Latin and Greek Scientific terminology
Step I – Choose an Article Find a journal in a chosen scientific field. Pick a journal article from a new issue: remember, the article must have been published after October 2018. Once an article is selected:
1. Make sure the article has appropriate words for the assignment (see Step II below).
2. Choose the section of the article for the paper (500 words) which contains 15-25 scientific terms with Latin/Greek roots.
3. Understand the contents of the article to be able to discuss it in the paper (ex. in the introduction).
Step II – Choosing Words Choose 15-25 words for the essay which are scientific terms of Latin/Greek origin. Both languages must be represented in the assignment. Some words will be hybrid words, that is, they will have both Latin and Greek components. These hybrid words are also appropriate choices.
1. Reflect on the distribution of Latin, Greek or hybrid terms found in the article. If the article favours Latin words, use more Latin words in the paper. If the article has an even split between Latin and Greek, show this in the essay.
2. Make sure that the words chosen are technical terms specific to the field. i. Scientific words, not regular words – many words in English or French have Latin or Greek roots. Pick only words that are scientific. ii. Technical terms – words that are specific to the chosen field. That is, the word does not have the same meaning when used in other contexts. a. Example of choosing appropriate terms: “The computer programmer dexterously engineered a new interface that was resistant to viral attack. “The immunologist effectively formulated a vaccine to the virus.” 1. Here, “virus” & “viral” are technical terms, as they each mean something specific (i.e. different) in each context (computer science vs. medicine). 2. “Interface,” “vaccine” and “immunologist” are all examples of appropriate scientific terms in these two sentences. 3. “Resistant”, “effectively” and “dextrously” are not appropriate terms; they are used in a wide variety of contexts with the same meaning. iii. Check with a TA if you are unsure whether the word is a scientific and technical term. Please be sure to provide the context/sentence that the word is in.
**Nota bene: The technical terms that you will deal with in your paper have been coined by “modern” – that is post-Renaissance – scientists to describe the phenomena they observed, often also by using metaphors. It may be useful for you to think about what kind of metaphors are being used in the case of your words.
**Nota bene: Please, remember that “terminology” and “vocabulary” are COLLECTIVE NOUNS referring to systems, and need hardly ever be put in the plural or applied to singular terms. They are not to be confused with “terms”, “words” and “technical terms”. Step III – Crafting the Essay Using the words selected from the article, create a discussion of the terms in a meaningful way. Organize the words into coherent paragraphs. You might find these steps useful for getting started on your essay: 1. Use dictionaries and other sources to find the etymology of the words. 2. Keep detailed reference notes during your research, in particular of the sources you read (page number, author, etc.) so that you can easily go back to the source. 3. Look at all the information collected about the words and see if there are any patterns. 4. Link words by patterns, similarities, differences, themes, etc. These groups will become paragraphs or sections of the essay. Examples include: fields, specialists, organisms, species, locations, organs, etc. When it comes time to write your essay, make sure to include the following: 1. Introduction i. Present the article (author, title, journal, etc.), briefly summarize it, and introduce the content of the paper. Remember that introductions go from broad to specific. 2. Body – as described above 3. Conclusion i. Summarize the statements made in the paper. ii. Draw the paper together by making links between the observations of the research. Is your conclusion coherent with the introduction and the body of the text? Step IV – Editing Check spelling and grammar for errors. Most importantly, review the content of the paper to see if its ideas are clear and well-expressed. The paper should be understandable to someone who knows nothing about the scientific field or about Latin/Greek etymology. Editing tips include: 1. Reading the paper out loud to catch mistakes more easily. 2. It is a good habit to show your essay to reliable people (ex. a friend, parent, tutor, librarian, people who are good at writing, but not the TAs) and to listen to their suggestions. 3. Leaving the paper for a few hours or days and coming back to it to take another look.
**Nota bene: Remember to use formal essay style throughout, i.e. complete sentences, correct grammar and spelling. Please avoid the use of “I”, point-form, contractions, slang, and abbreviations. Also, think carefully about all of the words which you use; they must all serve a purpose. If you say a word is “interesting”, why is it interesting? Finally, link sentences and paragraphs by using conjunctions like: therefore, consequently, thereby, however, since, but, nonetheless, moreover, in addition, also, in any case, etc. The use of these words allows us to follow the progress of your reasoning. When you finish a paragraph and start a new one, always ask yourself: is the previous paragraph complete? Is the new paragraph well connected with the previous one?
Step V – Citation
Make sure to show where the information used in the paper comes from. Include all books, journals, websites and dictionaries used. Acknowledge sources via in-text citations as well as a bibliography at the end of the paper.
1. Use appropriate academic sources at all times; be sure to evaluate the quality of the information presented (especially with websites). Ask a reference librarian or a TA for help evaluating the validity of sources. As much as possible, use a variety of sources in the analysis; this will strengthen the paper. Permitted citation formats include: MLA, APA, Chicago. Please be consistent in the chosen style. Contact a TA to ask permission to use a different style.
2. Citing dictionaries is sometimes a complex process. Different citation styles have different instructions on how to do so. To simplify your task, use the following guidelines (loosely based on the Chicago Manual of Style) regardless of the citation style used in the rest of your paper. i. In-text: State the dictionary, followed by the abbreviation s.v. (literally “under the headword”) and the headword you wish to cite. Examples of in-text citations: Footnote (use for Chicago): Merriam Webster, s.v. “virus.” Parenthetical (use for MLA and APA): (Merriam Webster, s.v. “virus”) ii. Bibliography: Provide a citation for the dictionary as a whole in accordance with your chosen citation format. You do not need to include a separate bibliographic entry for each headword.
**Nota bene: A failure to include both a bibliography and in-text citations will result in an automatic failure for your paper.
Checklist: 1. Title page 2. Essay 3. Bibliography 4. Section of article used, with words used highlighted
Recommended Dictionaries *All dictionary definitions should be paraphrased and cited in the paper. English Dictionaries: The Oxford English Dictionary is the most complete English dictionary, accessible on paper and online through the University of Toronto’s e-resources. Latin Dictionaries: Oxford Latin Dictionary – most recently revised in 2015 A Latin Dictionary by C. T. Lewis & Charles Short – shorter, older, but still useful. Available online via the Perseus Project at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/resolveform?redirect=true&lang=Latin Greek Dictionaries: A Greek-English Lexicon (abbreviated LSJ) by Henry George Liddell & Robert Scott, augmented by Henry Stuart Jones in 1925. Available online via the Perseus Project at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/resolveform?redirect=true Le Grand Bailly: Dictionnaire grec-français – Not as good as the Liddell & Scott, but friendly to French-speakers A note on online availability: Both the Lewis & Short as well as the Liddell & Scott are available online via the Perseus Project. Keep in mind, however, the Greek online dictionary is more difficult to use because it requires searching in Roman letters to represent Greek letters.
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