Latin Roots Research Articles

Contributions to the development of an anatomical terminology in Spanish from South America.

The development of a standard anatomical language in Spanish dates back to the early stages of medicine, and its significance lies in the necessity for a common vocabulary to describe the structures of the human body. Anatomists and morphologists have been striving to achieve this goal since the late nineteenth century when the first Anatomical Nomenclature was created in Basel in 1895. Over the years, various versions of the International Anatomical Terminology have been published in Spanish, following the guidelines of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA). These versions have been produced in partnership with the Spanish Anatomical Society and have aimed to adjust the terms to the Spanish language and linguistic rules. The Ibero-Latin American Symposia on Anatomical, Histological, and Embryological Terminology (SILAT) have embraced the naming of morphological structures, keeping in mind the Latin and Greek roots, while respecting the translations accepted by the linguistic rules of the official languages. These symposia stick to the principles of universality, precision in structure description, and consistency in terminology. Despite more than a century of progress in anatomical terminology, there is a need for frequent revisions and adjustments to anatomical terms, particularly when translating them into various languages and because of the high number of international publications related to anatomy. A shared anatomical language is essential for the study and application of anatomy across various medical practices and in undergraduate education. Finally, the establishment of anatomical terminology in Spanish represents a long history of efforts to create a universal and precise language in this field. Despite advancements, the revision and adaptation of anatomical terms remain a continuous challenge to keep up with scientific progress and ensure effective communication in the field of anatomy.

Making the struggle for climate jobs common—confessions from an activist professor

Anybody who lives “in the know” of the climate crisis—and understands some of the systemic causes of the relentless expansion of fossil fuel excavation and combustion—feels enfeebled by the obvious questions of what to say and/or what to do, to change things for the better. It does matter what we say, but most of the wise things have already been said. Meanwhile, journalists covering climate summits flip-flops between speaking the truth about where we are with global warming and political realism. This perspective article is shaped as confessions from an activist professor, who has inhaled climate activism and exhaled thoughts on climate communication for the last 15 years. Noting how the Latin roots of communicate is “to make common,” the author argues that the school strikes of 2019 were the last time hope was genuinely felt across the globe, because they found meaningful action together. What can be made common now, within the fog from Gaza, the Ukraine war and the cost of living crisis? Instead of “blowing up a pipeline,” the author suggests that climate jobs can break more spells of inaction for majority publics and help unleash and shape the broadest possible mass climate struggle.

Introduction: Verticality, radicalism, resistance

In recent decades urban scholarship has witnessed a ‘vertical’ or ‘volumetric’ turn that has advanced understandings of the multi-modal power asymmetries cutting through and organising urban space. Yet, this volumetric scholarship often remains locked into binary critiques – of success/failure, inclusion/exclusion, luxury/abjection, dispossession/accumulation, arborescent/rhizomatic, horizontal/vertical. This special issue tinkers with the limitations of these (unwittingly) binary urban geometries and volumetrologies – material as well as metaphorical ones. By building the etymological opposition of ‘the vertical’ with ‘the radical’ into the title of the volume (via the Latin root radix, meaning ‘root’), we seek to make the radical itself work with geometric and morphological associations. The papers in this special issue proffer diverse ethnographic, geographic and conceptual material for considering and theorising urban verticality in concert with rather than in opposition to its incumbent horizontalisms, diagonals, curls, zigzags and scattered planes. As we completed work on the special issue, the horrors of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukrainian territory played out before our eyes. Accordingly, we make use of the introduction to reflect upon the insight that the war in Ukraine brings to bear on the intersection between domains of the urban, the vertical and the radical in the fraught, tense, vicious, fragile – but resistant – urban worlds of today. In doing so, we seek not only to render more clearly visible the violent effects of power verticals on lives, worlds and cities, but also to find seeds of hope in emergent, insurgent forms of (vertical as well as horizontal, and neither vertical nor horizontal) resistance.

Computational reparations as generative justice: Decolonial transitions to unalienated circular value flow

The Latin roots of the word reparations are “re” (again) plus “parere” which means “to give birth to, bring into being, produce”. Together they mean “to make generative once again”. In this sense, the extraction processes that cause labor injustice, ecological devastation, and social degradation cannot be repaired by simply transferring money. Reparations need to take on the full sense of “restorative”: the transition to a decolonial system that can support value generators in the control of their own systems of production, protect the value they create from extraction, and circulate value in unalienated forms that benefit the human and non-human communities that produced that value. With funding from the National Science Foundation, we have developed a research framework for this process that starts with “artisanal labor”: employee-owned business and worker collectives that have people doing what they love, despite low incomes. Focusing primarily on Detroit's Black-owned urban farms, artisanal textile businesses, Black hair salons, worker collectives, and other community-based production, with additional connections to Indigenous and other communities, we have introduced digital fabrication technologies, sensors, artificial intelligence, server-side apps and other computational support for a transition to unalienated circular value flow. We will report on our investigations with the challenges at multiple scales. At each level, we show how computational supports can act as restorative mechanisms for lost circular value flows, and thus address both past and ongoing disenfranchisement.

