Origins of Latin and French words in English
English has multiple origins. Principally though it has Anglo-Saxon, Latin and French sources. According to Phillip Durkin, chief etymologist of the Oxford Dictionary, the reason there are so many words of Latin and French origin in modern English is largely because of the Norman Conquest in 1066.
1066 is the date of the Battle of Hastings in which the Norman army from France led by William the Conqueror defeated the Saxons in England led by King Harold. Harold was slain, traditionally thought, by an arrow to his eye. The events of the battle were recorded graphically in the famous Bayeux Tapestry. If you are curious you can watch an animated version of the tapestry on ‘You Tube’. It begins with the appearence of Halley's Commet; just follow the link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDaB-NNyM8o).
The insertion of French and Latin into Anglo-Saxon continued up until the late Medieval period. The resulting language was called ‘Middle English’.
During this time it was common for businessmen and professionals to be trilingual speaking Latin, French and English. This led to considerable vocabulary sharing. It is estimated that about 28% English words have come directly from French, and another 28% comes from Latin origin. It is important to note that many of these words of Latin origin may have entered the language via French.
In modern English, words of Latin and French origin are commonly used in formal and academic contexts, whereas their Anglo-Saxon equivalents are used in informal language. Informal English is frequently spoken and used in in emails and elsewhere on the Internet, such as in blog comments.
You may be thinking that the phrasal verb is older than their Latin equivalents. Well according to linguists they appeared afterwards.
Origin of Phrasal Verbs
You may be thinking that the phrasal verb is older than their Latin equivalents. Well according to linguists they appeared afterwards.
According to scholars the first time phrasal verbs appeared in English was after the Norman Conquest. They were relatively rare until the 1600s when they became more common
Their structure was more flexible than today. They probably were of English origin – having no foreign source (Blake, 2002).
They were frequently used to define words of Latin origin (Ref). They may also may have been a kind of Cockney slang for the conquered Anglo-Saxons. A dialect meant to alienate the ruling nobles – designed to confuse and obscure.
Phrasal verbs pose difficulties for learners of English mostly because there are so many of them and notably because are idiomatic. This means their meaning cannot be guessed from either the verb or the particle.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Definite Articles
The definite article ‘the’ comes before a noun. You have no doubt noticed that many nouns do not take a definite article.
For learners of English knowing when and when not to use the definite article ‘the’ is especially problematic. Let’s begin by looking at cases that do not have definite articles and then go on to cases that do.
The Zero Article
Exercise 1
The following categories of things take no definite articles before them. Give three examples of each, and then use them in three sentences:
-generalities : .
-disciplines : I used to study biology before I became an English teacher
-concepts:
-games :
-meals:
-plural countable nouns:
-uncountable nouns:
The Definite Article
The use of the definite article ‘the’ is a little complicated but here are a few cases where the rules are clear. The following categories of nouns always take a definite article. Think of three examples of each, and put them in three sentences.
-nationalities: "The French don't care what they do actually, as long as they pronounce it properly"(Alan Jay Lerner, 1959 -My Fair Lady)
-countries that have plural names:
-when there is something in a category by itself:
Exercise 2
Some of the sentences below are incorrect, identify them:
What did you have for the breakfast?
My sister lives in United States.
My brother lives in the Netherlands.
The Italian food isn’t as fattening as people think.
I play the rugby.
Evolution is a controversial topic.
Left-movers are more susceptible to hypnosis than right-movers.
“It’s cool for cats.”
Reading and discussion
Nature, Art & Language
For learners of English knowing when and when not to use the definite article ‘the’ is especially problematic. Let’s begin by looking at cases that do not have definite articles and then go on to cases that do.
The Zero Article
Exercise 1
The following categories of things take no definite articles before them. Give three examples of each, and then use them in three sentences:
-generalities : .
-disciplines : I used to study biology before I became an English teacher
-concepts:
-games :
-meals:
-plural countable nouns:
-uncountable nouns:
The Definite Article
The use of the definite article ‘the’ is a little complicated but here are a few cases where the rules are clear. The following categories of nouns always take a definite article. Think of three examples of each, and put them in three sentences.
-nationalities: "The French don't care what they do actually, as long as they pronounce it properly"(Alan Jay Lerner, 1959 -My Fair Lady)
-countries that have plural names:
-when there is something in a category by itself:
Exercise 2
Some of the sentences below are incorrect, identify them:
What did you have for the breakfast?
