Learning from an Auspicious Tale of Word Analysis

Our July 16 -18, 2013 course on Wolfe Island was held at the Shanti Yoga Retreat. Guests can avoid neither the gorgeous surroundings nor the pearls of wisdom that are generously sewn into the Shanti fabric. Just as we were about to begin our first session, one of the participants, Susan Brady, shared the following Tao quote that greeted her when she arrived in her room:

“This is the moment of embarking. All auspicious signs are in place.”

What a great way to begin a workshop!

After the course I introduced Susan to a few colleagues via email. In the correspondence that followed, Susan initiated a group investigation of the spelling of <auspicious> that led to surprising and fascinating discoveries.

It also turned out that making sense of this particular investigation required clarification of a number of core orthographic concepts I wanted to revisit with participants of both summer courses in follow up resources.

I began to produce this document targeting the summer course participants as my audience. However, it soon occurred to me that this dissection of a structured word inquiry might benefit many in the WordWorks / Real Spelling community.

I hope re-visiting the trail of this group investigation of the spelling <auspicious> reinforces the learning of the summer crews, but also that of our larger community.

www.WordWorksKingston.com 1

Most of the crew from the July 16-18 WW Summer Course at the Shanti Resort on Wolfe Island

Most of the crew from the July 2-4 WW Summer Course

on Wolfe Island

Here is the part of Susan’s email soon after the workshop that inspired this whole process:

My appreciation of the writing system as morphophonemic has undergone a major expansion.

Yet, I am very much a beginner.... at the risk of looking incredibly naive I will share that I endeavored to look up the root for auspicious (for reasons Pete will appreciate) and am a bit flummoxed. One source indicated that it comes from the Latin auspicium, but there also was mention of auspex (from the genitive auspicis). Not sure what to do with that. Without just looking up an existing word matrix, I need to learn how to determine what the root is. Do I assume ium and is are Latin affixes and come up with auspice (with the e having been dropped)? In English, is the suffix ious rather than ous after <c> to preserve the soft c (though that sounds awfully phonological....)?

If the word sum is auspice + ous --> auspicious, does one say au s p i ce (change to ci) ..... or might it be auspice + ious --> auspicious with the spelling out as au s p i c (no e) ious?

I am inspired by people who jump into posing questions like this so soon after being introduced to this sort of spelling analysis.

Learning to guide our thinking about such questions with tests of structure and meaning was a central focus of the course. How great that Susan was already motivated to put

those lessons in to practice so soon after the course. Consider...

Structure: Susan’s use of word sums to seek a plausible morphological structure is dead on. Note how her construction of a hypothesized word sum helps her correctly conclude that an <-ous> suffix added to a base (or stem) <auspice> could not result in the needed spelling. Seeing the need for an alternative hypothesis, she suggests the possibility of analysis with an <-ious> suffix, but senses this is problematic too.

Note! Word sums don’t always help us by making solutions easy to find. Sometimes they help us by helping us see what the important questions are.

www.WordWorksKingston.com 2

The Tao quote that provided the perfect perch from which to launch the learning

in our second summer course

Meaning: In line with the “meaning test” Susan drew from etymological references to find the root of this word. As we learned in the course, the underlying denotation of a base can be found by identifying the root.1

Again, correctly, she attempts to use that information to help her understand her morphological analysis. Susan is not yet totally confident in reading messages she finds. However, her new understanding enables her ask the right questions. And as you shall see, Susan’s research initiates a virtuous cycle of learning for the group.

What to teach when to teach it? Learners’ questions guide the way

As soon as I saw Susan’s attempts to analyze <auspicious> into word sums, I knew exactly what orthographic concept it was time to address with her. We had touched on it in our course, but we didn’t end up getting enough time with it.

Based on the same information, another friend in that email exchange, Gail Venable, came to exactly same conclusion regarding what concept Susan should study next.

She offered the following suggestion for Susan:

With regard to your great questions about <auspicious>,  I think you might also find the Connecting Vowel Letters film in the Real Spelling Gallery useful:http://spelling.phanfare.com/5232742

When you read through the email exchange that follows, you will understand why Gail and I independently saw Susan’s question and instantly thought, “Ah, she needs to see that tutorial video on the connecting vowel letter.”

