From Scripps, the media company behind the spelling bee:
- In 1996, Jimmy McCarthy of St. Petersburg, Fla., became the first profoundly deaf contestant to compete in a national spelling bee. He tied for 48th place out of 247 spellers.
- The favorite spelling bee word, as voted by Scripps National Spelling Bee contestants is "Aeschylean," an adjective that comes from the Greek poet. It means "of, relating to, or suggestive of the Greek tragic poet Aeschylus". Bet you didn't know that one!
- The most frequent word on the Scripps National Spelling Bee word lists has been the French, "connoisseur".
- Several home-schoolers have been champions of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Rebecca Sealfon (1997) and George Thampy (2000) were home-schoolers at the time. Sean Conley (2001) attended private school during the year of his championship but was previously home-schooled. Evan O'Dorney (2007) was a charter school student who received a great deal of his education via home-schooling as well.
- Since 2005, when Canadians first began in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, they have made some strong finishes to represent their country. Finola Hackett (2006) and Nate Gartke (2007) took second.
- Word origins are sometimes surprising. For example, terms for Mexican foods like tamale and chipotle, as well as foods like avocado and chocolate, actually come from Nahuatl. This was the language spoken by Aztecs when Cortes arrived in 1519.
- In 1946, the Scripps National Spelling Bee was aired on network television for the first time.
- There is a myth that home-schooled students always take the prize; but, in fact, four of the last five winners were public school students.
- Jody-Anne Maxwell of Jamaica, in 1998, was the first contestant from outside the United States to win.
- The official dictionary for the Scripps National Spelling Bee is the Webster's Third New International Dictionary that contains more than 472,000 word entries, counting its addenda.
- Participation in the bee is up 74 percent since the mid 1980s when spell-check usage became widespread.
- Frank Neuhauser of Louisville, Ky., won the first National Spelling Bee with the word "gladiolus" back in 1925. He died March 22, 2011, at age 97.
Friday 27 December 2013
Brief 2: 6 Things You Probably Didn't Know About the Scripps National Spelling Bee
Where the words come from. “The first rule of the committee,” says E.W. Scripps Company spokesman Chris Kemper, “is not admitting that you’re on the committee.” He’s talking about the bee’s word committee, a group that works in secret all year to come up with the trove of spelling words used in the competition. “The committee is the secret sauce of the spelling bee,” Kemper says, “and the identity of those on the committee will not be revealed.” It’s kind of like Skull and Bones, just with more reading and less world domination.
What makes a word worthy of the list. “A good spelling bee word is one that isn’t transparent,” says Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s Editor-at-Large, who is involved with the bee. That means double letters (braggadocio), single letters where you might expect double letters (sassafras), silent letters (mnemonic), and letter combinations that most of us never encounter. American Heritage dictionaries editor Steve Kleinedler points to mashups like the phth- at the beginning of phthongal, which means capable of varying in pitch.
The speller’s most dangerous foe. Beware of the schwa, Sokolowski says. That’s the word for this phonetic symbol: /ə/, the vowel sound that we may hear in America, belief and history. The schwa can be rendered as any vowel and even be silent, in words like rhyth(ə)m, which makes it a nemesis for ambitious young spellers. Sokolowski calls it “the biggest single trap” and credits the dreaded schwa with eliminating some two-thirds of bee contestants.
The inside jokes you’re missing. The 281 kids gathered for the bee socialize outside their cutthroat spelldown. They play Scrabble. They sit through lectures. They sign each others “Bee Keepers,” books that contain bios for each of the contestants. And in order to help quell their nerves, Sokolowski says, the officials will incorporate inside jokes from Bee week into example sentences. So when a contestant asks to hear the word in a sentence and you hear, “Barry accidentally started a conflagration after drinking too much grape juice,” you’ll know why all the kids are yucking it up.
Why English is so well-suited to spelling bees. “The reason we have spelling bees in English,” Sokolowski says, “is because it’s such a mongrel language.” Given that our tongue is made up of words that come from Greek and Latin and Japanese and Native American roots, spelling is much more unpredictable than, say, French—which Sokolowski sums up as “just bad Latin.” Le snap!
Where contestants go after the bee. Jeff Blitz, director of the hit 2002 spelling-bee documentary Spellbound, tells TIME that he was struck by how many of the contestants go on to become doctors and scientists rather than wordsmiths in the media or academia. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this year’s cohort most frequently cited math as their favorite subject. “Something about the kind of brain that’s not intimidated by the dictionary in childhood seems well-suited to the work of medicine in adulthood,” Blitz explains. But no matter what job they have, former contestants are likely united in one thing: holding back a lot of eye-rolling and tsk-tsking over the years
TIME.com http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/05/29/six-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-the-scripps-national-spelling-bee/#ixzz2ofcC3lrw
What makes a word worthy of the list. “A good spelling bee word is one that isn’t transparent,” says Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s Editor-at-Large, who is involved with the bee. That means double letters (braggadocio), single letters where you might expect double letters (sassafras), silent letters (mnemonic), and letter combinations that most of us never encounter. American Heritage dictionaries editor Steve Kleinedler points to mashups like the phth- at the beginning of phthongal, which means capable of varying in pitch.
The speller’s most dangerous foe. Beware of the schwa, Sokolowski says. That’s the word for this phonetic symbol: /ə/, the vowel sound that we may hear in America, belief and history. The schwa can be rendered as any vowel and even be silent, in words like rhyth(ə)m, which makes it a nemesis for ambitious young spellers. Sokolowski calls it “the biggest single trap” and credits the dreaded schwa with eliminating some two-thirds of bee contestants.
The inside jokes you’re missing. The 281 kids gathered for the bee socialize outside their cutthroat spelldown. They play Scrabble. They sit through lectures. They sign each others “Bee Keepers,” books that contain bios for each of the contestants. And in order to help quell their nerves, Sokolowski says, the officials will incorporate inside jokes from Bee week into example sentences. So when a contestant asks to hear the word in a sentence and you hear, “Barry accidentally started a conflagration after drinking too much grape juice,” you’ll know why all the kids are yucking it up.
