Monday, August 10, 2009

Rooted.

Arabic is a very nice language based on a three letter root word system. Many words can be traced back to a three letter root. Often, but not always, the words based on this root are related or have a similar meaning. The most common example is the root KiTeB which is the basis for words like book, library, to speak and office.

Today we were talking about the root GhRF. (The Gh sound is sort of swallowed when pronounced.) Anyway, this is the root from which one could derive the words West, western, sunset, to set, to disappear and Morocco (it's the westernmost Arab country).

But it can also carry the meaning of disappearing into a foreign culture. It would be used to describe someone who went away to live in another country and when they came back you couldn't recognize them.

I've seen it happen a couple of times already.

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