Learners signal what content they need to understand by the questions they ask.

www.WordWorksKingston.com 3

1 See this link to review this use of the terms “base” and “root”. Better yet, read the Real Spelling eBook “The Terms ‘Base’, ‘Root’ and ‘Stem’” that can be found in the 70 Matrices Disk of the Real Spelling Tool Box 2.

Click “Structure of the written word” in the 70 Matrices disk to get resources such as the eBook “The Terms ‘Base’, ‘Root’ and ‘Stem’”

This is why we need to celebrate the “big fat juicy mistake” in any educational context. Learners who are willing to make mistakes or risk asking the naive question in front of peers offer teachers a means of understanding what they do and do not understand. This is exactly the information teachers/tutors require to have a confident answer to the question “what should I teach next?”

In addition, the act of constructing a well-posed question often guides the questioner towards much of the understanding they are seeking in the first place.

Aside: After reading the investigation of <auspicious>, that follows, you may find the stories and links in the side bar (right) provide valuable additional examples of this same process of letting questions guide the instruction.

The investigation of <auspicious>

The following is from the Old Grouch responding to and quoting Susan’s email...On 22 July 2013, at 18:40, Susan Brady wrote:Yet, I am very much a beginner.... at the risk of looking incredibly naive I will share that I endeavored to look up the root for auspiciousNaive? Courageous, principled and scholarly, if you ask me!One source indicated that it comes from the Latin auspicium, but there also was mention of auspex (from the genitive auspicis).  Not sure what to do with that.

www.WordWorksKingston.com 4

The power of the well-posed questionAt this link you will find a brilliant Real Spellers string started by another friend, Tom Berend, who is also fairly new to this work as well. There is much to learn about orthography by reading Tom’s question whether there is a convention for dropping a <t> when adding a <-cy> suffix and following the discussion that follows.

The Old Grouch offers a fascinating window into the orthographic conventions at play in the words Tom presents and analyzes in his question. My response focuses on the excellence of Tom’s question and how the posing of that question fosters his own learning even before it elicits any response.

In terms of the participants of our second summer course, this post has special relevance as it links directly to a of “Wonder Wall” question from Leslie that I never got to address.

Consider the excellent question posed by Leslie on sticky notes on our Wonder Wall, and then go to this link to see how similar it is to Tom’s question.

Another favourite illustration of the well-posed question can be found in this WW Newsletter that addressed the learning that grew from a Grade 2 question about the spelling of the word <come>.

Simple - Join or set up a 'Latin for Orthographers' Spellinar! Gail will tell you all about it!Without just looking up an existing word matrix, I need to learn how to determine what the root is.  Do I assume ium and is are Latin affixes and come up with auspice (with the e having been dropped)?  In English, is the suffix ious rather than ous after <c> to preserve the soft c (though that sounds awfully phonological....)?  If the word sum is auspice + ous --> auspicious, does one say au s p i ce (change to ci) ..... or might it be auspice + ious --> auspicious with the spelling out as au s p i c (no e) ious?  All splendid questions - and questions are always more important than answers. So - how about coming to our Zoom Room as soon as you like and we can delve into divinatory bird-watching and the much-populated world of Latin compounds - yes, Latin did compound, and promiscuously so, as do the wrongly-termed 'Latin roots' of the spelling schemes!One thing that you could do in preparation is to look at the '<u> <v> <w>' tutorial in the 'Letter Studies' section of the Real Script resource.

I then shared my own initial discoveries...

…I was so delighted just now to see this tantalizing bit from my Mactionary:

auspice |ˈɔspəәs|

noun archaica divine or prophetic token.

PHRASESunder the auspices of with the help, support, or protection of: the delegation's visit was arranged under UN auspices.ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (originally denoting the observation of bird flight in divination): from French, or from Latin auspicium, from auspex ‘observer of birds,’ from avis ‘bird’ + specere ‘to look.’

