solicitor, van

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BLOCK 8: USING LANGUAGE FOR COMMUNICATION: RHETORIC AND ARGUMENTATION

READ THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

WHAT IS THE NON-LITERAL USE OF LANGUAGE?

Language can be used literally and non-literally. The NON-LITERAL use of language is also called the figurative use of language. The figurative use of language is a major device of rethoric. Rhetoric is the skill of using language in speech or writing in a special way that influences or entertains people.

MENTION SOME RHETORICAL DEVICES .

ANTI CLIMAX: The purpose of anticlimax is to activate a kind of comic effect by suddenly presenting an absurd or trivial idea after an elevated idea has been presented.

ANTITHESIS: When two sets of words or meanings are put in opposite or contrast, we have a thesis and an antithesis. Example- ‘To err is human, to forgive is divine.’

EPIGRAM: A polished, condensed and pointed statement expressing an idea in amusing way. Example- History repeats itself. Historians repeat each other.

EUPHEMISM: We use some terms to refer to something in less direct way. Example- using ‘pass away’ instead of ‘die’.

HYPERBOLE: It refers to our tendency to exaggerate something. Example- ‘He runs so fast that you can not race with him even if you ride on a rocket.’

IRONY: An irony is a statement meaning just opposite to its literally meaning. LITOTES: An affirmative statement made by negating its opposite. The effect of

litotes is that it suggests a strong expression by means of a weaker one. Example- The man is no fool.

Metonym: An object or idea referred to by the name of something with which it is generally associated. Example- The bench (judges) delivered its judgement on the crime.

OXYMORON: It refers to a phrase that combines two contradictory qualities or ideas. Example- A deafening silence.

PARADOX: It refers to a person, a thing, or situation that has two opposite features. Example- He is loner who loves the company of strangers.

PUN: When some words have two or more than two meanings. Example- when her husband died, she cried for a second. (Second refers to both time and second husband).

SIMILE AND METAPHOR: Simile is the explicit comparison between two different objects. Example- He is as brave as lion and metaphor is implicit comparison between two different things. Example- Life is a dream.

Transferred epithet: When an epithet is transferred from a proper word to another that is closely associated with it, it is a case of transferred epithet. Example- he passed a sleepless night.

WHAT IS PARALLELISM? Parallelism of expression is a device we encounter very often in some of the

great writer‘s or speaker’s. WHERE ARE TOO AND VERY USED? In standard English if you use ‘too good‘, it does not mean ‘very good’, it

means (approximately) that something is so good that you fear something bad will happen.

HOW ARE INFINITIVES USED IN PASSIVE FORMS? Some infinitives remain same in active and passive voices. You can say ‘there’s

work to do’ or ‘there’s work to be done’. you can say ‘I‘ve got letters to write’ but you can’t say ‘I’ve got letters to be written’.

READ THE FOLLOWING GRAMMATICAL RULES. TO VERB OR –ING : I like cooking. I like to cook. He stopped to smoke(=he halted, so that he could speak) /he stopped smoking(= he quit

smoking). FEW/A FEW: Few means ‘not many’ and A Few means ‘something’. FINDING FACTS: A fact is an event in space-time which remains the same under different points

of view. A fact is a variable, that is, people can check whether something is the case or not. A FEW DIFFERENT KINDS OF FACTS: 1. Material objects or creatures at given places and dates or collection of such objects. 2. Happenings at given places or address. 3. Process verified by observation and experiment. 4. Finding facts.

WHAT IS FALLACY? A fallacy is the use of invalid Or otherwise faulty reasoning, Or ‘wrong moves’ in the construction of argument. READ THE FOLLOWING FALLACIES AND ARGUMENTS IN ADVERTISING: Advertising is a major presence in the media, especially in television. The fallacy of the thin-entering wedge is a form of over generalization into the feature. It

extrapolates from the present into the future. We often react to an accusation by accusing the accuses of the same thing (the

quoque, ‘you too’), but two wrongs do not make a right. Another form of the fallacy is when a third person avoids an issue or avoids choosing

between two alternatives, by labelling them equally bad. In consideration of ad hominem and quoque, we may refuse to give an argument the

weight it deserves because we think the source of the argument is unreliable.

A fallacy closely related to ‘add hominem’ is the appeal to authority.

Advertisements work by appealing to our sentiments or emotions rather than to reason.

One of the most common ‘arguments’ in an advertisement is that a product is new, or has undergone some change to make it new.

Advertisements appeal to wealth, status, power etc

The Latin term ‘post hoc, ergo propter hoc’ means ‘after this, therefore because of this.’

