Unit I..Introduction of Language.docx

**Unit 1** **Introduction to English, characteristics of language, formation of words, root words, antonyms-synonyms, One word, Idioms, homophones, pronunciation** **Introduction to English Language and Vocabulary** English is a very rich language and its journey started somewhere around 5 Century AD. It travelled a long way to become a rich language this day by adding new words and coinages. Portmanteau, back-formation, clipping, derivations, new inventions and discoveries are different ways in which the language kept adding words. Some people like Shakespeare also added a robust number of words and phrases into the language. But the most important contribution for enriching the English language is loan words or borrowing. English almost borrowed from all well-known languages and today boasts of around 171,476 words in Oxford dictionary. The Germanic tribes arrived in Britain and invaded the country during the 5th century AD. Britain was populated by various Celtic tribes before the invasion by Germanic tribes. Though the Celtic tribes were united by customs, religion and common speech they lacked political unity and that made them susceptible to invasions from neighbouring tribes. In the first century, Britain was conquered and ruled by the Romans and finally got freedom from them in 410 AD. This made Britain vulnerable to attacks from different invasions from the North as the Romans took back with them their strong and able army. Many tribes migrated to Britain but the Saxons, the Angles, the Jutes, the Franks and the Frisians were some of the few who made their undeniable presence marked in this country. These invaders were from Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. The original inhabitants, who spoke Celtic language were driven to the west and the north by the invaders. They mainly migrated to present day Wales, Scotland and Cornwall. The Saxons called the native Britons, 'wealas' and wealas meant foreigner or slave and this is the origin of the word Welsh. Initially, these different tribes fought with each other over ownership and other issues but gradually came together to be called Anglo-Saxons or English. The language they spoke is now known to us as Old English. The word England, a popular and well-known country now originated from the words Engla-land (the land of Anglo-Saxons) or Englisc. (the language) The Germanic tribes were constantly fighting to overpower. But as time passed the different Germanic cultures gradually became similar to each other until they eventually stopped seeing themselves as their individual origin but collectively as either Anglo-Saxon or the words England and English are derived from Engla-land ("land of the Angles") and englisc (the language the Angles spoke). **EVOLUTION OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE** The evolution of the English language can be divided into three periods- 1) Old English 2) Middle English 3) Modern English. Old English (450-1100 AD) ------------------------- Old English is very different from what we know or see today and so very difficult to understand it. Several words now that we use in Modern English originated from the Old English period. Some of the words that were coined in Old English time but are also used today and are part of our day to day language can be- father, god, hare, king, lord, queen, sing, ship, foot, fish. Night, stone, tongue, us, we, where, white, widow, wolf etc. Many words used today have a different spelling as compared to their Old English versions and some have different meanings. For example-wif was a woman and now the spelling has changed to wife and the dictionary meaning to a married woman in relation to her spouse. The Old English deor now has changed to deer and the meaning from a wild animal (broader meaning any wild animal) has changed to a specific wild animal the dictionary meaning to hoofed grazing or browsing animal. Some other words like light, knight can also be traced back to the Old English period where the silent letters g and k were pronounced. **Middle English (1100-1500)** In 1066 AD William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, a part of France, invaded and conquered England. The Normans spoke a dialect of Old French that is known as Anglo-Norman. This became the language of the Royal Court, the ruling classes and business classes. The languages of these times were divided according to classes. French was spoken by upper classes and English was spoken by lower class. In 1204 AD King John lost the province of Normandy to the King of France and French slowly started losing its sheen in England. The labour classes started getting more prominence as English lost almost one- third of its population due to black death. And gradually English became more important language than French and Anglo-Norman, and the nobility also started using a finer version of English. By 1362 the divide between the upper classes and lower classes over the languages ended and both spoke a common language English. Many French words were added to the English language during this time and this period was named as the Middle English period. It was the period when the great poet Chaucer made his presence felt with his works. Though the Middle English language was easier than Old English still it would be difficult to understand by people who speak modern day English. This period ended around 1500 AD. Example of Middle English FIG 1-Chaucer's English **Early Modern English (1500-1800)** Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden and distinct change in pronunciation (the Great Vowel Shift) started, with vowels being pronounced shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact with many peoples from around the world. These major factors created a marked difference between Middle and Old English. Modern English shifted into something that was more understandable for modern English-speaking people. One of the most important factors that brought changes to English was that slowly Britain stated coming in contact with the outer world and due to Renaissance, several new words and phrases were added to the languages. These words from other languages especially from Latin and Greek made the English language-rich. The invention of the printing press in 1476 by William Caxton affected the English language very significantly. Now, the English language started getting prominence in books and pamphlets and gradually was standardized. Rules for grammar and spelling came into being and the first English dictionary by Samuel Johnson was published in 1604. This was the period in which the greatest playwrights of all the times to come, Shakespeare was born who contributed many phrases and words to the English language. **Modern English (1800-Present)** Although early modern English and modern English periods are almost the same, the difference in modern English period is the extended vocabulary. Technology and the Industrial revolution combined added several words to the language. The Industrial revolution created a need for more words and the need was fulfilled by coining more words especially from Greek and Latin root words. For example, words like protein, nuclear, oxygen and vaccine did not exist before, but they were made with Greek and Latin influences. Not all the new words were created from classical roots though, English words that already existed were also combined for terms like typewriter, airplane and horsepower. During this time most of the countries on earth belonged to the British Empire, and that's why the English language took over foreign words from many different countries. Another influence on word coinage was from the words related to maritime. As England ruled many countries, the people from this country travelled to other countries on ships as it was for some time the only available and convenient mode of transport. Thus, many words related to sea travel and maritime were added into the English language. Then came a time the British military started to play a significant role in people's lives because of its invasions and many military words became a part and parcel of English language. For example- blockbuster, spearhead, camouflage, nosedive etc. This period consists of renaissance which brought about the technology printing press and many more inventions. This period starts around the 15^th^ century and lasts till 1650. It was during this period when the continents Africa, America and Asia. This period was also the time when many scientific discoveries and Protestant Reformation took place. This had a great impact on English vocabulary and many authors and writers started borrowing words from classic languages as the translators could not find equivalent words in English and used the Greek and Latin words directly especially in law, theology and medicine. Words also made way from the new continents Africa, America and Asia, sometimes directly and a few times indirectly through European languages. **Formation of Words:** **Different ways of coining words -** The number of words the English language contains is if not impossible but very difficult to count. To answer this question the Head words from a dictionary can be counted and Oxford dictionary claims to have 500,000 words. But this data does not make any sense as the list includes both ancient and modern words and many of the ancient words are either obsolete or not active words now. English language over the past centuries has enriched itself by adding numerous words in its repertoire. There are as many as ten different ways how words are coined in English. They may be by blending, inheritance, by creative imagination, joining initial phrases, compounding, shortening, derivations, conversions and by some rare echoic processes. **INHERITANCE** Most of the vocabulary that was used from centuries is passed down with only a few minor changes. Most of the common words like the prepositions-in, to, by, for and the conjunctions like and, or, but are the basic words of the English language and we learn it as soon as we start using the language. These words were there in the language since the beginning of the language and are passed down to us. **BLENDING** The words created by blending are called portmanteau words as famously coined by Lewis Carroll. He created many words like slithy that has lithe and slimy fused into one and chortle from chuckle and snort and these words he named as portmanteau words. Other famous and often used portmanteau words are-smog(smoke+fog), Brunch (breakfast+ lunch), Heliport( Helicopter+airport) etc. Sometimes we lose track of the components of some blend words. E.g Vaseline (wasser(water)+ elaion (oil)). It is difficult to guess or identify the two components of the above word though it is famous as a lubricant. Now-a-days new technical terms are created by blending. It's creative and serves the purpose right. In sciences especially in Chemistry, many new inventions were made and all of them needed names. E.g. acetal( Acetic+alchohal),phospham(phosphorous+ammonia). **INITIALISMS & ACRONYMS** Initialism is when the letters that make up an acronym are pronounced individually. There were rare in ancient times like the only words that come to mind are okay and GOP. The world war produced few acronyms but it is during II World War and the time of Roosevelt that many initialisms stated to gain popularity and were in use. GI (for General Issue), GP (General Purpose Vehicle), UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) etc. were common initialisms and were used in active vocabulary. In more recent times words related to computers, diseases, technology are used as