Why English is so well-suited to spelling bees. “The reason we have spelling bees in English,” Sokolowski says, “is because it’s such a mongrel language.” Given that our tongue is made up of words that come from Greek and Latin and Japanese and Native American roots, spelling is much more unpredictable than, say, French—which Sokolowski sums up as “just bad Latin.” Le snap!
Where contestants go after the bee. Jeff Blitz, director of the hit 2002 spelling-bee documentary Spellbound, tells TIME that he was struck by how many of the contestants go on to become doctors and scientists rather than wordsmiths in the media or academia. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this year’s cohort most frequently cited math as their favorite subject. “Something about the kind of brain that’s not intimidated by the dictionary in childhood seems well-suited to the work of medicine in adulthood,” Blitz explains. But no matter what job they have, former contestants are likely united in one thing: holding back a lot of eye-rolling and tsk-tsking over the years
TIME.com http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/05/29/six-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-the-scripps-national-spelling-bee/#ixzz2ofcC3lrw
Saturday 21 December 2013
Brief 2: Latin and Greek Word Elements
Latin was the language spoken by the ancient Romans. As the Romans conquered most of Europe, the Latin language spread throughout the region. Over time, the Latin spoken in different areas developed into separate languages, including Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. These languages are considered “sisters,” as they all descended from Latin, their “mother” language.
In 1066 England was conquered by William, duke of Normandy, which is in northern France. For several hundred years after the Norman invasion, French was the language of court and polite society in England. It was during this period that many French words were borrowed into English. Linguists estimate that some 60% of our common everyday vocabulary today comes from French. Thus many Latin words came into English indirectly through French.
Many Latin words came into English directly, though, too. Monks from Rome brought religious vocabulary as well as Christianity to England beginning in the 6th century. From the Middle Ages onward many scientific, scholarly, and legal terms were borrowed from Latin.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, dictionary writers and grammarians generally felt that English was an imperfect language whereas Latin was perfect. In order to improve the language, they deliberately made up a lot of English words from Latin words. For example, fraternity, from Latin fraternitas, was thought to be better than the native English word brotherhood.
Many English words and word parts can be traced back to Latin and Greek. The following table lists some common Latin roots.
Brief 2: Foreign Words and Phrases
The English meanings given below are not necessarily literal translations.
- ad absurdum
- (ad ab-sir'dum) [Lat.]: to the point of absurdity. “He tediously repeated his argument ad absurdum.”
- ad infinitum
- (ad in-fun-eye'tum) [Lat.]: to infinity. “The lecture seemed to drone on ad infinitum.”
- ad nauseam
- (ad noz'ee-um) [Lat.]: to a sickening degree. “The politician uttered one platitude after another ad nauseam.”
- aficionado
- (uh-fish'ya-nah'doh) [Span.]: an ardent devotee. “I was surprised at what a baseball aficionado she had become.”
- angst
- (angkst) [Ger.]: dread and anxiety. “Sylvia's teenage angst was nothing compared to the parental angst experienced by the two individuals whose duty it was to raise her.”
- annus mirabilis
- (an'us muh-ra'buh-lis) [Lat.]: wonderful year. “Last year was the annus mirabilis for my company.”
- a priori
- (ah pree-or'ee) [Lat.]: based on theory rather than observation. “The fact that their house is in such disrepair suggests a priori that they are having financial difficulties.”
- au courant
- (oh' koo-rahn') [Fr.]: up-to-date. “The shoes, the hair, the clothes—every last detail of her dress, in fact—was utterly au courant.”
- beau geste
- (boh zhest') [Fr.]: a fine or noble gesture, often futile. “My fellow writers supported me by writing letters of protest to the publisher, but their beau geste could not prevent the inevitable.”
- beau monde
- (boh' mond') [Fr.]: high society. “Such elegant decor would impress even the beau monde.”
- bête noire
- (bet nwahr') [Fr.]: something or someone particularly disliked. “Talk of the good old college days way back when had become his bête noire, and he began to avoid his school friends.”
- bona fide
- (boh'na fide) [Lat.]: in good faith; genuine. “For all her reticence and modesty, it was clear that she was a bona fide expert in her field.”
- bon mot
- (bon moe') [Fr.]: a witty remark or comment. “One bon mot after another flew out of his mouth, charming the audience.”
- bon vivant
- (bon vee-vahnt') [Fr.]: a person who lives luxuriously and enjoys good food and drink. “It's true he's quite the bon vivant, but when he gets down to business he conducts himself like a Spartan.”
- carpe diem
- (kar'pay dee'um) [Lat.]: seize the day. “So what if you have an 8:00 a.m. meeting tomorrow and various appointments? Carpe diem!”
- carte blanche
- (kart blonsh') [Fr.]: unrestricted power to act on one's own. “I may have carte blanche around the office, but at home I'm a slave to my family's demands.”
- casus belli
- (kay'sus bel'eye) [Lat.]: an act justifying war. “The general felt that the banana republic's insolent remarks about our national honor were enough of a casus belli to launch an attack.”
- cause célèbre
- (koz suh-leb'ruh) [Fr.]: a widely known controversial case or issue. “The Sacco and Vanzetti trial became an international cause célèbre during the 1920s.”
- caveat emptor
- (kav'ee-ot emp'tor) [Lat.]: let the buyer beware. “Before you leap at that real estate deal, caveat emptor!”
- comme ci comme ça
- (kom see' kom sah') [Fr.]: so-so. “The plans for the party strike me as comme ci comme ça.”
- comme il faut
- (kom eel foe') [Fr.]: as it should be; fitting. “His end was truly comme il faut.”
- coup de grâce
- (koo de grahss') [Fr.]: finishing blow. “After an already wildly successful day, the coup de grâce came when she won best all-around athlete.”
- cri de coeur
- (kree' de kur') [Fr.]: heartfelt appeal. “About to leave the podium, he made a final cri de coeur to his people to end the bloodshed.”
- de rigueur
- (duh ree-gur') [Fr.]: strictly required, as by etiquette, usage, or fashion. “Loudly proclaiming one's support for radical causes had become de rigueur among her crowd.”
- deus ex machina
- (day'us ex mahk'uh-nuh) [Lat.]: a contrived device to resolve a situation. “Stretching plausibility, the movie concluded with a deus ex machina ending in which everyone was rescued at the last minute.”
