stupidusername Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 DS11 has been using Vocabulary From Classical Roots for about a year. Up until recently, everything was good. Now we are in Book C, and it's starting to get pretty hard. Consider Exercise 2B, Number 1. The book says, "Circle the letter of the sentence in which the word in bold-faced type is used incorrectly." It says the answer is THIS sentence: "A beginning German student learning French may confuse masculine, feminine, and neuter genres of nouns." Now, I understand that "genre" refers primarily to artistic or literary classifications; that must be why the above sentence is deemed incorrect. However, this is a subtle distinction. I've seen a couple other problems like this recently -- problems that are really tough even for me. It's a bit frustrating for DS11. I've enjoyed the Vocabulary From Roots series but I wonder if perhaps it is time to move on to something more straightforward, i.e., something along the lines of "500 SAT words you must know." (I made up that title, but you get the idea.) Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Now, I understand that "genre" refers primarily to artistic or literary classifications; that must be why the above sentence is deemed incorrect. However, this is a subtle distinction. No, it's not that subtle. The word that should be there is gender, or possibly even noun class, but does genre even have a meaning in grammar? Edit: Made a thinko. Obviously noun class is the technical term, and gender is a specific type of noun class. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupidusername Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 No, it's not that subtle. The word that should be there is gender, or possibly even word class, but does genre even have a meaning in grammar? "genre" means "class" or "category." Thus, "A beginning German student learning French may confuse masculine, feminine, and neuter genres of nouns." seems roughly equivalent to "A beginning German student learning French may confuse masculine, feminine, and neuter classes of nouns." Or: "A beginning German student learning French may confuse masculine, feminine, and neuter categories of nouns." To someone with no knowledge of German or French, these seem at least plausible. I still say subtle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Michelle. Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 If I were going to classify nouns, I would say the three classes are persons, places or things. Noun gender is a specific grammar concept, so I would agree with the program. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupidusername Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 If I were going to classify nouns, I would say the three classes are persons, places or things. Noun gender is a specific grammar concept, so I would agree with the program. It it were English I'd agree but when we're talking about a foreign language who knows? Are you certain that there are no additional classifications of nouns in, say, Arabic or Romanian? My argument is not that the book is wrong. Clearly the book is correct. My argument is that this question was poorly written. This is just one of several examples I could cite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 "genre" means "class" or "category." No. It doesn't. It means "a particular type or category of literature or art". Yes, it etymologically means "class or category", but etymologically speaking, "lord" means "loaf guard". If you believe that the word genre is interchangeable in all circumstances with "class" or "category", then you are incorrect. The book isn't wrong. It isn't nitpicking, or asking for a particularly subtle distinction that you might not normally make. Your internal definition of "genre" is out-of-step with everybody else's. If you have another example to cite, you probably should, because in this one, it is your opinion that it is "too subtle" that is flawed. It it were English I'd agree but when we're talking about a foreign language who knows? Are you certain that there are no additional classifications of nouns in, say, Arabic or Romanian? Indeed, Swahili has 16 noun classes, not one of which has anything to do with male or female anything. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swahili_language#Noun_classes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupidusername Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 No. It doesn't. It means "a particular type or category of literature or art". Yes, it etymologically means "class or category", but etymologically speaking, "lord" means "loaf guard". If you believe that the word genre is interchangeable in all circumstances with "class" or "category", then you are incorrect. The book isn't wrong. It isn't nitpicking, or asking for a particularly subtle distinction that you might not normally make. Your internal definition of "genre" is out-of-step with everybody else's. If you have another example to cite, you probably should, because in this one, it is your opinion that it is "too subtle" that is flawed. I am using the definition that was given in the book. "A type, class, or category, especially of fine art or literature." See page 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethel Mertz Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I'd also agree with the program. However, to cut down on the frustration level, you might take a break from the program and use something else for awhile. There are several vocabulary apps available for iPads if you have that (or I imagine there are android apps as well). You could look into Vocabulary-Spelling City, though I just looked at the 6-8 grade level and it looked too easy compared to Vocab from Classical Roots. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmstranger Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I copied this from dictionary.com. It looks to me like the word "genre" comes from the French word "gender." I can see how this would be confusing in the example given. genre [zhahn-ruh; French zhahn-ruh] /ˈʒɑn rə; French ˈʒɑ̃ rə/ noun, plural genres [zhahn-ruh z; French zhahn-ruh] /ˈʒɑn rəz; French ˈʒɑ̃ rə/ (Show IPA) 1. a class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content, technique, or the like: the genre of epic poetry; the genre of symphonic music. 2. Fine Arts. paintings in which scenes of everyday life form the subject matter. a realistic style of painting using such subject matter. 3. genus; kind; sort; style. adjective 4. Fine Arts. of or relating to genre. 5. of or relating to a distinctive literary type. Origin 1760-1770 1760-70; < French: kind, sort; see gender1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Then the question isn't poorly written, the definition is. At least, it's more broadly written than the definition most people use in speech. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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