English Vocabulary from Latin & Greek

General Description

The purpose of this class is to improve your vocabulary by understanding the origins of the majority of English words.

Did you know that there are estimated to be more than 250,000 words in the English language, and the English language has more words than any other language? Yet more than 60% of these words are built out of simple Latin roots. Additionally, much of our scientific, technical, and philosophical vocabulary originates in the Greek language. Therefore, the easiest way to improve your vocabulary is through the study of Latin and Greek roots. In this class we study the various parts of English words, their etymology, as well as a few cultural and historic ties in their modern and ancient usages. This knowledge will help you to understand the meaning of unfamiliar words and it will also improve your spelling, and it will also help you gain an awareness and appreciation for how the English language has changed and evolved into the form we see today.

Our summer intensive class will involve a guided study of these roots and the specific ways that they are incorporated into English.