DaanNov 17, 2022
Joel M. Hoffman, PhD

#Etymology is one of the biggest #translation traps when it comes to understanding a #language.

For example, "jail" and "prison" are near #synonyms but "jailer" and prisoner" are near #opposites.

#linguistics #WritingCommunity #Writing #grammar @linguistics #AncientWisdom @languagelovers

Nov 16, 2022 at 9:26pmWeb
Show threadGaston DorrenNov 17, 2022
@JoelMHoffmanPhD Most of the time, I find etymology enormously helpful in learning second-language vocabulary (incl. English, for me). Even jailer and prisoner are easier to memorize when you already know know jail and prison.
Show threadJoel M. Hoffman, PhDNov 17, 2022
@GastonDorren I can see how etymology would sometimes help a second-language learner remember the general semantic field of a word. (In this case, they both have to do with jails/prisons.) My point is that if you don't already know what a word means, etymology won't tell you.
Show threadGaston DorrenNov 17, 2022

@JoelMHoffmanPhD Well, 'prisoner' helped me to memorize prisionero/a in Spanish, which has the same meaning all right. That's a whole lot better than having to learn the full set of 10 letters as if they were all new.

This is just one example from many that I've used to 'conquer' new vocabulary, in Spanish and Polish in particular. It's not a panacea, but I find it a great help.