Questões de Concurso

Why 'Run' Is The Most Complex Word in the English Language

BY EMILY PETSKO

English can be hard for other language speakers to learn. To use just one example, there are at least eight different ways of expressing events in the future, and conditional tenses are another matter entirely. For evidence of the many nuances and inconsistencies of the English tongue, look no further than this tricky poem penned in 1920. (For a sample: “Hiccough has the sound of cup. My advice is to give up!”)

As author Simon Winchester wrote for The New York Times, there’s one English word in particular that’s deceptively simple: run. As a verb, it boasts a record-setting 645 definitions. Peter Gilliver, a lexicographer and associate editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, spent nine months sussing out its many shades of meaning.

“You might think this word simply means ‘to go with quick steps on alternate feet, never having both or (in the case of many animals) all feet on the ground at the same time, ’” Winchester writes. “But no such luck: that is merely sense, and there are miles to go before the reader of this particular entry may sleep.”

This wasn’t always the case, though. When the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary was published in 1928, the word with the most definitions was set. However, the word put later outpaced it, and run eventually overtook them both as the English language's most complex word. Winchester thinks this evolution is partly due to advancements in technology (for instance, “a train runs on tracks” and “an iPad runs apps”).

He believes the widespread use of run—and its intricate web of meanings—is also a reflection of our times. “It is a feature of our more sort of energetic and frantic times that set and put seem, in a peculiar way, sort of rather stodgy, rather conservative, ” Gilliver told NPR in an interview.

So the next time you tell your boss you "want to run an idea" by them, know that you’re unconsciously expressing your enthusiasm— as well as all the other subtleties wrapped up in run that previous words like set failed to capture.

(Available in: http://mentalfloss.com/article/582820/run-most-complex-word-in-english-language. Accessed on May 17th,2019. Adapted.)

Assessing learners’ oral skills are considered as a crucial process in most EFL teaching and learning programs. However, it can be challenging for teachers to make a valid, reliable, and fair assessment. This study aimed to investigate Saudi college students’ and teachers’ point of views toward the effectiveness of oral assessment techniques used to assess learners speaking-skills in the EFL classroom. Two different questionnaires were administered to 12 EFL teachers and forty-two students’ who are majoring in English at the Languages and Translation College at King Saud University. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from respondents, treated statistically, analyzed and revealed in the following sections. The findings of the study revealed that EFL teachers are using a variety of communicative oral assessment techniques and are utilizing effective assessment procedures in assessing their students’ speaking skills. For students, the results revealed that students are generally satisfied with the assessment techniques and procedures that, teachers use in assessing their language performance. Recommendations and suggestions are offered for all concerned parties.

(Available in: http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/view/0/390 Accessed on May 16th,2019. Adapted.)