- dolce vita
- (dole'chay vee'tuh) [Ital.]: sweet life; the good life perceived as one of physical pleasure and self-indulgence. “My vacation this year is going to be two uninterrupted weeks of dolce vita.”
- doppelgänger
- (dop'pul-gang-ur) [Ger.]: a ghostly double or counterpart of a living person. “I could not shake the sense that some shadowy doppelgänger echoed my every move.”
- ecce homo
- (ek'ay ho'mo) [Lat.]: behold the man. “The painting depicted the common Renaissance theme, ecce homo—Christ wearing the crown of thorns.”
- enfant terrible
- (ahn-fahn' tay-reeb'luh) [Fr.]: an incorrigible child; an outrageously outspoken or bold person. “He played the role of enfant terrible, jolting us with his blunt assessment.”
- entre nous
- (ahn'truh noo') [Fr.]: between ourselves; confidentially. “Entre nous, their marriage is on the rocks.”
- ex cathedra
- (ex kuh-thee'druh) [Lat.]: with authority; used especially of those pronouncements of the pope that are considered infallible. “I resigned myself to obeying; my father's opinions were ex cathedra in our household.”
- ex post facto
- (ex' post fak'toh) [Lat.]: retroactively. “I certainly hope that the change in policy will be honored ex post facto.”
- fait accompli
- (fate ah-kom-plee') [Fr.]: an accomplished fact, presumably irreversible. “There's no use protesting—it's a fait accompli.”>
- faux pas
- (foh pah') [Fr.]: a social blunder. “Suddenly, she realized she had unwittingly committed yet another faux pas.”
- Feinschmecker2
- (fine'shmek-er) [Ger.]: gourmet. “No, I don't think McDonald's will do; he's much too much of a Feinschmecker.”
- flagrante delicto
- (fla-grahn'tee di-lik'toh) [Lat.]: in the act. “The detective realized that without hard evidence he had no case; he would have to catch the culprit flagrante delicto.”
- glasnost
- (glaz'nohst) [Rus.]: open and frank discussion: initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985 in the Soviet Union. “Once the old chairman retired, the spirit of glasnost pervaded the department.”
- hoi polloi
- (hoy' puh-loy') [Gk.]: the common people. “Marie Antoinette recommended cake to the hoi polloi.”
- in loco parentis
- (in loh'koh pa-ren'tiss) [Lat.]: in the place of a parent. “The court appointed a guardian for the children, to serve in loco parentis.”
- in medias res
- (in me'-dee-as rays) [Lat.]: in the middle of a sequence of occurences. “The film begins in medias res, with a panting, terrified man running through the night.”
- in situ
- (in sit'too) [Lat.]: situated in the original or natural position. “I prefer seeing statues in situ rather than in the confines of a museum.”
- in vino veritas
- (in vee'no vare'i-toss) [Lat.]: in wine there is truth. “By the end of the party, several of the guests had made a good deal of their private lives public, prompting the host to murmur to his wife, ‘in vino veritas.’”
- ipso facto
- (ip'soh fak'toh) [Lat.]: by the fact itself. “An extremist, ipso facto, cannot become part of a coalition.”
- je ne sais quoi
- (zheh neh say kwah') [Fr.]: I know not what; an elusive quality. “She couldn't explain it, but there was something je ne sais quoi about him that she found devastatingly attractive.”
- mano a mano
- (mah'no ah mah'no) [Span.]: directly or face-to-face in a confrontation or conflict. “‘Stay out of it,’ he admonished his friends, ‘I want to handle this guy mano a mano.’”
- mea culpa
- (may'uh kul'puh) [Lat.]: I am to blame. “His mea culpa was so offhand that I hardly think he meant it.”
- memento mori
- (muh-men'toh more'ee) [Lat.]: a reminder that you must die. “The skull rested on the mantlepiece as a memento mori.”
- mise en scene
- (mee' zahn sen) [Fr.]: the stage setting; surroundings. “The mise en scene for the sci-fi movie was molded, futuristic furniture and blinding klieg lights.”
- mot juste
- (moh zhoost') [Fr.]: the exact, appropriate word. “‘Rats!’ screamed the defiant three-year-old, immensely proud of his mot juste.”
- ne plus ultra
- (nee' plus ul'truh) [Lat.]: the most intense degree of a quality or state. “Pulling it from the box, he realized he was face to face with the ne plus ultra of computers.”
- nom de guerre
- (nom duh gair') [Fr.]: pseudonym. “He went by his nom de guerre when frequenting trendy nightclubs.”
- nom de plume
- (nom duh ploom') [Fr.]: pen name. “Deciding it was time to sit down and begin a novel, the would-be writer spent the first several hours deciding upon a suitable nom de plume.”
- nota bene
- (noh'tuh ben'nee) [Ital.]: note well; take notice. “Her postcard included a reminder: nota bene, I'll be returning on the 11 o'clock train.”
- persona non grata
- (per-soh'nuh non grah'tuh) [Lat.]: unacceptable or unwelcome person. “Once I was cut out of the will, I became persona non grata among my relatives.”
- prima facie
- (pry'ma fay'she) [Lat.]: at first sight, clear and evident. “Although her husband implored, ‘I can explain!’ the sight of another woman wrapped in his arms was prima facie evidence that he was a deceitful lout.”
- pro bono
- (pro boh'noh) [Lat.]: done or donated without charge; free. “The lawyer's pro bono work gave him a sense of value that his work on behalf of the corporation could not.”
- quid pro quo
- (kwid' pro kwoh') [Lat.]: something for something; an equal exchange. “She vowed that when she had the means, she would return his favors quid pro quo.”
- sans souci
- (sahn soo-see') [Fr.]: carefree. “After serveral glasses of champagne, their mood turned distinctly sans souci.”
- savoir-faire
- (sav'wahr fair') [Fr.]: the ability to say and do the correct thing. “She presided over the gathering with impressive savoir-faire.”
- schadenfreude
- (shah den froy'deh) [Ger.]: pleasure at someone else's misfortunes. “Schadenfreude suffused the classroom after the insufferably supercilious class pet was caught cheating by the teacher.”
- sic transit gloria mundi
- (sick tran'sit glor'ee-uh mun'dee) [Lat.]: thus passes away the glory of the world. “Watching the aging former football quarterback lumber down the street, potbellied and dissipated, his friend shook his head in disbelief and muttered, ‘sic transit gloria mundi.’”
