- •1.1. Commentaries and explanations
- •1.1.2. Predication as a means of sense catenation (chaining).
- •1.1.3. Identity patterns.
- •1.1.4. Identity pattern particulars.
- •1.2. Assignments
- •1.2.1. What is the speaker’s / speakers’ problem (the problem specified in the message)? Name it in the form of a noun phrase.
- •1.2.2. Make mini-dialogues imitating the pattern:
- •1.2.3. Rephrase the italicized fragments using words with similar meaning from 1.1.1 and 1.1.2. Make changes of the sentence structure if necessary.
- •1.2.4. Review and activate some vocabulary items used in 1.1. Make meaningful statements matching up the parts given in columns I and II.
- •1.2.5. Discuss the main issues given in 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 focusing on the following questions.
- •1.2.7. Modify choosing the right determiner:
- •1.2.8. Give names relying on the descriptions below. Some of them can refer to the same nouns. Choose proper indefinite determiners
- •1.2.9. . Retrieve a situation relying on the things mentioned.
- •1.2.10. Read the text and comment on the issues at stake. Discuss the points which seem disputable. Give your own examples of common noun phrases relevant to the search terms displayed on the Net.
- •1.2.11. Generic or referential? Use proper determiners (an indefinite article, a definite article, no-article, a possessive, a quantifier) to complete the following sentences.
- •1.2.12. Noun Substitution: Synonyms. Varying synonyms we slightly change the entire meaning. Substitute the italicized nouns by their synonyms choosing them from the given hints.
- •1.2.13. Are you a good matchmaker? Match up the given statements and responses to them. You may also give your own ones.
- •1.2.14. Discuss the following issues asking and answering questions like those given below.
- •1.2.16. Read, reflect and comment specifying identity patterns.
- •1.2.17. Practice identity pattern comprehension: read and comment on the “ingredients” of the framework in each example.
- •1.2.18. Identity gets trickier: specify the identity pattern constituents in each example.
- •1.2.19. Specify identity patterns working through the text. Use vocabulary notes for better understanding of some special terms (see 1.2.6 for revision).
- •It is useful to see how identity patterns function in descriptions, specifications, definitions, etc. The structure is based on renaming a noun by another one.
- •Vocabulary notes
1.2.9. . Retrieve a situation relying on the things mentioned.
In this task, you will see some nouns with their determiners (which may or must be changed) or pronouns. Think about suitable predicates – words supplying information about entities (nouns, pronouns) – and retrieve a possible situation relying on them. Some of the words given should be used as predicates. They are supplied with the instruction: to be used as a predicate. Talk about the role of predicates in sense formation. Explain why some situations are easier to retrieve than others. Compare the sentences you make with the original versions (see Keys).
e.g. The nouns given: John, the secretary, his office, a woman.
You might say:
John is aware that the secretary in his office is a woman. Or
John knows the woman who is the new secretary in his office. Or
John finds the new secretary in his office a very attractive woman. Etc.
1) the metropolis, people, the metro
2) the book, a range, topics
3) they, baggage, excess (to be used as a predicate), the airport
4) production, demand
you, a list, characteristics, subject (to be used as a predicate), demand
5) students, deadlines
6) you, a list, characteristics, subject (to be used as a predicate), demand
7) everyone, office, a mind, filing
8) the reader, the algorithm, case, procedure
9) a benchmark, a requirement, students
10) experience, multiplicity, laws, nature
11) authors, material, this book, decade
1.2.10. Read the text and comment on the issues at stake. Discuss the points which seem disputable. Give your own examples of common noun phrases relevant to the search terms displayed on the Net.
The distinction between predicating and referring can be given a price. The most successful new corporation in this century so far is Google, which made its fortune by actually selling noun phrases. The problem with earlier Internet portals was that no one knew how to make money from them: users hated the banner ads and seldom clicked through to the advertisers. There is a saying in advertising that half of every ad budget is wasted, but no one knows which half – most people who see an ad have no interest in the product or service. The Google guys, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, had the brainstorm that the words people type into a search engine are an excellent clue to the kinds of things they might buy, making a search engine a good matchmaker for buyers and sellers. So together with the results of an untainted Web search, Google displays a few commercially sponsored sites relevant to the search term at the edges of the screen. Companies pay for this privilege by bidding in a continuous auction for the terms most likely to send eyeballs to their site. You will be intrigued to learn that plurals cost more than singulars. Digital camera can be bought for seventy-five cents a click, whereas digital cameras fetches a dollar and eight cents. The advertisers know that the plural is more likely to be typed by people who are planning to buy a digital camera, though they don’t know why. The reason is that a phrase like digital camera is generic, and is likely to be typed by someone who wants to know how they work. A plural like digital cameras is more likely to be referential, and typed by someone who wants to know about the kinds that are out there and how to get one.
After S.Pinker