Today before we finish the class about 10 minutes, Peter wrote on a whiteboard about “Etymology” but he didn’t explain or give any clues. After the class, we start talking about this word. Once Peter mentioned about this word but he didn’t explain anything. So we are still very curious. Now I’m doing a new paragraph of culture topic and accidentally found this word again in Wikipedia. So I want to share with you guys. Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during earlier periods of their history and when they entered the languages in question. (2011)
Also, in Thai, there is a special vocabulary for Etymology which is called ni-ruk-ti-sart (นิรุกติศาสตร์)
Reference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology Retrieved on August 17,2011 http://th.w3dictionary.org/index.php?q=etymology Retrieved on August 17,2011 http://www.bkkonline.com/word/18-oct-47.shtml Retrieved on August 17,2011
Oh how can I edit the font again???
ReplyDeleteGolf,
ReplyDeleteTo get rid of unwanted formatting, such as a font you don't want, use the pencil icon to reopen your blog post (only you can do this), select the text you want to change, and then use the "Remove formatting tool". After you remove the formatting, it will be the normal default font.
Thank you Peter:)
ReplyDeleteGolf is right that we did not talk about etymology today, but we did briefly discuss etymology a few days ago when we focussed mainly on the original meanings of the roots looking at the examples anthropomorphic and zoomorphic. These examples are fairly straight forward since the original meaning has not changed a lot since the original Greek, combining the roots anthropos + morphe was made an English word about 200 years ago (iOED, etymology sect.).
ReplyDeleteIn the case of, for example, the word culture, the definitions 5 and 6 in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (OALD) suggest the etymology, and are probably a very useful clue to, and support for, a good definition of the word. A really good paragraph defining this word would include this relevant and suggestive etymological information and explain how it relates to the definition in the topic sentence that is being supported.
References
anthropomorphic, adj. (2011, June). OED Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 17 August 2011 from http://oed.com/view/Entry/8446?.
Note: you won't be able to access the OED entry I've cited unless you are a subscriber, but the OALD definitions 5 & 6 should be enough, even though it doesn't really explain the etymology. Wikipedia does briefly cover the Latin etymology of culture.
And I'm glad to hear from Golf's post that you talked about it after class - I hope it suggested another useful approach to use in your paragraphs of definition.
ReplyDeleteI think that Quest should include etymology, because it's often useful to a better understanding of common but very complex words such as religion, example, symbol, culture, person, democracy, heal and so on.
Could you state and support a definition of democracy without looking at the history and roots of the word?
You've probably already guessed that tonight's single paragraph is a warm-up for the much more interesting argumentative essay on a controversial issue, which we will look tomorrow. So you might also spend some time this evening writing down your ideas answering the questions in the "Understanding the Question" section of the list of essay questions.
When I read Peter's comment about the original meaning of the roots, for example, anthropomorphic, it reminds me to think about another words like neurotransmitter which means a chemical that carries messages from nerve cells to other nerve cells or muscles pertaining to the Oxford Advanced Learners' Dictionary.
ReplyDeleteNeuro = connected with the nerves.
Transmitter = a piece of equipment used for sending electronic signals, especially radio or television signals.
Many words are etymological, not only in English language, but also in Thai language, especially used for individuals' name. For example, one of my old friends names Noulpan(นวลพรรณ), I really have no idea how to write her name correctly in English..-*-
Noul(นวล) = bright, beautiful
Pan(พรรณ) = skin
So her name means beautiful skin, and she has a very very bright-healthy-beautiful skin!! *0*/
Anyway, I just give an example of Thai etymology that I can think about for now and want to share with you guys.. I think it's really surprised about the relation between name and appearance!
neurotransmitter.(2011). OED online. Retrieve August 17, 2011 from http://www.oxfordadvancedlearnersdictionary.com