Roots and Affixes How words are created Vocabulary

Roots and Affixes How words are created

Vocabulary • (n. ) Body of words used in a particular language • English language consists of a almost 200, 000 words • Words range in length from “a” to “antidisestablishmentarianism”

Base Words • Words that cannot be reduced down to smaller words ▫ Ex. ) Speak, dog, happy • Other words or word parts can be added to them to make longer words ▫ Ex. ) Happiness ▫ Ex. ) Speaker

Word Parts There are two kinds of word parts: roots and affixes. ØA root is a word part that comes from another language, such as Greek or Latin. ØAn affix is a word part that can be attached to either a root or a base word to create a new word.

AFFIXES can be divided into two categories… 1. Prefixes (appear at the beginning of words) 2. Suffixes (appear at the end of words) Common Prefixes Common Suffixes Bi- two -ist Person who does action Anti- against -less Without Inter- between -ize Cause, treat, become Pre- before -ism State or quality Super- above -ship State or condition of Trans- across -ward Specifies direction Dis- not -ular Relating to/resembling

Many (not all) English words can be broken down like this… Root For example… In-cred-ible Prefix +Root +Suffix Affix Prefix Suffix *Without a root word, affixes have nothing the change the meaning of.

Meaning • The meaning of a word is related to the meaning of its word parts. • To unlock the meaning of an unfamiliar word, break the word down into its component parts; then think about the meaning of the word’s affixes and root.

Check it out Roots Affixes Latin Root: tang, meaning “touch” Prefix: in-, meaning “not” Suffix: -ible, meaing “able to”

Apply • For example one could analyze the word intangible, using the chart shown previously. • First break the word into its parts: PREFIX ROOT SUFFIX ENGLISH WORD In- + tang + -ible = intangible Tang In-ible is a latin roots meaning “touch” is a prefix meaning “not” is a suffix meaning “able to”

Word Families • A group of English words may be derived from the same word part of root. Such a group is called a word family. • You can use this knowledge to help you determine the meaning of unknown words. Example: Solitary, soloist, desolate, solitaire, soliloquy What might SOL mean? ALONE

Word Family Practice Questions: • Word family: ethnicity, ethnic, ethnographer Root: ethn Meaning: ▫ Ocean ▫ Nation ▫ Hesitation

Word Family Practice Questions: • Word family: maniac, maniacal Root: mania Meaning: ▫ Education ▫ Sanitation ▫ Madness

Word Family Practice Questions: • Word family: epidermis, dermatology Root: derm Meaning: ▫ Skin ▫ Body ▫ Mind

Word Family Practice Questions: • Word Family: laboratory, labor Root: lab Meaning: ▫ Work ▫ Good ▫ Weak

Let’s see what you know: • Divide and indivisible are members of the same word family. Which root so they share? A. –vis. B. -visible. C. -div • What is the meaning of this root? A. separate B. shrink C. junk • What is another member of the same word family? A. December B. dividend C. invisible

Vocab Scattegories! 1. Individually, come up with as many root and affix c 0 mbinations as you can. 2. After time is up, you will share your list with the four people around you. 3. Then your group of four will share the words that they had that no one within the group had.

Vocab Scattegories! ØWithin groups of four share your lists. ØALSO – cross check the list on the handout to make sure no one used an example word. ØHave a list of your unique words ready to share to the class.

Example) Consecutive Con + secu + ive Con: With Secu(t): To Follow Ive: Having the nature of