The Mystery of Words

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The Mystery of Words: how words originate and what they really mean /

6 weeks

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90 minutes

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1 lesson a week

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live lessons online

ABOUT THE COURSE

The course will give you a new perspective on words. If you are one of those language nerds who can spend hours pondering the possible relations between words as different in meaning as “rival” and “arrival”, then the course will satisfy your linguistic curiosity. Focusing on English words mainly, it traces their origins and connections to other languages.

You will solve linguistic puzzles, do quizzes, hypothesize, check you hypotheses and do your own little research!

Latin Heritage:

Latin:
mother of French, grandmother of English

Slavic languages:
a nice bunch of nieces and nephews

Looking beyond and around Latin:
cognates and doublets

Ubiquitous elements:

Latin roots in modern words:
how to guess the meaning

Semantic shifts:
how words take on new meanings

Semantic somersaults:
amelioration and pejoration

Metaphorically speaking:

Universality of metaphors:
why languages agree

Conflict of metaphors:
why languages disagree

Metaphors at work:
how new words are born

requirements

your English level is higher than B1

16-99

B1+

you are are from 16 to 99 years old

i

BASIC

A1

Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

A2

Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.

INDEPENDENT

B1

Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes & ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

B2

Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.

PROFICIENT

C1

Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning. Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

C2

Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations.

COUNCIL OF EUROPE PORTAL – Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)

Who will enjoy the course

Language lovers

Those who are FASCINATED by language in general and English in particular. If you enjoy learning languages and learning about languages, want to expand your vocabulary and practice English, the course is for you.

Language nerds

Those who are really INTO languages and are thinking of pursuing a career in linguistics. If you like to notice similarities between different tongues and solve detective puzzles, you will find a lot of mind-blowing stories behind commonly used words.

Language sceptics

those who are PUZZLED by languages, especially English. If you think there is no logic in it and learning a language is all about memorizing words, then the course will convince you otherwise. It may turn you from a language sceptic into a language lover or even a language nerd.

WHY YOU SHOULD LEARN MORE ABOUT WORDS

and how they have been evolving

Languages do not exist in isolation. They evolve in mutual exchange of concepts, metaphors, items of vocabulary and even grammar structures. Alongside with present-day meanings, words carry a whole spectrum of additional information. How much of what is said do we really understand?

Ancient Greek called Celtic inhabitants of the British Isles Prittanoi, which is said to mean “tattooed people”. The Greek word gave us Briton, from which Britain originated.

~60%

of modern English words have Latin origins (29% directly from Latin and 29% via French)

1755

>50

was the year when the first English dictionary was published

tricky language puzzles are included in the 6-week course

Find out about the discipline of etymology and protolanguages, get insights into the common origins of basic vocabulary

Find out why Latin is so important for most European languages, learn to spot Latin roots in modern English words, as well in words of other languages

Learn about cognitive metaphors and various ways to describe the world, investigate a few semantic areas through cognitive metaphors

Present your own research project on word families

In every lesson, alongside with some input information, you will get to solve linguistic puzzles and hypothesize about the origins and connections of words. A bank of puzzles and questions will be available for your independent analysis, which is entirely up to you. By the end of the course you will have to come up with a presentation of your own research concerning one particular area of lexis.

Learning process

flexibility

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2

3

4

course outline

lesson 1.

Word History

We will talk about why it is important to know a word’s etymology and outline some methods of etymological research

We will look at Comparative Linguistics, learn about its pioneers and get acquainted with language genealogy

1

2

lesson 2.

Latin Heritage

We will learn about the role of Latin in the evolution of modern languages and analyze the Latin heritage in English, Romance and Slavic Languages

We will look at contributions of other languages

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2

lesson 3.

Ubiquitous roots

We will learn how to recognize Latin roots in modern English words, work out their meanings and draw parallels with same-root words in other languages

We will investigate various semantic changes words have undergone, including amelioration and pejoration

1

2

lesson 4.

Meaningful elements

We will learn to understand the meanings of word elements, mainly Latin prefixes.

We will practice discovering historical prefixes in modern words and see how they influence the overall meaning of a word

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2

lesson 5.

Metaphorically speaking

We will learn about J. Lakoff’s theory of cognitive metaphors and talk about why we not only speak but also think in metaphors

We will investigate different methods of word formation: metaphor, metonymy and others

1

2

lesson 6.

What’s in a word?

You will present your own research into a group of vocabulary items (English and others): the etymology, cognates and borrowing in other languages, semantic shifts, phraseology, etc.

1

teacher

We stand in awe of neurons or white dwarfs, but take language for granted. English, learnt and spoken worldwide, has become an obligation or a useful tool. More often than not, we fail to notice how brilliant it is in itself.

Did you know that words “guest” and “host” were actually the same word thousands of years ago? Or that “tree” and “truth” are related? If you, like me, have always been intrigued by convoluted journeys words take, welcome to the course.