10 th Edition, © 2011, Cengage Learning Chapter 1 Reference Skills

Orientation How to Study Business English 1-2 Before reading a chapter 1.Set aside a quiet time and place to study. 2.Examine the chapter objectives. 3.Take the chapter pretest; check your answers. As you read a chapter 1.Use a marker to highlight important concepts. 2.Write questions in margins to ask in class. 3.Study examples and illustrations. Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved

Orientation How to Study Business English 1-3 After reading a chapter 1.Review the passages you highlighted. 2.Ask yourself whether you understand the concepts presented. 3.Take the posttest; compare with pretest. 4.Complete Exercise A of the reinforcement exercises. If you have more than three incorrect responses (out of ten), reread the chapter. 5.Finish all the assigned exercises before returning to class. Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved

1-4 What is Business English? Business English is the study of language fundamentals needed to communicate effectively in today's workplace. These fundamentals include the following: Grammar Usage Punctuation Capitalization Number style Spelling/Vocabulary Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved

1-5 Why study Business English? To refresh rusty skills To feel confident in using the language To succeed in a workplace where increasing emphasis is placed on oral and written communication Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved

1-6 Can you become an expert? Yes, you can become an expert by learning where to find answers. You will need these books: A current college-level or desk dictionary A good office reference manual Your textbook Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved

Types of Dictionaries  Electronic dictionaries ◦ At Web sites ◦ On CD-ROM programs ◦ In word processing programs ◦ In handheld digital devices  Pocket dictionaries ◦ May contain up to 75,000 entries ◦ Serve as handy—but incomplete— references 1-7Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved

Types of Dictionaries  College-level or desk dictionaries ◦ May contain up to 200,000 entries ◦ Are “abridged” (shortened) ◦ Often include extra features such as language, geographical, biographical, and measurement data.  Unabridged (complete) dictionaries ◦ May contain up to 450,000 entries ◦ Are used by professional writers, scholars ◦ May be found in libraries, schools, editorial offices 1-8Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved

1-9 Ten Important Points in Using Your Dictionary Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved

1. Read the introduction to your dictionary. Determine the order of definitions. 2. Use the guide words at tops of pages to help you locate words. 3. Learn to distinguish among the following: Centered dots to show syllable breaks: self less Hyphens to show hyphenated words: self-conscious Space left between words to indicate separate words: word processing Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved1-10

4. Use diacritical marks to help you pronounce a word correctly. A summary of these special symbols is usually found at the bottom of each set of dictionary pages. For example, how would you pronounce this word? _ _ i rate (an irate taxpayer) Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved1-11

5. Study a word’s accent marks to learn which syllable to stress. Primary accent marks may precede or follow a stressed syllable. ob ser ‘va tion (Webster’s New Collegiate) ob ser va’ tion (American Heritage) Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved1-12

6. Examine a word’s etymology (word history). Dictionaries that emphasize etymology place it before the definitions. Square brackets [ ] enclose the word history. Don’t confuse etymological definitions with entry definitions. Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved1-13

7. Note what part of speech a word is. Parts of speech are usually italicized and abbreviated. What do you think these abbreviations mean? How can they help you learn about a word? adjprep advpron conjv or vb interjvt or tr. v. nvi or intr. v. Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved1-14

8. Labels are used in some dictionaries to warn readers about appropriate usage. Here are some common labels: archaic: words surviving from a previous period, such as affright (terror) col. or inf. (colloquial or informal): used in casual writing or conversation, such as the word deadhead for a sluggish person slang: very informal language, but may be used for effect, such as Chill, dude! Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved1-15

8. Labels (continued) Nonstandard or substandard: not conforming to usage among educated speakers, such as ain’t or irregardless dial (dialect) or Brit., West., Scot: used in certain regions, such as the word bonnet to mean car hood. Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved1-16

9. Inflected forms are word forms that change when they are used differently in sentences, e.g., the past tense of a verb. Most dictionaries show only irregular changes in nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Nouns:woman, women Verbs:go, went, gone Adjectives: good, better, best Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved1-17

10. Synonyms and antonyms are often provided. Synonyms: words with similar meanings ignorant — unaware (synonym) Antonyms:words with opposite meanings condemn — exonerate (antonym) Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved1-18

Plugging in to Electronic Dictionaries Locate misspelled words Find synonyms and antonyms Spell check your documents Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved1-19 Electronic dictionaries are useful to do the following:

Accessing Online Dictionaries Access up-to-date vocabulary Learn new words Perform language translation Hear audio pronunciations Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved1-20 Online and other high-tech dictionaries are useful to do the following:

Reference Manuals Punctuation is explained in rules accompanied by examples. Hyphenation rules are provided for dividing words and for constructing compound words. Capitalization rules are stated and illustrated. Number style is shown. Commonly confused words are compared. Abbreviations and acronyms are listed and defined. Chapter 1, Guffey-Seefer, Business English, 10e, Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning, All Rights Reserved1-21 Reference manuals contain helpful information not found in dictionaries, such as the following: