F. Y. B. A.

Characteristics / Feature of Language

Language is a means of communication. It is complex, abstract and creative means of communication. There are about 3000 languages spoken in the world. All these languages have some common characteristics. These characteristics are:

1. Language is species specific and species uniform.

2. Language is Systematic : Although language is symbolic, yet its symbols are arranged in a particular system. All languages have their system of arrangements. Every language is a system of systems. All languages have phonological and grammatical systems, and within a system there are several sub-systems. For example, within the grammatical system we have morphological and syntactic systems, and within these two sub-systems we have systems such as those of plural, of mood, of aspect, of tense, etc.

3. Language is culturally transmitted. Language is Social: Language is a set of conventional communicative signals used by humans for communication in a community. Language in this sense is a possession of a social group, comprising of rules which permits its members to relate to each other, to interact with each other, to co-operate with each other; it is a social institution. Language exists in society; it is a means of nourishing and developing culture and establishing human relations.

4. Language is a symbolic system. Language is Symbolic: Language consists of various sound symbols and their graphological counterparts that are employed to denote some objects, occurrences or meaning. These symbols are arbitrarily chosen and conventionally accepted and employed. Words in a language are not mere signs or figures, but symbols of meaning. The intelligibility of a language depends on a correct interpretation of these symbols.

5. Language is arbitrary. Language is arbitrary in the sense that there is no inherent relation between the words of a language and their meanings or the ideas they express. There is no reason why a female adult human being be called a woman in English, aurat in Urdu, Zen in Persian and Femine in French. The choice of a word selected to mean a particular thing or idea is purely arbitrary but once a word is selected for a particular referent, it comes to stay as such. It may be noted that had language not been arbitrary, there would have been only one language in the world.

6. Speech is primary and writing is secondary. Language is Vocal: Language is primarily made up of vocal sounds only produced by a physiological articulatory mechanism in the human body. In the beginning, it appeared as vocal sounds only. Writing came much later, as an intelligent attempt to represent vocal sounds. Writing is only the graphic representation of the sounds of the language. So the linguists say that speech is primary.

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7. Language is Non-instinctive, Conventional : No language was created in a day by a group of humans. Language is the outcome of evolution and convention. Each generation transmits this convention on to the next. Like all human institutions languages also change and die, grow and expand. Every language then is a convention in a community. It is non-instinctive because it is acquired by human beings. Nobody gets a language in heritage; he acquires it because he has an innate ability.

8. There is duality of language structures.

9. Language is made up of discrete units.

10. Human beings are creative and productive when they use language. Language is Productive and Creative: Language has creativity and productivity. The structural elements of human language can be combined to produce new utterances, which neither the speaker nor his hearers may ever have made or heard before any, listener, yet which both sides understand without difficulty. Language changes according to the needs of society. 

Charles Hockett believed that there are16 features of human language. These features distinguish human communication from that of animals. Even the most basic human languages have all 16 features:

1. Vocal-Auditory Channel – Spoken language is produced in the vocal tract and transmitted/heard as sound, whereas sign language is produced with the hands and transmitted by light.

2. Broadcast transmission and directional reception – The audible sound of language is heard in all directions but listeners will interpret it as coming from one specific direction.

3. Rapid fading – The sound made by speech diminishes quickly after being released.

4. Interchangeability – The speaker has the ability to receive and also send the same message.

5. Total feedback – Individuals are able to hear and internalize a message they have sent.

6. Semanticity – Speech sounds can be linked to specific meanings.

7. Arbitrariness – There is no direct connection between the signal and its meaning.

8. Discreteness – Each unit of communication can be separated and unmistakable.

9. Specialization – Speech is produced for communication, not chiefly for some other function, such as echolocation.

10. Displacement – The ability to talk about things that are not physically present.

11. Productivity – The ability to create new messages by combining already-existing signs.

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12. Traditional transmission – The learning of language occurs in social groups.

13. Duality of patterning – Meaningful signs (words) are made of—and distinguished from one another by—meaningless parts (sounds, letters). A finite number of meaningless parts are combined to make a potentially infinite number of meaningful utterances.

