STUDENT MAKES THE STUDY OF ETYMOLOGY EASIER AND FUN WITH CREATIVE INFOGRAPHICS
Have you ever wondered where the words we speak today and know so well have come from? How did they come to be “chedder cheese” or “skittels”?
The simple word we came to love so much, “chedder cheese”, was actually given its name by an English village. The village in turn draws its name from an Old English word, ceodor, which means ravine. This is a fascinating example of etymology which is known to be the study of the origin of words, and how the word and meanings of these words change over time and generations.
It is not always an easy subject to understand and study, however luckily a Harvard College linguistics student dedicated his knowledge and artistic skills to make the study of words accessible and understandable for all. Adam Aleksic has put his knowledge of world languages to work and created an artistic, fun infographics which was inspired by his own self-described “disturbing interest in word origins”.
Each infograph describes where commonplace items and cultural touchstones get their names including various of delicious snacks, drinks and cheeses.
Back in 2016, Aleksic started up his blog The Etymology Nerd, to serve as an outlet for his love of language and history. The project features countless fascinating infographics on a wide range of topics such as the hidden etymologies of city neighborhoods, origins of words, and one even features how the Nintendo characters got their names.
If you've ever wondered the famous Chewbacca or the famous Bloody marry drink got their name, Aleksic has the answer for you. He makes use of the linguistic studies and research skills to create his infographics. This also comes with his amazing skills of an excellent social scientist combined with his ability to speak in four languages with varying degrees of fluency.
The linguist offers the needed resources for anyone who are interested in learning more about language development. Academic words can be confusing, however, with his glossary any beginner is helped to understand the important terms used in etymology.
Aleksic also created an elaborate flow chart to make it easier to illustrate how languages descend from one another. In his family tree of speech graphic, Aleksic illustrates how English nestled into the larger branch of Germanic languages, which in turn falls under the broad heading of Indo-European languages.
He also illustrates several other languages who have evolved over time and has been passed into history over thousands of years. With infographics, charts and his love for language and history, Aleksic is able to bring the history of language to light in a way which emphasises the diverse, ancient history of human speech and makes it more interesting and understandable for all.
Scroll down to see more Infographics of well known word we know and love today.