Latin Roots
Anyone who has studied Latin realizes how much this knowledge helps in studying English. There are those who might think that this ancient language is only connected to the Romance languages: French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese (sister languages), which developed from the mother tongue Latin; but the English language has many of its roots also found in Latin. As a matter of fact, even though students of French and English may realize that there are many similar words in these two languages, Latin remains the most prominent source for English vocabulary. We find Latin terminology in education, in horticulture, in science, in medicine, and according to some studies, in almost half of the English words we use daily. So, through their common roots in Latin, there are many similarities in first and second language acquisition, for those learning a Romance language when their birth language is English, or those speaking a Romance language who want to learn English.
The Latin Connection
This Latin connection can be observed by an English speaking student who studies French, Spanish, Italian or Portuguese and vice versa. There are many Latin words which came directly into English, but there are many which came indirectly into English from French. There are also many English words which can be traced back to Greek. Here are some examples of how common Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes can help an English speaking person to learn or understand French, Spanish, Italian or Portuguese vocabulary easily:
Latin Root - dict
Basic Meaning – to say
Example words
English - diction
French - diction
Spanish - dicción
Italian - dizione
Portuguese – dicção
Latin Prefix – inter
Basic Meaning – between, among
Example words
English - international
French - internationale
Spanish - internacional
Italian - internazionale
Portuguese – internacional
Latin Suffix - ation
Basic Meaning – forms nouns from verbs
Example Words
English – information
French - information
Spanish – información
The following two, while they do not share a similar ending are examples of where one can make a reasonable, educated guess as to the meaning of a word in one of the “sister languages”. Observe that they do have a similar prefix to the first three.
Italian - informazioni
Portuguese – informação
Spanish and English Similarities
Let’s talk about Spanish similarities. For both Spanish and English speaking learners, similarities in first and second language acquisition offer even greater advantages. Like French and English, Spanish also uses the Roman alphabet. This is an important feature in building a phonemic and phonological foundation. There are about 30-40 % of English words which have a related word in Spanish. While in French, the sound, appearance and/or meaning may vary slightly; in English and Spanish, the cognates can be transferred directly into either language. Here are some Spanish words used in English as English words: alligator, bravo, cocoa, chocolate pronto, rodeo, taco, tobacco and many more. There are also many words, the suffixes of which correspond to particular word endings in either language. Here are just a few:
dad =ity
actividad – activity
libertad – liberty
ción = tion
nación – nation
agravación – aggravation
tud = tude
latitude – latitude
solicitud – solicitude
The Indo-European Family
The Indo European family of languages contains the Germanic languages, which include English, German and Swedish; and the Latin and Romance languages like French and Spanish. Many similarities are found within these groups. The difficulty of studying German becomes a myth when English speaking students realize that there are so many words similarities. Take the following examples:
Mutter-Mother
Vater – Father
Sohn –Son
Wasser – Water
Examen – exam
Kamera – camera
Student – student
The Indo-Iranian and Slavic Families
There are many language families in the world. In each of them a student will find similarities in first and second language acquisition as well as differences. Students of Hindi can identify certain similarities in Urdu and Sanskrit, which are all Indo-Iranian languages. Students of the Slavic languages Czech and Russian see similarities there.
So take the plunge to study a language. Your first language can be an asset for you. If you know a second language, learning a third or a fourth becomes definitely easier, especially if the languages belong to the same family. Bonne chance!
Are you on the spot?
Sometimes you may be stomped for vocabulary in the second language. Here is a helpful tip; you can make an educated guess based on what you already know, and you just may be right or almost right. This is another way in which you can get over the stumbling block of vocabulary. As the world changes, language is also changing and words from some languages are borrowed and integrated into another. Be on the look-out for these words
Let us suppose that you know some French and want to tell your French friend, or a pen friend for that matter, to set a speed dial on his phone to call you. Maybe you want to ask a French friend how to set a speed dial on his phone. You suddenly halt in the middle of the sentence because you do not know the expression for speed dial in French.
The expression speed dial has become popular with the advent and popularity of mobile phones within recent years. If you had time to look in an online dictionary, you would find a translation “cadran de vitesse.” Now, let’s say your French friend was dialing someone by speed dial and he spoke aloud while doing so; you just might have heard him say “ Arlène,mémoire 3” or “Jean, mémoire 7” for example. However, you in the present moment do not know what to say. It is comforting to know that you could simply say the words “speed dial” with a French pronunciation. This is just a simple example of the similarities in first and second language acquisition which your native language English has in common with French through borrowed words. While many English words have been borrowed from the French, the French also use many English words, (especially new words) in their English form.
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