English Words ( I )

Nidhu Bhusan Das : We shall now talk on English words, two smallest English words both phonologically and orthographically are A and I. A is a n indefinite article while I is a personal pronoun. We use A before a common noun which has the initial consonant sound. Thus we say A man, A pencil, A dog etc. Also, if the initial sound is a mixed vowel (Diphthong) we use A instead of an as in A university, A one rupee note. A is also an attributive adjective as it describes or quantifies a noun. In case of a noun phrase, A may be used before an adjective having an initial consonant sound as in A good boy, A nice idea etc. A means One. I refers to the speaker when he/she speaks in the first person. I represents one person and its plural form is WE. In the paradigm of personal pronouns, I represents first person singular number. The next smallest words AT , IN , ON , OF , AS, WE etc. These are orthographic realizations ( written form ) and monosyllabic ( one Syllable ) words. In case of phonological realization ( sound ) there are monosyllabic words which are orthographically realized with the use of more than two letters as in THEY , PLAY , GAY , SAY , PAY , THESE , THIS , THOUGHT , THINK , RIGHT , WRITE , FIND , SCHOOL , POND , TANK , SHIP , and so on. Then we have the disyllabic ( two syllables ) words like SHEPHERD, WOMAN , PAPER , MADAM , STUDENT , MANGO , BAMBOO , etc. Next are the polysyllabic (many syllables) words like WONDERFUL , BENEFICIAL, TELEPATHY, etc. When we look at written or printed form of words , we see their image formed of letters. When we hear them spoken, we get the sound image of the words. When we measure their lengths we may consider the space they occupy on a page or the air time they take to be uttered. In case of poetry, the oral and aural aspects are taken into account for measurement.