initialisms. E.g CPU (Central Processing Unit), HTTP (HyperText Transfer protocol), FYI (For Your Information), PFA (Please Find Attachment) etc. The word acronym is formed from the [Greek roots](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_root) acr-, meaning height, summit, or tip and -onym, meaning name. This word has originated in [German](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_language), with attestations for the German form Akronym from as early as 1921. Acronyms are abbreviations that also use initials, but those initials are pronounced as a word rather than saying the individual initials. For example, "National Aeronautical and Space Administration" becomes NASA and is pronounced "nah-sah." More examples of this can be AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), JPG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) etc. An interesting phenomenon in recent times is reverse acronyms which means first the acronym is made than the creators think what each letter would mean. E.g CORE -first the creators made the word core and then thought what each letter in this would mean. CORE stands for Congress of Racial Equality. NOW is the acronym for National organization of Women and PUSH meaning People United to Serve Humanity and AID means Agency for International Development. **SHORTENING** Shortening is a process which takes a part or a syllable of a word and deletes the rest. It is also called clipping. Many long words that are difficult to pronounce or take a long time to pronounce are clipped and shortened. E.g. Influenza-Flu, advertisement-ad, gasoline-gas, Mathematics-Maths, examination- exam etc. There are many instances where people do not remember the actual word from which a word is formed. WI-FI is an apt example where everyone uses and knows wi-fi but a very few know that it comes from a word called wireless fidelity. **BACK-FORMATIONS** This is another means by which new words have come into being called back-formations. Most back formations are the result of a misunderstanding. E.g. Edit from editor where 'er' is wrongly perceived as the suffix and is shortened to make the word edit. To burgle from burglar is formed in the same way. The verb to sidle is a back formation from the adverb sidling, and the nouns beggar, hawker, by back --formation gave rise to verbs to beg, to hawk. Most agent nouns are formed from the verb adding --er or --or (worker, singer, gambler etc) but here the process has worked in the opposite direction. Back- formations are no longer transparent. **WORDS DERIVED FROM PROPER NOUNS** A good number of words entered English language, which is derived from Personal Names. An interesting example could be boycott which came from the name Charles Boycott, the land agent who went to towns to collect taxes but people were against paying and stood with big banners 'Boycott no entry' and slowly the word boycott evolved to mean no entry or oppose. The same way the word Sandwich was coined from the Earl of Sandwich who because of his addiction to playing dice invented a new way of eating putting the curry or meat in between the bread to eat faster. The word utopian comes from Thomas Moore's utopia and the word Lilliputian comes from Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Many garments have taken their names of those who first used them or introduced to the public. The word teddy bear from the American president Theodore Roosevelt. **SYNCOPATION** This is a particular form of shortening or abbreviation. Example: *pram.* Its original form was *perambulator.* It was syncopated to perambulator and then abbreviated to pram. In syncopation, a vowel is removed from a word and the consonants on either side are then run together. As a result, one syllable is lost. Born, Worn and Forlorn are syncopated forms. At one time they had the terminal ending --en. **TELESCOPING** This process is similar to syncopation, but here two words are combined into one. Example: to don was originally to do on. to doff was originally to do off. More recent examples are- pinafore from pin+ afore. Overall, from over + all **BIBLE & SHAKESPEARE** Other than the influx of words from foreign languages two other important influences on the English vocabulary during the Renaissance was the greatest playwright William Shakespeare and the Bible written in 1611. Though Shakespeare's influenced literature, theatre and many other aspects but his greatest influence was on vocabulary. Phrases like seen better days, strange bedfellows, a sorry sight, and full circle are used very actively these days too. Many words like assassination, bedazzled, inaudible, majestic, cold-blooded, blood-stained etc. King James' Bible was written to be read in churches and had many Old English words that were more difficult than the language of Shakespeare. But slowly many idioms from the Bible became a part of everyday language. Some idioms were -A fly in the ointment, let there be light, my brother's keeper, a wolf in sheep's clothing, if the blind lead the blind etc. According to David Crystal in his book Beget there were 257 idioms in James Bibles that made into everyday language. **BORROWING:** The purists criticised influx of words from other languages and did their best to revive the obscure words from English to make them everyday words. One among them was Thomas Elyot who did his best to enrich the language and make it a language that could be used by the people on street as well as a library language. However, the efforts of the purists like Elyot were not enough and words from foreign countries kept flowing into the English language. In fact, the borrowing words from other languages was the most significant feature of the Renaissance period. (Crystal 60). An etymological dictionary of any major language contains the dozens of sources for its vocabulary. Close contact over centuries in Europe and other areas resulted in extensive borrowing and re-borrowing. The radio, television, internet and other such sources of transmission of news and knowledge helped in the spread of language and communication. The globalization also helped in spreading the foreign language and the vocabulary in most of the countries. E.g. Hakuna Matata was spread by the movie Lion King that means no worries or no problem. The faster means of travel too helped in the spread or borrowing of some words into other languages. Borrowing is the process of importing linguistic items from one linguistic system into another, a process that occurs any time two cultures are in contact over a period of time. Words are generally loaned when two countries come into close contact with each other and there is an exchange of culture, traditions, trade war or colonisation. Colonization was the reason why English came into close contact with other countries and during exchange of trade and wars many words of other languages entered into the English language. Often the words loaned are nouns. New culture, objects, food items and day to day words are needed during colonisation and the colonizers usually adopt the words of the colonized in their original form or at times some changes are made. In the same way, the colonized also borrow or adapt some words from the colonizer's language according to the need. The borrowing of words starts when the people who are bilingual use the foreign words while speaking their native language. The people who hear these foreign words slowly get used to the foreign words spoken by these bi linguists and they too slowly adopt them in their native language. In this way foreign words become a part and parcel of the native language as many speakers start using these words and then is called a borrowed word and the process is called borrowing or loan word. Sometimes the foreign words fall out of use and do not become borrowed or loan words. In short loan words are those words that are imported from one language to another language. They are also called borrowed words. In the past 1500 years, English adopted words from more than 300 languages. **TYPES OF BORROWINGS** The borrowed words comprising the new vocabulary in the given language are not homogeneous by structure; they can be subdivided into three subcategories: a\) Borrowing a word - the most frequent and typical case of borrowing b\) Borrowing a phoneme- the most rarest and particular case, depending on the degree of contact between the two languages c\) Borrowing a morpheme - usually, the morpheme is selected on the basis of a verbal series consisting of words with a common lexical meaning, characterized by the repetition of a structural element, for example, a businessman, a barman, an athlete, etc. d\) Syntactical or structural borrowing - the word is borrowed syntactically, when the construction of phrases in a language is influenced by foreign syntactic constructions-for example, the influence of English newspaper clichés, mainly headlines, on the headlines of the modern press. e\) Semantic borrowings - a process of borrowing [semantic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantics) [meaning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meaning_(linguistics)) (rather than [lexical items](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexical_item)) from another [language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language). The complete word in the borrowing language already exists; the change is that its meaning is [extended](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extension_(semantics)) to include another meaning its existing translation has in the lending language. Semantic loans often occur when two languages are in close contact, and takes various forms. E.g. the English word pioneer (explorer) under the influence of the new meaning of the correlated Russian word (пионер) developed one more meaning: a member of a young pioneer organization; brigade (an army unit) under the influence of the new meaning developed one more meaning -- active social workers; norm=standard -- norm developed one more meaning -- "an amount of work" Borrowings share a hierarchical relationship with each other. Lexical borrowing is the first stage of foreign language influence and the word is borrowed \"not entirely, as a complete, finished, grammatically formed word, but only, as a more or less formless piece of a lexical material, receiving a new form only in the system and by means of another Language (V. Akulenko, 1973). A borrowed word acquires certain grammatical characteristics inherent to the given language, and in this case, the word is subordinated to one or another grammatical category; for example, in Russian, there is a gender-related correlation of words depending on their formal appearance (words ending with consonants, as a rule, refer to the masculine gender, words ending with -o, -e, to the nouns of the neutral gender, etc.). **THE REASONS FOR BORROWING** The causes or reasons for borrowing words from other languages can be divided into external and internal causes that directly or indirectly contribute to the process. **EXTERNAL CAUSES** Political, social, economic, cultural and industrial ties between different groups of native speakers of both countries can be the external cause for borrowing words from foreign languages. The vocabulary of a language is affected the most due to the changes in the political, cultural, economic and industrial changes. Whatever changes occur in these fields the vocabulary also absorbs these changes and adopt or borrow the foreign vocabulary as most of the times the native vocabulary might not have the equivalents. Hence both the languages loan and borrow the words necessary for daily communication exchanges. During