Clippings

Quite uncharacteristically, I’ll dish out some practical tips regarding the June exams for my C1.2 students at EOI.

First off, since clippings are part of our syllabus I’d like to say a few words regarding that peculiar trait of the English language. A clipping is basically an abbreviated form of a noun. They are quite common in colloquial French (restau instead of restaurant). In Spanish we also have a few shortened forms. Often they are only found in slang (uni, bici) though we also have examples like cine, which are not perceived as being particularly colloquial. They are virtually the only option a speaker has. In English, however, clipped words are all over the place for the very simple reason that anything longer than a monosyllable feels a little too long in an English-speaking mouth. That’s why the nouns veterinarian and advertisement usually become vet and ad in everyday speech. An interesting problem, of course, lies in the fact that vet can also be short for veteran but, as usual, the context tends to clarify any potential confusion.

As ESOL students, you should know that the situation in English is not unlike the Spanish case. Some clippings are only colloquial (doc instead of doctor, tech instead of technology) whereas sometimes the shortened versions are clearly the preferred nomenclature (gas instead of gasoline or gym instead of gymnasium). The twist comes when you realize that some clippings make use of the last bit of a word. That is extremely unusual in Spanish (though we do have the word bus for autobús). In such cases the last syllable of the word represents the whole term. And this is, by no means, an exceptional choice. As a matter of fact, in certain contexts, the forms roach, chute and bot can be even more common than their unclipped versions cockroach, parachute and robot. So, remember, when you take your cell(ular) (tele)phone to surf the (inter)net you may come across texts written by a Twitter(ro)bot.

In the second part of this post I will simply remind my C1.2 students that, as of today, they can register to take the June test that will allow them to obtain C1 certificate. The deadline is March 23 (14:00). Just click here and follow the instructions. Important: as “alumnos oficiales” you won’t have to pay a single cent. It’s free. I repeat C1.2 students do not have to pay to take the certification exam. Any other student (including “official” C1.1 students) who would like to take that same test will have to register (from March 28 to April 8) and will have to pay the corresponding fee.