Trends in the development of vocabulary for emotion and cognition in English: A millennial perspective

Existing research has shown that there is much variation in diachronic development and borrowability rates across different semantic fields in English, but most work up to now has focused on specialized or technical vocabulary, rather than fields associated with how people express and conceptualize their feelings and thoughts. While some studies have explored the historical evolution of the emotion lexicon (e.g., Diller [2014]) and, to a lesser extent, the cognition lexicon (e.g., Kiricsi [2010]), the contrastive study of these semantic categories has yet to be a focus in the research landscape. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the development of the cognition and emotion lexicon over a period of thousand years, from Old to Present-Day English. We compare the emergence of words in these two semantic fields across three key dimensions: semantic subfields, source languages of roots and morphological structure. For this purpose, we created a sample of approx. 1400 nouns on the basis of the Historical Thesaurus of English (HTE; categories: 02.01 mental capacity and 02.04 emotion) and analysed their etymology with the help of the Oxford English Dictionary. To annotate the lexical items in our sample, we used the methods of formal-morphological analysis (e.g., Tyschenko [2003]; Krykoniuk [2022]) and semantic analysis (e.g., Pons-Sanz [2022]; HTE [2023]). We analyse our sample with clustering techniques (i.e., Principal Component Analysis and Correspondence Analysis) to determine general trends across the two lexicons (e.g. a greater involvement of Latin roots and compounding in the formation of the cognition lexicon, and Norse-derived roots and conversion in coinage of nouns referring to emotion), as well as specific features of each period of the English language (e.g. the significant impact that the Middle English period had on the lexicalization of memory, fear, compassion, pleasure and suffering, and the early integration of French-derived terms, as suggested by word-formation processes).

WHY LATIN LANGUAGE IS FUNDAMENTAL IN STUDYING EUROPEAN LANGUAGES

The development of language is a fascinating study. The ancient Chinese and Egyptians used pictographic languages which took years for the priests and scholars to master. The common working citizen had no time for such study and so remained powerless and able to be exploited. About 1500BC the Phoenicians developed a phonetic alphabet which could be used by the common merchants to conduct their trading businesses. The Greeks learned it from them and further developed it by adding vowels. This phonetic alphabet made people think differently. It encouraged analysis and the developmentof awhole written language of interchangeable components.All the languages that developed from the Latin and Greek root vocabularies function like that. If we don’t teach the root meaning of those components, we burden ourselves with the task of learning thousands of individual English words as wholes. By studying Latin can master the components of many languages, including English.

DE-Lemma: A Maximum-Entropy Based Lemmatizer for German Medical Text.

When processing written German language, it is helpful, to use the base form (or: lemma) of possibly inflected words, such as verbs, nouns or named entities. However, for German text from the (bio)medical domain, e.g., discharge letters, or entries stored in electronic medical or health records (EMR, EHR), difficulties exist in finding the correct lemma, as, for instance, the medical language has roots in Latin or Greek. In such cases, stemming techniques might provide inaccurate results for text written in German. This study demonstrates a Machine Learning approach for training Apache OpenNLP-based lemmatizer models from publicly available German treebanks. The resulting four "DE-Lemma" models were evaluated against a sample of (bio)medical nouns, randomly selected from real-world discharge letters. The most promising DE-Lemma model achieved an accuracy of 88.0% (F1 = .936).

Designing Vocabulous: a Case Study in Classics, EdTech and English Literacy

AbstractThis article examines the website Vocabulous, an innovative resource that combines Classics and English literacy. The aim of Vocabulous is to improve students' English vocabulary knowledge and skills using Latin and Greek root patterns. For example, the root ‘scrip’ meaning ‘write’ can help students understand that ‘inscription’, ‘manuscript’ and ‘transcription’ are all related to writing. Students use these roots to work out the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary, so that by the end of the programme, they have the skills they need to decipher new words on their own. As Alex Quigley notes, ‘over 90% of the vocabulary of academic texts in school has Latin and Greek origins and therefore teaching etymology has positive implications for learning and cracking the academic code of school’ (Quigley, 2018: 71). This article discusses the pedagogy behind the site, the selection of Latin and Greek roots, the design of the questions (based on vocabulary acquisition research) and the use of animated videos to engage students. The article concludes by outlining the current Vocabulous trial with 10–13-year-olds in 50 schools across the UK, combining teacher testimonies with ideas for practical application in the classroom1. Vocabulous is funded by The SHINE Trust and is part of a research trial led by Professor Arlene Holmes-Henderson and Christ Church, Oxford. It will be available for school subscriptions from September 2023.

