collocation

Collocation

What is a collocation?

           

             a word or phrase that is often used with another word or phrase, in a way that ​sounds ​correct to ​people who have ​spoken the ​language all ​their ​lives, but might not be ​expected from the ​meaning

            A collocation is two or more words that often go together. These combinations just sound "right" to native English speakers, who use them all the time. On the other hand, other combinations may be unnatural and just sound "wrong".

 Look at these examples:

natural English...	unnatural English...
the fast train fast food	the quick train quick food
a quick shower a quick meal	a fast shower a fast meal

Sample Collocations

There are several different types of collocation. Collocations can be adjective + adverb, noun + noun, verb + noun and so on. Below you can see seven main types of collocation in sample sentences.

1. adverb + adjective

• Invading that country was an utterly stupid thing to do.
• We entered a richly decorated room.
• Are you fully aware of the implications of your action?

2. adjective + noun

• The doctor ordered him to take regular exercise.
• The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage.
• He was writhing on the ground in excruciating pain.

3. noun + noun

• Let's give Mr Jones a round of applause.
• The ceasefire agreement came into effect at 11am.
• I'd like to buy two bars of soap please.

4. noun + verb

• The lion started to roar when it heard the dog barking.
• Snow was falling as our plane took off.
• The bomb went off when he started the car engine.

5. verb + noun

• The prisoner was hanged for committing murder.
• I always try to do my homework in the morning, after making my bed.
• He has been asked to give a presentation about his work.

6. verb + expression with preposition

• We had to return home because we had run out of money.
• At first her eyes filled with horror, and then she burst into tears.
• Their behaviour was enough to drive anybody to crime.

7. verb + adverb

• She placed her keys gently on the table and sat down.
• Mary whispered softly in John's ear.
• I vaguely remember that it was growing dark when we left.

 

Why learn collocations?

• Your language will be more natural and more easily understood.
• You will have alternative and richer ways of expressing yourself.
• It is easier for our brains to remember and use language in chunks or blocks rather than as single words.

  

References:

1.      https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/collocations-samples.htm

2.      http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/collocation

3.      https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/collocations.htm

Synonyms, Antonyms, and Hyponyms.

Synonyms

Synonyms are directly related words that have comparable meanings and linguistics argue that no synonym can have an exact meaning to another. 

For example:

-          The word “tired” is comparable to worn-out, sleepy, drowsy, or weary.

-          small - little
big - large
mother and father – parents

-         

It is arguable that each of those synonyms can contain slightly different meanings. Synonyms are not just limited to adjectives; they can also be used for nouns, verbs, prepositions, or adverbs. Most important these are used in writing to stimulate readers and spice up content.

Adjectives: beautiful, lovely, gorgeous, stunning, striking

-          Nouns: House, home, dwelling, residence, abode, quarters

-          Verbs: jump, bound, leap, hop, skip

-          Prepositions: in, inside, within

Antonyms

Antonyms are words with almost opposite meanings to each other. 

For example:

-          The word “fun” has antonyms similarly opposite to it such as boring, dull, uninspiring or dreary.

Like synonyms it is debatable that there can be one true opposite meaning. Antonyms can be applied to nouns, verbs, prepositions, and adverbs. Antonyms can be used to contrast two separate things, actions, feelings, and or placements.

Te word pairs of antonym can be divided into several types:

1.      Graded antonyms are word pairs that have variations between the two opposites.

2.       Relational antonyms are pairs that have a relationship. Each word wouldn’t exist   without the other.

3.      Complimentary antonyms are word pairs that have no degree of meaning. There are only two opposite possibilities.

Implicitly Gradable Pairs	Complementary Pairs	Relational Pairs
big – small	male - female	buy - sell
good – bad	alive – dead	push - pull
fast – slow	present - absent	give - take
young – old	awake - asleep	teach - learn

Hyponyms

Is the state or phenomenon that shows  the relationship  between more general term, ( lexical representation) and the more specific instances for it.

Examples:

The lexical representation of:
red, yellow, green, blue, purple, black is ( color ).
Thus we can say that: " red " is  a hyponym of " color " and so on.

Examples:

clarinet, guitar, piano, trumpet, violin, are hyponyms because they are " musical instruments " but there is not a single word meaning  " musical instrument " that has these  words as its hyponyms .

Refencences

http://www.infobarrel.com/Word_Associations_What_are_Synonyms_Antonyms_Homonyms_Hyponyms_and_Hypernyms

http://conceptsinsemantics.weebly.com/synonym-antonym-hyponym.html

http://ekarisqilatul.blogspot.co.id/2013/11/synonym-antonym-hypernym-hyponym-homonym_9.html

Defenition about Metaphor,Simile and Symbol.

Defenition about Metaphor,Simile and Symbol

METAPHOR
            Metaphor is described as "a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things that are basically dissimilar."1 In other words, it describes one thing in terms of another. It is comparative, and thus goes beyond a mere descriptive adjective (e.g. the "bright moon" is not a metaphor). A metaphor describes one object as being or having the characteristics of a second object. 

            Metaphor is a figure of speech in which two unlike objects are compared by identification or by the substitution  of one for the other. Metaphors, like many other figuresof speech, are common in every day conversation. In metaphor, the comparison is draw between two disimilar things but it is comparison that is often subtle, more comperessed and less obvious. The comparison used in metaphor is direct one, even though it is not always so.

Let’s go through a quick definition. A metaphor is a rhetorical device in which the traits of something are attributed to something else, but not in a literal sense. It helps to understand that a simile is a type of metaphor, so let’s take a look at a.

example:
“But look, the morn, in russet mantle clad, Walk o’er the dew of yon high eastern hill” – Hamlet, William Shakespeare.

Example:

1.      All the world ‘s a stage.

2.      And all the men and women merely players.

3.      There is a garden in her face.

Examples:
1. Herhome was a prison
2. Life is a journey, purposes are destinations, means are routes, difficulties are obstacles, counselors are guides, achievements are landmarks and choices are crossroads.

SIMILE
            A simile is a figure of speech consisting of a comparison using like or as. Well-chosen similes can be used to enliven writing or as an alternative to description using adjectives.

a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared

Example:

He was as brave as a lion in a fight.
He swam like a fish through rough waters.

Picture:

SYMBOLISM
            Something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible.

Symbolism is quite common in speech. For example, the word “crown” is used as a symbol for the state, government. Symbol brings suggestion, manifestation, of something. It is can illustrate real life, rich with suggestions.

symbolic meaning of something, someone, or a character(books). The art or practice of using symbols especially by investing things with a symbolic meaning or by expressing the invisible or intangible by means of visible or sensuous representations. 

Example:

Her hair glistened like the sun on a hot summer day. Symbolism uses ‘like’ or ‘as’ to symbolize.

References:

1.      http://semantic-introduction.weebly.com/metaphor-simile-symbol.html

2.      Introduction to literature/essy syam- pekanbaru:cendekian insani, 2010

3.      https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090530104614AALEjLK

4.      https://scepticalprophet.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/the-difference-between-metaphors-and-symbols/