Some languages – French comes to mind – have academies to try to preserve the “purity” of the language.
English is different. It is a magpie language, unashamedly borrowing – or stealing – words from all sorts of unlikely sources. Consider the words ‘chocolate,’ ‘tomato,’ ‘potato,’ ‘maize.’ The first two are from Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs; the last two are from Taíno and Arawakan, two Caribbean languages. English really doesn’t care where it gets its words from.
How is this of interest to English speakers who wish to learn another language? The major contributors to the vast vocabulary of the English language are principally found in three language groups: Romance, Germanic and Greek. Knowing the origin – the etymology – of an English word can make it easier for us to learn languages in those groups:
Take a walk around your local clinic and look at the signs:
‘Cardiology’ features the ancient Greek words καρδία + λογία meaning ‘heart’ and ‘words, discourse’ respectively. The modern Greek equivalents are καρδιά + λέξη.
‘Psychiatry’ is based on ψυχή + ἰατρεία, the words for ‘soul’ and ‘healing.’ The modern Greek for a doctor is γιατρός.
Be a magpie. Learn etymology whenever you can.
