105: Journal #6

[Anela Halilovic]

Understanding the history of language is crucial. It gives you a better understanding of the structure of  the language and the origins of words. Knowing the language family to which your target language belongs is important. You can try to find links and connections between the languages you already know and the one you are learning. It is much easier to adopt new words, if the origin or the root of them is the same as it is for the words in your mother tongue. For instance, I speak Bosnian and English, both Indo-European languages. Therefore it is much easier for me to learn German, than for example Turkish. Especially the link between German and English enabled me to evolve my skills in both languages. Since I know that there are common words in English and German it was easier for me to understand conversations and talks in either language without knowing all the exact words that are being used. Using my knowledge in both languages interchangeably enabled me to expand my skills. It is also no wonder that Latin is tought in many schools, altough the language itself is death - it is not spoken anymore. However, many European languages have Latin roots because of the spread of Christianity in Europe. Latin was a universal language in Europe and today it is a basis and a  bridge between almost all European languages. Thus, learning those roots eases the learning of other languages. Essentially, by studying roots we learn how to take apart words and use those parts to build new words.