Vol. I   Issue1

 Good morning/afternoon/evening,

Hello Reader,

 This is a NEWSLETTER from the DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH giving you a casual entry into the beautiful world of the English language.

What is Newsletter?

A newsletter is a regularly distributed publication generally about one main topic that is of interest to its subscribers. Newspapers and leaflets are types of newsletter. Additionally, newsletters delivered electronically via email (e-Newsletters) have gained rapid acceptance as e-mail in general is gaining popularity over printed correspondence.

Many newsletters are published by clubs, churches, societies, associations, and businesses, especially companies, to provide information of interest to their members, customers or employees.

But our newsletter is rather different. It is not going to inform you about our institution’s activities. It will be in your hands every time when the department likes to share news about English. It aims at interaction between you and us. So, get to a cozy corner, stretch yourself on the sofa and leaf through our pages to savor the delight of English.

Since newsletter aims at interaction, let us be very informal in our style of writing. The column called Know Your English is published in the Hindu on Tuesdays. It deals with the question – answer pattern about a new word or usage, readers of this English daily benefits a lot since this column helps in knowing some new words.

 Right from the days of Socrates, question-answer pattern is used to clarify doubts about anything. So, shall we follow this question – answer pattern in our newsletter in learning and sharing news about English grammar, idiomatic expressions and common errors in Indian English? Since we learn English as Second Language, we commit mistakes in using the language correctly. Let’s not be afraid of it. Because, As English is a foreign language, it is quite natural that the users may commit mistakes. Let’s be proud of communicating with others at least in one foreign language without mistakes.

 NEWSLETTER also likes to pave a way for discussing some day-to-day problems like HOW TO MAKE OUR STUDENTS ACQUIRE COMMUNICATIVE AND ACADEMIC SKILLS AND USE THEM EFFECTIVELY IN GETTING THEMSELVES PLACED. The readers can send their queries regarding the usage of English to our e-mail address and get their queries answered.

Here comes your way a million dollar question.

How many sounds are there in English?

You may answer that there are 26 sounds in English, as we have 26 Alphabets, but it’s not so. There are 44 Sounds.

The sounds of English are categorized into 2 types:

1. Vowels (short, long and diphthongs)
2. Consonants

Vowel letters (a, e, i, o, u) are different from vowel sounds (20). A vowel is produced thus-the air in the lungs escapes freely from the mouth.

Usually we confuse letters with sounds. The letters in English a, e, i, o, u are taught as vowel sounds but actually vowel sounds are 20 in number.

We use ‘an’ before the word ‘umbrella’ since first the letter ‘u’ is pronounced as ‘a’. But in the word ‘university’, the first sound is /j/ (like the first sound in the word “yet”) but not /a/. So, the sentence,

‘He is an university student’ is wrong.

In the sentence, ‘He is ______ MA’, the correct answer is ‘an MA’ because ‘M’ is pronounced as /em/, the first sound in it being /e/ (a vowel sound)

It will be interesting to note the correct usage of the articles (a, an, the).

Our next NEWSLETTER, features on the usage of ARTICLES – A, AN. and THE.

O.K Bye for now. We’ll come back to you with more news, views, tit-bits and snippets.

                       Boost your Word Power

• Affable   - friendly

He is the only affable person here. 

• Abduct -  kidnap

The abducted child was rescued.

The terrorists abducted the son of a rich man. 

• Allusion    - reference

The book makes an allusion to’ The Bible.’ 

• Avid   - keen

I am an avid reader of’ The Hindu’. 

• Affinity        - attraction

There is a close affinity between Indians and the French.

Diphthongs are produced in this way – when the tongue takes the position for the production of a vowel, it changes its direction and produce another vowel sound. A combination of these two vowels sounds results in the production of a diphthong.

            A consonant sound is different from a vowel sound in the way of production. That is, when a vowel sound is produced, the air in the lungs escapes freely from it through the mouth. But when a consonant sound is produced, the air is obstructed somewhere in the mouth or the nose. Consonants are 24 in number. 

But our newsletter is rather different. It is not going to inform you about our institution’s activities. It will be in your hands every time when the department likes to share news about English. It aims at interaction between you and us. So, get to a cozy corner, stretch yourself on the sofa and leaf through our pages to savor the delight of English.

Since newsletter aims at interaction, let us be very informal in our style of writing. The column called Know Your English is published in the Hindu on Tuesdays. It deals with the question – answer pattern about a new word or usage, readers of this English daily benefits a lot since this column helps in knowing some new words.

 Right from the days of Socrates, question-answer pattern is used to clarify doubts about anything. So, shall we follow this question – answer pattern in our newsletter in learning and sharing news about English grammar, idiomatic expressions and common errors in Indian English? Since we learn English as Second Language, we commit mistakes in using the language correctly. Let’s not be afraid of it. Because, As English is a foreign language, it is quite natural that the users may commit mistakes. Let’s be proud of communicating with others at least in one foreign language without mistakes.

 NEWSLETTER also likes to pave a way for discussing some day-to-day problems like HOW TO MAKE OUR STUDENTS ACQUIRE COMMUNICATIVE AND ACADEMIC SKILLS AND USE THEM EFFECTIVELY IN GETTING THEMSELVES PLACED. The readers can send their queries regarding the usage of English to our e-mail address and get their queries answered.

Here comes your way a million dollar question.

How many sounds are there in English?

You may answer that there are 26 sounds in English, as we have 26 Alphabets, but it’s not so. There are 44 Sounds.

The sounds of English are categorized into 2 types:

1.      Vowels (short, long and diphthongs)

2.      Consonants

Vowel letters (a, e, i, o, u) are different from vowel sounds (20). A vowel is produced thus-the air in the lungs escapes freely from the mouth.

Diphthongs are produced in this way – when the tongue takes the position for the production of a vowel, it changes its direction and produce another vowel sound. A combination of these two vowels sounds results in the production of a diphthong.

            A consonant sound is different from a vowel sound in the way of production. That is, when a vowel sound is produced, the air in the lungs escapes freely from it through the mouth. But when a consonant sound is produced, the air is obstructed somewhere in the mouth or the nose. Consonants are 24 in number.

Usually we confuse letters with sounds. The letters in English a, e, i, o, u are taught as vowel sounds but actually vowel sounds are 20 in number.

We use ‘an’ before the word ‘umbrella’ since first the letter ‘u’ is pronounced as ‘a’. But in the word ‘university’, the first sound is /j/ (like the first sound in the word “yet”) but not /a/. So, the sentence,

 ‘He is an university student’ is wrong.

In the sentence, ‘He is ______ MA’, the correct answer is ‘an MA’ because ‘M’ is pronounced as /em/, the first sound in it being /e/ (a vowel sound)

It will be interesting to note the correct usage of the articles (a, an, the).

Our next NEWSLETTER, features on the usage of ARTICLES – A, AN. and THE.

O.K Bye for now. We’ll come back to you with more news, views, tit-bits and snippets.

               Boost your Word Power

·         Affable   - friendly

He is the only affable person here. 

·         Abduct -  kidnap

The abducted child was rescued.

The terrorists abducted the son of a rich man.

·         Allusion    - reference

The book makes an allusion to’ The Bible.’

·         Avid   - keen

I am an avid reader of’ The Hindu’.

·         Affinity        - attraction

There is a close affinity between Indians and the French.