Exercise six: latinate
Historically, English has two principle streams: Latinate (via Norman French) and Anglo-Saxon (Old English).
Latinate words are often multi-syllabic, dry and have simpler substitutes:
| Latinate | Anglo-Saxon |
|---|---|
| Canine | Dog |
| Domicile | House |
For historical reasons, Latinate is commonly used in government, law and higher education. Many argue it is used to intimidate, disempower, obfuscate and make the speaker feel important.
For fun, try to translate the following Latinate back into everyday expressions.
- Scintillate, scintillate, asteroid diminutive.
- Members of an avian species with identical plumage will congregate.
- It is futile to become lachrymose over precipitately departed lacteal fluids.
- The stylus is more potent than the claymore.
- It is fruitless to indoctrinate a superannuated canine with innovative manoeuvers.
When you're done, continue to Exercise Six Takeaways
