Wednesday, 29 January 2020

WORDS FROM LATIN AND GREEK ROOTS

I have taught these words to PNG students from grades 7-12. It gives them several hundred words in any one year. They see the derivation of words from prefixes-roots-suffixes. 

This is the continuation of Rhythm Phonics the students may have learned in elementary school. Students can not understand the basics of English if they do not know the derivation of words.

Students come to know that English is not a magical collection of words but a systematic grouping of words, many derived from Latin and Greek. Meanings can be worked out on the basis of prefixes-roots-suffixes.

I learned these words at the age of 12-13 in Australian primary and high schools and have never forgotten. This was in 1959-1960. I am an old time teacher who has never forgotten the musical and logical basics of English words that PNG students never learn about.

Two thousand years ago, Europe had been taken over by the Roman Empire that extended from England to Spain, Portugal, France and Romania.

The Roman empire was an enormous administrative structure that required records kept, letters written and laws put into writing.

The language used as the official means of communication was from the village of Latium across the Tiber River from Rome. Most educated men in the Roman administration came from Latium.

The language was Latin that was used in Rome and every other province of the empire.

It was spread across the empire by priests of the Catholic Church. Latin is still the official language of the Catholic Church in Rome.

All the provinces of England, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Romania used Latin in administration just as Papua New Guinea uses English.

Over the next 500 years, the Roman Empire slowly declined in power. The provinces looked after themselves. The official language of Latin was slowly replaced by the vernacular languages.

England was no longer a province of the Roman Empire and was invaded in 1215 by the Normans of France who brought the Latin based French language.

William the Conqueror made English the official language that was a mixture mainly of Saxon and Latin.
                                                           
But the languages of the new nation states were a mixture of Latin and other languages. English was a mixture of latin, Saxon, Jute and Norman French.

The Normans were really Vikings from Scandinavia who invaded most of the European nations along the North Sea and Mediterranean Sea. They used to bring their long boats up the Seine River to attack Paris.

The King of France built low bridges across the Seine River to stop the Vikings from coming up the River. But they kept on coming.

So he offered the land on the coast to the Vikings if they stopped attacking France. It was called Normandy then and now. After that the Vikings attacked and conquered England.

The Vikings were called North men which then became Normans. The Vikings settled England and Ireland.

The languages of Spain and Italy were based on Latin too. Both languages had a different rhythm and music from English.

Caput – the head – Captain (English) Kapitain (Spanish) and Kapitano (Italian). 

The Spanish and Italian loved to put extra vowels into words. Kapitano, Gina Lollobrigida, Marcello Mastroanni, Claudio Santa Rossa.

There are interesting words in French and English:

The Saxon farmers raised pigs. The French raised porcas. The English name for pig meat is pork.
                                                           
The Saxons raised cows. The French raised boeuf. The English name for cow meat is beef.

The Saxons raised sheep. The French raised mouton. The English name for sheep meat is mutton.

But now let us look at the derivation of English words. Words may be put together with prefixes, roots and suffixes.

Prefixes:  de (down) re (back) pre (before) pro (forward) com (together) ex, e (out of) trans (across) in (into).

Suffixes:   Ion (the act of) or, er, ist (one who) ory, ery (place where)

Roots from Latin

Ago (actus) I do       agent , active, action, reaction, reagent

Annus –a year  annual, anniversary, biannual

Cado (cadus) I fall  decay, decadence, cadence

Cavus a hole   cavity, cavern, cave, excavate

Cedo (cessus) I go proceed, precede, recede, recession, proceed, process,   procession, procedure

Caput the head  capital, captain, cap, decapitate

Capio  (captus) I take    capture
                      
Cado (I fall) decay, decadent, decade, cascade

Centum a hundred century, centenary, cent, centavo, centurion bicentenary

Decem ten December, decimal, decimate, decade

Dens (dentis) a tooth     dental, dentist, denture

Dico I speak  diction, dictionary, indicate, indication

Scribo (scriptus) I write   scribble, Scripture, transcribe, transcription, prescription, script, describe, description, inscribe, inscription         
  
Traho (tractus) I draw tractor, extract, extraction, contract, detract, retract, retraction

Pello (pulsus) I drive  expel, expulsion, compel, repel, propel, propeller, propulsion, pulse, pulsate

Pendeo (pendus) I hang  pension, pendulum, pendant, pennant, depend, dependent, dependant, independent, suspend, suspension, penis