14. Prevarication – The ability to make false statements (to lie). Involves the purposeful manipulation of a given shared communication system in order to fool other members of the communicating group.

15. Reflexiveness – Language can be used to refer to (i.e., describe) itself.

16. Learnability – Speakers of one language can learn to speak another.

Characteristics and Features of Language

Language is essential in human society. Human civilization has been possible only through language. It is through language only that humanity has come out of the stone age and has developed science, art and technology in a big way.  Language is a means of communication, it is arbitrary, it is a system of systems. We know that Speech is primary, while writing is secondary.

Language is human, so it differs from animal communication in many ways.  Language has many characteristics but the following are the most important ones: language is arbitrary, productive, creative, systematic, vocalic, social, non-instinctive and conventional. These characteristics make human language different from animal communication. Some of these features may also be part of animal communication.Language is Arbitrary:

Finally, language has other characteristics such as Duality referring to the two systems of sound and meaning, Displacement which means the ability to talk across time and space, Humanness which means that animals cannot acquire it, Universality which refers to the equilibrium across humanity on linguistic grounds, Competence and Performance which means that language is innate and produced is society and furthermore, language is culturally transmitted. It is learnt by an individual from his elders, and is transmitted from one generation to another.  Thus using J. Firth’s term, language is a ‘poly-systematic’. It is also open to be studied from multifaceted angles. 

1) Communication: language allows one to understand the thoughts of another

2) Arbitrariness: Relation between a word and what it refers to is arbitrary

Ex. equivalent words in different languages3 NNP

Ex. subtract, take away, minus =arbitrary, essentially same thing

3) Meaningful structure: All languages are patterned so larger structures build in a sensible way on smaller ones

4) Multiplicity of structure: All meaningful utterances can be analyzed at many levels

5) Productivity-Any language can produce an infinite number of sentences

-Children are using language creatively every day of their lives

Functions of Language

According to Roman Jakobson, any act of verbal communication is composed of six elements, or factors:

1. an addresser (a sender, or speaker),

2. an addressee (a receiver, or hearer),

3. a message,

4. a context (the world in which the message takes place),

5. a contact between an addresser and addressee and

6. a common code. [AAMCCC] or [AAMC++]

Each factor has one function. There are, thus, six functions:

S. No. Element of language use FUNCTION Example

1 Context Informative / Referential The sun is / is not shining.

2 Addresser Expressive / Emotive Wow/ Alas / That’s too bad.

3 Addressee Directive / Conative Close the window.

4 Contact Phatic Bye. / Take care. / Good night.

5 Code Metalingual / Reflexive A: What’s sonnet? B: It is a poem of 14 lines.

6 Message Poetic / Aesthetic My love is like a red, red rose.

Briefly, these six functions are as follows:

"(1) the informative / referential function is oriented toward the context (the dominant function in a message like 'Water boils at 100 degrees');

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(2) the expressive / emotive function is oriented toward the addresser (as in the interjections 'Bah!' and 'Oh!');

(3) the directive / conative function is oriented toward the addressee (imperatives and apostrophes);

(4) the phatic function serves to establish, prolong or discontinue communication [or confirm whether the contact is still there] (as in 'Hello?');

(5) the metalingual / reflexive function is used to establish mutual agreement on the code (for example, a definition);

(6) the poetic / aesthetic function (e.g., 'Smurf'), puts 'the focus on the message for its own sake' [Roman Jakobson, 1960, p. 356]"

The Organs of Speech

Speech organs produce sounds in languages. Organs are the lips, teeth, tongue, alveolar ridge, hard palate, velum (soft palate), uvula and glottis.

Speech organs—or articulators—are of two types: passive articulators and active articulators. Passive articulators are static during the articulation of sound. Upper lips, teeth, alveolar ridge, hard palate, soft palate, uvula, and pharynx wall are passive articulators. Active articulators move to these passive articulators to produce speech sounds. The most important active articulator is the tongue. The lower lip and glottis are other active articulators.

