Wanna, Gonna Gotta.... Part 2

Gonna is another frequently used word widely heard  in informal colloquial English. This phrase is used instead of going to. Though basically a product of American English, gonna has already got worldwide popularity hence used by millions of English speakers all around the world.


Examples:
She's gonna marry him (she's going to marry him).
We're gonna sack Peter (we're going to sack Peter).
It's gonna rain (it's going to rain).
Are they gonna do it again? (are they going to do it again?) etc


Gonna can be used with first, second and third persons.
e.g. I'm gonna teach him a lesson.
We're not gonna attend the party.
You are gonna be all right.
He's gonna come with you.
She's gonna face the music for her actions.
They're gonna launch the product soon. 
Garry is gonna marry Natasha.


Remember that in questions, are is usually omitted when the subject is
(i) first/second person plural (we, you) and
(ii) second person singular (you as plural).
e.g. What ~ we gonna do next? ('are' omitted)
Where ~ we gonna invest it? ('are' omitted)
When ~ you gonna meet us again? ('are' omitted)
Why ~ you gonna take this decision? ('are' omitted)


NB Many learners of English have a tendency to make the awkward sentences of the following kind. Please avoid them carefully...
He's gonna to leave for Australia (incorrect)
He's gonna leave for Australia (correct)
He's going to leave for Australia (correct)


To learn about how to use 'wanna', visit the following link:
http://novaenglishcampus.blogspot.com/2011/10/wanna-gonna-gotta-part-1_7732.html

Wanna, Gonna Gotta.... Part 1

British English aka Queen’s English is still widely accepted as the purest English. However due to the unquestionable role that the United States of America plays in international affairs and the worldwide popularity of American culture, many typical American English terms have crept into the speaking habits of English speakers across the world.

A lot of such Americanisms are frequently heard in the informal written as well as spoken English e.g. wanna, gonna, gotta, kinda etc.

Wanna is the shortened form of ‘want to’ as in

I want to leave now (I wanna leave now)
I don’t want to lose her (I don’t wanna lose her)
Do you want to come with me? (Do you wanna come with me?) etc.

Wanna can be used with all persons - singular and plural, except third person singular.
I wanna (correct)
We wanna (correct)
You wanna (correct)
They wanna (correct)

But...
He wanna (incorrect)
She wanna (incorrect)
Sam wanna (incorrect)

This is because wanna structurally rhymes only with I want to, you want to, we want to, they want to, but not with he/she/Sam wants to where the final 's' is too intrusive. However, crazily enough, even this exceptional rule is increasingly ignored by a huge number of speakers across the world, including the Americans!

While using wanna in interrogative sentences (questions), the helping verbs ‘do’ and ‘does’ are often omitted.

e.g. What ~ you wanna do now? (‘do’ omitted)
~ you wanna fight me? (‘Do’ omitted)
~ he wanna get divorce? (‘Does’ omitted)

(to be contd...)

Words with silent 'd'.

It is common among many learners of English especially those who learn it as a second language to pronounce the words just as they are written. No doubt, English pronunciation system is the most complicated system of pronunciation in the world – in many cases illogical too! The best way to master the pronunciation conundrum is to listen as much good English as possible. The following is a collection of commonly used words in which the sound /d/ is always silent.
The pronunciation of the words using the international phonetic symbols is given between slashes (//) immediately after the words. For those who are unable to understand them, the simplified pronunciation is given in brackets.


Abridge /əˈbrɪdʒ/ (əˈbrij)
Acknowledge /əkˈnɒlɪdʒ/ (əkˈnolij)
Adjacent /əˈdʒeɪs(ə)nt/ (əˈjeis(ə)nt)
Adjective /ˈædʒɪktɪv/ (ˈæjiktiv)
Adjust /əˈdʒʌst/ (ˈəjʌst)
Badge /badʒ/ (ˈbæj)
Bridge /brɪdʒ/ (brij)
Budge /bʌdʒ/ (bʌj)
Cartridge /ˈkɑːtrɪdʒ/ (ˈkɑːtrij)
Drudge /drʌdʒ/ (drʌj)
Edge /ɛdʒ/ (ej)
Fridge /frɪdʒ/ (frij)
Grudge /grʌdʒ/ (grʌj)
Hedge /hɛdʒ/ (hej)
Judge /dʒʌdʒ/ (jʌj)
Knowledge /ˈnɒlɪdʒ/ (nolij) NB /k/ is also silent in this word.
Ledger /ˈlɛdʒə/ (ˈlejer)
Lodge /lɒdʒ/ (loj)
Nudge /nʌdʒ/ (nʌj)
Pledge /plɛdʒ/ (plej)
Porridge /ˈpɒrɪdʒ/ (ˈporij)
Ridge /rɪdj/
Wedge /wɛdʒ/ (wej)
Budget /ˈbʌdʒɪt/ (ˈbʌjit)
Fidget /ˈfɪdʒɪt/ (ˈfijit)
Gadget /ˈgadʒɪt/ (ˈgæjit)
Midget /ˈmɪdʒɪt/ (ˈmijit)
Widget /ˈwɪdʒɪt/ (ˈwijit)


In the list given above, the accent mark (ˈ) shows that the syllable immediately after it must be stressed while pronouncing the specific word. æ is pronounced just as ‘a’ in cat, ə is pronounced as ‘a’ in ‘about’.