WHAT IS POST HOC FALLACY? Popular superstitions are instances of the post hoc fallacy. The use of lucky charms, dates etc Advertisements use the logic of post hoc very much.

DEFINE SYLLOGISM The syllogism is a tool for reasoning. It is an old form of skeletal argument. The syllogism consists of

major promise, a minor promise and a conclusion. Many syllogistic arguments in fact commit the fallacy of assuming the consequent. GIVE EXAMPLES OF CIRCULAR ARGUMENT. General form of circular argument is : p is true because of Q. So Q is true because of p. One form of circular argument is when the definition of a term is changed due to the cause of

an argument, to suit the conclusion we wish to reach.

WHAT IS DILEMMA?

A dilemma is a situation in which you have to choose between two undesirable things or courses of action.

WHAT ARE THE WAYS OF GETTING OUT OF DILEMMA?

There are three ways of getting out of dilemma. Diverse the argument, show that one alternative is not understandable, point out an additional possibility, a third solution to the situation.

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Mention the figurative speech. 1.To err is human, to forgive is divine. 2.He was not a little surprised. 3.The crown of England has been on a Royal visit to America. 4.Her skin shines like the moon. 5.What does the expression ‘Tu quoque’ mean? 6.What does the term ‘post hoc, ergo propter hoc’ mean? 7.Popular superstitions are instances of the __________.8.Write the figure of speech: I’m so hungry I could eat a hundred samosas!’

9.’sadistic pleasure’ is an example of ________.

10. ‘Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man’ is an example of __________.

ANSWERS

1.Antithesis2.Litotes3.Metonym4.Simile5.You too6. ‘After this, therefore because of this’7.Post hoc fallacy8.Hyperbole9.Oxymoron10.pun*IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR QUERIES RELATED TO THE TOPIC DISCUSSED ABOVE, PLEASE MAIL: sahaarunk@yahoo.co.in

BEGE 103 - COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN ENGLISHBLOCK BLOCK-1:READ THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. Slide Number 4Slide Number 5Slide Number 6CHECK YOUR PROGRESS:Slide Number 8CHECK YOUR ANSWERS. Slide Number 10BLOCK 2: INFORMAL INTERPERSONAL FUNCTIONSSlide Number 12Slide Number 13Slide Number 14Slide Number 15Slide Number 16Slide Number 17Slide Number 18Slide Number 19CHECK YOUR PROGRESS. Slide Number 21AnswersSlide Number 23BLOCK 3: LISTENING AND SPEAKING IN FORMAL CONTEXTREAD THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERSSlide Number 26Slide Number 27Slide Number 28Slide Number 29JOB SEARCH ETIQUETTESlide Number 31Slide Number 32GROUP DISCUSSIONS AND MEETINGSSlide Number 34UNIT 14-ORAL PRESENTATIONS SKILLS AND PUBLIC SPEAKING. CHECK YOUR PROGRESSSlide Number 37ANSWERSSlide Number 39BLOCK 4- WRITINGREAD THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERSSlide Number 42Slide Number 43Slide Number 44Slide Number 45Slide Number 46Slide Number 47Slide Number 48Slide Number 49Slide Number 50Slide Number 51Slide Number 52Slide Number 53Slide Number 54Slide Number 55CHECK YOUR PROGRESSANSWERSBLOCK 5: PRINT MEDIAREAD THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERSSlide Number 60Slide Number 61Slide Number 62Slide Number 63Slide Number 64Slide Number 65Slide Number 66Slide Number 67CHECK YOUR PROGRESSSlide Number 69ANSWERSSlide Number 71BLOCK 6: MEDIATED COMMUNICATIONREAD THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERSSlide Number 74Slide Number 75Slide Number 76Slide Number 77TELEVISION:Slide Number 79Slide Number 80CHECK YOUR PROGRESSSlide Number 82ANSWERSSlide Number 84BLOCK 7: THE WORLD WIDE WEB AND CORPORATE COMMUNICATION. READ THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERSSlide Number 87Slide Number 88Slide Number 89Slide Number 90Slide Number 91Slide Number 92CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONSSlide Number 94CHECK YOUR PROGRESSSlide Number 96ANSWERSSlide Number 98BLOCK 8: USING LANGUAGE FOR COMMUNICATION: �RHETORIC AND ARGUMENTATIONREAD THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERSSlide Number 101Slide Number 102Slide Number 103Slide Number 104Slide Number 105Slide Number 106Slide Number 107Slide Number 108CHECK YOUR PROGRESSSlide Number 110ANSWERS