The Greek & Latin Roots of English Read Online Free PDF Page A

Greek.”
We Speak the Same Language, Don't We?
If in London you follow the sign marked subway, you will find yourself in an underground passage that allows you to cross a heavily traveled street. The London Underground is the New York City subway. Got that?

 
But What Does It Mean?
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.”—Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
Words, Words, and More Words
It is said that because of the various linguistic strands that form English vocabulary, English contains more synonyms than any other language. Some Latin-based synonyms are simply more elegant forms of Germanic-based vocabulary. For example,
     
Germanic-Based Word
Latin-Based Word
beg
supplicate
behead
decapitate
drink
imbibe
bitterness
asperity
greedy
rapacious
harmful
deleterious
hate
abhor
house
domicile
slander
calumniate
tiredness
lassitude
Studying Language Can Be Glamorous
The words grammar and glamour have the same etymology. Grammar , a system that describes the structures of a particular language, is derived from the Greek word gramma (something written). In medieval Europe, few people could read, and those who could were thought to possess special magical power. The original meaning of glamour , which is a variant pronunciation of grammar , was magic or enchantment.

NAME __________________________________________________________________________
1. Approximately how many languages are there estimated to be spoken in the world?
2. List three ways by which language families are distinguished:
(a) _________, (b) _________, (c) _________
3. Name four language families other than Indo-European:
(a) _________, (b) _________, (c) _________, (d) _________
4. Where are the Dravidian languages spoken? _________ Mon-Khmer? _________
5. How many varieties of Chinese are there? _________ What common factor unites them? _________
6. To what language family does Quechua belong? _________ Where is it spoken? _________
7. How many, approximately, languages are spoken in Africa? _________
8. To what branch of the Indo-European family does English belong? _________
9. To which branch of the Indo-European family does Latin belong? _________
10. To which branch of the Indo-European family does Greek belong? _________
11. What percentage of English vocabulary is derived from Latin and Greek? _________ percentage of scientific and technical vocabulary? _________
12. List five Germanic languages that are still spoken today.
(1) _________ (2) _________ (3) _________ (4) _________ (5) _________
13. To which language family does Anglo-Saxon belong? ____________ To which branch? _________ Where and when was it spoken? _________
14. Name one work written in Old English. _________
15. Anglo-Saxon is a synonym for which language? _________
16. What event introduced a Latin-based vocabulary into English? _________ When did it occur? _________ Through which language did most of these words first pass? _________
17. Who wrote Canterbury Tales? _________ To which period of English does it belong? _________
18. Who is generally credited with the introduction of the printing press into England? _________ When? _________
19. What effect did the introduction of the printing press have on the development of the English language? ___________________________
20. Who compiled A Dictionary of the English Language? _________ When? _________
21. Eighteenth-century grammarians tended to look at which language when establishing the rules of English usage? _________.
22. Give one cause of the introduction of many non-Indo-European words into English.
___________________________
23. Who was the first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary? _________ How long did it take to complete? _________
24. What was the first permanent English-speaking settlement in America? _________ When was it founded? _________
25. From which region of Europe did the earliest immigrants to the