My sister lives in United States.
My brother lives in the Netherlands.
The Italian food isn’t as fattening as people think.
I play the rugby.
Evolution is a controversial topic.
Left-movers are more susceptible to hypnosis than right-movers.
“It’s cool for cats.”
Reading and discussion
What is France’s problem?
- Watch the film Indigenes and describe how the native Algerian fighters were treated by the French army and residents. Explain your answers.
- According to the film what did the Algerian forces contribute to the liberation of France during the Second World War.
- List the victories.
- What was the French attitude towards the Algerian fighters?
Reading 1)
Read the article below and explain what the grievances of the youth in the French suburbs. We hate France and France hates us
Reading 2)
Read the following Letter to the Editor and find out. Once you have finished answer the questions below.
French Riots
No-one should come to France to change the French. Immigrant populations will always be rejected if they do not integrate.
Effectively, 'integration' translates as becoming French. Above all this means abandoning one's ostensible cultural identity and conforming to the French way of life.
In general, it is a mistake to label the French as racist. They are instead anti-pluralist and are showing themselves to be unready for the Europe they championed.
Those attracted to France because of its utopist ideals of 'Liberty, Fraternity and Equality' will often be disappointed because they are just that: ideals. If one does not realize this, France is a country of irony, contradiction and injustice. It becomes a place to be visited, not a place to make one's home.
A Resident (Paris, France) 14/11/05
Questions
In groups discuss the meaning of the following key words in the text:
-Immigrant populations
-Integration
-Racism
-Ostensible
-To label
-Pluralism
-Anti-pluralism
-To champion
-Ideals
Comprehension Questions
1) What does writer think is wrong with France?
2) What is their solution?
Discussion
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with the writer of the letter?
Nature, Art & Language
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Answers to Listening Comprehension - Ronald Mallett's Time Machine
1) What is the greatest question?
Can we travel through time and alter our destiny?
2) What happened in 1955 that changed Ronald Mallett's life forever?
In 1955 Mallett's father died. Mallet was ten years old.
3) What inspirational book did Mallet read in 1956?
In 1956 came across The Time Machine and became obsessed with the idea of building a time machine. He wanted to go back into time and save his father's life.
4) He also read Einstein. What key points about the relationship between space, time, light and gravity did he learn?
For Einstein space and time are connected. Space and time are like a fabric or sheet. Objects can warp this fabric and gravity is the effect of this warping.
5) What are the implications for time travel knowing that gravity can twist time into a loop?
You can generate gravity to twist time into a loop and thus create a pathway to moving backwards and forwards in time.
6) In the 1980's studying time travel was not taken seriously. Mallett therefore decided to another branch of physics as 'a cover'. Explain what is meant by 'a cover' in this context, and then say what mallet's cover was.
A cover is a disguise, a way of concealing someone's true intentions. Mallett studied black holes to conceal his true interest which was time travel.
7) What is a black hole?
A collapsed stars that has immense gravity. They distort both space and time.
8) Einstein's famous equation e=m2 desrcibes the relationship between light and matter and that they are different forms of the same thing. Listen to ronald mallet explain the relationship between light, gravity and time. Now complete the following:
Gravity __________ time.
Light _______ gravity.
Then light can _______ time.
Gravity affects time.
Light creates gravity.
Then light can affect time.
In other words: Light affects time because light creates gravity and gravity affects time.
9) Describe Mallet's time machine
The machine is made up of four intersecting laser beams. They generate a circulation effect which creates a tunnel of light. These circulating beams twist the space and time with in its perimeter.
10) Who or what will the first time traveller be?
The first time traveller will be a particle, either a neutron or information information.
11) What is the significance of being able to send information back into the past?
It makes it possible to inform the past about about future disasters and how to avoid them.
12) Use Mallett's analogy of the coffee cup to explain how his time machine works.
The spoon is like the light beam which makes the liquid swirl around. You can see the swirling
effect by placing a coffee bean into the coffee. Imagine when the bean is placed into the coffee this is the past. It is carried to the present then into the future and returns to its starting point which is the past. So the caffee bean has moved from the future to the past.
13) With Mallett's time machine how far back into the past will it be possible to travel?