I had no idea that there was an English word <auspice>. I had hypothesized the base for "to look" might be in there, but the divination by watching birds was certainly a total surprise to me! With the <au>, Sus [my good wife] had wondered if there was anything to do with 'gold' in their, but this is even more interesting!

It was at this point that Gail sent her email pointing to the connecting vowel letter that I already shared on page 3.

I then followed up Gail’s email pointing Susan the following...

[See that film] about "connecting vowel letters" in this Morphology Album of the Real Spelling Gallery. It turns out that analyzing the word <auspicious> means you will run into a few interesting challenges.  One of them requires understanding of the connecting vowel letter. (While you are in that morphology album, I highly recommend that you watch the film on "combining forms" immediately after the one on connecting vowel letters.)

www.WordWorksKingston.com 5

I thought I'd walk through some of the information I find for <auspicious> in the excellent Etymonline. I have not yet analyzed this word into a word sum. Even before I start, I can see that there are some interesting questions for myself. If I write out my own thinking  as I do this analysis, perhaps it will help Susan see the kinds of steps one can take, and if/when I run into questions, I've also got an audience here who can help me find my way...Of course, the point isn't the investigation of this word itself, but instead building understanding of how to investigate any word, including using a reference like Etymonline, and the orthographic concepts that are encountered with this particular word.Here's what I find in Etymonoline...

auspicious (adj.) 1590s, "of good omen" (implied in auspiciously), from Latin auspicium "divination by observing the flight of birds," from auspex (genitive auspicis) +-ous.

While the general connotation of the whole word can be boiled down to "good omen" note that this meaning comes from two stated denotations "divination by observing" and "birds".Seeing these two denotations suggests to me that we are looking for two base elements in this word even though I am just given this one Latin root 'auspicium'. It seems that the Latin word was complex and that the English word must be too...I have an advantage in that I have encountered the bound base <spect> many times. However, it is clear there is no base spelled <spect> in <auspicious>. I can use what I

www.WordWorksKingston.com 6

Accessing the Free Real Spelling Gallery

1) Click the “Real Spelling Gallery” button on the RS homepage

2) Click “Orthographic Morphology”

3) Click the “Connecting Vowel Letters” tutorial film.

Note the rich alternatives for learning at each of these steps. I highly recommend watching the “Combining Form” film immediately after the one on “Connecting Vowel Letters”

have so far to propose a possible word sum. I suspect that the <au> is the best bet for the first base element, since that could be linked to "aviary". I also know that the <v> <u> and <w> have a very interesting and related history (see this old Learning from Love theme and the Real Script resource).So now I have this:? au + spiciousIn this analysis I see the very familiar suffix <-ous>, so I analyze that element into my word sum? au + spici + ousIt is at this point that my experience encountering the connecting vowel letter <-i-> is very helpful to give me some traction to analyze further. I presented it in the matrix on the base <have> for the word <be + have + i + our>.[This is a reference to one of the lessons from my book we worked through during the summer course]. I've also seen this connecting vowel letter before the <-ous> suffix frequently, so I immediately suspect a further analysis:? au + spic + i + ousBut now I wonder. Do I have evidence of a base <spic> or <spice>? Is this base related to the one I already knew <spect> somehow?I just went to another great resource "Latdict" and found this:

www.WordWorksKingston.com 7

The initial question mark with a word sum:I like to use an initial question mark for word sums that are just “thinking on paper” for the purpose of developing a hypothesis. Once I had the thought of <au> as a possible bound base, marking it in a word sum helps me consider the consequence that hypothesis has for the rest of the word. In workshops I often refer this as “thinking on the paper rather than in your head”. Inevitably seeing my thinking on paper helps me see possibilities I would otherwise miss, or reject false assumptions that I might otherwise accept.

[See videos of Jen Munnerlyn (above) teach from that theme to K-5 classes from this same theme here.]

