Reading Log for 6,7 and 8

Chapter 6 was about how the words we use are formed and the process that is undergone to form them. The chapter talked about how easy it is for us to adopt new words and names in to our language because there are almost always very similar and relatable links to other words we use in our language. Our language is highly complex, and therefore also very adaptive. The chapter used a specific example of product names; specifically hoover, which is now a household name. Every day we are presented with new names on tv, in ads, on the street, or in everyday conversation. We are constantly adapting our language along with culture. This all seems obvious because it is.

A key term in this chapter is etymology. Etymology is the study of the history and origin of a word. This is explained through a variety of methods such as coinage, which is the invention of a totally new term. And then there is an eponym. That is when a new word is based on the name of a person or place. There are basically just a bunch of vocabulary words that are related to etymology.

Chapter 7 is about how these words can be morphed and all the different elements of a given word. For example: the word talk can be morphed in to the words talks, talker, talked, and talking. There are also words called functional morphemes which stick around and are rarely joined by new comers i their category. They are called a closed class of words. The part of this chapter that I found most interesting was the part where they talked about the langauge in Ganda and how there is a different inflexional prefix for singular forms of words than there are for plural.

Chapter 8 is about grammar. It defines and explains all the aspects of language. These terms include nouns, articles, adjectives, verbs, prepositions and others. Since defining all of these would not make for a very interesting reading log, I will move on. Some languages use grammerical gender. This has nothing to do with sex, but instead categorizes words by gender. As a French student, I am dealing with this learning process and there is not always a good a logial rhyme and reason for the gender. Sometimes you just have to learn by repitition.

The part I found interesting in this chapter was Captain Kirk's infinitive which creatively describes how the Latin infinitives are single words which never split. English words often break the rules of Latin grammar by doing this. This shows me that even though the English language derives from Latin, it has truly evolved into it's own identity. The evolution of language is truly a deep and never ending possibility of exploration; just as deep and extensive as the study of history itself.