The furthest particles or information or eventually a human being could be sent back into the past is to the point when the time machine was first switched on. So Mallet could never have the ability to travel back in time to save his father.
14) How could an advanced alien civilization help us travel to the very distant past to witness say the building of the pyramids in Egypt?
If another civilisation had acquired the technology say 10,000 years ago and had it switched on all that time then it would be possible.
15) How much does Mallett need to finance the construction of his time machine?
$250,000 , a quarter of a million dollars.
16) What is the 'grandfather paradox'?
This means going back into the past, changing something that affects your future existence.
17) The grandfather paradox may not be a problem due to the possible existence of parallel universes – explain this 'far out' notion.
Changing the past may not be a problem for the present owing the possible existence of mulitple parallel universes. For example once the past is changed it continues on its own trajectory into the future. This leads to the idea that alternative universes can generated by time travellers going into the past to change the future.
Can we travel through time and alter our destiny?
2) What happened in 1955 that changed Ronald Mallett's life forever?
In 1955 Mallett's father died. Mallet was ten years old.
3) What inspirational book did Mallet read in 1956?
In 1956 came across The Time Machine and became obsessed with the idea of building a time machine. He wanted to go back into time and save his father's life.
4) He also read Einstein. What key points about the relationship between space, time, light and gravity did he learn?
For Einstein space and time are connected. Space and time are like a fabric or sheet. Objects can warp this fabric and gravity is the effect of this warping.
5) What are the implications for time travel knowing that gravity can twist time into a loop?
You can generate gravity to twist time into a loop and thus create a pathway to moving backwards and forwards in time.
6) In the 1980's studying time travel was not taken seriously. Mallett therefore decided to another branch of physics as 'a cover'. Explain what is meant by 'a cover' in this context, and then say what mallet's cover was.
A cover is a disguise, a way of concealing someone's true intentions. Mallett studied black holes to conceal his true interest which was time travel.
7) What is a black hole?
A collapsed stars that has immense gravity. They distort both space and time.
8) Einstein's famous equation e=m2 desrcibes the relationship between light and matter and that they are different forms of the same thing. Listen to ronald mallet explain the relationship between light, gravity and time. Now complete the following:
Gravity __________ time.
Light _______ gravity.
Then light can _______ time.
Gravity affects time.
Light creates gravity.
Then light can affect time.
In other words: Light affects time because light creates gravity and gravity affects time.
9) Describe Mallet's time machine
The machine is made up of four intersecting laser beams. They generate a circulation effect which creates a tunnel of light. These circulating beams twist the space and time with in its perimeter.
10) Who or what will the first time traveller be?
The first time traveller will be a particle, either a neutron or information information.
11) What is the significance of being able to send information back into the past?
It makes it possible to inform the past about about future disasters and how to avoid them.
12) Use Mallett's analogy of the coffee cup to explain how his time machine works.
The spoon is like the light beam which makes the liquid swirl around. You can see the swirling
effect by placing a coffee bean into the coffee. Imagine when the bean is placed into the coffee this is the past. It is carried to the present then into the future and returns to its starting point which is the past. So the caffee bean has moved from the future to the past.
13) With Mallett's time machine how far back into the past will it be possible to travel?
The furthest particles or information or eventually a human being could be sent back into the past is to the point when the time machine was first switched on. So Mallet could never have the ability to travel back in time to save his father.
14) How could an advanced alien civilization help us travel to the very distant past to witness say the building of the pyramids in Egypt?
If another civilisation had acquired the technology say 10,000 years ago and had it switched on all that time then it would be possible.
15) How much does Mallett need to finance the construction of his time machine?
$250,000 , a quarter of a million dollars.
16) What is the 'grandfather paradox'?
This means going back into the past, changing something that affects your future existence.
17) The grandfather paradox may not be a problem due to the possible existence of parallel universes – explain this 'far out' notion.
Changing the past may not be a problem for the present owing the possible existence of mulitple parallel universes. For example once the past is changed it continues on its own trajectory into the future. This leads to the idea that alternative universes can generated by time travellers going into the past to change the future.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Time
The narrative tenses: The past simple/continuous and the past perfect/continuous
Prepositions of place and movement: behind, in front of
Listening comprehesion: The Aymara Indians and Ronald Mallet's Time Machine
Note taking
Anecdotes
Extract from Back to the Future
Doc: Here's a red-letter date in the history of science,November 5, 1955. Yes, of course, November 5, 1955.