I know that the final <ere> I find in Latin Roots is often (always?) a Latin suffix, so I can look at this Latin root for "look at, see" like this <spic(ere)>.So I have evidence for an English base spelled either <spic> or <spice> for "look at, see, observe" in the word <auspicious>.I have yet to find evidence that I need that final <e>. The Word Searcher gives me this when I type <spice>:

Search Results for "spice"(6 matches)

spicespicedspiceshospiceallspicehospices

Unless I find evidence that I need a final, single, silent <e>, I won't present it in my word sum, so my hypothesis of the structure of <auspicious> is the following:

au + spic + i + ous --> auspicious

I still need to do more work on the <au> base for "bird". aviary (n.) 1570s, from Latin aviarium "place in which birds are kept," neuter of aviarius "of birds," from avis "bird," from PIE *awi- "bird" (cf. Sanskrit vih, Avestan vish "bird," Greek aietos "eagle").Does anyone have any other English words with an <au> base for "birds"?

The “Old Grouch” followed up...

Salut, Pete!If that's "a very quick follow-up", me ol' friend, it's pretty damn spectacular! Con + grate/ + ule/ + ate/ + ion +s.You do make one statement,though, that I took as a gauntlet at my feet!On 27 July 2013, at 17:06, Pete Bowers wrote:

However, it is clear there is no base spelled <spect> in <auspicious>.

www.WordWorksKingston.com 8

Well, thought I, it all depends what's meant by "in <auspicious>".That <auspicious> is a compound is clear: its component bases are <au> and <spice> (whose form I know from <auspice>).As you have pointed out, our base element <spice> in this word is from the Latin verb whose infinitive is <-spic(ere)>. So, say I to myself, could this infinitive be the root of one component of a twin base element? Since there appears to be no attested form <auspection>, I look for another word with this bound base element <spice> "catch sight of , notice, see". What came to mind was this.con + spice/ + u + ous → conspicuousThat would imply a Latin verb <conspicere> as its root, so I consult LatDict to verify my hypothesis, and voilà!

From the fourth principal part I have my evidence for the twin form <-spect>. I can, therefore, state that the verbal form <-spice> which is the second component of the compound <auspicious> is actually the twin base element <spice / -spect>. Hence I would say that there IS a twin base in <auspicious> one of whose forms is <spect>.Indeed, although my fairly brief search for an attested form <auspection> hasn't found one yet, it is still certain that anyone talking of 'auspection' would be immediately understood by anyone who knew what 'auspices' are.

www.WordWorksKingston.com 9

Highlighted text: The “teacher” learns by following “student” questionsThe highlighted text pinpoints the Old Grouch’s challenge to my statement “...it is clear there is no base spelled <spect> in <auspicious>.” The fact that he does not let me get away with my avoidance of the twin base issue helps me deepen my understanding. I had suspected <spice> was a twin of <spect> but couldn’t see the evidence of it in the information I uncovered from the LatDict reference. Looking at <conspicuous> made the difference for me.I look forward to joining the next possible Spellinar to refine my understanding of these topics!Twin Bases: A look at the Tool Box 2 Overview shows that the original Kit 5 Themes H & J address twin bases. The Tool Box 2 version of this Kit is nearing completion. I have seen an early draft of the new 5H theme on twin bases. It is just spectacular! I also highly recommend this link to a video from years ago in which Old Grouch introduces bound bases and twin bases to a Grade 5/6 class. That investigation was the result of a student’s attempt to link the words <produce> and <product> with a word sum. If the above link doesn’t work, see part 1 of the video here and part two here.)

I do enjoy the highways and byways that every word reveals to orthographers!Love from both of us,Michel & Pascal

Some general lessons from this group investigation of <auspicious>

I will finish this analysis of a structured word inquiry by highlight some of the key guiding principles that are reflected by this episode.

Questions More Than AnswersSusan’s email effectively illustrates what I see as the necessary first step in developing a deeper understanding of how English spelling works.

It is not answers, but rather the ability to perceive and pose generative questions that is the first mark of one’s understanding moving forward.

When such questions are posed to a community of co-learners committed to the principles of scientific inquiry, the knowledge of both the questioner and of the entire community expands and deepens.