- sine qua non
- (sin'ay kwah nohn') [Lat.]: indispensable element or condition. “Lemon is the sine qua non of this recipe.”
- sotto voce
- (suh'tow voh'chee) [Ital.]: in a quiet voice, attempting not to be overheard. “While the others were distracted, he filled me in sotto voce on all the delicously sordid details of the scandal.”
- sui generis
- (su'ee jen'e-ris) [Lat.]: unique. “Adjusting her pirate's hat and fringed hula skirt, Zelda sashayed into the party, knowing her fashion statement was sui generis.”
- terra incognita
- (tare'uh in-kog-nee'tuh) [Lat.]: unknown territory. “When the conversation suddenly switched from contemporary fiction to medieval Albanian playwrights, he felt himself entering terra incognita.”
- tout le monde
- (too luh mond') [Fr.]: everybody; everyone of importance. “Don't miss the event; it's bound to be attended by tout le monde.”
- veni, vidi, vici
- (ven'ee vee'dee vee'chee) [Lat.]: I came, I saw, I conquered. “After the takeover the business mogul gloated, ‘veni, vidi, vici.’”
- verboten
- (fer-boh'ten) [Ger.]: forbidden, as by law; prohibited. “That topic, I am afraid, is verboten in this household.”
- vox populi
- (voks pop'yoo-lie) [Lat.]: the voice of the people. “My sentiments echo those of the vox populi.”
- Wanderjahr2
- (vahn'der-yahr) [Ger.]: a year or period of travel, especially following one's schooling. “The trio took off on their Wanderjahr, intent on visiting every museum between Edinburgh and Rome.”
- Weltanschauung2
- (velt'an-shou'ung) [Ger.]: a world view or philosophy of life. “His Weltanschauung gradually metamorphized from a grim and pessimistic one to a sunny, but no less complex, view.”
- Weltschmerz2
- (velt'shmerts) [Ger.]: sorrow over the evils of the world. “His poetry expressed a certain Weltschmerz, or world-weariness.”
- Zeitgeist2
- (zite'guyst) [Ger.]: the thought or sensibility characteristic of a particular period of time. “She blamed it on the Zeitgeist, which encouraged hedonistic excess.”
Brief 2: Easily Confused or Misused Words
Some words sound so similar, it's easy to confuse or misuse them when writing. Computer spell check won't catch these mistakes! Use this list as a reference whenever you're unsure about which word fits in the context.
- affect / effect
- Effect is usually a noun that means a result or the power to produce a result: “The sound of the falling rain had a calming effect, nearly putting me to sleep.” Affect is usually a verb that means to have an influence on: “His loud humming was affecting my ability to concentrate.” Note that effect can also be a verb meaning to bring about or execute: “The speaker's somber tone effected a dampening in the general mood of the audience.”
- all right / alright
- Although alright is widely used, it is considered nonstandard English. As the American Heritage Dictionary notes, it's not “all right to use alright.”
- all together / altogether
- All together is applied to people or things that are being treated as a group. “We put the pots and pans all together on the shelf.” All together is the form that must be used if the sentence can be reworded so that all and together are separated by other words: “We put all the pots and pans together on the shelf.” Altogether is used to mean entirely: “I am altogether pleased to be receiving this award.”
- allusion / illusion
- Allusion is a noun that means an indirect reference: “The speech made allusions to the final report.” Illusion is a noun that means a misconception: “The policy is designed to give an illusion of reform.”
- alternately / alternatively
- Alternately is an adverb that means in turn; one after the other: “We alternately spun the wheel in the game.” Alternatively is an adverb that means on the other hand; one or the other: “You can choose a large bookcase or, alternatively, you can buy two small ones.”
- beside / besides
- Beside is a preposition that means next to: “Stand here beside me.” Besides is an adverb that means also: “Besides, I need to tell you about the new products my company offers.”
- bimonthly / semimonthly
- Bimonthly is an adjective that means every two months: “I brought the cake for the bimonthly office party.” Bimonthly is also a noun that means a publication issued every two months: “The company publishes several popular bimonthlies.” Semimonthly is an adjective that means happening twice a month: “We have semimonthly meetings on the 1st and the 15th.”
- capital / capitol
- The city or town that is the seat of government is called the capital; the building in which the legislative assembly meets is the capitol. The term capital can also refer to an accumulation of wealth or to a capital letter.
- cite / site
- Cite is a verb that means to quote as an authority or example: “I cited several eminent scholars in my study of water resources.” It also means to recognize formally: “The public official was cited for service to the city.” It can also mean to summon before a court of law: “Last year the company was cited for pollution violations.” Site is a noun meaning location: “They chose a new site for the factory just outside town.”
- complement / compliment
- Complement is a noun or verb that means something that completes or makes up a whole: “The red sweater is a perfect complement to the outfit.” Compliment is a noun or verb that means an expression of praise or admiration: “I received compliments about my new outfit.”
- comprise / compose
- According to the traditional rule, the whole comprises the parts, and the parts compose the whole. Thus, the board comprises five members, whereas five members compose (or make up) the board. It is also correct to say that the board is composed (not comprised) of five members.
- concurrent / consecutive
- Concurrent is an adjective that means simultaneous or happening at the same time as something else: “The concurrent strikes of several unions crippled the economy.” Consecutive means successive or following one after the other: “The union called three consecutive strikes in one year.”
- connote / denote
- Connote is a verb that means to imply or suggest: “The word ‘espionage’ connotes mystery and intrigue.” Denote is a verb that means to indicate or refer to specifically: “The symbol for ‘pi’ denotes the number 3.14159.”
- convince / persuade
- Strictly speaking, one convinces a person that something is true but persuades a person to do something. “Pointing out that I was overworked, my friends persuaded [not convinced] me to take a vacation. Now that I'm relaxing on the beach with my book, I am convinced [not persuaded] that they were right.” Following this rule, convince should not be used with an infinitive.
- council / councilor / counsel / counselor
- A councilor is a member of a council, which is an assembly called together for discussion or deliberation. A counselor is one who gives counsel, which is advice or guidance. More specifically, a counselor can be an attorney or a supervisor at camp.
