Etymological Research Essay

Choose a word you use often. Make sure the word has some history (at
least a few hundred years). After you have your chosen word, find the
word’s root and history by going to the Oxford English Dictionary.

Summarize the word’s history and root language(s). Write an essay of
750-1,000 words describing the history and developmental changes of the
word, including its beginnings in the English language and how it has
changed in usage, prevalence, and context over time.

Then, answer this question: In chapter 1 of Changing English
by Graddol et al. (2007), Joan Swann explains that some accounts of
change in the English language differ in terms of their approach. She
explains that one of her sources, Tom McArthur, emphasized “the
diversity of different ‘Englishes’, in terms of their linguistic
characteristics and the social political contexts in which they are
used” (p. 6). By contrast, another of Swann’s sources, Randolph Quirk,
approached the study of English from the assumption that the language is
“relatively fixed, something unified and discrete, playing down the
diversity highlighted by McArthur” (p. 6). Thus, we have two paradigms:
the paradigm of diversity or the paradigm of stability. How do your
representation of your chosen word’s history and the entry you find in
the Oxford English Dictionary reflect one of these two paradigms? Or do your history and the Oxford English Dictionary‘s entry fall somewhere in between? Explain your reasoning.

This assignment is designed to get you familiar with the history of a
single word. By studying a word’s history, you will gain greater
insight into the flexibility of language and the importance of
meaningful reading and writing.

Prepare this assignment according to the MLA guidelines found in the MLA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

Be sure to cite your sources, check grammar and spelling, and write
the assignment in essay format (including an introduction, several body
paragraphs, and a conclusion).