BMCR 2009.01.22, Charles W. Dunmore, Studies in Etymology

Charles W. Dunmore, Rita M. Fleischer, Studies in Etymology (2nd
edition).  Newburyport, MA:  Focus Publishing, 2008.  Pp. ix, 236.
ISBN 9781585100125.  $28.95 (pb).

Reviewed by B. N.  Wolfe, Wolfson College, University of Oxford
([email protected])
Word count:  1334 words
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To comment on this review, see
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The work under review is an introductory textbook designed for teaching
students with no exposure to the Classical languages about English
borrowing from Latin and Greek.  Over fourteen lessons, the book
attempts a thorough treatment of the vocabulary and morphology of Latin
and Greek required for English historical linguistics. Its likelihood
of being the only source of information for students on this score lays
a special burden on its contents:  they must be self-evidently clear
and fastidiously accurate.  While the lessons succeed in the first
measure, a small number of factual errors may lead the unknowing
student astray.

The Introduction (pp. 1-23) touches superficially upon the history of
English, highlighting periods of particular linguistic significance,
such as the Viking Age and the Renaissance.  It moves on to the
Proto-Indo-Europeans, with a run-down of the major IE language
families.

Lesson 1 (pp. 25-37) gives a summary of the history of the English
language, repeating what was said in the introduction, before beginning
the serious work of the book with the first three Latin nominal
declensions, and their formation of adjectives in Latin.  Lesson 2 (pp.
38-50) gives Latin verbs, their principal parts and other forms (e.g.
the present participle) and discusses suffixes such as '--io(n)', as in
'regio, regionis'.  Prefixes and vowel weakening are addressed as well,
and suffixes added to the previous list.  Helpfully, here and
throughout the book, where a suffix is given, its English form appears
beside the Latin original.

Lesson 3 (pp. 51-63) contains sections on denominative verbs, present
participles, hiatus, deponent verbs, frequentative verbs, 4th
declension nouns, the nature of borrowing from French into English and
the relationship between French and Latin, as well as doublet forms
produced by borrowing at different periods.  In a "Notes" section to
the chapter, rhotacism, derivatives of 'videre', and certain
interesting derivations are also set forth.  As can be seen, "Studies
in Etymology" covers an impressively wide range of topics; it does so
in a non-systematic way, intended presumably to avoid lingering too
long over any one general area.  Instead of a section on phonological
developments, and a section on morphology, and another on semantics,
the student receives bits of each across each lesson.

Although further grammatical considerations are introduced, it is the
"Notes" sections that dominate each lesson from 4 (pp. 65-74) to 7 (pp.
99-111).  These represent another form of stealth teaching:  Most
highlight individual words or groups of words, often because of an
interesting history (eg 'Fate', p. 91), but just as often because they
exemplify a wider point (eg 'prolific', which leads into compounds with
'facere').

Lesson 8 (pp. 113-126) introduces Greek, beginning with the alphabet.
This is used hereafter when Greek words are cited, although their stems
are given in transliteration.  Relatively little guidance is provided
on how these graphemes would have been realized in any period in Greek
(a discussion of phi, theta, and chi simply refers to them collectively
as "aspirates", and implies that they came into being only when pi,
tau, and kappa were followed by an 'h' sound).  The lack of any
indication of the pronunciation of the ancient languages is, more
generally, a limitation of this volume, though it should be remembered
that the intent is not to provide a window into Classical Latin or
Greek, but to cast light on Modern English.  The Greek accents are
completely omitted except from the quotations which open each lesson.

After Lesson 9 (pp. 127-138) has touched upon different parts of speech
in Greek, the grammatical parts of the book are concluded, with Lessons
10 (139-147) to 14 (181-188) occupied by presenting new vocabulary (as
in each lesson) and Greek affixes, "Notes" and Exercises.

The Exercises are an important part of the work, and are often longer
than the lessons to which they are linked.  The textbook contains the
information required to answer any of them (much of it handily
indexed), so they are rarely challenging, but appear intended instead
to reinforce points made in the lessons in students' minds, and serve
as a diagnostic for the teacher as to how much they are paying
attention.  Each lesson offers a variety of exercises, many of which
are aimed at improving a student's English vocabulary more than
anything else.  The teacher may choose, however, what work to assign,
and thus adapt the book to the course's needs.

As examples, exercises from Lesson 7 include "A. Analyze each of the
[marked] words in the sentences below.  1. These are 'deciduous' trees.
2.  The 'cadence' of the marching army shook the wooden bridge.  Etc.
B. Each of the words below is derived from a Latin word in the
vocabulary of this Lesson, but disguised by the influence of French.
Determine the etymology of each of these words.  1. chance  2.
reconnoiter 3. chef etc.  C. Give a doublet for each of the words
below. 1. cadenza 2. hostel 3. influenza etc., etc."

By far the weakest section of 'Studies in Etymology' is the potted
history of the English language that begins the volume.  Some
historical grounding in Indo-European linguistics is no doubt required
in such a volume:  Cognates must be explained as a control on what
constitutes a borrowing:  English 'acre' resembles Latin 'ager', and
could be mistaken for a borrowing, were the common ancestry of both
languages not borne in mind.  Similarly, a sketch of the key periods in
the development of English is useful to account for why the same Latin
lexeme may be borrowed in different forms and senses.  These sections
cannot be neglected therefore, and may represent the student's only
exposure to this information, but must not take up too much of the
book's space or the student's time.  As noted above, the standards
imposed upon such brief, summative treatments are very high; some
examples of failure to attain these standards follow:

"Old English was a fully inflected language, just as modern German is
today, with two numbers:  singular and plural, three genders:
masculine, feminine, and neuter, and four cases:  nominative, genitive,
dative, and accusative" (Introduction, p. 4).  Two of the three
assertions about Old English made here are wrong:  There was a third
number in the pronouns, namely the dual, and a fifth case for all
nouns, namely the instrumental.

Page 16, footnote 8 has our knowledge of Crimean Gothic originating "in
a collection of words and phrases spoken by the Goths of Crimea,
compiled by an envoy (Ogier Ghislain de Busbecq) at the court of the
emperor in Constantinople."  Busbecq's list was compiled more than a
century after the fall of Constantinople to the Turks; it was the court
of the Sultan to which Busbecq was an envoy.  Busbecq styles Suleiman
'imperator' truly enough, but adopting this usage can only confuse in a
book such as that under review.

Finally, an annoying prescriptivism infects the volume's attitude
towards English.  "Many Latin nouns of the neuter gender end in '--um',
and the plural of these words ends in '--a'.  Thus, the plural of
'datum' is 'data'.  The --a- of the first syllable of these two words
in English should be pronounced to rhyme with "hay."  The plural of
this word, 'data', has been misused in print and speech so often that
it is beginning to be accepted as correct.  We should say "The data
are..."".  (p. 27, cf. p. 28 where the same point is made about
'media').  No argument is advanced for why those who pronounce 'data'
in English in the Latin way are wrong, nor is the issue of countable
versus collective nouns addressed.

"Studies in Etymology" presents Classical influences on English simply
and clearly.  It will be of most utility to those whose interest in
Latin and Greek is primarily for their reception in English.  While the
historical introductions are not always as precise as might have been
wished, they are readable and will hopefully prompt students to further
investigation.  The book is intended not for Classics courses, but
English or perhaps even Modern Languages, where it will be a useful
introduction.