Fixed or Immovable Organs of Speech

Teeth, alveolar ridge, hard palate, nasal cavity

Moving or Flexible organs of Speech

The lips, tongue, velum (soft palate), uvula, glottis and the lungs

The lungs provide the power to produce sounds. They contract or expand. When they contract, the air goes out of them; it means we breathe out. When they expand, the air comes in them; it means we breathe in. The air pushed in and out by the lungs is called pulmonic air stream. All the sounds in any language are produced by pulmonic air.

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θ ɑː æ ə ɛ ɪ ɫ ʒ ʌ ɜː ʃ ɒ 

 ð ɑː θ ɒ ʃ ɜ ʒ ʌ æ ɔː dʒ

The air going in the lungs is called ingressive air. The air coming out of the lungs is called egressive air. In English all the sounds are produced by the coming out of the lungs. It means that all the sounds in English are produced or articulated by pulmonic egressive air stream.

In the larynx there are two vocal cords / folds. The vocal folds are important organs of speech. Normally, they are two positions:

1. Wide apart: They are held widely apart and the air passes them freely without any obstruction and friction. When the air passes through them, they do not vibrate. The space or opening between the vocal cords is called glottis.

2. Close together: Sometimes the vocal cords come close together and when air passes through them, they vibrate, Vibration produces voice. The vocal cords vibrate in the production of many sounds and these sounds are called voiced sounds. All the vowels in English are voiced sounds; it means that in the production of all vowels in English, the vocal folds vibrate. There are only nine voiceless consonants in English. In the articulation of voiceless consonants, the vocal cords do not vibrate. The nine voiceless consonants in English are /p, t, k, tʃ, θ, s, ʃ, h /. The other 15 consonants in English are voiced.

The roof of the mouth has four parts: 1. Alveolar ridge or teeth ridge, just behind the upper teeth, 2. Hard palate, 3. Soft palate or vellum, and 4. Uvula. In normal breathing the soft palate is lowered and the air goes out through the nose. In the production of the nasal sounds, the soft palate is lowered to allow the air to pass through the nose. In the production of oral sounds, the air goes out through the mouth. Except /m, n, ŋ /, all other 41 sounds in English are oral sounds.

The tongue is the most active organ of speech. There are four parts of the tongue: 1. The tip, 2. The blade, 3. The front, and 4. The back of the tongue.

Teeth: Upper teeth and lower teeth. Only the upper teeth are used in producing sounds in English.

Lips: Upper lip and lower lip. The lips are rounded, spread and neutral in the production of vowels in English. Upper and lower lips are active in the production of sounds like /p, b, m, w, f, v /.

In the production of consonants the air is either completely / partially blocked or there is is narrowing of the air passage so that audible friction is caused. But in the articulation of vowels, there no such blockade or narrowing and the air comes out freely without any obstruction or friction. So, the manner and place of articulation are important for consonants and not for vowels. For vowels, the position of the tongue and lips are important.

Phoneme is the smallest contrastive or distinctive sound units of a language.

1. It is a sound unit. In fact, sounds are phonemes. In English, there 44 sounds / phonemes.

2. It is smallest; it cannot be divided into more units. [We cannot break /b/ into more units.]

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3. It has no meaning, but it can bring change in meaning. [For example, /k/ has no meaning, but if we change /k/ to /b/ in the word ‘cat /kæt’ it becomes ‘bat /bæt/’ and changes the meaning of the word.]

4. Words are made up of sounds or phonemes. In ‘cat’ there are three phonemes. In ‘I’ or ‘eye’, there is only one sound or phoneme and that is /ai/. In ‘best’ four, ‘dreams’ five ‘strange’ six sounds. [/best/ /dri:mz/ / streindʒ/]

5. Sounds / phonemes make a syllable. The syllable is a sound or group of sounds produced by a single breath force. In a syllable, a vowel is important. A vowel is central in a syllable. In a word, we can count syllable according to the number of vowels in the word. If a word has one vowel, it has one syllable; two vowels, two syllables; three vowels, three syllables. For example: ‘I’ or ‘Eye’ has one vowel and one syllable /ai/. A word with one syllable is called monosyllabic word. The word ‘phoneme’ has two vowels [the last ’e’ is silent], so it has two syllables and it is called disyllabic word. The two syllables in the words are /feu nim/. In ‘beautiful’ /bju: ti ful/ there are three vowels and three syllables, so it is called trisyllabic. Words with more than three syllables are called polysyllabic words e. g. ‘oxymoron’ /ɒksimɔːrɒn/.