borrowing or loaning of words, it is not always necessary that there is an equivalent exchange of vocabulary in both the languages. It might so happen that one language might borrow more words from the other language. It happened in the case of Russian and Armenian. Armenian borrowed more Russian words into its native language. The cultures or countries that are constantly discovering, inventing or innovating new objects, technologies or discovering newer phenomena might become enriched in vocabulary and other countries loan these new words from them. America as a powerful country in terms of new innovations and inventions loan words to other countries all the time. This phenomenon is termed as 'Americanism'. Some common examples of this would include- Gasoline, bi-weekly(fortnightly), pocketbook (handbag), going Dutch (everyone pays for the meal), zonked (exhausted), I-Pad (new invention), e-mail(technology) etc. In this type of borrowings, the lexical forms along with the other features or phenomenon of the vocabulary. In this case, the semantic and stylistic differentiation occurs through creation of synonymous pairs. **Internal Causes** Loaning of a word occurs also due to simplify the semantic structure and eliminate the polysemy (the coexistence of many possible meanings for a word or a phrase) of the original word. The borrowing can also occur to explain certain semantic nuances. The word borrowed from the other language along with the existing word in the native language serves different semantic purposes. Thus, the word loaned and the original word together form a class of words that are structurally similar and belong to the same lexical unit. The Russian language borrowed many words from French, German in truncated forms like taxicab(taxi), metropolitan(metro), automobile(auto) etc. Several times the loan words are retained in the language and turned into a lexical series which becomes an interesting trend to observe. E.g. Russian language borrowed the word man from English and later added a series of words like gentleman, sportsman, congressman etc. Thus, by loaning words from a foreign language helps to replace a long or two words into a single word. e.g. Sprint for running long distances, motel for a hotel for campers. ![Chart of the Germanic family of languages](media/image2.gif) -------------------------------------------------------------- Fig 2 English Language Tree --------------------------- WORLD CONTRIBUTION TO ENGLISH VOCABUALRY ---------------------------------------- As discussed earlier English language borrowed words from almost all known world languages. The reason for this was England ruled almost every country and region of the world at some point of time or the other. Hence came in close contact with the culture and traditions of those countries. In this process, it borrowed many words from those countries and extended its vocabulary. Here, we will now discuss the contribution of foreign languages to the growth of English vocabulary. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This pie chart given below shows the distribution of the origins of English words. 29 per cent of the words in English come from French. 29% come from Latin, but it is unclear whether some of these words come directly from Latin or from Latin through French. Words that come from Latin are generally relatively rare (many of them are scientific or legal words). Similarly, 26% from German, the largest part of the very most common words in English (such as \"the\", \"a\", \"do\", \"he\"\...) come from Germanic languages, not from Latin or French. The 6% of the loanwords come from Greek, another 6% from other languages, and the remaining 4% words derived from Proper Names. The following are some of the words given with their origin for understanding: There was no cultural connection between the Celts and the Anglo-Saxons and hence the number of words that came into Old English from the Celtic language were very less. Rock, bin, deep valley, Bin were some such words. ANGLO-SAXON WORDS- ------------------ The words that entered English in form of Germanic words are the Anglo-Saxon words. These words still make the lexicon of English. These words are grammatical as well as lexical words. Some of the grammatical words are-be, in and that and the lexical words are love, father, apple, bury, daughter, brother etc. Anglo-Saxon words are concrete and short Some other examples are: - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Landscape** **Body Parts** **Animals** **Adjectives** **Calendar** **Verbs** --------------- ---------------- ------------- ---------------- -------------- ----------- Land Arm Goat White Day Eat Hill Bone Swine Wide Month Go Meadow Chest Goat Long Moon Fly Ledge Year Fish Good Year Live ### NORMAN INFLUENCE In 1066, the Normans had an eclectic mix of languages: a Frankish influenced northern French dialect; Old Norse from their Viking roots; Flemish from the army supporting William I's wife, Matilda of Flanders; and the Brythonic based language of the mercenary Bretons. The Normans kept the basic structure of the English language, but during the Middle English period, they introduced around 10,000 words of their own into the English tongue. Many words were related to officialdom and are evident in the vocabulary surrounding the administration, parliament, government, the legal profession and the crown. Many more words filtered down into everyday matters including food production, such as beef; pork; herb; juice and poultry. They introduced words beginning with 'con', 'de', 'dis' and 'en', such as: conceal; continue; demand; encounter; disengage and engage. They also included words ending in 'age' and 'ence' as in: advantage; courage; language and commence. **THE FRENCH INFLUENCE** The French influence can be divided into two phases the first phase from 1150-1250 and the second phase from 1250-1500. From 1150 to 1250 there were less French words adopted into English (about 900) than in the second phase. The loan words were mostly from the areas of the nobility (e.g. servant, messenger), literature (e.g. story, rime) and the church. The French influence on the English vocabulary had its greatest expansion in the period of Middle English (1150 -- 1500). During this time over 10,000 French words were adopted into the English language and about 75 per cent of these are still in use. Although these extensive changes were important for the improvement of the English language, there were also disadvantages to it. The loss of native words, the different Middle English dialects, the need of a Standard English are only some examples for this. Since the Norman Conquest in 1066 the French language became more and more important. The Normans (North-man) were descendants of the Danes and spoke French influenced by a Germanic dialect. They inhabited some parts in the north of France and adapted not only to the language but also to the French culture. They had a talent for building churches, cathedrals, castles and proved the English their rank of military The English culture was not inferior to the French. The Anglo-Saxons were excellent writers, artists and craftsmen. They did not lack in civilization. "French became the language of the upper classes in England simply because it was the language of the conquerors, not because of any cultural superiority on their part." (CharlesBarber,135) By this time, the French and English language existed side by side and French took over to be the language of the court and "royalty of England throughout the twelfth, thirteenth and (diminishingly) fourteenth centuries" ^(^Charles Barber). The kings of England spoke French, took French wives and lived mostly in France. The Normans became the new upper class. They dominated all high positions like the church, education, aristocracy, administration etc. So, many other people, particularly among the gentry whose native language was English had to acquire French, if they "wanted to get on in the world. Although there were more common people holding on to their mother tongue than noblemen speaking French, English was on a decline, as the French language had its prestige in the most important ranks. In the first phase from 1150 to 1250, there were less French words adopted into the English (about 900) than in the second phase. The borrowings show characteristics of the Anglo- Norman phonology and were mostly from the areas of the nobility (e.g. servant, messenger), literature (e.g. story, rime) and the church. In the second stage (1250-1500) there was a rapid change in the prestige of the French language with a climax at the end of the 14th century. The Norman- French developed its peculiarities to the so-called Anglo- Norman dialect, but it was more and more regarded as old-fashioned and rustic compared to the Central French spoken in Paris The decline of French as a vernacular was a slow process starting with the loss of Normandy to the French crown in 1204. At that time many noblemen had properties in England and Normandy and had to decide whether to become English or to go back to France. Many Norman landholders chose to stay and the coming up of national thinking in England must have increased the importance of the English language. The final success of English over the French was observable in the 14th century where those who spoke French as their mother-tongue were turning to the use of English. The following are some of the words borrowed from French into English: +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ | **Governm | govern | **Clothin | gown cape | **Armed | arm army | | ent | crown | g** | embroider | Forces** | battle | | &Administ | governmen | | y | | guard | | rative** | t | | pearl | | soldier | | | empire | | diamond | | ambush | | | royal | | Lace | | combat | | | majesty | | buckle | | peace spy | | | treaty | | button | | | | | parliamen | | fur | | | | | t | | | | | | | tax | | garment | | | | | statute | | robe | | | +===========+===========+===========+===========+===========+===========+ | **Ecclesi | religion | **Law** | justice | **Food** | Feast | | astical** | virgin | | judge | | beef | | | faith | | petition | | | | | clergy | | arrest | | bacon | | | confessio | | accuse | | cream | | | n | | evidence | | | | | heresy | | sue | | salad | | | devout | | estate | | spice | | | preach | | property | | | | | | | slander | | sugar | | | | | accuse | | raisin | +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ **GREEK INFLUENCE** The language of Ancient Greece had almost as important an impact on English as Latin. This is because the Ancient Greeks were the foremost European thinkers before Latin was spread across the continent by the Romans. Words from their language entered English not only directly as names for modern ideas and inventions, but also via Latin since the Romans themselves used many Ancient Greek words in their learned writings (e.g. ***Philosophia***, the Greek word for philosophy). Greek is one of the oldest Indo- European languages. It is usually divided into Ancient Greek (often thought of as a dead language) and Modern Greek. According to Peter T. Daniels, the Ancient Greeks were the first to use a \'true\' alphabet, that is, one representing both vowels and consonants. Indeed, the word \'alphabet\' is formed of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, \'alpha\' and \'beta\'. The English language is indebted to Greek not only for its alphabet but also for a major portion of its vocabulary. If it were not for the ancient Greeks, the English language would not be the 26 letters that are used today. All the religious expression used in English when Christianity began was Greek. The New Testament of the Bible was written in Greek. The New Testament, used by the converted Anglo-Saxons, greatly influenced the developing of the English language, which at this time had no alphabet and was only spoken, not written. To express religious ideas previously unknown to the Anglo-Saxons, they imported many words directly from the original New Testament such as \"church\" from Greek Kyriako, \"about the Lord\", \"ecclesiastical\" from Greek ekklesia, originally an Athenian assembly, and also \"apostle,\" \"monk,\" \"prophet\" etc. Many words that have been borrowed from French were borrowed from Greek by the French. For example, English angel, derived from Latin Angelus, was first derived from Greek Angelos, meaning \"messenger.