NEW WORDS FOR THE NETIZENS...

A Netizen is a person who spends a lot of time on the Internet. The term Netizen is a blend of two other familiar words: Internet and citizen. A comparatively young word, Netizen came into English in the 1990s. Netizens spend the most of their time in social networking (on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter etc) and other forms of online communication.

Netizens are also referred to as cyber citizens. Both Netizen and cyber citizen were coined by Michael Hauben (1973-2001), an American computer specialist and author who was a pioneer in identifying the collaborative nature of the Internet and its effects on the global community.

And now, if you are reading this blog, probably you are a digital native. What does it mean? A digital native is a person born or brought up during the age of digital technology and so familiar with computers and the Internet from an early age. The Digital Age began in the late 1960s.

Then what word can best describe the people who were born before the Digital Age, yet adapted to the activities (Internet, social networking and so on) of the digital natives? Well, they are digital immigrants! Interesting, isn't it?

Is it right to use ‘According to me’?

‘According to me’ is one of the most popular usages among the speakers of English in south Asian countries, especially in India. Though beautiful and of course nice to hear, this phrase is un-English.

But why?

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines the preposition ‘according to’ like this: as stated or reported by somebody/something. What does it mean? Well, ‘according to’ should be used to repeat a statement which was made by another, preferably a third person.

Let’s take an example to make it clear:

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration” is a very famous quote made by Edison. When you want to repeat this quote, you may say, ‘According to Edison, genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration’. Here you are repeating the statement made by a third person (Edison). So ‘according to’ can be used.

The sentence ‘According to Edison, genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration’ means ‘as stated by Edison, genius is……………………’

According to John Keats, ‘a thing of beauty is a joy for ever’

(As John Keats said, ‘a thing of beauty……………………..’)

According to Napoleon, ‘nothing is impossible’

(As Napoleon said, ‘nothing is……….’)

In all the examples above, the statements/opinions were made by a third person (Edison, Keats, Napoleon etc) and we are repeating or reporting them. That’s why we use ‘according to’.

Now, what’s wrong with ‘according to me’? When you say, ‘according to me, she is not reliable’, you are making your own opinion (not reporting a third person’s). Remember that ‘according to’ does not have the meaning ‘in my opinion’.

Apart from a third person, ‘according to’ can also be used with a third source such as a book, newspaper, TV channel and so on. For example, ‘according to BBC, the incident took place at midnight’, ‘According to the Holy Bible, drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of heaven’, ‘according to Bhagvad Gita, man is made by his belief’.

Pleasure, Measure and Vision: Funny Indian pronunciation!

/ʒ/ (the sound of ‘s’ in pleasure, measure, leisure, vision etc) is another sound which is still beyond the reach of many of Indian speakers of English.

The speakers of Hindi and other north Indian languages use something like a ‘y’ in place of the sound /ʒ/. A good majority of them pronounce pleasure, measure, leisure and vision almost as ‘pleiyar’, ‘meiyar’, ‘leiyar’ and ‘viyyan’ .

What about the southern speakers? Their tongues can utter these words only as pleshur, meshur, leshur, vishen etc. The apparent absence of an equivalent to the original English sound /ʒ/ in any of the Indian languages is the culprit in this case as well.

The only way out for those who live in this country yet want to improve their pronunciation is to listen to good English, preferably spoken by native English speakers.

Indian English – North Vs South!

India has already been officially declared as the world’s second largest English speaking country. However, being home land to more than a billion people with noticeable social, economic and linguistic diversity among themselves, there are a number of Englishes spoken throughout this country.

While the people living in the north claim to be comparatively better in pronunciation, those down south of the country boast of their upper hand in grammatical accuracy. Here I am posting a few non-English elements which I came to notice in the speaking habits of both south and north Indian speakers of English.

Many speakers of English in south use /s/ in place of /z/. So ‘Zen’ becomes /Sen/. ‘Jazz’ is pronounced as /jass/. Zigzag is distorted as /sigsag/. ‘Zeal’ is /seal/. Interestingly, many of them pronounce the following pairs of words in the same manner: [sip, zip], [sing, zing], [is, ease], [rice, rise], [C Tv, Z Tv] etc. The apparent reason is the lack of a corresponding sound to /z/ in many of the south Indian languages. So, they naturally tend to manage with its lookalike /s/!

Now, let’s move a little north. Many northerners find it difficult to pronounce the sound /z/. You may often hear ‘jen’ in place of ‘zen’; ‘jeero’ in place of ‘zero’ ‘joo’ for ‘zoo’ and ‘jigjag’ instead of ‘zigzag’! The reason is the same as that of the southern speakers – lack of an equivalent to /z/ in most of the north Indian tongues!

(to be contd…)