Showing posts with label continuing education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label continuing education. Show all posts

22 March 2024

Vocabulary Improvement: Having Fun with English Words

Links below are to a post series I published at one of my favorite social blogging communities, MyLot.com. These may not be words you use in your everyday communications in the English language. But if you like to play word games like Scrabble, they might come in handy!  Learn them so you don't have to consult the dictionary during the game. 



English words are fun! Don’t you think so? Even if English is not your native tongue. When I was in elementary school as a method of enriching our vocabulary and improving our word skills, the teacher would send us home with a list of about 10 words. The homework assignment was to look up the definition of the words in the dictionary, write down the word and the definition, and write a sentence we made up using the word. Thinking back on it, I realize that it was a very good exercise.

What I Learned Watching Korean Drama

Several years back I watched a historical period Korean drama about a king who had a dream. He dreamed of a nation where everyone could read and write. Even poor people! It was a radical move! The nobles and scholars vehemently opposed him. They were willing to kill people over this! Can you imagine? To say that others disagreed with his ambitious endeavor would be the understatement of the century. Nevertheless, because he was fiercely determined, he accomplished his goal. He devised a system of 28 alphabets and from those letters, all words could be created. Sounds marvelous, doesn’t it? Watching that series really made me appreciate the ability to speak, read, and write in my native tongue, i.e. English.




What I Learned When I Had No Internet Access

What do you do when you don’t have the Internet? Oh! I don’t know! Clean your house? Read a book or a magazine? How about … learn some new words? Where’s my dictionary? (Actually I don’t have a dictionary. I have a lexicon.)

Unlike the Korean alphabet, our American English alphabet is 26 letters. Our words are derived from the languages of various civilizations: French, Latin, Greek, languages of the Native Americans, etc. The creation of most of the words we speak rest on 5 of the 26 letters, which we call vowels. A – E – I – O – U. Sometimes the letter Y is considered a vowel. But for purposes of this discussion, we will count it as a consonant.

Entertainment and Education

I started out entertaining myself by scanning pages of my old lexicon and honing in on words I didn’t know. Then I thought to myself, many members of online social communities where I am an active member, are non-English speaking. Why not share my treasure finds with them? There are also some members who speak “the real English”. Per my late husband, there’s real English and then there is the English that Americans speak. Those community members who speak “the real English” might enjoy my findings as well.

So I’ve published this series of short posts. Why isn’t the series longer? Well because I got my Internet back. LOL.  I looked up the meanings of “5 English words” for each vowel. The pattern if you can’t detect it is the first vowel in the alphabet paired with the first consonant in the alphabet; second vowel with the second consonant; third vowel with the third consonant, etc. Similar to my homework assignment from elementary school, wrote down the word and the definition. I did not, however, use the words in a sentence. Why? Like I said, I got my Internet back! LOL. 🙂

Anyway … as I only wrote down the word and the definition in the posts, maybe the reader can go the extra step and use it in a sentence.

One last note. Keep in mind that some of the words I found, you probably won’t use in casual everyday conversation. But if you love to play word games like Scrabble, they might come in really handy!

05 October 2023

Greek Mythology: The Harpies | Soul Snatchers Versus Soul Savers

I enjoy the study of mythology.  Not just Greek and Roman mythology but legends, folklore, and myths from all around the world.  The study affords me the opportunity to contrast and compare those beliefs to the teachings of Christianity.

For this discussion, I am sharing the results of a quick study about the harpy.  Are you familiar with the harpy (or harpies, plural)?

The word “harpies” means “snatchers”.  They were known as the hounds of Zeus.  In Greco-Roman mythology, the harpies were monstrous bird-like creatures with a woman’s face. Believers thought these creatures acted at the behest of the gods, carried out acts of vengeance, and were snatchers of human souls.



Image credit:  Safari Ltd. Mythical Realms – Harpy – Realistic Hand Painted Toy Figurine Model

In the earliest accounts, the Harpies were not monstrous—they were simply spirits who represented windy or stormy weather, and they were depicted as beautiful young women with wings. Over time, however, they developed into terrifying beasts. They had long, fair hair and the faces and upper bodies of women, but the wings, tails, legs, and claws of birds of prey, with sharp talons made of metal. They were always ravenously hungry, and would steal food or even eat their victims before carrying away their souls. The Harpies were repulsive to look at, and they spread filth everywhere they went. They stank so much that whatever they touched gave off a terrible smell.”

Quote source:  Claybourne, A. and CLAYBOURNE, A. (2012). Harpies. In Gods, goddesses, and mythology. [Online]. Tarrytown: Marshall Cavendish Reference. https://search.credoreference.com/content/topic/harpies_greek_mythology [Accessed 28 August 2018].

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By contrast, in Christianity, harpies are not to be feared because they don’t exist.  Christians are taught to only revere and fear The One Who has the power to destroy humans, both their body and their soul.  Believers know that Jesus Christ acted according to the will of His Father; taught there is only one true God, not gods; and preached the good news of faith, hope, and love for the purpose of saving souls.


Content previously published at Virily.com
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13 May 2023

The Science of Genetics and Its Endless Possibilities

The science of DNA is fascinating.  It is an intricate road map in the study of humankind. Organizing my thoughts and studies on this topic thus far.  



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28 January 2022

IF you had 50 trillion dollars to start your own country ...

Responded to an Interesting Question Posed on Quora.

Quora is considered as an intelligence community, where minds from around the world gather together to ask questions and get answers. Some of the questions asked are very specific and some are hypothetical presented as a “What If” scenario. This is my response to a “What If” question that was asked.

Question:
If you had 50 trillion dollars to start your own country, how would you start doing it?

My Answer:
$50 trillion is NOT enough to start my own country. My country would be the whole world. I need money enough to bribe everybody to live peacefully in a world without borders. ❤☺

(This response was also shared via MyLot.com.  This is a social site where you can make friends and earn money sharing your opinions, observations, etc.  Same thing you do on Facebook or other social media only they pay you "a penny for your thoughts".  Joined the site two years ago.  It's loads of fun!  #EarnExtraIncome)


If you had 50 trillion dollars to start your own country, how would you start doing it? - Quora




Read Treathyl Fox's answer to If you had 50 trillion dollars to start your own country, how would you start doing it? on Quora

17 August 2021

Laura K. Lawless Says You Can Learn How to Speak French the Fun Way!

Learning to speak French? That's easy!   
  • Typing accents? That's impossible!!

If I can speak it, that's good enough!


No it's not!   Don't be silly.

Laura Lawless says: “It's just as important to include accents when writing in French as it is to spell words correctly.” 

Quote source: 

How to Type Accents in Any OS | lawlessfrench.com



Took 3 years of French in high school (many moons ago) and a French class as an elective at the University of Miami (which doesn't count at all!).  This site, Lawless French, created by online educator, Laura K. Lawless, makes learning the language of love so much more fun and interesting.  She actually wrote the book "Intermediate French For Dummies".  Link below is to a bilingual article, written in French.  But if you click on any word, phrase or sentence, it will be translated into English.  Try it out!

 










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