English Words 3301-ZJ-JF003
English words, such as thalassophobia, polygamy and philosophy, will be studied from all the important perspectives: etymology, spelling, pronunciation, meaning, and morphological structure. For instance, a morphological analysis of these words is as follows:
- thalassophobia = thalass ‘sea’ + o (linking phoneme) + phob ‘fear’ + ia (noun), so the word means ‘fear of the sea’
- polygamy (Polish poligamia) = poly ‘many’ + gam ‘marriage’ + y (noun), so the word means ‘marriage to more than one partner’
- philosophy (Polish filozofia) = phil ‘love’ + o (linking phoneme) +soph ‘wise’ + y (noun), so the word means ‘love of wisdom’.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the classroom is governed by the rules set forth in Resolution No. 16 of the Teaching Council for the programs English Studies, English Studies – Linguistics, and English Studies – Literature and Culture of 9 December 2025
https://ia.uw.edu.pl/fileadmin/ilustracje/dokumenty/2026/RD_IA_2025_UCHWALA_nr16_narzedzia_AI_nowelizacja_ZAL2_EN.pdf
2 absences are allowed.
Course coordinators
Type of course
Learning outcomes
- Vocabulary expansion.
- Development of analytical skills in the area of vocabulary study.
Assessment criteria
Test at the end of the semester.
Bibliography
On-line etymological dictionaries, especially Oxford English Dictionary. Handouts prepared by the instructor.