Advanced Vocabulary Usage for Middle School

The Canon!
The English language is both eloquent and elephantine; easy to
practice yet challenging to master. Have you ever wondered why the
English language is so vast, strange and inconsistent?
Languages evolve over time, and languages have families! The
family tree of English traces most of its origins back to Germanic roots. A
pattern we often see in the English language is that common
conversational words are close cognates to Germanic words: “Good
morning!” “Guten Morgen!” “Welcome home” “Willkommen zuhause!”
“My mom bakes bread.” “Meine Mutter backt Brot.” “That’s wonderful!”
“Das ist wunderbar!” You can see the phrases are not identical, but they
are reminiscent of each other the way cousins might look similar to each
other.
Around the 5th century CE the Anglo-Saxons were Germanic tribes
that moved to the British Isles and established Ye Auld Englisc Geþeode.
However, the history of the English language is complicated and full of
conquest and intermingling. Trade routes, missionaries, and wars brought
Latin and other romance language influences into English. Due to
Norman conquest about 30% of English vocabulary has French roots.
During the English Renaissance, from around the 16th century CE
(1500–1650) many words were adopted into English from Latin and Greek
these were words used for science, government and religions as well as
abstract and intellectual ideas. Words like: democratic, philosophy,

Deanna Griffin – Teaching Resources ©

 Advanced Vocabulary Usage for Middle School

dexterity, enthusiasm, imaginary, juvenile, pernicious all entered the

English language around this time.
The sheer number of words in the comprehensive dictionaries is
enough to make even a logophile’s head spin. Webster's Unabridged
Dictionary includes some 470,000 entries. The Oxford English Dictionary is
the most comprehensive dictionary of the English language. It traces the
development of English and includes dialects from every major English-
speaking part of the world. It has entries for over 1,022,000 words! For
comparison purposes note that most adult native-speakers of English
have a personal lexicon of 20,000-35,000 words. Obviously, everyone’s
personal vocabulary will include some different words according to their
career, education and interests.
The English language is not static and new words are added to the
dictionary all of the time. Who are the arbitrators of what is proper English?
Lexicographers get to decide which words make it into the dictionary,
and they do so by reading widely across industries and disciplines. Below
are interesting and noteworthy new additions to the dictionary. Keep in
mind that when you are composing important or official communication
you should stick as much as possible to the well-established canon of
English rather than using slang-like neologisms.

Deanna Griffin – Teaching Resources ©

 Advanced Vocabulary Usage for Middle School

Some Newly Added Words (neologisms)

greenwash: verb — to make (something, such as a product,
policy, or practice) appear to be more environmentally friendly or
less environmentally damaging than it really is (a derivative of
whitewash)
meatspace: noun — the physical world and environment
especially as contrasted with the virtual world of cyberspace
metaverse: noun — in computing a persistent virtual
environment that allows access to multiple individual virtual realities
laggy: adjective — having a delayed or slow response to a
user's input
yeet: interjection, slang — used to express surprise, approval, or
excited enthusiasm; verb — to throw especially with force and
without regard for the thing being thrown
janky: adjective — informal, of very poor quality, not functioning
properly or adequately
copypasta: noun — any type of data (including text) that has
been copied and spread online. It can range from lighthearted
memes to serious political messages.
contactless: adjective — not having to physically touch or
interact with people

Homework
Answer any 2 of the following questions and use at least three of the focus
vocabulary words in your writing. What neologisms do you find particularly
helpful in today’s high-tech world? Is there a new word you have invented or
would like to invent? Why do you suppose it is not a good idea to use slang in
official or important writing?

Deanna Griffin – Teaching Resources ©

 Advanced Vocabulary Usage for Middle School

Focus Vocabulary
eloquent: adjective — beautiful and persuasive when using words

elephantine: adjective — rather large and clumsy

vast: adjective — immense or a great quantity

inconsistent: adjective — not staying the same throughout

cognate: noun — words that have the same linguistic derivation / origin

reminiscent: adjective — tending to remind one of something

conquest: noun — the control of a place by force

intermingle: verb — to mix things together

renaissance: noun — the revival of art and literature under the influence of
classical models in the 14th–16th centuries

philosophy: noun — the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge

juvenile: adjective — relating to young people

pernicious: adjective — describes having a gradual harmful effect

comprehensive: adjective — complete; including all or nearly all of something

logophile: noun — a word lover

unabridged: adjective — not shortened

dialect: noun — a particular form of a language belonging to a specific region

lexicon: noun — the vocabulary of a person, language, or branch of knowledge

static: adjective — lacking in movement, action or change

arbitrator: noun — an independent person officially appointed to settle a dispute

lexicographer: noun — a person who compiles dictionaries

neologism: noun — a newly created word or expression

canon: noun — the general rules of something, the collection of important books

Deanna Griffin – Teaching Resources ©