Marty: What, I don't get what happened.
Doc: That was the day I invented time travel. I remember it vividly. I was standing on the edge of my toilet hanging a clock, the porcelain was wet, I slipped, hit my head on the edge of the sink. And when I came to I had a revelation, a picture, a picture in my head, a picture of this. This is what makes time travel possible: the flux capacitor.
Vocabulary note:
A 'red-letter day' refers to a date on a calendar that is printed in red rather than black. The red colour indicates that it is a holiday or some other special day. Doc Brown is making a joke when he says 5 November is one such day.
Exercise
1) Draw a timeline with the past on the left hand side, the future on the right and the present in the middle. Then plot each past event in Doc Brown's anecdote from "I was standing..."
2)Tell your partner an anecdote. Relate something scary, funny, dangerous or strange that happened to you. Use the past simple and past continuous tenses.
Discussion
References
Photos from Flick.com
Prepositions of place and movement: behind, in front of
Listening comprehesion: The Aymara Indians and Ronald Mallet's Time Machine
Note taking
Anecdotes
Extract from Back to the Future
Doc: Here's a red-letter date in the history of science,November 5, 1955. Yes, of course, November 5, 1955.
Marty: What, I don't get what happened.
Doc: That was the day I invented time travel. I remember it vividly. I was standing on the edge of my toilet hanging a clock, the porcelain was wet, I slipped, hit my head on the edge of the sink. And when I came to I had a revelation, a picture, a picture in my head, a picture of this. This is what makes time travel possible: the flux capacitor.
Vocabulary note:
A 'red-letter day' refers to a date on a calendar that is printed in red rather than black. The red colour indicates that it is a holiday or some other special day. Doc Brown is making a joke when he says 5 November is one such day.
Exercise
1) Draw a timeline with the past on the left hand side, the future on the right and the present in the middle. Then plot each past event in Doc Brown's anecdote from "I was standing..."
2)Tell your partner an anecdote. Relate something scary, funny, dangerous or strange that happened to you. Use the past simple and past continuous tenses.
Discussion
- In what direction does time move?
- What does the expression “Time flies when you’re having fun” mean?
Reading
Read an extract from an article from the newspaper The Guardian entitled, ‘How Time Flies’ by Laura Spinney (February 24, 2005). When you have finished answer the questions below.
The old man shields his eyes against the fierce light of the Altiplano and considers the question. When he talks about his ancestors, does he mean the Incas? No, he replies in a sort of Spanish creole, he means his great-great-grandfather. And with his right hand he makes a rotating gesture up and forwards from his body. The Incas, he adds, came way earlier. And with the same hand he sweeps even further forward, towards the mountains on the horizon.
In the next video clip, the researcher asks a woman to explain the origins of her culture. She starts by describing her parents' generation, then her grandparents', and so on, extending her arm further and further in front of her as she does so. Then she switches to talk about how the values of those earlier generations have been handed back to her (her hand gradually returns to her body from out front), and how she will in turn pass them on to her children (she thumbs over her shoulder).
1. With your partner make the gestures as described in the text that indicate the past and the future.
2. What is unusual about the way the Aymara Indians talk about the future and the past?
3.Listen to a short radio interview to check your answer as well as to answer the questions that follow.
Listening:
NPR Radio - Aymara's concept of the future- For the Aymara, Future is Then
- Apart from space what metaphor is used to talk about time in English?
- List the cultures for which time does not flow from behind us to in front of us
- For Mandarin Chinese what direction does time flow?
Video - Ronald Mallett's Time Machine - The History Channel hosted by Youtube
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=mGrBNtJjsU0
Instructions
- Watch the video at least two times.
- The first time take notes while you watch.
- Answer question 1 as a class.
- After you have done this your teacher will put you in groups of 3-4.
- Each group will be responsible for one of the four batches of questions.
- Each batch contains four questions.
- Once all the groups have answered their assigned questions it will be time to exchange answers with the other groups.
1) What is the greatest question? 00:18-00:33 mins.
2) What happened in 1955 that changed Ronald Mallett's life forever?
00:38-00:45 mins.
3) What inspirational book did Mallet read in 1956? 00:56-1:15 mins.