- discreet / discrete
- Discreet is an adjective that means prudent, circumspect, or modest: “Her discreet handling of the touchy situation put him at ease.” Discrete is an adjective that means separate or individually distinct: “Each company in the conglomerate operates as a discrete entity.”
- disinterested / uninterested
- Disinterested is an adjective that means unbiased or impartial: “We appealed to the disinterested mediator to facilitate the negotiations.” Uninterested is an adjective that means not interested or indifferent: “They seemed uninterested in our offer.”
- elicit / illicit
- Elicit is a verb that means to draw out. Illicit is an adjective meaning unlawful. “No matter how hard I tried to elicit a few scandalous stories from her, she kept all knowledge of illicit goings-on discreetly to herself. ”
- emigrant / immigrant
- Emigrant is a noun that means one who leaves one's native country to settle in another: “The emigrants spent four weeks aboard ship before landing in Los Angeles.” Immigrant is a noun that means one who enters and settles in a new country: “Most of the immigrants easily found jobs.” One emigrates from a place; one immigrates to another.
- farther / further
- Farther is an adjective and adverb that means to or at a more distant point: “We drove 50 miles today; tomorrow, we will travel 100 miles farther.” Further is an adjective and adverb that means to or at a greater extent or degree: “We won't be able to suggest a solution until we are further along in our evaluation of the problem.” It can also mean in addition or moreover: “They stated further that they would not change the policy.”
- few / less
- Few is an adjective that means small in number. It is used with countable objects: “This department has few employees.” Less is an adjective that means small in amount or degree. It is used with objects of indivisible mass: “Which jar holds less water?”
- figuratively / literally
- Figuratively is an adverb that means metaphorically or symbolically: “Happening upon the shadowy figure, they figuratively jumped out of their shoes.” Literally is an adverb that means actually: “I'm not exaggerating when I say I literally fell off my chair.” It also means according to the exact meaning of the words: “I translated the Latin passage literally.”
- flammable / inflammable
- These two words are actually synonyms, both meaning easily set on fire. The highly flammable (inflammable) fuel was stored safely in a specially built tank. Use nonflammable to mean not flammable.
- flaunt / flout
- To flaunt means to show off shamelessly: “Eager to flaunt her knowledge of a wide range of topics, Helene dreamed of appearing on a TV trivia show.” To flout means to show scorn or contempt for: “Lewis disliked boarding school and took every opportunity to flout the house rules.”
- foreword / forward
- Foreword is a noun that means an introductory note or preface: “In my foreword I explained my reasons for writing the book.” Forward is an adjective or adverb that means toward the front: “I sat in the forward section of the bus.” “Please step forward when your name is called.” Forward is also a verb that means to send on: “Forward the letter to the customer's new address.”
- founder / flounder
- In its primary sense founder means to sink below the surface of the water: “The ship foundered after colliding with an iceberg.” By extension, founder means to fail utterly. Flounder means to move about clumsily, or to act with confusion. A good synonym for flounder is blunder: “After floundering through the first half of the course, Amy finally passed with the help of a tutor.”
- hanged / hung
- Hanged is the past tense and past participle of hang when the meaning is to execute by suspending by the neck: “They hanged the prisoner for treason.” “The convicted killer was hanged at dawn.” Hung is the past tense and participle of hang when the meaning is to suspend from above with no support from below: “I hung the painting on the wall.” “The painting was hung at a crooked angle.”
- historic / historical
- In general usage, historic refers to what is important in history, while historical applies more broadly to whatever existed in the past whether it was important or not: “a historic summit meeting between the prime ministers;” “historical buildings torn down in the redevelopment.”
- i.e. / e.g.
- The abbreviation e.g. means for example (from Latin exempli gratia): “Her talents were legion and varied (e.g., deep sea diving, speed reading, bridge, and tango dancing).” The abbreviation i.e. means that is or in other words (from Latin id est): “The joy of my existence (i.e., my stamp collection) imbues my life with meaning.”
- it's / its
- It's is a contraction for it is, whereas its is the possessive form of it: “It's a shame that we cannot talk about its size.”
- laid / lain / lay
- Laid is the past tense and the past participle of the verb lay and not the past tense of lie. Lay is the past tense of the verb lie and lain is the past participle: “He laid his books down and lay down on the couch, where he has lain for an hour.”
- lend / loan
- Although some people feel loan should only be used as a noun, lend and loan are both acceptable as verbs in standard English: “Can you lend (loan) me a dollar?” However, only lend should be used in figurative senses: “Will you lend me a hand?”
- lightening / lightning
- Lightening is a verb that means to illuminate; lightning is a noun referring to the electrical charges the cause flashes of light during storms: “The lightning struck, lightening the sky.”
- nonplussed
- Meaning perplexed or bewildered, nonplussed is very often thought to mean just the opposite—calm, unruffled, cool-as-a-cucumber. A common mistake is to think the word means not “plussed,” but no such word exists. Nonplussed originates from the Latin non (no) and plus (more, further), and means a state in which no more can be done—one is so perplexed that further action is impossible. “The lexicographer grew increasingly agitated and nonplussed by the frequency with which she noted the misuse of nonplussed.”
- passed / past
- Passed is the past tense and past participle of pass. Past refers to time gone by; it is also a preposition meaning beyond. “In the past decade, I passed over countless opportunities; I was determined not to let them get past me again.”
- penultimate
- Meaning “next to last,” penultimate is often mistakenly used to mean “the very last,” or the ultimate: “The perfectionist was crestfallen when he was awarded the penultimate prize; the grand prize went to another.”
- precede / proceed
- The verb precede means to come before. Proceed means to move forward. “He preceded me into the room; once I caught up with him I proceeded to tell him off.”
- principal / principle
- Principal is a noun that means a person who holds a high position or plays an important role: “The school principal has 20 years of teaching experience.” Principal is also an adjective that means chief or leading: “The necessity of moving to another city was the principal reason I turned down the job offer.” Principle is a noun that means a rule or standard: “They refused to compromise their principles.”
- stationary / stationery
- Stationary is an adjective that means fixed or unmoving: “They maneuvered around the stationary barrier in the road.” Stationery is a noun that means writing materials: “We printed the letters on company stationery.”