\" The next major influence of Greek upon the English language occurred during the Renaissance, which had its greatest force in England during 1500--1625. During this period, the study of classics was stressed. The classicists of that time intentionally tried to enrich the English language by borrowing from such classic languages as Greek and Latin. When one examines the English literature from the Renaissance era, the results of the classicists\' efforts can be seen. For example, about 19 per cent of Hamlet\'s soliloquy (*Hamlet*, Act III, Scene I) by William Shakespeare is from the classical languages Latin and Greek. In general, the classical content of Shakespeare\'s plays was 21 per cent. The ancient Greeks have supplied many facets of the first-world governments of the modern world. In fact, the entire government of The United States of America hinges on the ideas of these ancient people. It is only expected that many terms of government in the English language come from Greek. When one talks of monarchies and democracies, he is using words derived from Greek. \"Treasurer,\" \"chambers,\" and \"parliament\" are from Greek. Even the word \"government\" itself is from Greek Modern science has also failed to escape Greek influences in its vocabulary. Not only do its different fields exhibit signs of a Greek influence in the histories of their respective vocabularies, but science as a whole often uses Greek when forming words to express new ideas. Many medical terms, occupations, and college courses are directly derived from the Greek language. A Paediatrician, a doctor who works with children, owes his occupational name to the Greek paidos, child. A hypodermic needle is so-called because it goes under (Greek hypo) the skin (Greek derma). Even the title of a doctor of female ills, gynaecology, is from Greek gyne means woman. Chemistry is also greatly influenced by Greek. You only have to consider the periodic table, around half are Greek in origin: some common examples include arsenic, calcium, copper, helium, hydrogen, iodine, magnesium etc. It has influenced English language to the extent that the very term \"grammar\" was devised by the Greeks, which means, in their language, \"that which pertains to writing.\" Greek philosophers are credited with the creation of such grammatical terms and concepts as \"article,\" \"noun,\" \"pronoun,\" \"adjective,\" \"verb,\" \"adverb,\" \"preposition,\" \"conjunction,\" and \"interjection.\" Many English words are formed of parts of words (morphemes) that originate from the Greek language, including the following examples: - phobia (fear of), as in arachnophobia -- the fear of spiders - micro (small), as in microscopic -- so small it\'s hard to see - demos (people) as in democracy -- government by the people If you look closer, there are several phrases derived from Greek. To have an 'Achilles Heel' means to have a weakness or vulnerable point. Achilles was a Greek hero and central character in Homer\'s epic poem, The Iliad. He was only vulnerable at his heel. The \'Midas touch\' is another common expression deriving from Greek mythology. Describing a near-magical ability to succeed at anything one undertakes, the expression originates from a story of King Midas, who is remembered for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold. An idiom which has its roots in Greek antiquity as 'crocodile tears'. The phrase is thought to come from the popular ancient belief that crocodiles weep while eating their victims. Some more words that have been taken from Greek into English are as follows\_ +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ | Athlete | Catastrop | therapy | enthusias | devil | atom | | | he | | m | | diphthong | | nymph | | criterion | orchestra | church | | | | phone | | | | | +===========+===========+===========+===========+===========+===========+ | Toxic | Dropsy | Academy | Ecstasy | Harmony | Pseudo | | | theatre | | | | | | theory | | phobia | micro | gigantic | zone | +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+ **INDIAN INFLUENCE** Britain's relationship with India goes back as far as the early 17th century when the East India Company (EIC), an English and later British joint-stock company, made its first voyage to India in 1601 to trade in the East Indies. After trading with mainly Qing China, the EIC later seized control of large companies within the Indian subcontinent from 1757 until 1858 where a rule was then passed to the Crown until India's independence in 1947. With such a prolonged presence in the region, it's no wonder India adopted English as its official language post-independence, while at the same time, making a direct impact on the English language. India has a vast amount of languages, including 22 official languages, 122 major and around 1599 recorded languages and dialects, according to the [2001 Census of India](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Census_of_India). India's influence has seen words from Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, Malayalam and Tamil all make their way into the English Language once the EIC arrived in India and traded with local and surrounding territories. The word 'shampoo', derived from the Hindi word chāmpo meaning 'massage into the head/hair', dates back to 1762, where Indian natives historically used extracts from a variety of herbs and dried berries to clean their hair. The word can also be traced back to the Sanskrit root chapayati, which means 'to press, knead, soothe'. Words synonymous with criminality such as 'mugger' and 'thug' have its roots firmly in the Indian subcontinent. You wouldn't associate a street robber with a crocodile, but 'mugger', the Hindi word for crocodile, relates to the aquatic reptile's master of ambush. Similarly, the word 'thug' was used by Indian natives to describe organised robbers or assassins who were infamously known for their skill and stealth. Cashmere is commonly known as a luxurious wool in the West but has its origins from the Kashmir region where the wool is produced by Kashmir goats. It's also synonymous with the words 'shawl', originally from Persian before making its way to India via Urdu and Hindi, and 'patchouli' which both enter the English language in the 18th and 19th-century. Britain firmly established its rule over modern-day India by the mid-19th-century which gave way to some peculiar words (and subsequently cultural practices) penetrating the English language. For example, 'pyjamas', is derived from the Hindi word paijamap, meaning 'leg garment' -- the loose cotton or silk trousers worn by Indian men and women. By 1854, visitors to British India advised Europeans to wear pyjamas during afternoon naps. It wasn't until 1870 when pyjamas swiftly replaced the traditional nightdress for male sleeping attire in England and Europe. Veranda and bungalow are both unique to India and its climate. While common in India, especially with British and Portuguese settlers, these structures would never have been practical in Britain's cold climates. However, these Indian structural concepts were adopted in Britain as London began to expand throughout the 19th century. Although the East India Company first made contact with the Indian subcontinent in the early 17th Century, India was still a huge hub for trade and commerce before Britain made first contact with Indian natives. So much so that the Indo-Greek trade and business relationships between India and Portugal had promoted the use of Indian words in other European languages. Pepper, indigo and ginger were first used in Latin and Greek before entering into English vocabulary. Ginger can be traced back to Malayalam where the Greeks imported the plant. From there, it would travel across the Caribbean and to Africa -- providing a global presence for the word as early as the 15th century. It's fair to say that India's influence on British culture and the English language goes far beyond the culinary likes of curry and Indian fast food restaurants. After all, India's only been free from British rule since 1947 and English is still one of India's official languages. Some other popular words from India are **Hindi** Dharma Khaki Jungle Avatar --------------- ---------- ----------- -------------- --------- **Malayalam** Teak Popadum Coir Mango **Telugu** Mongoose Bandicoot Pitta Boy **Tamil** Pandal Clay Mulligatawny Culvert ### ### The Renaissance The English Renaissance saw thousands of Greek and Latin-based words enter the language. This occurred via the Italian Renaissance and was greatly helped by English poets, authors and playwrights, especially Elizabethan-era playwright William Shakespeare who wrote many plays centred in Italy including *Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Julius Caesar *and *Two Gentlemen of Verona.* These wordsmiths also made up and created many thousands of new words, leading to a debate known as the 'Inkhorn Controversy'. 'Inkhorn' was the term for an inkwell made out of a small horn and became a nickname for the new words being created by playwrights and poets. One advocate for inkhorn words was Thomas Elyot, a prolific writer during the English Renaissance. He was well studied in both Latin and Greek, and as such, was able to introduce many new concocted words into the English vocabulary. Those academics and scholars totally against inkhorn words included Thomas Wilson who was not only an academic and scholar but also as an author, diplomat, judge, privy councillor and Dean of Durham. He was against the flowery extravagant speech and inkhorns of the English Renaissance and advocated a simpler way of writing, using words derived from Old English rather than from Latin and Greek. ### OVERSEAS IMPORTS Elizabethan exploration, privateering and piracy was another source for English vocabulary. These came mainly from the Spanish and Portuguese, including many Caribbean and Native American words explorers from the nations had adopted, such as 'tobacco' and 'potato'. Stuart colonialism on the eastern shores of America saw a great number of words from Native Americans being adopted and entering the English language direct, including 'canoe', and 'hammock'. The Pilgrim Fathers and subsequent English settlements adopted even more. Britain's share in world trade saw a steady rise during the Tudor and Stuarts' exploration policies through to the Victorian Empire building. This increase in trade would see another wave of new words entering the English vocabulary from foreign climes, including words from the Netherlands such as- landscape; scone; booze; schooner; skipper; avast; knapsack; easel; sketch -- and a great deal more. The British Empire at its height encompassed one- quarter of the Earth's landmass and ruled over hundreds of millions of different peoples throughout the world. The English language evolved alongside this empire, with words being adopted into the vocabulary. Numerous words from India alone have