Inventing New Words - a Pun can be Fun

Hi FrankU,
Thanks for your input. Using a pun can be fun.
Yes, a Pun a day keeps the Doctor away
because humour is good medicine.
As we know laughing releases happy hormones
into our body?s operating system and destroys
all the viruses and foreign bodies.

The dictionary defines PUN as follows:
… the use of words to exploit ambiguities and innuendos
for humourous effect; a play on words.

Does everybody know what an “ambiguity” is, or an “innuendo” ?

I think it will be useful to explain because these words come up often
enough in the English Language at the appropriate times.
To begin with, I would advise all my students to find the opposite meaning
to every new word that they encounter.

Lets take it in steps.

  1. Find first of all the meaning in the English Dictionary.
  2. Sum it all up in one word again. A word you know already.
  3. Check out the Latin meanings. This is given in the dictionary.
  4. Break the word down into parts - Prefix, Suffix, Root word(s).
  5. Now look at other words in the dictionary next to your new word
    with similar prefixes, suffixes and root words. You will learn about
    four or five words in one hit because they all have a similar meaning
    but in other expressions.
  6. Use some form of association to remember the word.
  7. Go to your Thesaurus and look up the same new word and you will
    see similar words (synonyms) to help you understand.
    Write them down. Look at each meaning to see the root similarity.
  8. Go to your Thesaurus and find the opposite meaning (antonym).
    Just look at the same place and the antonym should come after
    the synonyms.
  9. Is there a direct opposite here or only a prefix word like ex- or un-.
  10. Now consider the relation of the pole opposites (synonym/antonym).
  11. Check out the Latin meaning of the opposite word (antonym).
  12. Find a way to remember this word through association. Write a
    personal sentence to help do this. The funnier the better.
  13. Now you can create your own words out of prefixes, suffixes and root words
    in Latin,Greek etc. and Patent Register them.

Isn?t that a good idea? This kind of activity goes on all the time in the
Advertising and Marketing industry. A good example of this is the oil company
called Exxon. This word never existed before. Now it does and it has a patent.
Now see what fun it can be to learn English, Latin, Greek and other interesting languages.
I find Sanskrit also very interesting because it is the root of our Indo-European languages.
I think the Hebrew is also an extention of Sanskrit.
I?m not an expert but I have read enough to see the connection.

So now to our new words. Lets follow the steps.

AMBIGUOUS

    • having more than one possible interpretation.
  • difficult to understand.
  1. Complex. Complicated.
  2. Ambiguus = to go here & there.
    Ambigere = to go around. (to beat about the bush, indirect)
  3. Ambi = round, on both sides. Ambo = both.
  4. Ambidextrous, ambience, ambit, ambition, ambivalence.
    These words have a similar meaning all to do with getting around
    being able to do more than one thing, complexity, opposites in co-
    -existence and more than one possibility and surroundings.
  5. Play on words = I am bi. I am bi-lingual. Both/Double/two etc.
    Ambi-lingual … speaking more than one language ???
    How about that? Is that a new word?
  6. Thesaurus synonyms - (similar) double-meaning, equivocal,
    multivocal, double-edged,back-handed, cryptic, enigmatic, puzzling,
    confusing, obscure, unclear, vague, indefinite, woolly, confused,
    dubious, doubtful, uncertain, inconclusive, indeterminate.
  7. Thesaurus antonyms (opposites) Clear, Definite, Direct, Plain, Lucid.
  8. Many direct opposites here without using prefix (ie. un- ex-).
  9. Relations of opposites. Complex & Simple? Doubtful & Trustworthy?
  10. Latin for (antonym) Clear = cl?rus
  11. Ambiguous - ambi - guess. It?s not clear so you have to guess.
  12. New word to patent : Ambi-lingual.

This method I use myself (my idea too) and in doing so discovered lots of Latin
and many new words related. It?s sounds like a big effort when you read the listing
like this but you will find it becomes quite natural.
If you study the words for a while (about twenty minutes) you will surprised how much
you learn in such a short time with a good grounding in the material.
Your vocabulary will expand very rapidly and you will become an eloquent conversationalist.
When I was about fifteen to eighteen years old I took an interest in English Vocabulary to
improve myself and my conversation skills. There is a wonderful book I bought at that time
called Hartrampfs Vocabulary Builder. You?ll probably find in Amazon somewhere.
Ok FrankU and everybody I hope that has helped you bit.
I tend to write alot and hope it?s not too much to read.

Anybody like to do the word “innuendo”. I?ll do it next time.
Just watch this space. Bruce.

Hi Bruce,

It just occurred to me that your ideas on how to learn new words are very useful. There is a lot of information in your message and that’s why I’ve decided to refer to it again.
Yes, you are right — it is often better to read an explanation or definition of a new word or find the opposite instead of translating it into your mother tongue. As you know from your experiences there are many words and combinations that don’t have a direct translation. A good example is the German term «Feierabend». And as you rightly stated in an earlier conversation — this word reflects the German mentality…[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, photographs: A photographer[YSaerTTEW443543]

I think that your idea is very useful