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Communication: Written English | 249

5. Sometimes two words merge to form a new vocabulary item.
e.g., breakfast + lunch = brunch
teleprinter + exchange = telex
Such procedures help us understand our learners addicted to the SMS lingo!
Any good grammar book, such as the ones listed in the Bibliography, would
give you more examples. So look up these books to make your written com-
munication smarter. Table 10.4 gives a list of useful prefixes

Table 10.4 Some Useful Prefixes

ambi – both trans – across
ante – before intra – inside
anti – against inter – among
contra – against in – not
post – after

Synonyms
For your immediate reference though, make it a habit to consult Roget’s
Thesaurus often. This volume gives you synonyms that are listed as per a
concept. Moreover, Roget also provides derivation-based variants of his
synonyms. Incidentally, MS-Word-based or ‘compu’ dictionaries (known as
digital dictionaries) is yet another source to locate the exact word. If your
learners are computer savvy, do insist on their using such a technological
tool so that they write the exact word precisely, without any bombast.
Synonyms indeed help our written communication. They show our con-
trol over subtlety of expression because very few languages has two exactly
similar words. So if we know a lot of synonyms, we can choose the right one
to indicate precisely our meaning as well as our prejudices/opinions.
‘
e.g., It is a thin volume’ and ‘it is a slim volume’ indicate two different
attitudes to the volume. ‘Thin’ indicates distaste, while its synonym
‘slim’ is more positive in implication.
Do use synonyms intelligently. That will add poise and grace to your
precise writing. But do not indulge in malapropism in the process, please.
Malapropism refers to misusing big-sounding words. For example, saying
‘destruct’ instead of ‘deduct’ is malapropism. Please avoid such usage.

Antonyms
The table entitled ‘Some Useful Prefixes’ listed some prefixes. Now look at
the following two words:
Sym + pathy
Anti + pathy

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