Linguistics Lesson Plan

Often when there is a new invention, people go back to older languages, particularly Latin and Greek, to give a name to that device or concept.

• telephone (Gk. tele, far off; phonos, sound)

• computer (L. computare, to calculate)

Question: Can you think of other modern inventions that have names that sound like Greek or Latin? List them.

Root words in this lesson

• kinetic (Gk. kineticos, moving)

• energy (Gk. energeia, activity, function, cosmic force)

• potential (L. potens, potentia, ability, power)

• conservation (L. conservare, to keep, preserve, save)

Question: How can knowing these root words add to your knowledge of scientific concept behind these new terms?

The Roller-Coaster

• roller (rota, wheel>rotula, little wheel>rolle (ME)>roll>roller)

here the meaning has remained stable throughout the linguistic development of the word

• coaster (costa, rib>cost (ME)>coast)

o definitions

§ noun: border, frontier, seashore

§ transitive verb: to skirt, travel along the coast, slide run or glide downhill by the force of gravity

Question: If you were to give a name to the invention that we call the "roller-coaster", what Latin bone-name would you have chosen? Invent a linguistic history for your gravity-dependent ride's name.