Assignment Format

UNIVERSIDAD DE PLAYA ANCHA FACULTAD DE HUMANIDADES DEPARTAMENTO DE CIENCIAS DEL LENGUAJE CARRERA DE PEDAGOGÍA EN INGLÉS

Assignment on English Affixes and Roots

Nixon Fuenzalida González

Professor: Cecilia Copello

Valparaíso, Chile 2009

Introduction During the last part of this course we have learned the importance of affixes in word stress. However, affixes have thought us their importance in lexical terms since with them we can form new words with a completely different meaning and by knowing the meaning of those affixes we may have at least an idea of what that word wants to tell us. Something similar happens with roots (in lexical terms) in view of the fact that roots have a meaning and they are the basic element of a word, we will have a thought of what that word also means. Applying our last proposal we can find examples like: • •

Graph (Which means: A diagram) Term (A fixed time or date)

But also there are some word roots that require other elements such as: prefixes, suffixes or even other roots. For example: the roots archy (government) and dox (opinion or belief) need to be combined with at least one of the elements mentioned before. Here is an example: • • •

Dyarchy: [from the prefix dy- (meaning two) and the root archy (meaning government)] Anarchist: [from the prefix an- (meaning without or no), the root archy (meaning government), and the suffix -ist (meaning one who)] Orthodox: [from the prefix ortho- (meaning right or true) and the root dox (meaning opinion or belief)]

As we have seen so far, one of the main aspects of roots and affixes in English is the lexical one, but this assignment is not only about this aspect, it is also about the meaning of the root as well the language of which comes, the influence of these elements in word stress and some extra information which might be relevant in the process of having a better understanding of this topic. In the case of affixes, it is also important knowing the meaning of this, since can provide us a meaning and therefore help us to understand (As before was mentioned) the meaning of a word, or in the case a specific part of it. This will be proved by comparing the origin of the English word with every part of it and its etymological meaning as well. For a better understanding of the importance of roots and affixes, phonological transcription will be included as well a small analysis of the results that will be getting.

Affix The prefixes assigned to me were: Per- & PeriPrefix

Per-

English Meaning • • •

Through All over Completely

Chemistry connotation

Origin Language Cat

Latin per; Through, by means of Implies that an element is present in the maximum proportion possible.

English Examples • Perforate • Perambulate • Percolate • •

Peroxide Peroxy

The word "per" in Latin has different meanings; one of them is "in relation to, through, by means of". However there are also other idiomatic English phrases where it's not associated with a rate: as per instructions / as per enclosed / as per sample / as per usual / per post / per rail. However, this last meaning is not useful for our purpose in studying only the prefix but is important to mention since it is important in the sense of using. The prefix per- means (in English): through; all over; completely. Almost the same meaning that it has in the original language. Words containing this combining form have frequently come directly from Latin or through French with the initial per- already attached. In chemistry per- implies that an element is present in the maximum proportion possible, or that that the principal atom is in a higher state of oxidation than usual.

Examples for prefix per1. 2. 3. 4.

Percolate: Filter through a porous surface or substance. Perforate (Verb): Pierce and make a hole through something. Perambulate: Walk or travel from place to place. Peroxide: in chemistry, a compound containing two oxygen atoms bonded together in its molecule or as the anion O22 5. Perborate: in chemistry, a salt which is an oxidized borate containing a peroxide linkage especially a sodium salt of this kind used as a bleach. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

['phɜːkəˌleɩt] ['phɜːfəˌɻeɩt] [pə'ɻɑmbjʊleɩt] [pə'ɻɒkˌsaɩd] [pə'bɔ:ɹeɩt]

Prefi x

Peri-

English Meaning • • •

Round About All around

Astronomica l connotation

Origin Language

Opposite

Cat

Greek peri: About, around. Refers to the point in the orbit of a celestial object or spacecraft at which it is nearest to its parent body

