Where did English come from? - Claire Bowern

Important Vocabulary Words From The Video

conquered

When someone is conquered, they are defeated. They may be able to survive, but they are no longer in control of their own life.

  • The army was conquered by the army of the enemy.
  • The company was conquered by the competition.
recognizable

To be recognizable is to be easy to identify. When you see someone, you can usually guess who they are right away.

  • The person in the mask was not recognizable, which made it difficult to catch the thief.
  • The actor in the movie was very recognizable, so it was easy to find him in the crowd.
borrowings

borrowings are words that are borrowed from another language. They are usually translated into English, but they may also be modified to fit the language that they're being used in.

  • The word borrowings is a mix of Spanish and English.
  • The author borrows a lot of words from Latin in her book.
grammatical

Grammatical is a word that is used to describe the correct use of language. It can also refer to the rules that govern how words are constructed.

  • The sentence is grammatical, but it needs to be corrected.
  • The sentence is not grammatical, because it contains errors in grammar.
reconstruct

To reconstruct something is to put it back together the way it was before it was damaged or destroyed. Sometimes people use the word to refer to putting things back together after a war or disaster.

  • They are trying to reconstruct the building after the earthquake.
  • They are trying to reconstruct the history after the war.
steppe

A steppe is a large, open area of land that is usually covered in grass. It's usually found in the middle of a desert or in a cold country.

  • The steppe is a huge area, and it's mostly desert.
  • The steppe is a great place to ride horses.
reconstructed

To reconstruct something is to restore it to its original state. When you reconstruct a building, you rebuild it exactly the way it was before the damage occurred.

  • The reconstruction team was able to reconstruct the building almost exactly the way it was before the fire.
  • The reconstruction team was able to reconstruct the statue almost exactly the way it was before it was damaged.

Correspondences is a book by Jean-Paul Sartre that is about the relationship between people and their environment. It focuses on the idea that people are always engaged in a battle with the world around them.

  • The book is full of correspondences between the world and the human being.
  • Sartre believed that there are no absolutes in the world, and that everything is always in a state of flux.
archeological

An archaeological dig is a search for artifacts or evidence from the past. It can be a very important part of research, and it can help us learn about the history of a place.

  • The archaeological dig is investigating the ruins of the old city.
  • The archaeological dig is investigating the site of an ancient battle.