Tag Archives: foreign languages/linguistics

Tupian Languages

Posted on October 7, 2023 | Leave a comment

“Tupian Languages: Family of South American Indian languages with at least seven subgroups, spoken or formerly spoken in scattered areas from south French Guiana south to southernmost Brazil and Paraguay and east to eastern Bolivia. About a third of the estimated 37 known Tupian languages are extinct. The largest subgroup, Tupi-Guarani, includes the extinct language Tupinamba, the source for borrowings of many New World flora and fauna terms into Portuguese and hence other European languages. Another language of the subgroup, Guarani, is spoken as a first or second language by more than 90 percent of Paraguayans, who consider it a token of Paraguayan identity.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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Ojibwa or Chippewa

Posted on October 7, 2023 | Leave a comment

“Ojibwa or Chippewa: Algonquian-speaking Indian people who formerly inhabited a region north of the Great Lakes but who during the 17th-18th centuries moved west to what is now northern Minnesota. Each Ojibwa tribe was divided into migratory bands. In the autumn, bands separated into family units for hunting; in summer, families gathered at fishing sites. They grew corn and collected wild rice. The Midewiwin, or Grand Medicine Society, was the major Ojibwa religious organization. The Ojibwa are one of the largest Native American groups in North America today, numbering about 50,000 in the U.S. and over 100,000 in Canada.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

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The Weekly Text, 4 August 2023: Styling Sentences Lesson 2, A Series with a Variation with an Excursus on the Conjunction And.

Posted on July 31, 2023 | Leave a comment

Another week has passed, so it’s time for this week’s Text, which is the second lesson of the Styling Sentences Unit, this one, as above, on a sentence structure that includes a series with a variation, with an excursus on using the conjunction and.

I begin this lesson with this Cultural Literacy worksheet on the Latinism non sequitur. It means, as the text of the document begins,  “A thought that does not logically follow what has just been said.” It’s probably a concept and practice students should know before they set off on writing long, complicated declarative sentences. Finally, here is the worksheet with mentor texts that is the work of this lesson. There are no modified cloze exercises in this document; students work from the mentor texts to produce their own sentences in the form displayed.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Cognoscenti

Posted on July 21, 2023 | Leave a comment

“Cognoscenti (plural noun): Individuals having authoritative knowledge of a field or subject, especially in the arts; informed or expert specialists. Singular: cognoscente.

‘Some of the illustrations will be revelations even to the cognoscenti. The soaring drama of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Milan, for example, is an extraordinary fish-eye photo.’ J. Mourdant Crook, Times Literary Supplement.”

Excerpted from: Grambs, David. The Random House Dictionary for Writers and Readers. New York: Random House, 1990.

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The Weekly Text, 14 July 2023: A Lesson Plan on the Latin Word Roots Patr, Patri, and Pater

Posted on July 14, 2023 | Leave a comment

Here is a lesson plan on the Latin word roots patr, patri, and pater. You may perceive–correctly–that these mean “father.” This is a productive root in English yielding such commonly used words as patriotism and paternity, as well as some less common, but quite useful, words like patrimony and patrilineal.

I open this lesson with this context clues worksheet on the noun founder. It means, in the context of the sentences in the document, “one that founds or establishes.” Finally, here is the scaffolded worksheet on these Latin roots that serves as the mainstay of this lesson’s work.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Cognate

Posted on July 10, 2023 | Leave a comment

“Cognate (adjective): Related or common ancestry, as two words having the same derivation; descended from the same verbal root; intrinsically similar. Noun: cognate, cognateness.

‘The vulgarity of a lot of writing about food is cognate with the vulgarity of a lot of writing about sex.’ Anthony Burgess, The New York Times”

Excerpted from: Grambs, David. The Random House Dictionary for Writers and Readers. New York: Random House, 1990.

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Term of Art: Subtractive Bilingualism

Posted on December 21, 2022 | Leave a comment

“subtractive bilingualism: A description of a bilingual program in which students become proficient in a second language, which replaces their first language in the curriculum. Contrast additive bilingualism.”

Excerpted from: Ravitch, Diane. EdSpeak: A Glossary of Education Terms, Phrases, Buzzwords, and Jargon. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2007.

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The Weekly Text, 21 October 2022: A Lesson Plan on the Greek Word Root Pale/o

Posted on October 21, 2022 | Leave a comment

This week’s Text is a complete lesson on the Greek word root pale/o. It means, simply, ancient. You’ll find this root at the base of paleolithic, a key word in in any global history course, but also in paleontology as well as more technical academic words like paleozoology, paleobotany, and paleography.

I open this lesson with this context clues worksheet on the noun antique, which is also plugged in as an adjective. Where the context of the sentences in this document are concerned, antique means “a relic or object of ancient times” as a noun and “being in the style or fashion of former times” as an adjective. Finally, here is the the scaffolded worksheet that is the primary work of this lesson.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Glitch (n)

Posted on July 29, 2022 | Leave a comment

Here is a context clues worksheet on the noun glitch. It means “a usually minor malfunction,”  “a minor problem that causes a temporary setback,” and “a false or spurious electronic signal.” The context clues in this sentence point mostly to the first two definitions; the first sentence on the worksheet–“Arleny’s phone has developed a glitch that causes a delay in the delivery of text messages”–might, with some revision, supply context for the first definition.

Parenthetically, would you be surprised to hear this word comes to the English language from Yiddish? It does sound like it might; in Yiddish, glitsch means “a slippery place”; the verb glitshn means “to slide, glide.” Enough said.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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Word Root Exercise: Vor

Posted on July 7, 2022 | Leave a comment

Here is a worksheet on the Latin word root vor, which means to eat. You’ll find this productive root, unsurprisingly, at the base of words like carnivore, herbivore, and insectivore and voracious (all included in this document) as well as omnivore, not included here but a nice example of a pair of Latin roots–omni means all–combining to give us a useful word–someone or something that eats everything.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

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