- their / there / they're
- Their is the possessive form of they; there refers to place; and they're is the contraction of they are. “They're going there because their mother insisted they become proficient in Serbo-Croatian.”
- venal / venial
- Venal is an adjective that means corruptible; venial is an adjective that means a slight flaw or offense: “In the Catholic church, a venial sin is one that is minor and pardonable, whereas a mortal sin is a serious transgression involving more venal or depraved behavior.”
- who's / whose
- Who's is the contraction of who is. Whose is the possessive form of who. “Who's going to figure out whose job it is to clean the stables?”
- your / you're
- Your is the possessive form of you; you're is the contraction you are. “If you're planning on swimming, then be sure to bring your life vest and flippers.”
Brief 2: Ten tips for Better Spelling
This may be the best-known spelling rule:i before e, except after c
or when sounded like "ay"
as in neighbor and weigh
Here are some words that follow the rule:IE words: believe, field, relief
CEI words: ceiling, deceit, receive
EI words: freight, reign, sleigh
Some exceptions: either, foreign, height, leisure, protein, weird"CIEN words" are another exception to the rule. These include ancient, efficient, and science.- Here's another familiar spelling rule: "Silent e helps a vowel say its name." This means that when a word ends with a vowel followed by a consonant and then silent e, the vowel has a long sound. That's the difference between rate and rat, hide and hid, and cube and cub.
- Have you heard the expression "When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking?" This means that when there are two vowels in a row, the first usually has a long sound and the second is silent. That's why it's team, not taem; coat, not caot; and wait, not wiat. Remembering this rule will help you to put vowels in the right order.
- Learn the basic rules for spelling with plural nouns so that you know whether to use s or es and how to make plurals of nouns that end in y or f.
- In general, though, memorizing rules isn't the most effective way to learn spelling. Most rules have exceptions—and besides, you are best at learning words that you have made an effort to understand. A good way to understand a word is to break it into syllables. Look for prefixes, suffixes, and roots. Practice each short part and then the whole word.
dis-ap-pear-ing
tra-di-tion-al
After you break apart a word, ask yourself: How is this word like other words I know? Spelling the word traditional may make you think of spelling functional and national. Finding patterns among words is one of the best ways to learn spelling. - It's also helpful to try making up a funny memory aids. For example, do you have trouble remembering which has two s's—desert (arid land) or dessert (a sweet treat)? Remember that with dessert, you'd like seconds. Similarly, do you have trouble remembering how to spell separate? Remember that there's a rat in the middle.
- Another kind of memory aid is to make up a sentence in which the first letter of each word can be used to make the spelling word. The sillier the better—goofy sentences may be easier to remember.
chili: cats have interesting little ideas
physical: please have your strawberry ice cream and lollipops
- Make sure that you are pronouncing words correctly. This can help you to avoid some common spelling errors, such as canidate instead of candidate, jewelery instead of jewelry, and libary instead of library.
- Put together a list of words that you find difficult to spell. Go over your old papers and spelling exams to track down these troublemakers. Once you've got your list in hand, see if some of the tips above will help you.
- And lastly: Don't rely on electronic spellcheckers! They can miss errors—especially when you have used the wrong word but spelled it correctly. To prove it, we've taken a sentence and messed up all the words. And the spellchecker thinks it's fine.
"I might need some new shoes for gym," Harry told our Aunt Ann.
"Eye mite knead sum knew shoos four Jim," Hairy tolled hour Ant an.
Read more: Ten Tips for Better Spelling | Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0903395.html#ixzz2o7AzjFgv
Tuesday 17 December 2013
Brief 1: Research
An article by Lauren Laverne for the Observer
Never underestimate the power of polka dots. Frank Sinatra built his career on them (after his first hit "Polka Dots and Moon Beams"). Sportsmen and women have pushed their bodies to the limit in the quest to win them (specifically, a spotted jersey awarded to the king or queen of the mountains in cycling races). For artist Yayoi Kusama, polka dots represent the unfathomable, atomic nature of the universe, including our bodies. As she says, "Polka dots are a way to infinity." Perhaps the infinitesimal fragmentation and simultaneous, indivisible oneness of the itsy-bitsy teenie-weenie particles that comprise our galaxy was whatBrian Hyland (and later Timmy Mallett) were alluding to when they released different versions of the same poetic paean to polka dots in 1960 and 1990, respectively. Sadly, the lyrics are so obtuse historians can only guess.
Like the dance that gave them their name, polka dots have never completely disappeared, but they do go in and out of style. This autumn they look spot on again – there was a rash of them on the runways at Dolce & Gabbana, Moschino and Michael Kors's spring/summer shows – and it's safe to say they'll still be with us in 2014.
The print can be divisive: its kitschy femininity isn't to everyone's taste. Having said that, those who are prepared to be playful with those connotations are the people who wear polka dots best of all (an honourable mention here goes to men spotted in dots, including Bob Dylan, Marc Jacobs, Comme des Garçons's Rei Kawakubo and DC Comics's Polka-Dot Man).
If you're up for purchasing some of this season's (ahem) dot cotton – or any other fabric – here are a few pointers to get you started.
Go long: midi skirts dominated at the spring/summer shows, especially where polka dots were concerned. Oscar de La Renta went retro with monochrome spotted suits and dotty Betty Draper dresses, but if that's too prim for you try a tougher shirt dress, as seen at Preen.
Mix your prints. Grid prints have been huge for a while now. Chuck a polka-dot piece against them and give them a whole new lease of life, or try stripes or florals (if you're going to try this it works best if you're brave – pick a contrasting print with a contrasting scale, too).
As always, accessories are an easy entry point for the pattern novice. Check out River Island's cute (men's) bow ties and sibling duo Angel Jackson's signature polka-dot clutch, which comes in a range of colours – the perfect finishing touch for stylish, ethical shoppers.
Sunday 15 December 2013
Brief 6, 7, 11, 12 & 13 Interim Evaluation
This past few weeks have been pretty stressful, not only because of personal events but because some of the briefs that I have completed ended up being more of a challenge than I thought. This combined with the pressure of dissertation writing has made for a couple of weeks that have been far from enjoyable.
Overall, I am satisfied with the work that I have created up until now for the most part, but I really want to push myself to do better for the last 6 months of my degree.