become common in English today, such as- pyjamas; khaki; bungalow; jodhpurs; juggernaut; curry; chutney; shampoo and thug -- to name but a few. ### THE AMERICAN INFLUENCE American influence on English has been profound. American literature became more popular in England, as did films with the advent of the movies and Hollywood, along with songs, music and dance and many American programmes on television. The USA were also allies of Britain in two world wars and still use British-based USAF airfields. All these factors together with the age of the computer mean that even more Americanisms and phrases have been adopted into the English vocabulary. One example is the phrase 'stiff upper lip'. It's believed that this originated as the Americans saw the English aristocracy speaking with a strict 'standard English', which necessitated an immobile upper lip to pronounce it, no matter what the circumstances. Other examples of American-influenced phrases include no axe to grind; sitting on the fence; poker face; stake a claim -- and words such as: bedrock; smooch; raincoat; skyscraper; joyride; showdown; cocktail and cookie. The English language has never had an official standard. It has evolved through the centuries and adopted many thousands of words through overseas exploration, international trade, and the building of an empire. It has progressed from very humble beginnings as a dialect of Germanic settlers in the 5th century, to a global language in the 21st century. It is a rich language with tens of thousands more words in its vocabulary than any other language and as Maria Legg writes in her foreword to '*In a Manner of Speaking'*: "Indeed, a history of the language must necessarily be a history of its people too." **References** 1. Baugh A.C. & Cable T. A (1978), History of the English Language, Routledge, Francis& Taylor Group. 2. Papanis. Alexandros(1995), The Greek Thesaurus in English ,University of Nottingham Press. 3. Durkin P. (2014), Borrowed Words: A History of Loanwords in English. Oxford University Press 4. Richard Hogg (1992), The Cambridge History of the English Language, Cambridge University Press. 5. Pyles T. & Alego J. (1964), The Origins and Development of the English Language 1964, Wadsworth Cengage Learning. 6. Dean L.F. & Wilson K.G. (1963), Essays on Language and Usage, Oxford University Press. 7. Brook G. L. (1958), A History of the English, London, Little, Brown & Company. 8. Jespersen O. (1985) Growth and Structure of English Language, Basil Blackwell. 9. Rastorgueva H. (1993), A History of the English Language, Moscow University Press. 10. Myers L.M. (1966), The Roots of Modern English, Boston, Little Brown & Company. 11. Stepanyan.E. A Survey on Loanwords and Borrowings and Their Role in the Reflection of Cultural Values and Democracy Development: the Armenian Paradigm, European Journal of Marketing and Economics May-August 2018 Volume 1, Issue 2, Pg77-86. 12. [Williams, Joseph M](https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Williams%2C+Joseph+M%22).(1975), Origins of English Language, A Social and Linguistic History. Free press. 13. Cf. Charles Barber, Joan.C. Beal, Philip.A.Shaw (2009), *The English Language: a historical introduction*, Cambridge University Press. 14. David Burnley in: Norman Blake (1992), The Cambridge History of the English Language. volume 2, Cambridge University Press, p.427. **The Monkey's Paw** **Text for (root words, antonyms-synonyms, One word, Idioms, homophones, pronunciation)** "Be careful what you wish for, you may receive it." -- Anonymous PART ONE Outside, the night was cold and wet, but in the small living room the curtains were closed and the fire burned brightly. Father and son were playing chess; the father, whose ideas about the game involved some very unusual moves, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary danger that it even brought comment from the white-haired old lady knitting quietly by the fire. "Listen to the wind," said Mr. White who, having seen a mistake that could cost him the game after it was too late, was trying to stop his son from seeing it. "I'm listening," said the son, seriously studying the board as he stretched out his hand. "Check." "I should hardly think that he'll come tonight," said his father, with his hand held in the air over the board. "Mate," replied the son. "That's the worst of living so far out," cried Mr. White with sudden and unexpected violence; "Of all the awful out of the way places to live in, this is the worst. Can't walk on the footpath without getting stuck in the mud, and the road's a river. I don't know what the people are thinking about. I suppose they think it doesn't matter because only two houses in the road have people in them." "Never mind, dear," said his wife calmly; "perhaps you'll win the next one." Mr. White looked up sharply, just in time to see a knowing look between mother and son. The words died away on his lips, and he hid a guilty smile in his thin grey beard. "There he is," said Herbert White as the gate banged shut loudly and heavy footsteps came toward the door. The old man rose quickly and opening the door, was heard telling the new arrival how sorry he was for his recent loss. The new arrival talked about his sadness, so that Mrs. White said, "Tut, tut!" and coughed gently as her husband entered the room followed by a tall, heavy built, strong-looking man, whose skin had the healthy reddish colour associated with outdoor life and whose eyes showed that he could be a dangerous enemy. "Sergeant-Major Morris," he said, introducing him to his wife and his son, Herbert. The Sergeant-Major shook hands and, taking the offered seat by the fire, watched with satisfaction as Mr. White got out whiskey and glasses. After the third glass his eyes got brighter and he began to talk. The little family circle listened with growing interest to this visitor from distant parts, as he squared his broad shoulders in the chair and spoke of wild scenes and brave acts; of wars and strange peoples. "Twenty-one years of it," said Mr. White, looking at his wife and son. "When he went away he was a thin young man. Now look at him." "He doesn't look to have taken much harm." said Mrs. White politely. "I'd like to go to India myself," said the old man, just to look around a bit, you know." "Better where you are," said the Sergeant-Major, shaking his head. He put down the empty glass and sighing softly, shook it again. "I should like to see those old temples and fakirs and the street entertainers," said the old man. "What was that that you started telling me the other day about a monkey's paw or something, Morris?" "Nothing." said the soldier quickly. "At least, nothing worth hearing." "Monkey's paw?" said Mrs. White curiously. "Well, it's just a bit of what you might call magic, perhaps," said the Sergeant-Major, without first stopping to think. His three listeners leaned forward excitedly. Deep in thought, the visitor put his empty glass to his lips and then set it down again. Mr. White filled it for him again. "To look at it," said the Sergeant-Major, feeling about in his pocket, "it's just an ordinary little paw, dried to a mummy." He took something out of his pocket and held it out for them. Mrs. White drew back with a look of disgust, but her son, taking it, examined it curiously. "And what is there special about it?" asked Mr. White as he took it from his son, and having examined it, placed it upon the table. "It had a spell put on it by an old fakir," said the Sergeant-Major, "a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who tried to change it would be sorry. He put a spell on it so that three different men could each have three wishes from it." The way he told the story showed that he truly believed it and his listeners became aware that their light laughter was out of place and had hurt him a little. "Well, why don't you have three, sir?" said Herbert, cleverly. The soldier looked at him the way that the middle aged usually look at disrespectful youth. "I have," he said quietly, and his face whitened. "And did you really have the three wishes granted?" asked Mrs. White. "I did," said the Sergeant-Major, and his glass tapped against his strong teeth. "And has anybody else wished?" continued the old lady. "The first man had his three wishes. Yes," was the reply, "I don't know what the first two were, but the third was for death. That's how I got the paw." His voice was so serious that the group fell quiet. "If you've had your three wishes it's no good to you now then Morris," said the old man at last. "What do you keep it for?" The soldier shook his head. "Fancy I suppose," he said slowly. "I did have some idea of selling it, but I don't think I will. It has caused me enough trouble already. Besides, people won't buy. They think it's just a story, some of them; and those who do think anything of it want to try it first and pay me afterward." "If you could have another three wishes," said the old man, watching him carefully, "would you have them?" "I don't know," said the other. "I don't know." He took the paw, and holding it between his front finger and thumb, suddenly threw it upon the fire. Mr. White, with a slight cry, quickly bent down and took it off. "Better let it burn," said the soldier sadly, but in a way that let them know he believed it to be true. "If you don't want it Morris," said the other, "give it to me." "I won't." said his friend with stubborn determination. "I threw it on the fire. If you keep it, don't hold me responsible for what happens. Throw it on the fire like a sensible man." The other shook his head and examined his possession closely. "How do you do it?" he asked. "Hold it up in your right hand, and state your wish out loud so that you can be heard," said the Sergeant-Major, "But I warn you of what might happen." "Sounds like the 'Arabian Nights'", said Mrs. White, as she rose and began to set the dinner. "Don't you think you might wish for four pairs of hands for me." Her husband drew the talisman from his pocket, and all three laughed loudly as the Sergeant-Major, with a look of alarm on his face, caught him by the arm. "If you must wish," he demanded, "Wish for something sensible." Mr. White dropped it back in his pocket, and placing chairs, motioned his friend to the table. In the business of dinner the talisman was partly forgotten, and afterward the three sat fascinated as the listened to more of the soldier's adventures in India. "If the tale about the monkey's paw is not more truthful than those he has been telling us," said Herbert, as the door closed behind their guest, just in time to catch the last train, "we shan't make much out of it." "Did you give anything for it, father?" asked Mrs. White, watching her husband closely. "A little," said he, colouring slightly, "He didn't want it, but I made him take it. And he pressed me again to throw it away." "Not likely!" said Herbert, with pretended horror. "Why, we're going to be rich, and famous, and happy." Smiling, he said, "Wish to be a king, father, to begin with; then mother can't complain all the time." He ran quickly around the table, chased by the laughing Mrs White armed with a piece of cloth. Mr. White took the paw from his pocket and eyed it doubtfully. "I don't know what to wish for, and that's a fact," he said slowly. "It seems to me I've got all I want." "If you only paid off the house, you'd be quite happy, wouldn't you!" said Herbert, with his hand on his shoulder. "Well, wish for two hundred pounds, then; that'll just do it." His father, smiling and with an embarrassed look for his foolishness in believing the soldier's story, held up the talisman. Herbert, with a serious face, spoiled only by a quick smile