History of English: double words

Hi all,

I came across this short video recently, and I would like to share it in this blog. It illustrates neatly why we have some words that mean more or less the same thing, but that look very different.

This phenomenon isn't exclusive of the English language. In Spanish, for example, the words perro and can mean the same thing (dog), and their origins are different (Basque and Latin respectively), and there are countless other words like that. Without going into too much detail, this depends on how much one language has been exposed to others, whether or not one of the languages was used by the ruling classes or was considered more prestigious, and so on.

Apart from the words illustrated (sometimes, literally!) in the video, there are others. Can you think of any?Why do you think they have both survived and are in use nowadays? Feel free to use the Comments section below to post your ideas.

See you next time!

Welcome to English Lane

A good place to start is to introduce myself. 

I'm Maite, and I'm an English teacher at Colegio Base. 

I have recently started working on this blog to record some activities I use in class to help my students improve their skills. English skills have traditionally included speaking, writing, reading and listening, with grammar as the 'glue' holding language together. 

I think there is a stronger 'glue' than that, though--necessity! If you need to do something, you will learn how to do it more quickly, more easily, and with longer lasting effects. 

How do you create necessity without taking your students to an English speaking country and throwing them in at the deep end? Agreed, then. Some of these necessities are somewhat artificial but they begin by using English, and English alone, in the classroom. Ok, and charades, and the occasional pointing, visuals and onomatopoeia, but that's about it. 

I also create needs by giving students a challenge, be it a project, a written or oral assignment, or a quest of some sort, in which they have to research, connect information, and put it together in such a way that meaning is conveyed effectively so others can gain knowledge, or enjoy your product, or decide whether they agree or disagree with you. 

I'm not the only one doing this. I've learned from others and I'm really glad I have. With this blog, my intention is to show others how I do it, and to share some of my ideas with them.

Happy reading! 

Maite