Prefix: Apo-

English Examples • Perimeter • Periodonti cs • Periglacial • •

Perihelion Perilune

In Greek the word “peri” refers to: around, about, near, enclosing, surrounding. These meanings are similar to what the English prefix means (Round, about, all around) The English prefix should not be confused with (for example) peridium: Which is the plural version of peridia and means: “Botany the outer skin of a sporangium or other fruiting body of a fungus” In this case, peridium comes from the Greek peridion which is a diminutive of pera, a leather pouch. The form is common in modern scientific and medical terms. A pericarp (Green karpos, fruit) is the part of a fruit formed from the wall of the ripened ovary; a periglacial area is one adjacent to a glacier or ice sheet or otherwise subject to repeated freezing and thawing; the pericardium (Greek kardia, heart) is the membrane enclosing the heart; periodontics (Greek odous, odont-, tooth) is the branch of dentistry concerned with the structures surrounding and supporting the teeth; a periurban area is countryside immediately adjacent to a built-up area. In astronomy, peri- refers to the point in the orbit of a celestial object or spacecraft at which it is nearest to its parent body. We can see a similar meaning between the different areas of use. Thus we can conclude that this prefix has a great variety of uses, but its meaning it’s practically the same. Another important thing to be considered is the fact that words started with the prefix: “apo-“represents the opposite idea of “peri-“. The prefix “apo-“comes from the Greek “apo”, which means: off, from, or away

Examples for prefix peri1. Perimeter: the outer edge of an area of land or the border around it: 2. Periodontics: The branch of dentistry concerned with the structures surrounding and supporting the teeth. 3. Periglacial: Relating to or denoting an area adjacent to a glacier or ice sheet or otherwise subject to repeated freezing and thawing. 4. Perihelion: Astronomy, the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet at which it is closest to the sun. The opposite of aphelion. 5. Perilune: The point at which a spacecraft in lunar orbit is closest to the moon. The opposite of apolune. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

[pə'ɻɩmɩɩtə] [ˌpɜɻɩə'dɒntɩks] [pɜɹə'gleɩʃəl] [ˌpɜɹɩ'hiːlɩən] ['phɜɹɩluːn]

As was seen on the last prefix, here (also) there is no prove that might help us to establish rules for a correct word stress.

Root The roots assigned to me were: Pat & Path Root Pat

Meaning in English • To bear • To suffer

Origin Language Latin

Etymology (Root Origin) Patior, Pati

English Examples Patient

The base of the “pat” word comes from the Latin “pati”, from the infinitive of the deponent verb “patior” which means: To suffer, to endure, to bear. Present Active patior

Present Infinitive patī

Perfect Active Passus sum. (Deponent)

And from this verb descendant the English root: Pass. This was confusing at some point because a Latin verb has two different English roots. However, later was learned that roots Pat and Pass have more in common than I thought. Passus is the source of which appears “Pass” as a similar root to “Pat”. This root might come from the French verb: passer. From Latin passus, perfect participle of patior (“‘I endure, allow’”). This similitude is given probably due to a great number of French words loaned because of the endless social exchange that England and France have had through history. A great example to prove this fact is the English verb: “Pass” Pass: whose etymology comes from French, and this at the same time comes from Latin passio, that means suffering, noun of action from perfect passive participle passus, suffered, from deponent verb pati, suffer The root Pat/Pass should not be confused with words like: 1. Passable: From Latin: Passus that means: Step. 2. Impassible: From Latin possum that means: “I am able” (Without considering the prefix im-) 3. Passage: From Latin: Passus that means: Step.

