మీ వర్డ్ యొక్క విలువ

Be Your Word's Worth - 3

 

 We are amazed at the beauty of a tree with its fresh green leaves, bright and beautiful flowers, juicy fruit and above all the shade and sustenance it gives to myriad life forms not withstanding humankind. What is it that gives such an immense strength and vitality to a tree? Though there are many answers, one basic strength of a tree lies in the sturdiness of its roots. Language is also an ever evolving phenomenon as organic as that of a tree with the same kind of beauty and variety that is inherent in a tree. Vocabulary also grows out of the root words which are mostly from Greek and Latin languages. Just as a root is the base for the different parts of plant, so are root words in English language the base for different combinations of a similar meaning word. If we are able to identify the root words and know their meaning, vocabulary learning becomes a fun-filled self- exploratory journey. Before we look at the root words, let us know what they are like.

 

 A word, to put it simply, is a combination of a prefix, suffix and a root word. Prefixes appear at the beginning of the word and suffixes towards the end. In between we have a root word. If we are able to identify and understand the root words, we can spin more words on similar lines and can also make an intelligent guess of the meaning of the word.

 

 Let us take the word Vocabulary. The root word is Voc (Latin) which means word or name. The suffix-ary means pertaining to or connected with. Now we know that vocabulary is connected with words and words like vocal, convocation, vociferous and vocative revolve round the idea of words and names and how they are expressed.

 

 The meaning of the root word Aud means listen. Now it is easy to link audible, auditorium, audience, applaud, audit, (in the earlier days accounts of a company were read aloud) audacious, plaudits, laudable to the root word. Bene and Bon, which mean good are the root words in benediction, benefit, bonus, bon voyage, bon homie etc. We know that spectacles aid us in better vision. The root word here is spec which means to see. It is now easy to see the meaning of spectacle, spectator, respect, inspect, introspect, retrospect, prospect, suspect. Circumspect means very careful and cautious. There are two root words here. Circum means round as in circle and circus (where people sit in a circular way). Spec means to see. One who sees around before going out is naturally a person who is very cautious!! Another interesting root word is dict which means word. Verdict is a word of judgment. Dictation is taking down words. Dictator is one who wants his word to be obeyed. Prediction is to tell a word about what is going to happen. Similarly, contradiction, valediction, benediction, indictment, follow suit.



 When you reject, inject, project and subject the common point is ject which means to throw. Add to this trajectory and dejection and you know in how many different ways ideas, things, and issues are thrown to serve a purpose. If you are gregarious by nature, it means that you tend to live in a group, not definitely a loner. Here the root word is greg. Now think of aggregate, (grouped together), segregate (separate), congregate (assemble, again group). Another common root word is carn which means flesh. You must have heard about carnival. That is a time of celebration with regard to pleasures relating to eating, drinking, dancing, dining all related to body which is flesh. Carnivorous animals are those that eat flesh. Reincarnation (to be born again, in flesh of course) carnal (relating to body, its needs and urges) are the words that have their root meaning in carn.

 

 We have to remember that digging for roots does not always yield sweet fruit. Sometimes, the root words do not make much sense with the present meaning of the word. As the word has travelled long in distance and time, there are many layers of meaning embedded on it, and the root word is difficult to guess or justify. And some other times, the same root may mean two different things, which we need to apply carefully. But by and large a general awareness of root words paves the path for rich and rewarding vocabulary.