to his mother, sat down at the piano and struck a few grand chords. "I wish for two hundred pounds," said the old man clearly. A fine crash from the piano greeted his words, broken by a frightened cry from the old man. His wife and son ran toward him. "It moved," he cried, with a look of horror at the object as it lay on the floor. "As I wished, it twisted in my hand like a snake." "Well, I don't see the money," said his son, as he picked it up and placed it on the table, "and I bet I never shall." "It must have been your imagination, father," said his wife, regarding him worriedly. He shook his head. "Never mind, though; there's no harm done, but it gave me a shock all the same." They sat down by the fire again while the two men finished their pipes. Outside, the wind was higher than ever, and the old man jumped nervously at the sound of a door banging upstairs. An unusual and depressing silence settled on all three, which lasted until the old couple got up to to go to bed. "I expect you'll find the cash tied up in a big bag in the middle of your bed," said Herbert, as he wished them goodnight, "and something horrible sitting on top of your wardrobe watching you as you pocket your ill-gotten money. Herbert, who normally had a playful nature and didn't like to take things too seriously, sat alone in the darkness looking into the dying fire. He saw faces in it; the last so horrible and so monkey-like that he stared at it in amazement. It became so clear that, with a nervous laugh, he felt on the table for a glass containing some water to throw over it. His hand found the monkey's paw, and with a little shake of his body he wiped his hand on his coat and went up to bed. PART TWO In the brightness of the wintry sun next morning as it streamed over the breakfast table he laughed at his fears. The room felt as it always had and there was an air of health and happiness which was not there the previous night. The dirty, dried-up little paw was thrown on the cabinet with a carelessness which indicated no great belief in what good it could do. "I suppose all old soldiers are the same," said Mrs. White. "The idea of our listening to such nonsense! How could wishes be granted in these days? And if they could, how could two hundred pounds hurt you, father?" "Might drop on his head from the sky," said Herbert. "Morris said the things happened so naturally," said his father, "that you might if you so wished not see the relationship." "Well don't break into the money before I come back," said Herbert as he rose from the table to go to work. "I'm afraid it'll turn you into a mean, greedy old man, and we shall have to tell everyone that we don't know you." His mother laughed, and following him to the door, watched him go down the road, and returning to the breakfast table, she felt very happy at the expense of her husband's readiness to believe such stories. All of which did not prevent her from hurrying to the door at the postman's knock nor, when she found that the post brought only a bill, talking about how Sergeant-Majors can develop bad drinking habits after they leave the army. "Herbert will have some more of his funny remarks, I expect, when he comes home," she said as they sat at dinner. "I know," said Mr. White, pouring himself out some beer; "but for all that, the thing moved in my hand; that I'll swear to." "You thought it did," said the old lady, trying to calm him. "I say it did," replied the other. "There was no thought about it; I had just -- What's the matter?" His wife made no reply. She was watching the mysterious movements of a man outside, who, looking in an undecided fashion at the house, appeared to be trying to make up his mind to enter. In mental connection with the two hundred pounds, she noticed that the stranger was well dressed, and wore a silk hat of shiny newness. Three times he stopped briefly at the gate, and then walked on again. The fourth time he stood with his hand upon it, and then with sudden firmness of mind pushed it open and walked up the path. Mrs White at the same moment placed her hands behind her, hurriedly untied the strings of her apron, and put it under the cushion of her chair. She brought the stranger, who seemed a little uncomfortable, into the room. He looked at her in a way that said there was something about his purpose that he wanted to keep secret, and seemed to be thinking of something else as the old lady said she was sorry for the appearance of the room and her husband's coat, which he usually wore in the garden. She then waited as patiently as her sex would permit for him to state his business, but he was at first strangely silent. "I -- was asked to call," he said at last, and bent down and picked a piece of cotton from his trousers. "I come from 'Maw and Meggins.' " The old lady jumped suddenly, as in alarm. "Is anything the matter?" she asked breathlessly. "Has anything happened to Herbert? What is it? What is it?" Her husband spoke before he could answer. "There there mother," he said hurriedly. "Sit down, and don't jump to a conclusion. You've not brought bad news, I'm sure sir," and eyed the other, expecting that it was bad news but hoping he was wrong. "I'm sorry -- " began the visitor. "Is he hurt?" demanded the mother wildly. The visitor lowered and raised his head once in agreement."Badly hurt," he said quietly, "but he is not in any pain." "Oh thank God!" said the old woman, pressing her hands together tightly. "Thank God for that! Thank -- " She broke off as the tragic meaning of the part about him not being in pain came to her. The man had turned his head slightly so as not to look directly at her, but she saw the awful truth in his face. She caught her breath, and turning to her husband, who did not yet understand the man's meaning, laid her shaking hand on his. There was a long silence. "He was caught in the machinery," said the visitor at length in a low voice. "Caught in the machinery," repeated Mr. White, too shocked to think clearly, "yes." He sat staring out the window, and taking his wife's hand between his own, pressed it as he used to do when he was trying to win her love in the time before they were married, nearly forty years before. "He was the only one left to us," he said, turning gently to the visitor. "It is hard." The other coughed, and rising, walked slowly to the window. "The firm wishes me to pass on their great sadness about your loss," he said, without looking round. "I ask that you to please understand that I am only their servant and simply doing what they told me to do." There was no reply; the old woman's face was white, her eyes staring, and her breath unheard; on the husband's face was a look such as his friend the Sergeant-Major might have carried into his first battle. "I was to say that Maw and Meggins accept no responsibility," continued the other. "But, although they don't believe that they have a legal requirement to make a payment to you for your loss, in view of your son's services they wish to present you with a certain sum." Mr. White dropped his wife's hand, and rising to his feet, stared with a look of horror at his visitor. His dry lips shaped the words, "How much?" "Two hundred pounds," was the answer. Without hearing his wife's scream, the old man smiled weakly, put out his hands like a blind man, and fell, a senseless mass, to the floor. PART THREE In the huge new cemetery, some two miles away, the old people buried their dead, and came back to the house which was now full of shadows and silence. It was all over so quickly that at first they could hardly realize it, and remained in a state of waiting for something else to happen -- something else which was to lighten this load, too heavy for old hearts to bear. But the days passed, and they realized that they had to accept the situation -- the hopeless acceptance of the old. Sometimes they hardly said a word to each other, for now they had nothing to talk about, and their days were long to tiredness. It was about a week after that the old man, waking suddenly in the night, stretched out his hand and found himself alone. The room was in darkness, and he could hear the sound of his wife crying quietly at the window. He raised himself in bed and listened. "Come back," he said tenderly. "You will be cold." "It is colder for my son," said the old woman, who began crying again. The sounds of crying died away on his ears. The bed was warm, and his eyes heavy with sleep. He slept lightly at first, and then was fully asleep until a sudden wild cry from his wife woke him with a start. "THE PAW!" she cried wildly. "THE MONKEY'S PAW!" He started up in alarm. "Where? Where is it? What's the matter?" She almost fell as she came hurried across the room toward him. "I want it," she said quietly. "You've not destroyed it?" "It's in the living room, on the shelf above the fireplace," he replied. "Why?" She cried and laughed together, and bending over, kissed his cheek. "I only just thought of it," she said. "Why didn't I think of it before? Why didn't you think of it?" "Think of what?" he questioned. "The other two wishes," she replied quickly. "We've only had one." "Was not that enough?" he demanded angrily. "No," she cried excitedly; "We'll have one more. Go down and get it quickly, and wish our boy alive again." The man sat up in bed and threw the blankets from his shaking legs. "Good God, you are mad!" he cried, struck with horror. "Get it," she said, breathing quickly; "get it quickly, and wish -- Oh my boy, my boy!" Her husband struck a match and lit the candle. "Get back to bed he said," his voice shaking. "You don't know what you are saying." "We had the first wish granted," said the old woman, desperately; "why not the second?" "A c-c-coincidence," said the old man. "Go get it and wish," cried his wife, shaking with excitement. The old man turned and looked at her, and his voice shook. "He has been dead ten days, and besides he -- I would not tell you before, but -- I could only recognize him by his clothing. If he was too terrible for you to see then, how now?" "Bring him back," cried the old woman, and pulled him towards the door. "Do you think I fear the child I have nursed?" He went down in the darkness, and felt his way to the living room, and then to the fireplace. The talisman was in its place on the shelf, and then a horrible fear came over him that the unspoken wish might bring the broken body of his son before him before he could escape from the room. He caught his breath as he found that he had lost the direction of the door. His forehead cold with sweat, he felt his way round the table and along the walls until he found himself at the bottom of the stairs with the evil thing in his hand. Even his wife's face seemed changed as he entered the room. It was white and expectant, and to his fears seemed to have an unnatural look upon it. He was afraid of her. "WISH!" she cried in a strong voice. "It is foolish and wicked," he said weakly. "WISH!" repeated his wife. He raised his hand. "I wish my son alive again." The talisman fell to the floor, and he looked at it fearfully. Then he sank into a chair and the old woman, with burning eyes, walked to the window and opened the curtains. He sat until he could no longer bear the cold, looking up from time to time at the figure of his wife staring through the window. The candle, which had almost burned to the bottom, was throwing moving shadows around the room. When the candle finally went out, the old man, with an unspeakable sense of relief at the failure of the talisman, went slowly back back to his bed, and a minute afterward the old woman came silently and lay without movement beside him. Neither spoke, but lay silently listening to the ticking of