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- 23 Apr 2012
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The How of Etymology
The Logophilia Language Laboratory is designing studies to explore how Etymology Education influences our CognitiveΒ processes.For details, please see click on the Laboratory page.While we wait for results to come in, hereβs a glimpse into our understanding of the matter.
How Etymology Works
Pigeon-holing
Humans are known to be cognitive misers. In plain words, we do not like to think too much; we likeΒ shortcuts. This behaviour can be seen commonly in the human habit of making stereotypes, heuristics, and categories (examples vary from profound forms of racism to stuff as basic as our taste in music).
Given our tendency to divide things into categories, it seems unnatural for students to have to learn words one-at-a-time. So, if a student has a target of learning 20,000 words, she/he would probably end up with something like:
- 20,000 uncategorised words
- 20,000 categories
- senseless categories, like alphabetic arrangement (βall words starting with βAββ) or phonetic arrangement (βall words that sound like βorangeββ)
Etymology Education, in comparison, seems much more natural as a cognitive learning style. When a student learns vocabulary using Etymology Education, the words learnt get organised under roots.
Root
Language of Origin
Β Meaning
Β Neighbourhood
graph
Greek
to write;
or writtenbiography
cartograph
graphite
graphic
geography
electrocardiograph
–
–
For e.g., when a student learns the root βgraphβ, the entire morphological neighbourhood of βgraphβ becomes accessible to him. Which means, the student gets an intuitive understanding of other words derived from the βgraphβ. Therefore, the root become the a category, or a pigeon-hole, in which its derivatives get automatically placed, with no extra cognitive efforts from the student.
As the student gains a certain level of advancement in the Etymology Education style of learning, this process of pigeon-holing becomes rapid and to an extent default. When the Etymology student encounters a new word,Β it becomes natural for him to try and break it up into constituent parts (prefix, root, suffix).
Hence, it would be highly unlikely for this student to feel the need to memorise word definitions.- 28 Jan 2012
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