6. Structure of syllables: Vowel ‘v’, consonant ‘c’; ‘I’ has only a vowel, so the structure is V. ‘Cow’ /kau/ CV, ‘cut’, /k/\t/, CVC; ‘trip’ /trip/ CCVC; ‘strange’ / streindʒ/, CCCVCC.

7. Consonant Clusters: There is only one vowel in one syllable. A group of consonants come together in a syllable, they are called consonant clusters. In the word ‘strange’ /streindʒ/, CCCVCC, there is a consonant cluster of three consonants [CCC] at the beginning- initial position- and a consonant cluster of two consonants [CC] at the final position. So there are Initial consonant clusters and Final consonant clusters.

Figure 1

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Figure 2

The Vowel Chart

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Figure 3 [The position of the tongue for English vowels]

Examples of vowels

Sr. No

Vowels

1 /i:/ fleece, sea, machine /si:/2 /ɪ/ kit, bid, hymn, minute3 /e/ dress, bed, head, many/meni/4 /æ/ trap, bad /træp/ /bæd/5 /ɑː/ start, father /sta:t/6 /ɒ/ lot, odd, wash7 /ɔː/ thought, law, north, war8 /ʌ/ strut, mud, love, blood9 /ə/ about, common, standard

10 /ɜː/ nurse, stir, learn, refer11 /uː/ goose, two, blue, group12 /ʊ/ foot, good, put13 /eɪ/ face, day, break /feis, dei/14 /aɪ/ price, high, try /prais-hai-trai/15 /ɔɪ/ choice, boy16 /əʊ/ goat, show, no17 /aʊ/ mouth, now /nau/18 /ɪə/ near, here, weary 19 /eə/ square. fair, various20 /ʊə/ poor, jury, cure

The Consonantal Chart

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Examples of consonants

Sr. No Consonants1 /p/ pen, copy, happen2 /b/ back, baby, job3 /t/ tea, tight, button4 /d/ day, ladder, odd5 /k/ key, clock, school6 /g/ get, giggle, ghost7 /tʃ/ church, match, nature8 /dʒ/ judge, age, soldier9 /f/ fat, coffee, rough, photo10 /v/ view, heavy, move11 /θ/ thing, author, path12 /ð/ this, other, smooth

13 /s/ soon, cease, sister14 /z/ zero, music, roses, buzz15 /ʃ/ ship, sure, national16 /ʒ/ pleasure, vision17 /h/ hot, whole, ahead18 /m/ more, hammer, sum19 /n/ nice, know, funny, sun20 /ŋ/ ring, anger, thanks, sung21 /l/ light, valley, feel22 /r/ right, wrong, sorry, arrange23 /j/ yet, use, beauty, few24 /w/ wet, one, when, queen

Common Errors

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Please note that the sentences given in brackets are CORRECT)

No Wrong Right

1. I like the peoples of my village. [Wrong plural] (I like the PEOPLE of my village)

2. Their childrens are naughty. [Wrong plural] (Their CHILDREN are naughty.)

3. She is my cousin-sister. (She is my COUSIN.)

4. He is my cousin-brother. (He is my COUSIN.)

5. What is your good name, please? (What is your name, please?)

6. Mrs & Mr Khurana (MR &MRS Khurana.)

7. My brother is reading in fourth class. . (My brother is STUDYING in fourth class.)

(My brother is in fourth class.)

8. I got many informations about.... (I got a lot of INFORMATION about....)

9. There are different types of equipments here.

(There are different types of EQUIPMENT here)

10. I want to buy a pant/pent. (I want to buy A PAIR OF PANTS.)

11. It cost me only one rupees. (It costs me only one RUPEE.)

12. 200 kilometres are a long distance. (200 kilometres IS a long distance.)

