![[B-A] Formal and Academic English II](https://images.ctfassets.net/r30ratzbtbbf/3GLwTxHF8aWOeA3dWx9DXL/23fda2338e409f40bf607ab88e38c043/Formal_and_Academic_English_II.png)
LET'S READ! 📖
Direction: Read the passage below then answer the questions being asked.
The origins of human language present something of a mystery. On the one hand, evidence suggests that behaviors such as the habit of walking on two legs, the manufacture of stone tools and the use of fire of for the cooking of meat originated millions of years ago. However, the characteristic that most clearly sets humans apart from animals, language, may have much more recent origins. There is fossil evidence to suggest that the mouths and throats of early humans were physically incapable of speech in the modern sense until perhaps as little as 70,000 years ago. One of the most interesting possibilities is that language pre-dates speech, perhaps by millions of years. The brain and hands may have been used to communicate long before the development of spoken language, a process that may date back to the time humans started walking on two legs. As modern sign languages demonstrate, it is perfectly possible for a non-spoken language to have a rich grammar and vocabulary. In fact, modern sign languages may offer an explanation for another mystery of language. Use the deeply fundamental distinction between nouns and verbs, stored in separate parts of the brain. In sign languages, nouns tend to be communicated by forming shapes from the hands; verbs tend to involve hand movements. Perhaps the first sentences involved a shape meaning monkey and another meaning tree, followed by a movement meaning climb.
QUESTIONS:
1. What are some examples of behaviors that originated millions of years ago according to the passage?
2. How do sign languages offer an explanation for a mystery of language mentioned in the passage?
LET'S UNDERSTAND! 📚
Formal and Academic English
Impersonal subjects
- are words such as "it" and "there" used as the subject of a clause involving weather, distance, or time. We often avoid personal subjects in academic English.
-
The brain and hands may have been used to communicate..
Example:
Passive voice
- it and there as dummy subjects
-
It is believed that...., There is evidence to suggest that....
Example:
- verbs that can be used with or without human subjects
-
Language developed from simpler forms of communication.
Example:
- converting verbs into nouns
-
This behaviour originated millions of years ago.
Example:
- other abstract nouns as subjects
-
Modern sign languages demonstrate that....
Example:
- to - clauses
-
It is important to understand that...
Example:
- We often use As to introduce an opinion that we agree with,
-
As modern sign languages demonstrate, it is perfectly possible for....
Example:
Punctuation
- Use colons ( : ) to introduce an explanation or an example.
-
another mystery of language: the distinction between....
Example:
- We often use semi-colons ( ; ) instead of linking words such as while/ whereas to show the relationship between two separate ideas.
-
nouns tend to be communicated by forming shapes from the hands; verbs tend to involve hand movements....
Example:
- We often use colons to introduce a list and semi-colons to separate the items in a list, especially when the items are long or complex.
-
There are three main ways of communicating: we may communicate using spoken language; we may write our message; or we may use hand signals and other visual clues.
Example:
- In general, avoid contractions ( e.g. it's or we're ) in formal English.
Vocabulary
- Academic English uses verbs like believe, argue, claim and suggest, rather than think. We often use longer or more complicated words in formal English than in neutral and informal English.
| Neutral / informal | formal |
|---|---|
| help | assist |
| can / can't | be (un)able to |
| ask about | enquire about |
| tell | inform |
| a lot of | a great deal of |
| about / on | concerning / regarding |
| much more | considerably more |
| very | extremely / most |
| because of | due to |
| more / extra | further / additional |
| a few | several |
| ( not ) enough | ( in ) sufficient |
| have | possess |
| give | provide with |
| get | receive / obtain |
LET'S PRACTICE! 📝
Direction Rewrite the sentences, adding the information in brackets.
Example:
1. There is a need
( The need is desperately urgent. The need has existed for several years. Respected experts need to provide answers to the question. The question is hugely important. The question is whether this is good for society )
There is a desperately urgent need, which has existed for serveral years, for respected experts to provide the answers to the hugely important question of whether this is good for society.
- The decision was unpopular with experts.
(They decided to stop the experiments. The decision was taken last week. It was hugely unpopular. The experts were internationally respected. They were experts in chemistry)
- The failure caused disgreement.
( The operation failed. It failed as a result of insufficient time. Scientists disagreed among themselves. They disagreed deepply.