Hello, Friends.
It’s summertime and the living is easy! In Indiana and in the United States we are getting back to “normal” and beginning to put our year of social isolation behind us. If you watch the national news, you get a selective glimpse of what is really happening.
Last year we didn’t know if we could go to our neighborhood swimming pool or playground or enjoy outdoor concerts. This year we know that catching COVID outdoors is not a danger. Vaccination rates are up as well as people who have immunity by having had COVID.
As we open up, mask wearing can be a matter of personal, psychological comfort and not an indication of illness. In the American Culture, face coverings have been illegal prior to the pandemic. As the U.S. returns to "normal" these suspended laws are becoming relevant. Many people have a naturally acquired immunity to COVID 19 because they have already had the disease. Others are fully vaccinated (two weeks past the required number of injections). We still need to wash our hands (or use sanitizer) and clean surfaces, though because we have discovered that these precautions have kept us from getting sick from colds, flu, etc. as well as COVID.
Language and Communication
You may hear about formal and informal language, but there is also familiar language. When people get together they tend to move in and out of these social states of language depending on how comfortable they are with the people they are with and what they want to express. Dialects, accents, slang, grammar usage vocabulary choices all play a part in how people choose to express themselves. As you study English, consider what is your motivation:
- Is it to be fluent?
- Is it to communicate with others?
- Is it to make friends and to exist happily with the English speaker around you?
- Is it all of these things?
Notice how each of these questions are written. This also informs you about your motivation for learning American English. Let's talk! Comment on this blog or join our Grammar Workshop or email to continue the conversation.
English Plural
Talking about more than one thing can be a problem as you think in one language and speak in another. There are no hard and fast rules which can make your understand complicated. Think things like: deer
Here are some Irregular Plural nouns. Don't get overly concerned with these. Irregular plurals throw natural speakers off.
Meet up at the Park June 15
Drop by Carey Grove Park, 140001 Carey Road, Carmel.
Tuesday, June 15, 10:30 AM-12:00 PM
- We will not have a pitch in.
- Masks are not required according to outdoor and vaccination guidelines.
Drop by for conversation and a chance to see each other face-to-face. I will bring my tech. If you are out of the area, you can Zoom in using our Tuesday, International Friends link. Email if you need the link.
On Line Fun
American Sign Language: Monday 5:30-6:30 PM on Zoom
Try this coloring sheet and learn how to sign words that begin with the letter "d". We are transitioning to using OneNote. This is a very conceptual app that works well with our ASL thinking.
Kids' Conversation: Thursday, 4:00-4:30 PM on Zoom
We will talk about our home countries ("because that is what we are most familiar with"). Join us for a surprise project TBA announced Thursday! Email for the link if you want to join the English conversation.
Grammar Workshop: Thursday, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM on Zoom
We had a great introductory session. This week we get down to business and start studying together to advance our natural language development in the very documented grammar of American English.
For those of you who are interested in exploring more, read Bill Bryson's The Mother Tongue and Made in America: an informal history of the English language in the United States (free on Prime Kindle...Quick grab your copy).
American Accent Training: Thursday, 9:30-11:30 AM on Zoom
Our American Accent Training is continuing to meet. While this class is currently closed to new members, it doesn't mean that the rest of us can't learn...stay tuned for more...
Bill Bryson book titles: Please pay attention. Capitalization and punctuation are very important to understand the English language. These are grammar rules but they also impact how words are voiced and interpreted in English.
express: communicate
hard and fast: specific
move in and out of: use or demonstrate
out of the area: not near
play a part: contribute
states: conditions or circumstance
suspended: a law or legal ruling that is not enforced during a specified period of time
throw natural speakers off: throw (insert a group of people here) off: confuse or confound a particular group of people
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