13. He oftenly comes here. (He OFTEN comes here.)

14. My Mrs is not well today. (My WIFE is not well today.)

15. I used to do exercise daily. (I used to TAKE exercise daily.)

16. Jack is one of my best friend. (Jack is one of my best FRIENDS.)

17. He came back in India. (He came back TO India.)

18. He drives his bike so fast. (He RIDES his bike so fast.)

19. They entered into the hall. (They entered the hall.)

20. He teaches very well, isn't it? (He teaches very well, DOESN'T he?)

21. You are hiding something, isn't it? (You are hiding something,AREN'T YOU?)

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22. I love listening music. (I love LISTENING TO music.)

23. I missed my keys. (I LOST my keys.)

24. Respected Sir, ................ (DEAR Sir, ................)

25. We bought some furnitures . (We bought some FURNITURE).

26. What's the time in your watch? (What's the time BY your watch?)

27. Many foreign people visit my country. (Many FOREIGNERS visit my country.)

28. Aamir Khan is my favourite hero. (Aamir Khan is my favourite ACTOR/FILM STAR.)

29. My mom is a good cooker. (My mom is a good COOK.)

30. She is my maternal/paternal aunty. (She is my AUNTY.)

31. He is my maternal/paternal uncle. (He is my UNCLE.)

32. They worked hardly to pass the test. (They worked HARD to pass the test.)

33. John caught five fishes. (John caught five FISH.)

34. Rain is coming. (It is raining.)

35. I'm sorry sir ji. (I'm sorry SIR.)

36. He is afraid from strangers. (He is afraid OF strangers.)

37. Five years are a long period. (Five years IS a long period.)

Insert your shirt. (TUCK IN your shirt.)

The nurse examined my pulse. (The nurse FELT my pulse.)

I am living here from/since six years. (I HAVE BEEN living here FOR six years.)

I am practicing yoga from childhood. (I HAVE BEEN practicing yoga SINCE childhood.)

She married last year. (She GOT MARRIED last year.)

My wife delivered a healthy boy. (My wife WAS DELIVERED OF a healthy boy.)

I’m capable to do it. (I’m capable OF DOING it.)

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The driver, as well as four passengers, were injured. (The driver, as well as four passengers, WAS injured.)

My younger brother is taller than me. (My younger brother is taller than I.)

This task is more easy than the other one. (This task is EASIER than the other one.)

The minister will reach today afternoon. (The minister will reach THIS afternoon.)

I saw her in the park yesterday night. (I saw her in the park LAST NIGHT.)

I have got headache. (I have got A HEADACHE.)

She felt embarrassing. (She felt EMBARRASSED.)

My big brother is studying in England. (My ELDER BROTHER is studying in England.)

I want to reduce my weight. (I want to LOSE weight.)

On the switch before inserting the disc. (TURN ON the switch before inserting the disc.)

I like to eat good foods. (I like to eat good FOOD.)

I hate my son-in-laws. (I hate my SONS-IN-LAW.)

She doesn’t like the cricket. (She doesn’t like CRICKET.)

Vincent is a matured man. (Vincent is a MATURE man.)

Jane advised me don’t do it again. (Jane advised me NOT TO DO it again.)

He returned back from the U.S last year. (He RETURNED FROM the U.S last year.)

(He CAME BACK FROM the U.S last year.)

We'll get down at the next bus stop. (We'll GET OFF at the next bus stop.)

I'm having a headache. (I have A headache / I've GOT A headache.)

Although he is poor, but he works very hard. (Although he is poor, he works very hard.)

My father is a businessman. They help me a lot. (My……. HE HELPS me a lot.)

The population of India was increased. (The population of India increased.)

The Britishers quit India in 1947. ( THE BRITISH quit India in 1947.)

My village people are very co operative. (The PEOPLE OF MY VILLAGE are very co operative.)

I'm intersting in reading books. (I'm INTERESTED in reading books.)

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The corrupted officials were arrested. (The CORRUPT officials were arrested.)

I packed my luggages. (I packed my LUGGAGE.)

There are many poors in India. (There are many POOR people in India.)

There is no place in this compartment. (There is no ROOM in this compartment.)

Write it in your copy. (Write it in your NOTEBOOK.)

He hurt his foot-fingers. (He hurt his TOES.)

I and he are brothers. (He and I are brothers.)

He is elder than I. (He is OLDER than I.)

