Monday, August 10, 2009

World's Number One Orator, Winston Churchill



Born 30 November 1874 (1874-11-30 BlenHeim, Oxfordshire,England, United Kingdom
Died 24 January 1965 (aged 90) Hyde Park, London, England, United Kingdom
Resting place St Martin’s Church, Bladon, EnglandNationality British
Political party Conservative (1900–1904, 1924–1964) Liberal (1904–1924)
Spouse(s) Clementine Churchill
Relations Pamela Harriman, daughter-in-law
Children Pamela HarrimanRandolph Churchill
Sarah Tuchet-Jesson
Marigold Churchill
Mary Soames
Residence 10 Downing Street (official) Chartwell (private)
Alma mater Harrow School, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Profession Member of Parliament, statesman, soldier, journalist, historian, author, painter

The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965), the son of Lord Randolph Churchill and an American mother, was educated at Harrow and Sandhurst. After a brief but eventful career in the army, he became a Conservative Member of Parliament in 1900. He held many high posts in Liberal and Conservative governments during the first three decades of the century. At the outbreak of the Second World War, he was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty - a post which he had earlier held from 1911 to 1915. In May, 1940, he became Prime Minister and Minister of Defence and remained in office until 1945. He took over the premiership again in the Conservative victory of 1951 and resigned in 1955. However, he remained a Member of Parliament until the general election of 1964, when he did not seek re-election. Queen Elizabeth II conferred on Churchill the dignity of Knighthood and invested him with the insignia of the Order of the Garter in 1953. Among the other countless honours and decorations he received, special mention should be made of the honorary citizenship of the United States which President Kennedy conferred on him in 1963.Churchill's literary career began with campaign reports: The Story of the Malakand Field Force (1898) and The River War (1899), an account of the campaign in the Sudan and the Battle of Omdurman. In 1900, he published his only novel, Savrola, and, six years later, his first major work, the biography of his father, Lord Randolph Churchill. His other famous biography, the life of his great ancestor, the Duke of Marlborough, was published in four volumes between 1933 and 1938. Churchill's history of the First World War appeared in four volumes under the title of The World Crisis (1923-29); his memoirs of the Second World War ran to six volumes (1948-1953/54). After his retirement from office, Churchill wrote a History of the English-speaking Peoples (4 vols., 1956-58). His magnificent oratory survives in a dozen volumes of speeches, among them The Unrelenting Struggle (1942), The Dawn of Liberation (1945), and Victory (1946).

Speech Organs, How Important?


Speech organs produce the many sounds needed for language. Organs used include the lips, teeth, tongue, alveolar ridge, hard palate, velum (soft palate), uvula and glottis.
Speech organs - otherwise articulators - are divide into two: passive articulators and active articulators. Passive articulators are those which remains static during the articulation of sound. Upper lips, upper teeth, alviolar ridge, hard palate etc. are the passive articulators. Active articulators move towards these
passive articulators to produce various speech sounds, in different manner. The most important active articulator is tongue. Uvula, lower jow which include lower teeth and lower lip are the other active articulators

Thursday, August 6, 2009

The Origin Of The Blarney Stone

The Blarney Stone is a block of bluestone built into the battlements of Blarney Castle, Blarney about 5 miles (8 km) from Cork, Ireland. According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab (great eloquence or skill at flattery). The stone was set into a tower of the castle in 1446. The castle is a popular tourist site in Ireland, attracting visitors from all over the world to kiss the Stone and tour the castle and its gardens.
The word blarney has come to mean clever, flattering, or coaxing talk.
The proprietors of Blarney Castle list several alternative explanations for the origins of the Stone and its supposed powers, many of which suppose that the Stone had previously been in Ireland but was then taken to Scotland and returned to Ireland in 1314.[1] The theories listed include those that the stone:
was part of the wailing wall in Jerusalam brought to Ireland during the Crusades.
was half of the original Stone of Scone - presented to Cormac McCarthy by Robert the Bruce in 1314 in recognition of his support in the Battle of Bannockburn.[1].
was the stone that Jacob used as a pillow, and was brought to Ireland by the prophet Jeremiah.
was the pillow used by St. Columba of Iona on his deathbed.
was the Stone of Ezel, which David hid behind on Jonathan's advice, while fleeing from King Saul, and may have been brought back to Ireland during the Crusades.
was the rock that Moses struck with his staff to produce water for the Israelites, during their flight from Egypt.
was related to the stone was known as the Lia Fáil or "Stone of Destiny" - part of the king's throne, with mysterious powers.
None of these provenance stories account for why a stone of such significance and antiquity would be used in the construction of a fifteenth century castle, inconspicuously incorporated into an exterior wall and exposed to the elements. Apart from discoloration and wear caused by human contact, the stone is not readily distinguishable from its neighbors

Monday, June 29, 2009

USEFUL TIPS

Two Simple Techniques to Gain Fluency in English

1. Use Active Voice
Active Voice and Passive Voice are two ways to speak. Although both the methods are theoritically and grammatically correct, the use of active voice makes speech easy and effective. Avoid passive sentences in speeches as far as possible. According to a research conducted, it takes upto 25% more time to understand a passive sentence. It is also difficult to utter a passive sentence.
Examples: You did the cooking?(active voice)
The cooking was done by you(passive voice)

2 Use Direct Speech
Direct speech means those words of the speaker that are enclosed within inverted commas.
Examples: John said,"I have done my homework"
Indirect speech means that we do not use the actual words of the speaker.
Examples: John said that he had done his homework.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

INTRODUCTION

English is the most important language of communication in the world. It is the most widely spoken language, cutting accross geographical barriers. Although Mandarin Chinese and Hindi is spoken by millions, it is essentially confined to select places, thus not compelling people from other nations to learn these languages. Although, many countries have tried a policy of systematic phasing out of english, by promoting their own language for their day to day official communication, the significance of english, as a language of interaction remains. Very few international business agreements take place without the use of english. With the advancement of science and technology, and with the exchange of more and more culture between nations, knowledge of english has become indispensible. It has managed to bring people of different culture, race and ethnic group closer. In some regions, knowledge of english is a matter of status and dignity in society. People conversing in english are considered sophisticated and advanced.


In english, there are many ways to say anything. Some ways are easy and some ways are difficult and confusing. According to a research conducted, it was revealed, that people by and large, prefered to speak and write english in simple and lucid style, rather that using technical or complicated vocabulary, which no one understood. When complicated words are used, especially in spoken form, the purpose is defeated, because the speaker fails to convey his thoughts and ideas to the listener effectively. The listener may not be as qualified as the speaker to understand the meaning of certain words. So the communication fails to produce the desired result. So the essence in gaining fluency in english or for that matter any language is to keep it simple.