the clock. They heard nothing else other than the normal night sounds. The darkness was depressing, and after lying for some time building up his courage, the husband took the box of matches, and lighting one, went downstairs for another candle. At the foot of the stairs the match went out, and he stopped to light another; and at the same moment a knock sounded on the front door. It was so quiet that it could only be heard downstairs, as if the one knocking wanted to keep their coming a secret. The matches fell from his hand. He stood motionless, not even breathing, until the knock was repeated. Then he turned and ran quickly back to his room, and closed the door behind him. A third knock sounded through the house. "WHAT'S THAT?" cried the old woman, sitting up quickly. "A rat," said the old man shakily -- "a rat. It passed me on the stairs." His wife sat up in bed listening. A loud knock echoed through the house. "It's Herbert!" she screamed. "It's Herbert!" She ran to the door, but her husband was there before her, and catching her by the arm, held her tightly. "What are you going to do?" he asked in a low, scared voice. "It's my boy; it's Herbert!" she cried, struggling automatically. "I forgot it was two miles away. What are you holding me for? Let go. I must open the door." "For God's sake don't let it in," cried the old man, shaking with fear. "You're afraid of your own son," she cried struggling. "Let me go. I'm coming, Herbert; I'm coming." There was another knock, and another. The old woman with a sudden pull broke free and ran from the room. Her husband followed to the top of the stairs, and called after her as she hurried down. He heard the chain pulled back and the bottom lock open. Then the old woman's voice, desperate and breathing heavily. "The top lock," she cried loudly. "Come down. I can't reach it." But her husband was on his hands and knees feeling around wildly on the floor in search of the paw. If only he could find it before the thing outside got in. The knocks came very quickly now echoing through the house, and he heard the noise of his wife moving a chair and putting it down against the door. He heard the movement of the lock as she began to open it, and at the same moment he found the monkey's paw, and frantically breathed his third and last wish. The knocking stopped suddenly, although the echoes of it were still in the house. He heard the chair pulled back, and the door opened. A cold wind blew up the staircase, and a long loud cry of disappointment and pain from his wife gave him the courage to run down to her side, and then to the gate. The streetlight opposite shone on a quiet and deserted road. ***The Monkey's Paw*** **Inferences** **1. "*Outside, the night was cold and wet, but in the small living room the curtains were closed and the fire burned brightly." -* The Narrator** This first line of the story sets up several things right away. In particular, it shows the symbols of darkness and light and the theme of happiness at home. All through the story, these problems keep coming up. In this first sentence, the clear differences between them set the stage for the conflict that will follow. **2**. ***"Never mind, dear.... Perhaps you'll win the next one." -* Mrs. White** Mrs. White says this to Mr. White after he loses a chess game with their son, Herbert White, due to his own mistake. At face value, she is trying to calm and reassure her spouse. Emotionally, the \"knowing glance\" she gives her kid reveals that she is acting the role of a supportive wife and is aware that her reassurance is, in part, fictitious. This observation is a tragically ironic premonition on the symbolic and structural levels. Her spouse will probably lose even more spectacularly at the monkey\'s paw than he did at chess with his son. **3. *"He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who tried to change it would be sorry." -* Sergeant- Major Morris** Here, Morris describes in detail why the fakir, a nomadic Hindu holy man, cast a spell on the monkey\'s paw. Even though he warns Mr. White that utilising the paw will result in grief, Mr. White disregards his warning. If fate controls people\'s lives, as the fakir claims, then Mr. White may be destined to use the paw, lose his kid, and endanger his own life. **4. *"Better where you are." -* Sergeant Major Morris** Morris responds to Mr. White\'s statement that he would like to visit India \"just to look around a little bit.\" This conversation between Mr. White and his guest encapsulates the two perspectives on the fantastic, exotic side of the globe. Mr. White appears to have spent his entire life in England, and specifically on the outskirts of a tiny town. He is anxious to hear tales of India and other exotic destinations, whereas Morris, who has actually visited India, prefers the peaceful, innocent domesticity of an English village. The themes of domestic bliss and the nature and limits of desire are also present in this text. **5. *"I don\'t know what the first two were, but the third was for death." -*Sergeant Major Morris** Repeatedly, Morris tells Mr. White that the paw is a bad idea. There is magic in this paw; it can grant wishes; however, the former owner\'s first two wishes had such disastrous outcomes that death seemed preferable. The fact that the Whites keep going, pushing themselves closer to adopting the paw, says a lot about human nature. They have enough faith in their guest\'s explanation that the paw is magical to ignore his dire warnings about the danger it poses. Stupidity at its finest. **6. *"As I wished, it twisted in my hand like a snake." -* Mr. White** This phrase conveys three important ideas that build upon one another. The paw is not simply dead and mummified as it first appears to be. It is in motion and essentially alive. Second, Mr. White\'s hand \"twisted\" the paw. Similar to how his wish for £200, which appeared good and innocent, will be turned into something dreadful by the magic of the paw. The two hundred pounds that the Whites longed for will come to them, but at the cost of their son\'s life. Third, snakes have a reputation for being unreliable and negative in English and European literature. This reminds me of the biblical account of Eve being tempted by the serpent to commit original sin in the Garden of Eden. The paw introduces a similar incentive to venture into the unknown into the Whites\' existence. **7. *"The idea of our listening to such nonsense! How could wishes be granted in these days?"*** **- Mrs. White** Here, Mrs. White captures the spirit of Part II\'s opening scenes. After a period of scientific and economic progress, England penned this tale in the early 20th century. In addition, this was the century of exploration, when British adventurers mapped out much of the world for the first time. Logic dictates that the paw should hold no sway. As it turns out, the opposite is true, as if the story were highlighting the limitations of our comprehension of the world. **8. *"I'm afraid it'll turn you into a mean, greedy old man, and we shall have to tell you everyone that we don't know you."* - Herbert White** This is one of several sentences in the story that contains heavy foreshadowing. Mr. White is not at all \"greedy,\" as evidenced by the fact that he needs prompting to make a wish for wealth at the story\'s outset. Saddened and devastated by the loss of his kid, he is nevertheless not the kind to deny his wife a second request, no matter how misguided it may be. Also, Mr. White isn\'t the one who has to be cut off from his family after making that request. After his death, Herbert\'s family disowns and rejects him due to his appearance change. **9. *"I wish my son alive again."*** **- Mr. White** Mr. White\'s first goal was for financial support, but he didn\'t consider the potential consequences (and how the money might arrive). It\'s reminiscent of Mr. White\'s \"fatal blunder\" and his inability to plan ahead during a chess game. Similarly naive is this phrase, which appears as simple as it is. Mr. White was the one who found his son\'s body and claimed him as his own. The garments he was wearing were the only reason he was able to do so. Despite this, he makes the wish for his son\'s revival as if it were an entirely positive thing. **10.** ***"The streetlight opposite shone on a quite and deserted road."*** **- The Narrator** At the beginning of the story, the storm had left the road deserted but made a spectacular amount of noise. It\'s silent now that nobody is there. Their safety is no longer in jeopardy, and the traumatic events of the past are in the past. At the beginning of the story, they were dismayed to see that the road was deserted, since they had been anticipating a warm welcome for Sergeant-Major Morris. Mr. White can now breathe a sigh of relief because the road is no longer crowded. Since there is no one there, they are safe from the weird creature that was once his kid. It\'s an empty victory, like the street, and it\'s cruel. A sense of relief persists, though. - **Glossary:** 1. [Aghast](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/aghast) - struck with fear, dread, or consternation 2. [Agitation](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/agitation) - a mental state of extreme emotional disturbance 3. Antimacassar - A cover that protects the back or arms of furniture 4. [Assent](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/assent) - agree or express agreement 5. [Avaricious](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/avaricious) - immoderately desirous of acquiring something 6. [Avert](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/avert) - turn away or aside 7. Bibulous -- fond of liquour 8. [Credulity](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/credulity) - tendency to believe readily 9. Doggedly -- Stubbornly 10. [Fakir](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/fakir) - a mendicant monk regarded as a holy man 11. [Falter](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/falter) - move hesitatingly, as if about to give way 12. [Fatal](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/fatal) - causing death, leading to failure or disaster 13. [Furtively](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/furtively) - in a secretive manner 14. [Fusillade](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/fusillade) - rapid simultaneous discharge of firearms, knocks in quick succession 15. Gratification -- a source of pleasure 16. [Grimace](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/grimace) - contort the face to indicate a certain mental state 17. [Grope](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/grope) - search blindly or uncertainly by feeling with the hands 18. Juggler - one who performs tricks or acts of magic or deftness, the quality of being skilful, clever, or quick 19. [Marred](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/marred) - blemished by injury or rough wear 20. [Mutilated](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/mutilated) - having a part of the body crippled or disabled 21. [Presumptuous](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/presumptuous) - going beyond what is appropriate, permitted, or courteous 22. [Pulsate](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/pulsate) - expand and contract rhythmically 23. [Reverberate](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/reverberate) - ring or echo with sound 24. Rubicund -- hale, healthy 25. Simian -- relating to or affecting apes or monkeys 26. [Sinister](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/sinister) - wicked, evil, or dishonorable 27. [Talisman](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/talisman) - a trinket thought to be a magical protection against evil 28. [Weary](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/weary) - physically and mentally fatigued 29. Without -- (archaic) outside, in the absence of 30. Wont -- apt to do something - **Synonyms - Antonyms:** +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | **Sr. No.