Brief 6
This brief that I completed with Lisa is probably the one that I am most pleased with. This is because we managed to achieve what we set out to do, and we created what I feel is a substantial amount of work for the amount of time we had to work on it. In terms of weeks, we have had around 8, but because of commitments to other briefs we have mostly been meeting up a couple of times a week to work on this. I think that Lisa and I worked well together, (hopefully she thinks the same!) and despite the hiccups we came across (LASER CUTTING IS THE WORST) we have managed to resolve any issues relatively easily, and been able to come up with a Plan B when needed (thankyou, Matthew!). Given more time I think that both myself and Lisa agree we would want to push some of the design elements a little more, for example I would have liked to explore designing the in store design elements such as signage, but given that we are poor students laden with work this just wasn't possible.
Brief 7
This was a very short brief, so my main concern with this is that I could have pushed the outcome a lot further if I had allotted more time to this brief. However, in terms of the required outcome for the actual design award, this is all that I needed to do. I am pleased with the outcome as it is different than what I did for the Big Sleep cover last year, and I feel pleased with myself for not only using photoshop to complete the design. Instead, I challenged myself to use hand rendered illustration, and I am happy with my efforts.
Brief 11
This is the brief that has probably taught me the most and one that I will take the most from this year so far. This will sound overly dramatic, but doing this brief has felt like a really, really long episode of the Apprentice, and despite thinking that most of the contestants are genuinely lacking in brain cells, I have to admit that I kind of understand now that trying to make and sell a product successfully is as difficult as they make it look. Had I had Nick or Karen following me around, I can only imagine what they would have said to the cameras when I wasn't looking, and the strange facial expressions they would have pulled behind my back.
I was overly ambitious with this project: I had 960 cards printed, foolishly believing that I would be able to sell almost all of them and make a profit of around £1000. In reality, I have made around £150 in profit and sold around 100/150 of the cards. Had it not been for David and Greta, I definitely wouldn't have even sold that amount. In some ways I did push the project hard, and in other ways I didn't. If I'd been more organised I could have sold them at different events at Leeds, but timing was an issue in this respect.
Next time, I would produce less cards and sell them for a smaller amount, and I would probably attempt to make more of events in and around Leeds. I am glad I did this project, but in general I do wish that it had gone better.
Brief 12
I haven't really got much to say about this brief. I would really like to go back to it because I don't feel that I have been able to achieve what I hoped to. The brief ended up being a little rushed, and I wasn't able to print any of my products. I am happy with the copy side of the brief, and although I didn't have much time to develop the visuals, I am pleased with how these have turned out. When I get the chance, I will just make sure I can print them and photograph them to add to this brief and make it feel more resolved.
Brief 13
Because this was such a short brief, again there is not much for me to say about it. I am incredibly pleased with how the poster turned out and how well me and Hannah were able to work together. I am definitely looking forward to pushing this project further in Part 2 of our brief.
Overall, I am satisfied with the work that I have created up until now for the most part, but I really want to push myself to do better for the last 6 months of my degree.
Brief 6
This brief that I completed with Lisa is probably the one that I am most pleased with. This is because we managed to achieve what we set out to do, and we created what I feel is a substantial amount of work for the amount of time we had to work on it. In terms of weeks, we have had around 8, but because of commitments to other briefs we have mostly been meeting up a couple of times a week to work on this. I think that Lisa and I worked well together, (hopefully she thinks the same!) and despite the hiccups we came across (LASER CUTTING IS THE WORST) we have managed to resolve any issues relatively easily, and been able to come up with a Plan B when needed (thankyou, Matthew!). Given more time I think that both myself and Lisa agree we would want to push some of the design elements a little more, for example I would have liked to explore designing the in store design elements such as signage, but given that we are poor students laden with work this just wasn't possible.
Brief 7
This was a very short brief, so my main concern with this is that I could have pushed the outcome a lot further if I had allotted more time to this brief. However, in terms of the required outcome for the actual design award, this is all that I needed to do. I am pleased with the outcome as it is different than what I did for the Big Sleep cover last year, and I feel pleased with myself for not only using photoshop to complete the design. Instead, I challenged myself to use hand rendered illustration, and I am happy with my efforts.
Brief 11
This is the brief that has probably taught me the most and one that I will take the most from this year so far. This will sound overly dramatic, but doing this brief has felt like a really, really long episode of the Apprentice, and despite thinking that most of the contestants are genuinely lacking in brain cells, I have to admit that I kind of understand now that trying to make and sell a product successfully is as difficult as they make it look. Had I had Nick or Karen following me around, I can only imagine what they would have said to the cameras when I wasn't looking, and the strange facial expressions they would have pulled behind my back.
I was overly ambitious with this project: I had 960 cards printed, foolishly believing that I would be able to sell almost all of them and make a profit of around £1000. In reality, I have made around £150 in profit and sold around 100/150 of the cards. Had it not been for David and Greta, I definitely wouldn't have even sold that amount. In some ways I did push the project hard, and in other ways I didn't. If I'd been more organised I could have sold them at different events at Leeds, but timing was an issue in this respect.
Next time, I would produce less cards and sell them for a smaller amount, and I would probably attempt to make more of events in and around Leeds. I am glad I did this project, but in general I do wish that it had gone better.
Brief 12
I haven't really got much to say about this brief. I would really like to go back to it because I don't feel that I have been able to achieve what I hoped to. The brief ended up being a little rushed, and I wasn't able to print any of my products. I am happy with the copy side of the brief, and although I didn't have much time to develop the visuals, I am pleased with how these have turned out. When I get the chance, I will just make sure I can print them and photograph them to add to this brief and make it feel more resolved.
Brief 13
Because this was such a short brief, again there is not much for me to say about it. I am incredibly pleased with how the poster turned out and how well me and Hannah were able to work together. I am definitely looking forward to pushing this project further in Part 2 of our brief.
Thursday 12 December 2013
Wednesday 11 December 2013
Brief 13: Completed Poster
This is the completed poster for Part 1 of mine and Hannah's brief. Overall both myself and Hannah are very happy with the way that this has turned out, especially given our very short time frame. After scanning and colouring the type in, the actual design of the poster took around 2 hours, and overall, including the time it took to develop our hand rendered type, it has taken us less than a week to complete this brief. I am very much looking forward to working with Hannah again for part 2, and we already have ideas for that project based on the work we have created for Part 1.