Premo (pressus) I press  express, expression, depress, depression, repress, compress, compression, suppress, supreme, impress, impression

Primus first  primary, prime, primitive, primeval
                                   
Mitto (missus) I send emit, emission, transmit, transmission, transmitter, committee, permit, permission, remit, remission

Porto (portus) I carry report, reporter, transport, transportation, export, import, deport, important

Facio (factus) I make  factory, manufacture

Frango (frangus) I break  fragile, fragment, infringe, fraction

Manus the hand  manual, manage, management, manuscript,
Mater a mother  matron, maternal

Nascor I am born  nation, native, nativity, felice navitat (Spain)

Pater a father  patron, paternal, patronize

Parle I speak  parley, parliament

Pes a foot  pedal, pedestrian

Jacio (jectus) I throw  reject, rejection, inject, injection, eject, ejaculate, project, projection, interject, interjection, projectile

Corpus the body corpuscle, corps, corpse, corpulent, corpus Christie, corporation, incorporate, corporal

Cor the heart  coronary, cordial, Sacre Coeur (Fr) courage, courageous

Pax peace  Pacific Ocean, pacify, pax brother.
                           
Terra the earth  terra firma, Mediterranean, terrestrial, inter, subterranean

Lego (lectus) I gather  collect, college, collection, lecture, select, selection

Liber – free    liberty, Liberia, Liberal, liberation

Specio (spectus) I see   species, special, spectacle, spectacular, inspect, inspection, respect, despise, inspector

Secto I cut  bisect, intersect, dissection, section, insect

Cidus I kill suicide, genocide, infanticide, insecticide, homicide

Venio I come  convene, invent, venture, adventure, advent, Seventh Day Adventist

Pono (possus) I place  postpone, impose, expose, deposit

Vinco – I conquer convince, invincible, veni-vidi-vici

Nesia an island  Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Indonesia

Acquas water acquatic, acquarium

Fundo (fundus) I pour funnel, fund, profound, refund

Video (vissus) I see vision, revise, revision, visible, invisible, television

Specio (spectus) I see  special, species, inspect, inspector, respect, spectacles

Greek Roots

Zoon –an animal  zoo, zoology

Bios life – biology

Logos a study biology, geology, physiology, parasitology

Demos the people – democracy, democratic

Polis a city metropolitan, politician, police

Phos light photograph, phosphorus, photosynthesis

Grapho I write photograph, telegraph, graphite, graph

Anima – breath –animal, animate, animation

Metron a measure meter, meter, barometer, thermometer

Therme heat thermometer, thermal

Pathos feeling pathetic, sympathy, apathy, pathos, pathetic

Baros weight isobar, barometer

Putting words together

carry across ………………………..
carry out …………………………….
carry in ……………………………….
carry down………………………….
press into ……………………………
press down………………………….
press together……………………..
press out…………………………….
hang down…………………………
one who hangs down…………
hangs from above ………………
sends out …………………………
sends across……………………..
goes forward…………………....
goes back………………………….
goes outside of…………………
goes between…………………..
throws in…………………………
act of throwing in………………
throws back………………………….
throws out…………………………..
throws between……………………
throws forward……………………..
drives out……………………………..
drives forward,………………………
drives aircraft forward……………
cut into two……………………………
cut between…………………………..
easily broken…………………………..
broken into pieces………………..
the whole is broken ………………
relates to teeth …………………….
one who fixes teeth……………….
meat around teeth………………
shows pictures from afar...................
able to see distant objects………

Words in sentences

He was the (caput)  …………………….. of the team

The earth (volvo)…………………………around the sun

The soldiers were (capio)…………………….by the enemy

She wore (specio) ………………………….. to be able to read

You must (Video) ………………………your work before the exam

The teacher will (specio)………… the books

His daughter (pendeo) …………… on him for money

The bridge was (pendeo) …………under the rope

He went to (corpus) ……......Catholic college

She went to (sacre. coeur. Fr) ……… Catholic college

Clothes were (premo) …………by machine

Our constitution is (premo) …………

Citizens were (premo) ………by the army

He was given a (cor) ……………welcome

The (corpus) …………………………was placed in a coffin

His teeth started to (cado) ………………………

The country as divided into three (terra) …………………………

The (terra) ……………………….sea was the centre of the earth


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