** | **Word** | **Synonym** | **Antonym** | +=================+=================+=================+=================+ | 1. | Aghast | Appalled | Relief | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | 2. | Apathy | Indifference | Enthusiasm, | | | | | Passion | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | 3. | Assent | Compliance | Dissent | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | 4. | Avaricious | Greedy | Generous | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | 5. | Broach | Introduce | Ignore | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | 6. | Condole | Sympathize, | Indifference | | | | Pity | | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | 7. | Credulity | Gullibility | Suspicion | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | 8. | Doughty | Fearless | Cowardly | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | 9. | Fusillade | Barrage, | Lack, | | | | Bombardment | Inactivity | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | 10. | Maligned | Harmful | Beneficial | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | 11. | Marred | Blemish | Enhance | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | 12. | Presumptuous | Arrogant | Polite | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | 13. | Proffer | Submit | Withdraw | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | 14. | Reverberate | Resound, Echo | Quieten | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | 15. | Sinister | Ominous, Doomy | Auspicious | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ - **Figurative Language:** +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | **Sr. No.** | **Phrase** | **Figure of Speech** | +=======================+=======================+=======================+ | 1. | Wishes made using | Irony | | | Monkey's Paw | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 2. | how could two hundred | | | | pounds hurt you, | | | | father... might drop | | | | on his head from the | | | | sky | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 3. | We are all going to | | | | be rich, famous, and | | | | happy | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 4. | Caught in the | Euphemism | | | machinery | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 5. | The monkey's paw | Imagery | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 6. | The night was cold | | | | and wet | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 7. | The blinds were drawn | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 8. | The fire burned | | | | brightly | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 9. | *Path's a bog, and | | | | the road's a torrent* | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 10. | The words died away | Personification | | | on his lips | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 11. | China candlestick was | | | | throwing pulsating | | | | shadows | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 12. | A cold wind rushed up | | | | the staircase | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 13. | A guilty grin | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 14. | It twisted in my hand | Simile | | | like a snake | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 15. | Tut, Tut! | Onomatopoeia | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 16. | A stair creaked | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 17. | Sounds like the | Allusion | | | Arabian Nights | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 18. | *Path's a bog, and | *someone is worrisome | | | the road's a torrent | due to their own | | | (Idiom)* | disappointments | | | | (Meaning)* | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | 19. | To proffer (Idiom) | To offer to someone | | | | (Meaning) | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ **Monkey's Paw** 1. [Aghast](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/aghast) /əˈɡɑːst/ 2. [Agitation](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/agitation) /adʒɪˈteɪʃ(ə)n/ 3. Antimacassar /æn.tɪ.məˈkæs.ə/ 4. [Avaricious](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/avaricious) /a-və-ˈri-shəs/ 5. Bibulous /bɪbjʊləs/ 6. chords /kɔːd/ 7. [Credulity](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/credulity) /krɪˈdjuːlɪti/ 8. Doggedly /dɒɡɪdli/ 9. Embarrassed /ɪmˈbarəst, ɛmˈbarəst/ 10. Fascinate /fasɪneɪt/ 11. [Furtively](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/furtively) /fəːtɪvli/ 12. [Fusillade](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/fusillade) /fjuːzɪˈleɪd, ˌfjuːzɪˈlɑːd/ 13. Gratification /ɡratɪfɪˈkeɪʃn/ 14. [Grimace](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/grimace) /ɡrɪməs/, /ɡrɪˈmeɪs/ 15. Juggler /dʒʌɡlə/ 16. Malign /məˈlʌɪn/ 17. [Marred](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/marred) /mɑːd/ 18. [Mutilate](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/mutilated) /mjuːtɪleɪt 19. Possession /pəˈzɛʃ(ə)n/ 20. [Presumptuous](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/presumptuous) /prɪˈzʌm(p)tʃʊəs/ 21. [Pulsate](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/pulsate) /pʌlˈseɪt/ 22. [Reverberate](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/reverberate) /rɪˈvəːbəreɪt/ 23. Rubicund /ruːbɪk(ə)nd/ 24. [Talisman](https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/talisman) /talɪzmən/ 25. Simian /sɪmɪən/ 26. Squared /skwɛːd/ 27. Stubborn /stʌbən/ **Root Words (Monkey's Paw)** **Root** **Meaning** **Examples** ---------- --------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- Awe Feeling of respect fear or admiration Awesome, awful, awkward Deter to make somebody decide not to do something Determine, deterioration, deterrent Dict Say Verdict, contradict, dictate Dis Keeping things distant Distant, disappear, disrupt, dislocate Fore Near or before Forethought, Foretell, Foresight Hurr Making sound Hurry, hurricane, hurrah Myst Secret or strange Mystery, mystification, mystic Mal Bad or evil Malice, Malfunction, Maleficent Mort Death Mortgage, mortuary, mortal Omni All Omnivorous, omnipotent, omniscient Path Feel Empathy, pathetic, apathy Phobia Fear Claustrophobia, Agoraphobia, Phobic **The Necklace** **Text for (root words, antonyms-synonyms, One word, Idioms, homophones, pronunciation)** The Necklace BY Guy de Maupassant She was one of those pretty and charming girls born, as though fate had blundered over her, into a family of artisans. She had no marriage portion, no expectations, no means of getting known, understood, loved, and wedded by a man of wealth and distinction; and she let herself be married off to a little clerk in the Ministry of Education. Her tastes were simple because she had never been able to afford any other, but she was as unhappy as though she had married beneath her; for women have no caste or class, their beauty, grace, and charm serving them for birth or family, their natural delicacy, their instinctive elegance, their nimbleness of wit, are their only mark of rank, and put the slum girl on a level with the highest lady in the land. She suffered endlessly, feeling herself born for every delicacy and luxury. She suffered from the poorness of her house, from its mean walls, worn chairs, and ugly curtains. All these things, of which other women of her class would not even have been aware, tormented and insulted her. The sight of the little Breton girl who came to do the work in her little house aroused heart-broken regrets and hopeless dreams in her mind. She imagined silent antechambers, heavy with Oriental tapestries, lit by torches in lofty bronze sockets, with two tall footmen in knee-breeches sleeping in large arm-chairs, overcome by the heavy warmth of the stove. She imagined vast saloons hung with antique silks, exquisite pieces of furniture supporting priceless ornaments, and small, charming, perfumed rooms, created just for little parties of intimate friends, men who were famous and sought after, whose homage roused every other woman\'s envious longings. When she sat down for dinner at the round table covered with a three-days-old cloth, opposite her husband, who took the cover off the soup-tureen, exclaiming delightedly: \"Aha! Scotch broth! What could be better?\" she imagined delicate meals, gleaming silver, tapestries peopling the walls with folk of a past age and strange birds in faery forests; she imagined delicate food served in marvellous dishes, murmured gallantries, listened to with an inscrutable smile as one trifled with the rosy flesh of trout or wings of asparagus chicken. She had no clothes, no jewels, nothing. And these were the only things she loved; she felt that she was made for them. She had longed so eagerly to charm, to be desired, to be wildly attractive and sought after. She had a rich friend, an old school friend whom she refused to visit, because she suffered so keenly when she returned home. She would weep whole days, with grief, regret, despair, and misery. \* One evening her husband came home with an exultant air, holding a large envelope in his hand. \"Here\'s something for you,\" he said. Swiftly she tore the paper and drew out a printed card on which were these words: \"The Minister of Education and Madame Ramponneau request the pleasure of the company of Monsieur and Madame Loisel at the Ministry on the evening of Monday, January the 18th.\" Instead of being delighted, as her husband hoped, she flung the invitation petulantly across the table, murmuring: \"What do you want me to do with this?\" \"Why, darling, I thought you\'d be pleased. You never go out, and this is a great occasion. I had tremendous trouble to get it. Every one wants one; it\'s very select, and very few go to the clerks. You\'ll see all the really big people there.\" She looked at him out of furious eyes, and said impatiently: \"And what do you suppose I am to wear at such an affair?\" He had not thought about it; he stammered: \"Why, the dress you go to the theatre in. It looks very nice, to me...\" He stopped, stupefied and utterly at a loss when he saw that his wife was beginning to cry. Two large tears ran slowly down from the corners of her eyes towards the corners of her mouth. \"What\'s the matter with you? What\'s the matter with you?\" he faltered. But with a violent effort she overcame her grief and replied in a calm voice, wiping her wet cheeks: \"Nothing. Only I haven\'t a dress and so I can\'t go to this party. Give your invitation to some friend of yours whose wife will be turned out better than I shall.\" He was heart-broken. \"Look here, Mathilde,\" he persisted. \"What would be the cost of a suitable dress, which you could use on other occasions as well, something very simple?\" She thought for several seconds, reckoning up prices and also wondering for how large a sum she could ask without bringing upon herself an immediate refusal and an exclamation of horror from the careful-minded clerk. At last she replied with some hesitation: \"I don\'t know exactly, but I think I could do it on four hundred francs.\" He grew slightly pale, for this was exactly the amount he had been saving for a gun, intending to get a little shooting next summer on the plain of Nanterre with some friends who went la

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