Affixes in
English (Very, very Rough Copy)
So called (supposedly)
difficult words in English are only
mind-boggling if you do not understand the
structure of English. English is really several
languages in one. There is that area of the
language which everyone, educated or not,
understands. That is the Germanic aspect. It is
the oldest part of English. It is also the part
which forms of the core of English. Most of the
most basic and most frequently used words in
English are Germanic in origin.
All of the closed class
words* (function or grammatical words) come from
the Germanic area of English. The overwhelming
majority of the most common and frequently used
words in English are Germanic, rather than
Latin, base. These words are rarely a problem to
native English speaker. For the speaker of
Latin-based (French, Italian, Spanish and
Portuguese) this area of the language can be
hell.
The words that English
speakers have problems with are those words
which are Latin and Greek based. These are the
words are neither known nor spoken by everyone
who speaks English. They are taught in school.
Students are forced to memorize them in primary,
secondary and high school. The standardized
tests which students are obligated to take to
graduate, are full of words from this area of
the language. The SAT, ACT, GRE do not ask
questions on the Germanic-based vocabulary of
English. They test one’s knowledge of those
words known which are known only by the educated
part of the English-speaking population. These
words, known as collegiate, are what one is
expected to write and express oneself to
demonstrate one’s educational level. If one has
not had the benefit of an education or a good
education, this area of English is as strange
and alien as any foreign language.
One can learn these
words by memorizing them. This site will
NOT
help you to do that.
What we WILL do is help
you understand how many of collegiate words are
formed. This way, even though you do not
understand a word, you will be able to figure
out what its meaning. This is done by studying
some of the most important prefixes, roots and
suffixes in English.
This site was developed to help you to have the
meaning of some of the most important prefixes
and roots in English.