Yours affectionate friend. ( YOUR affectionate friend.) ( Yours affectionately.)

Wrong I have visited Lonawala last weekend. RightI visited Lonawala last weekend.

Wrong The woman which works here is from Japan.

Right The woman who works here is from Japan.

Wrong She’s married with a dentist. Right She’s married to a dentist.

Wrong She was boring in the class. Right She was bored in the class.

Wrong Every students like the teacher. Right Every student likes the teacher.

Wrong Although it was raining, but we had the picnic.

Right Although it was raining, we had the picnic.

Wrong I like very much ice cream. Right I like ice cream very much.

Wrong Where I can find a bank? Right Where can I find a bank?

Wrong When I will arrive, I will call you. Right When I arrive, I will call you.

Wrong I’ve been here since three months. Right I’ve been here for three months.

Wrong She doesn’t listen me. Right She doesn’t listen to me.

Wrong The police is coming. Right The police are coming.

Wrong The house isn’t enough big. Right The house isn’t big enough.

Wrong There is seven girls in the class. Right There are seven girls in the class.

Wrong I didn’t meet nobody. Right I didn’t meet anybody.

Wrong Where is post office? Right Where is the post office?14 NNP

Wrong Is ready my passport? Right Is my passport ready?

Wrong The life is hard! Right Life is hard.

Wrong How many childrens you have? Right How many children do you have?

Wrong She said me that she liked you. Right She told me that she liked you.

Wrong It is more hot now. Right It’s hotter now.

Wrong You can give me an information? Right Can you give me some information?

Wrong They cooked the dinner themself. Right They cooked the dinner themselves.

Wrong Me and Johnny live here. Right Johnny and I live here.

Wrong You like dance with me? Right Would you like to dance with me?

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Use of Dictionary

Back: Noun1. the rear surface of the human body from the shoulders to the hips: he lay on his back[as modifier]:back pain the upper surface of an animal’s body that corresponds to a person’s back: the adults

have white bodies with grey backs the spine of a person or animal. the main structure of a ship’s hull or an aircraft’s fuselage: Demetrius broke its back on

the rocks in a force 11 gale the part of a garment that covers a person’s back: a top with a scooped neckline and a low

back a person’s back regarded as carrying a load or bearing an imposition: the Press are on my

back2. the side or part of something that is away from the spectator or from the direction in which it moves or faces; the rear: at the back of the hotel is a secluded garden a rubber dinghy with an engine at the back

 the position directly behind someone or something: she unbuttoned her dress from the back

 the side or part of an object that is not normally seen or used: write on the back of a postcard

 the part of a chair against which the sitter’s back rests.3. a player in a team game who plays in a defensive position behind the forwards: their backs showed some impressive running and passing4.  (the Backs) the grounds of Cambridge colleges which back on to the River Cam.

Adverb

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1. in the opposite direction from the one that one is facing or travelling towards: he moved back a pace, she walked away without looking back

 expressing movement of the body into a reclining position: he leaned back in his chair, sit back and relax

 at a distance away: keep back from the roadside  (back of) North American informal behind: he knew that other people were back of him  North American informal losing by a specified margin: the team was five points back

2. so as to return to an earlier or normal position or condition: she put the book back on the shelf, he drove to Glasgow and back, in a day things were back to normal

 at a place previously left or mentioned: the folks back home are counting on him  fashionable again: sideburns are back

3. in or into the past: he made his fortune back in 19554. in return: they wrote back to me

Verb1. [with object] give financial, material, or moral support to: he had a newspaper empire backing him, his mother backed him up on everything

 supplement in order to strengthen: firefighters, backed up by helicopters and planes, fought to bring the flames under control

 bet money on (a person or animal) winning a race or contest: he backed the horse at 33-12. [with object] cover the back of (an article) in order to support, protect, or decorate it: a mirror backed with tortoiseshell3. [no object, with adverbial of direction] walk or drive backwards: she tried to back away, figurative the government backed away from the plan[with object]:he backed the Mercedes into the yard

 [no object] (of the wind) change direction anticlockwise around the points of the

compass: the wind had backed to the north-west The opposite of VEER 1 .  [with object] Sailing put (a sail) aback in order to slow the vessel down or assist in

turning through the wind.4. [no object] (back on/ on to) (of a building or other structure) have its back facing or adjacent to: his garage wall backs on to the neighbouring property