Toward a Feminine-Matrixial Understanding of Modernity: Subjectivity-as-World-Fabric, the Ecology of Love, and the Temporality of Just Now

ABSTRACT Building on the definition of contemporary modernity as an “ecology of fear,” this article formulates a counter-hegemonic concept of modernity that is not oriented toward a future end but toward the intensities of the present moment—referring to the Latin root of “modernity,” which means “now,” “just now,” or “presently.” The article asks whether we can ever grasp the event of “just now” and, if so, what new paradigms of thought and action might emerge from this particular condition. For this venture, the article calls on the Matrixial Theory developed by feminist psychoanalyst, philosopher, and artist Bracha L. Ettinger since the 1980s. With Ettinger’s theory, the modernist narratives of fear, anxiety, death, and sacrifice—as put forward by Sigmund Freud and Martin Heidegger—are redefined from a specific transitive perspective, as are the processes of subjectivation and sociopolitical practices of the (Post-) Anthropocene. This article thus serves as an innovative call not to put aside modernity but to become modern in the first place—to initiate an “ecology of love” and start caring for momentary and compassionate forms of thought and action beyond phallocratic paradigms.

Tackling the Learning Curve of Medical Terminology: Experience of a Medical Student with a Background in Classical Languages

Upon entering medical school, many students encounter a steep learning curve when handling the vast and intricate vocabulary that healthcare workers use daily. Since the basis of medical terminology has developed from the roots of classical languages, it would theoretically be helpful to provide medical students with a foundational knowledge of Latin and Greek. My experience with learning classical languages before entering medical school has allowed me to have a formulaic approach when tackling unfamiliar medical terminology. By breaking up medical terms like transsphenoidal hypophysectomy into their respective roots, I can create a quick definition for myself before being given any formal teaching on the matter. The primary advantage of this learning style is that it reduces the burden of memorization on the student. The lectures from medical school help refine the preliminary definitions, which makes memorization much easier since students already have a basic framework for each new term encountered. However, certain considerations need to be kept in mind when utilizing the classical approach to understanding medical terminology. For example, the Latin and Greek roots cannot define eponyms like Wilson’s disease, named after the person who discovered the disease, or provide information on medications as their names have non-classical origins. Overall from my experience, the benefits of the formulaic approach make it a valuable tool during the initial years of medical school when the content is taught in a classroom setting and it can provide the foundation for an easier transition into the clinical environment.

Blueprints for well-being: Modeling the way through Human-Centered Leadership and Pathway to Excellence.

Blueprints for well-being: Modeling the way through Human-Centered Leadership and Pathway to Excellence.

Emergence and History

Emergence and History

The Clothes Maketh the Cult

The Clothes Maketh the Cult

Who’s That Speci-Mon? Using PokémonTM to Understand Biological Terminology Using Greek and Latin Roots

We set out to create a fun and engaging activity using recognizable fictional characters, so students get a chance to practice using Greek and Latin roots to create binomial names. Students in biology courses are faced with a plethora of scientific jargon that are often composed of Greek and Latin roots that hint at their definitions. Students often struggle to understand and apply these terms due to a lack of familiarity with these roots. With this scaffolded activity we attempt to alleviate these concerns by first having students define biological terms by looking up the roots that the word is composed of. We then provide examples of real species and their binomial names with Greek and Latin roots to give examples of how species characteristics are used to create their scientific names. Lastly the students work in groups to group Pok&eacute;mon&trade; into genera and give each Pok&eacute;mon&trade; a binomial name. Students were engaged in the activity and reported that it helped improve their understanding of Greek and Latin roots for future projects and exams. This activity can enrich introductory and advanced biology courses of any size. <em>Primary Image:</em>&nbsp;Who&rsquo;s that speci-mon? A silhouette of a cat on a bright background with the words &ldquo;Who&rsquo;s that speci-mon&rdquo; in the upper left corner.

The History of Brittany from the 13th to the 21st Century

Attempting to present eight centuries of Breton history in one article is of course a daunting task and my aim here is simply to provide an outline highlighting the major trends and events that will enable the reader seeking a historical introduction to better understand Breton history and culture. Covering such a long span of time necessarily implies selecting only the most salient historical events and aspects of Brittany’s cultural development. Until the Revolution of 1789, there were nine Catholic dioceses in Brittany and Breton history inscribed itself within the administrative framework of the Church. In three of these Breton dioceses (Léon, Trégor, Cornouaille) Breton was by far the dominant language; in the dioceses of Saint-Brieuc and Vannes people spoke Breton and French or Gallo (a romance language with Latin roots), while in those of Nantes and Dol, Gallo or French were spoken, with Breton used in an enclave situated in the area around Guérande. The diocese of Dol was particular in that its possessions were disseminated throughout Brittany and as far as the Norman border. This reflects the donations it had received from the Breton aristocracy. The use of the Breton language varied through the centuries, with the Breton-speaking areas receding westwards as time went by. The impact that this had on Breton history should not be underestimated: Brittany shares this linguistic plurality with other regions or states like Belgium, Switzerland or Canada and the Celtic countries. The linguistic status of Breton is considerably different though since it is not officially recognised by the French government. This should be kept in mind when considering the nature of Breton cultural and political identities until the present day.

