This week, we have been learning that our language is a mixture of Latin, Greek, French, Old English, Anglo Saxon and other languages such as Hindi and our language is continuing to evolve. We have learnt that shampoo has its origins in Hindi as well as other words such as orange is originally derived from the Arabic language.
During all of our English lessons this week, students have been exploring Greek and Latin numbers and the relationship to words we use today. 'Hex, pente, centum, decum/deka, mille, octo/okto, hepta' are amongst some of the number roots we have studied. We have also been exploring different words scientists use - especially the meaning behind some dinosaur names!
Students have played with Latin and Greek root words and completed exciting work where we have created new monsters, new dinosaurs and also new products - all using Greek or Latin!
We have also learnt about the original of our alphabet and where our letters come from, why we no longer have some letters in our alphabet such as Thorn, Wynn and Ash and why our months are called e.g. January, May and November.
If you would like to learn more about the origins of the English Language and English vocabulary then RobWords on YouTube is a great place to start. David Crystal is also an author who has also written a lot of great books about the subject of language. Studying root words can really help students with the complex spellings our language has inherited and developed over time.
A massive thank you also goes to 'Classics for All' at classicsforall.org.uk who trained all of our staff and provided many of the fantastic lessons the students have been completing this week.