 [with object] lie behind or at the back of: the promenade is backed by lots of cafes  put a piece of music on the less important side of (a vinyl recording):the new single is

backed with a track from the LP5. (in popular music) provide musical accompaniment to (a singer or musician):on his new album he is backed by an American group

Adjective: [attributive]1. of or at the back of something: the back garden, the back pocket of his jeans

 in a remote or subsidiary position: back roads2. from or relating to the past: she was owed back pay3. directed towards the rear or in a reversed course: a back header4. Phonetics (of a sound) articulated at the back of the mouth: a long back vowel, as in ‘dance’ or ‘bath’

Phrases

at someone's back in pursuit or support of someone.

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back and forth to and fro.back in the day in the past; some time ago: back in the day, he’d had one of the greatest minds I’d ever come acrossone's back is turned one’s attention is elsewhere: he kissed her quickly, when the landlady’s back was turnedthe back of beyond a very remote or inaccessible place.the back of one's mind used to express that something is in one’s mind but is not consciously thought of or remembered: she had a little nagging worry at the back of her mindback someone into a corner force someone into a difficult situation: I was backed into a corner - there was no way outback to front British with the back at the front and the front at the back: the exhausts had been fitted back to frontback water reverse the action of a boat’s oars to slow down or stop: the exhausted crews backed water and the fleet fell apartback the wrong horse make a wrong or inappropriate choice.behind someone's back without a person’s knowledge and in an unfair way: Carla made fun of him behind his backget (or put) someone's back up make someone annoyed or angry.in back North American at the back of something, especially a building: my dad demolished a shed in back of his barnknow something like the back of one's hand be entirely familiar with a place or route.on one's back in bed recovering from an injury or illness.put one's back into approach (a task) with vigour.turn one's back on ignore (someone) by turning away from them.

reject or abandon (a person or thing that one was previously involved with):she turned her back on her career to devote her life to animals

with one's back to (or up against) the wall in a desperate situation.

Phrasal Verbs

back down withdraw a claim or assertion in the face of opposition: party leaders backed down and rescinded the resolutionback off draw back from action or confrontation: they backed off from fundamental reform of the system, North American back down.back out withdraw from a commitment: if he backs out of the deal they’ll sue himback up 1(of vehicles) form into a queue due to congestion: the traffic began to back up

2(of running water) accumulate behind an obstruction.back something up 1 Computing make a spare copy of data or a disk.

2 cause vehicles to form into a queue due to congestion: the traffic was backed up a mile in each direction

What is meaning of ‘back’ as noun, verb, adverb, adjective and phrasal verb? Give pronunciation. Use ‘back’ as noun, adverb, verb, adjective, phrase in your own sentence

17 NNP

cat noun, verb, cat·ted, cat·ting.

noun

1. a small domesticated carnivore, Felis domestica or F. catus, bred in a number of varieties.

2. any of several carnivores of the family Felidae, as the lion, tiger, leopard or jaguar, etc.

3. Slang.

a. a person, especially a man.

b. a devotee of jazz.

4. a woman given to spiteful or malicious gossip.

5. the fur of the domestic cat.

verb (used with object)

15. to flog with a cat-o'-nine-tails.

16. Nautical . to hoist (an anchor) and secure to a cathead.

verb (used without object)

17. British Slang. to vomit.

Verb phrases

18. cat around, Slang.

a. to spend one's time aimlessly or idly.

b. to seek sexual activity indiscriminately; tomcat.

Idioms

19. bell the cat, to attempt something dangerous or impossible.

20. let the cat out of the bag, to reveal a secret, especially carelessly: He let the cat out of the bag, and the surprise party wasn't a surprise after all.

CAT: Abbreviations

1. clear-air turbulence. CAT

2. Medicine/Medical . computerized axial tomography. CAT

18 NNP

What is the pronunciation of ‘cat’? What is meaning of ‘bell the cat’? What are the abbreviations of CAT? ‘Let the cat out of bag’-what does it mean? Use in your own sentence.