It is this dynamic which underlies an axiom that is so well embodied by the Real Spelling community:

The knowledge of the group is greater than that of the most knowledgable in the group.

Susan’s question, and the responses that followed, provide a window on what this summer workshop and WordWorks in general strives to support:

1) The understanding necessary to perceive and investigate rich spelling questions effectively;

2) The confidence and motivation to share those questions with colleagues;

3) A community motivated to develop its own understanding by responding to spelling questions of their co-learners.

Inquiring Scientific Communities: A Route to Ever-Deepening Understanding

This story about the investigation of <auspicious> is like countless others (e.g., here, here, here, here, here, here, here…) in a growing number of educational contexts around the world. Co-learners, sparked by an interesting spelling question, engage in the scientific studies of the conventions by which the spelling of words evolved to represent meaning to English speakers.

In my workshops and academic work I regularly point to a basic premise of the reading research community as articulated by Rayner, Foorman, Perfetti, Pesetsky, and Seidenberg, (2001). They argued that becoming literate means... “learning how to use the conventional forms of printed language to obtain meaning from words.” Thus...

www.WordWorksKingston.com 10

“the child learning how to read needs to learn how his or her writing system works” (p. 34).

Educational institutions that agree with this straight-forward premise should strive to support an ever deepening understanding about how our writing system works.

By what better means could this goal be achieved than to ensure that students and teachers regularly investigate that writing system through scientific inquiry?

Scope and Sequence? Where Does the Spelling of <auspicious> fit into the “curriculum”?

Is <auspicious> on a list of words that are supposed to be addressed after a three-day course in a Structured Word Inquiry “curriculum” ?

Of course not.

How, then was it decided that this word, let alone the concepts of bound bases, twin bases and connecting vowel letters should receive such careful attention?

The simple reason was that Susan had recently encountered this word in a context that grabbed her interest. After three days of studying ways to investigate the spelling system to identify the structures, history and meanings of words, she

was motivated to apply her understanding to the analysis of a word in which she was interested.

Having started to see some interesting clues through her own analysis, she was motivated to share that research with friends that might help her refine that understanding further.

Understanding motivates learningWhat, after all, could be a better motivator to study a complex system than the experience of gaining a new understanding of how how that complex system works?

Susan had already put effort into understanding this word, but was left with questions she couldn’t resolve on her own. Once a learner invests time and effort in tackling a question, they are likely to be motivated to attend to the facts that may resolve their questions.

This is the same reason elementary students run to dictionaries to test a self-generated hypothesis of the structure of the word <condensation> during a science lesson.

It happened to be the word <auspicious> in which Susan had invested time and effort to understand. It turns out that this word cannot be coherently understood without understanding the concepts of connecting vowel letters, bound bases and twin bases.

www.WordWorksKingston.com 11

Pedagogically, what better moment to teach a concept than at the exact time that understanding of that concept makes sense of questions in which the learner is invested?

Begin with teachers’ understanding

A key point I’m trying to get to is that there is one necessary first step for making wiser judgements about word-level literacy instruction.

Those doing the instructing need to develop their own understanding of how their writing system works.

The best way I can see to get that process started is by making sure that teachers start to investigate words with word sums, matrices and “spelling-out word structure” with their students. (Another key early set of concepts to understand are homophones and function vs. content words.)

It is teachers who dive into this learning process with their students whose own word structure knowledge increases fastest. Those, then are the teachers who then are in the best position to make instructional choices sooner.

Assessing Instruction Before we Assess the Students

I will end this document with the two questions I have been asking teachers more and more at workshops lately.

I can’t think of a more simple and clear means to assess word-level instruction than to ask the following two questions:

1) What interesting questions have your students asked about the spelling of a word or abut the spelling system recently?

2) What new facts about the writing system have you learned through the act of teaching your students?

When I ask these questions at the end of a school visit, teachers have share on both questions over the time of my visit.

Then ask teachers how they would have answered those questions before encountering Real Spelling and WordWorks.

To ask these questions is to answer them.

Pete Bowers,

August 24, 2013

www.WordWorksKingston.com 12