Brief 12: Oasis Creative Suite Guidelines Booklet
As part of the brief I thought it would be wise to create a set of guidelines for using the Creative Suite both in store and online that I could submit to the competition, in a format that is more interesting than simple design boards. I am unsure whether I am actually allowed to submit a physical version of this, but I am happy that I have created it for this brief anyway. Ideally, if I had had more time I would have printed this for the Christmas submission, and I also would have found a way to incorporate the postcard designs into the publication format, but I have not had enough time to focus on this and when I did try to include them it didn't work with the logistics of a saddle stitched booklet as there were too many pages, and not the correct number needed for this format.
Brief 13: Colour Experimentation
After completing the composition of our poster, myself and Hannah experimented with the background colour of the poster, as we agreed that the effect with a white background was quite stark. In the end, we have decided on a very pale yellow as this seemed to complement the brighter colours instead of interfere with them, which I feel like some of the colours on here have.
Tuesday 10 December 2013
Brief 6: High Spirits Online
Lisa has produced this mock up of our High Spirits website, which includes a landing page, about page and a contact page. Lisa used the images we had taken on Monday as we were really happy with these images and they illustrate and communicate our brand effectively. We wanted to keep this simple, as the main focus of our brief is the physical products, and this simplicity is in keeping with the designs of our products. Brief 13: Colour Scheme and Letters
As this brief is being developed into Part 2 for a younger audience, we feel that the colours we use need to be bold and vibrant so that they engage the viewer immediately. The colours chosen are bright and youthful but not too vulgar, and I think once applied to the poster they will look very effective.
Brief 13: Scanned in type
The concept for this brief is based on the copy that myself and Hannah came up with:
"There are 7 billion characters in the world, why limit yourself to 140?"
This is based on the idea that social networking is not the only way to make friends, and that there are billions of people that you could be connecting with in a more personal way, using pen pals. Obviously you can talk to people online but often socialising online is impersonal and limiting, particularly on twitter where you can only use 140 characters at a time.
Because the brief is based on pen pals, we have chosen to use hand rendered type, and we decided to each create a range of hand rendered letters that were all different to convey the idea that there are a vast number of different people and characters in the world. We have come together today to choose the letters that we think are most appropriate and will work best on the poster. These were then scanned in by Hannah and I will be colouring them in so we can then place them onto the poster.
I am really pleased with the range of letters me and Hannah have come up with, and I think they will look very effective once on the poster.
Thursday 5 December 2013
Brief 6 &12: Crit
Today was a peer crit to discuss the progress I had made on my briefs. For both briefs the comments were similar, but there were not many suggestions made for improvements. One suggestion for the Oasis brief was to think about printing my postcards with a print finish such as spot uv, which I may look into for submission but cannot think about for the deadline next week. For High Spirits we received positive feedback but again, no real suggestions for improvement.
Wednesday 4 December 2013
Brief 12: Postcards
Having now abandoned the illustrative approach that I was going to take due to it being too time consuming for what was meant to be a shorter brief, I have been able to develop this brief quickly using type and photographic images. I felt like the most successful in store format for getting this copy across to the consumer would be in the form of nicely printed postcards that the customer can read in store and even take away with them. If packaged nicely, they could also be sent out as mailers to Oasis customers.
I think that having just the type on the front of the postcard gives it more immediate impact and leaves the focus solely on the copy which is the most important part of the brief anyway, and then the back of the postcard includes more potential copy which could be used by Oasis to further their messages. All of the cards use language that is not season specific and therefore fulfils the Oasis brief's wish to be able to use the copy all year round. I have tried to find playful images that work with and relate to the copy, however if this was being properly executed by Oasis themselves they would more than likely have to take their own photographs. The use of two colours in the type and the imagery was to make the designs simple and consistent, and I believe that the colours chosen all reflect the Oasis girl and work well as a set.
Tuesday 3 December 2013
Brief 12: Copy Development
After working on the initial copy, I wasn't entirely happy with my progress, and so I decided to just take one of the phrases that I thought was working well, 'Saving Grace', and experiment with type and colour for the visual side of the brief. Bizarrely from doing the visuals, it led me onto developing more of my copy at the same time. I realised that if I gave myself the limitation of having a very short phrase such as Saving Grace it actually meant I had to be more creative with the other phrases, and so I was able to shorten them and still make it understandable. I also have text underneath each title that anchors the copy and explains the it in more depth. The visuals are different than what I initially thought about doing, which was to create hand drawn illustrations, but this was becoming difficult and time consuming and so I decided that type and image would be simpler and possibly have more impact if employed correctly. I am still in the process of experimenting with these pieces of copy, but currently I am happy with the progress I have made.
Monday 2 December 2013
Brief 11: Christmas Card Photos
Today myself and Greta went to the photography studio to take some decent shots of the cards as one large set, and I am very happy with the results. I laid them out in the formation, and Greta did the actual photography work which I am very grateful for. Greta managed to get close ups of each of the cards as well in case any of the course want to use them on their design boards.
My Card Designs
Thursday 28 November 2013
Brief 11: Online Store Change
Unfortunately as I was setting up my online shop with Etsy, I made an error in filling out my bank details and they decided that I was a fraud. Despite sending off proof of my existence and legitimacy, I was silly enough to forget that Etsy is based in America and so they are currently celebrating Thanksgiving, and are unlikely to reply for a long time. Therefore, I have decided to set up a Big Cartel store instead, which is an easier but more costly process.
In the end, I feel better having set up the Big Cartel store because the design of the site is simple but looks professional. I now just have to wait and see what happens now the shop is live.
In the end, I feel better having set up the Big Cartel store because the design of the site is simple but looks professional. I now just have to wait and see what happens now the shop is live.
Brief 6: Research Booklet
We decided that for the submission of this brief it would be useful to create a research book that cites our inspirations. When printed we will be creating it as single pages bound with a bulldog clip, so that it could be taken apart to create a mood board if we wish.
Brief 6: Flyer and Compliment Slip
Lisa created the compliment slip last night, and to keep everything consistent, we have made a minor adjustment to the flyer by adding a gold outline to it.
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