4) He also read Einstein. What key points about the relationship between space, time, light and gravity did he learn? 1:30-2:16 mins.
5) What are the implications for time travel knowing that gravity can twist time into a loop? 2:16-2:43 mins.
6) In the 1980's studying time travel was not taken seriously. Mallett therefore decided to another branch of physics as 'a cover'. Explain what is meant by 'a cover' in this context, and then say what mallet's cover was. 2:44-3:14 mins.
7) What is a black hole? 3:15-3:30 mins.
8) Einstein's famous equation e=m2 desrcibes the relationship between light and matter and that they are different forms of the same thing. Listen to Ronald Mallet explain the relationship between light, gravity and time. Now complete the following:
Gravity __________ time.
Light _______ gravity.
Then light can _______ time. 3:32-4:34 mins.
9) Describe Mallet's time machine 4:34- 5:20 mins.
10) Who or what will the first time traveller be? 5:20-5:36 mins.
11) What is the significance of being able to send information back into the past?
5:36-5:50 mins.
12) Use Mallett's analogy of the coffee cup to explain how his time machine works. 5:50-7:00 mins.
13) With Mallett's time machine how far back into the past will it be possible to travel? 7:00 -8:05 mins.
14) How could an advanced alien civilization help us travel to the very distant past to witness say the building of the pyramids in Egypt? 8:05-8:41 mins
15) How much does Mallett need to finance the construction of his time machine?
8:41-8:52 mins.
16) What is the 'grandfather paradox'? 9:00- 9:30 mins.
17) The grandfather paradox may not be a problem due to the possible existence of parallel universes – explain this 'far out' notion. 9:30-10:24 mins.
References
Photos from Flick.com
- Time by Rickydavid
- Origin of Yangtze River by Luo Shaoyang
Siddhartha - Reading a novel
Return to:
© All Copyright Ray Genet, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
The possessive or genitive case (’s)
Consider the following sentence:
Darwin’s theory of evolution
In this case we have two nouns, Darwin and theory . The second noun is an object and the first is a person.
The first noun has apostrophe (') + s attached, and this denotes that the second object belongs to the person.
The above sentence could be written:
The theory of evolution created by Darwin.
But it is more natural to use the possessive and write:
Darwin’s theory of evolution
We can also use (’s ) with times, companies and organizations although it is perfectly acceptable join the nouns with ‘of’, or sometimes you can form a compound noun.
Microsoft’s latest program
or
the latest program of Microsoft
or
the latest Microsoft program
The World Wild Life Fund’s policy on endangered species
or
policy on endangered species of The World Wild Life Fund
or
The World Wild Life Fund policy on endangered species
The government’s program
or
The policy of the government
or
The government program on…
Exercises
Which of the following sentences and phrases can be rewritten as compound nouns, with a possessive (’s ) or should be left as they are?
Darwin’s theory of evolution
In this case we have two nouns, Darwin and theory . The second noun is an object and the first is a person.
The first noun has apostrophe (') + s attached, and this denotes that the second object belongs to the person.
The above sentence could be written:
The theory of evolution created by Darwin.
But it is more natural to use the possessive and write:
Darwin’s theory of evolution
We can also use (’s ) with times, companies and organizations although it is perfectly acceptable join the nouns with ‘of’, or sometimes you can form a compound noun.
Microsoft’s latest program
or
the latest program of Microsoft
or
the latest Microsoft program
The World Wild Life Fund’s policy on endangered species
or
policy on endangered species of The World Wild Life Fund
or
The World Wild Life Fund policy on endangered species
The government’s program
or
The policy of the government
or
The government program on…
Exercises
Which of the following sentences and phrases can be rewritten as compound nouns, with a possessive (’s ) or should be left as they are?
- The policy of the United Nations
- The news of today
- A belt of trees designed to provide shelter
- The voice of Anna Netrebko
- Snowy is the dog of Tintin
- A pool made of stone
- The decision of France
- The bottom of the Queen Mary
- The theory of evolution
- The theory of evolution developed by Darwin
- The dam in Mazingira
- The jump of a frog
- The products of Hewlett-Packard
- A dream on a mid-summer night The painting by Monet
For more on possessives and compound nouns etc go to
Charles Darling's Guide to Grammar and Writing
Return to
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