Examples for root pat1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Patient: Having or showing patience. Passion: Strong and barely controllable emotion. Compatible: Able to exist or be used together without problems or conflict Compassion: a feeling of sympathy for people who are suffering Password: a secret word that allows you to do something, such as use your computer

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

['pheɩʃənt] ['phæʃən] [kəm'phætɩbɫ] [kəm'phæʃən] ['phɑːswɜːd]

Meaning in English

Root Path

•

To feel

Origin Language Greek

Etymology (Root Origin) παθος (pathos)

English Examples Sympathy

English has adopted the root path from Greek “pathos” which means “suffering”. The English meaning refers to: suffering, emotions in general. Therefore we can say that the meaning of both, Greek and English, refers to the same thing. It is important not to confuse the root “path” with the prefix “path” which has the same meaning but as was explained before roots and prefixes have different applications. And also is important to consider “path” also as a noun and in this case has a different meaning. Path (noun): A way or track laid down for walking or made by continual trading. Path (prefix): From the Greek pathos: suffering, disease. Ex. pathology is the science of the causes and effects of diseases Taking “Sympathy” as example, we will its etymology and therefore try to determine if this word, and the others which will be analyzed later, descendent form French. Sympathy: From Middle French sympathie from Late Latin sympathia from Ancient Greek συμπάθεια (sumpatheia) from σύν (sun), “‘with, together’”) + πάθος (pathos), “‘suffering’”). At the moment we can conclude that most of words that have either Latin or Greek roots come from French.

Examples for root path1. Sympathy: when you show that you understand and care about someone's problems 2. Pathetic: Arousing pity, especially through vulnerability or sadness. 3. Pathology: the scientific study of disease and causes of death 4. Empathy: the ability to imagine what it must be like to be in someone's situation 5. Sociopath: someone who is completely unable to behave in a way that is acceptable to society 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

['sɩmpəɵi] [pə'ɵetɩk] [pə'ɵɒləʤi] ['empəɵi] ['səʊʃɩəʊpæɵ]

Conclusion During the introduction of this assignment was said that knowing the meaning of affixes and roots would help to at least have a little idea of what that word is trying to tell us. However, this asseveration is not completely true since confusing among other meanings such as: The root Pat/Pass should not be confused with words like: 4. Passable: From Latin: Passus that means: Step. 5. Impassible: From Latin possum that means: “I am able” (Without considering the prefix im-) And the use of these words might lead to confusion and consequently a bad understanding in lexical terms. In Roach’s “English Phonetics and Phonology” it is said about prefixes and their effect on word stress: “(…)Their effect on stress does not have the comparative regulatory, independence and predictability of suffixes, and there is no prefix of one or two syllables that always carries a primary stress. Consequently, the best treatment seems to be to say that stress in words with prefixes is governed by the same rules as those words without prefixes.” From this paragraph it is easy to conclude that stress prefixes do not have a specific rule when primary stressing. As was seen in examples like: Perimeter [pə'ɻɩmɩɩtə] and Perilune ['phɜɹɩluːn] where the stress on the very same prefix changes completely. In the case of the roots “pat & path” exits a very different position in word stress such as: 1. ['sɩmpəɵi] 2. [pə'ɵetɩk] In the first word the root “path” is unaccented and on the other hand the root is the second word has the primary stress. But another important thing to be mentioned is that the second word’s root is broken into pa – thetic because of the primary stress that “pathetic” has. This show us that word stress is far complicated than I expected and the easiest solution seems to be: learning word by word, then there is no temptation to confuse some words with others.

Bibliography • • • • • • •

• •

http://www.prefixsuffix.com/ Texts: more about root words and more about prefixes & suffixes. http://www.affixes.org/ Dictionary of Affixes. “English phonetics and Phonology” – Third Edition - by Peter Roach http://spedr.com/1cw4l Tending to Word Roots. http://www.wiktionary.org English and French Versions. http://www.wikipedia.org Articles referred to: “Greek and Latin roots in English” and “English root” Application: "Roots of English", an etymological 'dictionary' by: Classics Technology center. A copy of the software can be downloaded from: http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/showcase/roots.html Concise Oxford English Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) Cambridge Learner's Dictionary (On-line version)