Household and Halakhah: A Genealogy of Jewish Practice

In this article, I examine the role of the household and its web of social relations in the formation of halakhah. Through close readings of talmudic texts, I propose that the household functions not only as a domain of halakhic practice but as a significant point of origin. Drawing upon the Latin root matrix (mother), I suggest that everyday activities involving food preparation, childrearing, and household management form a significant matrix in the genealogy of halakhah, from ancient through modern times. Ultimately, I conclude that the practicalities of household life and its halakhic renderings are mutually-informing and, at times, inseparable religious formations.

Guidance for creating individual and batch latinized binomial virus species names.

The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses recently adopted, and is gradually implementing, a binomial naming format for virus species. Although full Latinization of these names remains optional, a standardized nomenclature based on Latinized binomials has the advantage of comparability with all other biological taxonomies. As a language without living native speakers, Latin is more culturally neutral than many contemporary languages, and words built from Latin roots are already widely used in the language of science across the world. Conversion of established species names to Latinized binomials or creation of Latinized binomials de novo may seem daunting, but the rules for name creation are straightforward and can be implemented in a formulaic manner. Here, we describe approaches, strategies and steps for creating Latinized binomials for virus species without prior knowledge of Latin. We also discuss a novel approach to the automated generation of large batches of novel genus and species names. Importantly, conversion to a binomial format does not affect virus names, many of which are created from local languages.

Das Schambein und die Scham

The German term "Schambein" (literally "shame bone") for the pubic bone, the anterior part of the pelvis, takes its name from its proximity to the sexual organs. At least the female external genitalia also carry German names built with the term "Scham" (shame). While the same is true for many Latin terms referring to the female genitalia like pudendum (pudor meaning shame), this is not true for the Os pubis which has a different Latin root that does not carry the negative connotation of shame.It has recently been suggested that the official Latin terms for the anatomy of the female genitalia should be replaced with less derogatory designations. This also applies to the German term "Schambein" - nobody needs to be ashamed of the pubic bone. We therefore suggest that it should be renamed as "Schoßbein" (literally "lap bone"), a term that is neutral and correctly describes its anatomical location.

Religious Education in Transition: From Content-Centred to Student-Centred

Catholic Religious Education as a subject in school curricula is an area in which the need for change is constantly felt. This change is driven by the paradigm shift in anthropology brought about by Vatican Council II, which sought to put the human being at the centre. Notwithstanding this shift proposed more than 50 years ago, we are still struggling to handle and implement this change. In practice, this calls for a re-evaluation of the traditional doctrinal methods, which have been associated with teaching Religious Education in the past and seeking to adopt new methods which are more anthropological and depart from where the human being actually stands and seek to answer the existential questions which contemporary human beings pose. The point of departure for such a vision is the etymological meaning of the term ‘education’ from the Latin root educere. In practical terms, such a shift from a content-centred to a more student-centred approach entails adopting a constructivist approach and putting into practice the principles of what is referred to as ‘Adaptive Religious Education’, which seeks to educate children in all the six dimensions of the human being simultaneously in a holistic way.

“Origen Did Not Allow Interpreting Books”: Comments and Glosses in the 17th-Century East Slavic Translation of Baronius’ “Annales Ecclesiastici”

The article examines marginalia in one of the East Slavic hand-written versions of “Annales Ecclesiastici” by Caesar Baronius (Russian State Library, f. 256, no. 16, 17th century) in comparison with the Latin original, the Polish translation of Piotr Skarga published in 1607, and other Slavic versions from the 17th–18th centuries. Marginal comments of the book apparatus were studied in a pragmatic aspect, which took into account the narrative impact on the reader; glosses were analyzed in terms of lexemes’ interaction, considering their various origins and stylistic status. The author comes to the conclusion that the historical narrative formed through comments has a profoundly original nature. In the analyzed manuscript, the comments do not always follow Skarga’s commentaries: in part, their contents are possibly influenced by the Latin original, and in part, they represent their own emphases and judgments. The linguistic analysis shows that the vocabulary of Polish or Ruthenian origin (both with Slavic and non-Slavic (Greek, Latin, and German) roots) is glossed widely but inconsistently. The words of Greek and Slavic origin, which may have explanatory functions, are stylistically associated with both the literary Old Church Slavonic tradition and business writing. Less often, Polonisms can themselves play the role of explanatory marginalia.