Language Journal 1 to 6 (WC: 1,121)

According to USA Text Messaging Statistics over 57% of teens ages thirteen and older who own a cell phone send text messages daily. More text messages are sent per phone than phone calls.  The average text messages used per month is 357 compared to 204 cell phone calls. As the world is constantly changing mediums of how it communicates, it is how that change affects language that is most important. Today, linguists are focusing on how technology is changing the English language. More strategically, educators are looking of how that change in English is affecting their students. There have been many arguments and studies done resulting in different views. Some say that technology, more specifically text or instant messages, have made literacy rates worse. On the other hand, others have seen technology as a catalyst to the English language.

With the help of global competition, technology has become one on the fastest growing markets the world has seen. But recently, questions have been surfacing of how this technology surge is affecting people, more specially student’s literacy. Through speculation and research, linguists are beginning to find how much technology, such as texting and instant messaging, affects students. “Texting sees children explicitly demonstrating an understanding of how words can be manipulated, segmented and blended to allow for succinct and successful communication” (Wood, Jackson, Plester, & Wilde) . Researchers have stated that because of texting, children are beginning to see and understand the foundations of syntax. Gaining phonological awareness is beneficial to students, helping them realize the core of the English language and its structure. “Arguably, the world play that children have in texting offers a rudimentary and informal leaning platform from which they can develop sensitivity, confidence and flexibility with phonology and orthography, which may in turn benefit developing literacy skills” (Wood, Jackson, Plester, & Wilde) . Most importantly from an educational standpoint, texting gets children exposed to literacy. This rapid technology increase, brings a huge question of is technology hindering or increasing literacy rates. But many teachers, and authors, are answering this question with the use of texts speak in the classroom.

 “A further factor with bearing on literacy attainment s that text messaging in whatever from, provides children with additional exposure to the written word” (Wood). As a future English teacher, it is extremely vital to get students excited about the act of reading. With thinking about the mass technology increase, young adult authors have taken a step back and brought themselves down to the student’s level of their likes and common views of language in their daily lives. Novels have been produced with a style to not only attract to students’ attention, but speak in a language they will understand. A great example of this is young adult author, Lauren Myracle. She created a series called The Internet Girls. This book series is composed of four books titled: TTYL, TTFN, L8R G8R, and BFF. Clearly these titles would not attract anyone who is not fluent in the text messaging language. What is so unique about these books is that they are not written in a traditional style. Myracle wrote these books with her audience in mind. She created characters and had the entire book series encircle around their conversations over instant messages. The conversations include phonological reductions as the titles sho but also emoticons that show a better expression of emotion.

            “zoegirl: wanna lend me one of yours?

             SnowAngel: sure! J

            zoegirl: i was KIDDING, angela.

            SnowAngel: hey, if u’ve got it, flaunt it. that’s what my mom says.

            zoegirl: that’s sick!

            SnowAngel: that’s my mom! ttfn!” (Myracle, 2004).

As a teacher, it is important to be aware that books like The Internet Girls are very unconventional when it comes to grammar and sentence structure. “In terms of spelling, although textisms may be orthographically unconventional in one sense they do demonstrate an awareness of alternative legitimate orthographic spellings within the English language” (Wood).  However, most of the time, students with exceptional literacy skills and understand phonological rules are can distinguish appropriate times to use Standard English and texting abbreviations.

After the revolution of texting and instant messaging embedded itself into English, researchers began to focus on how much of a toll it was affecting student’s literacy ability. Focusing on twenty-two females from Midwestern University, students were to ask to record all text messages and instant messages they sent over a twenty-four hour period. “Text messages averaged to be about 7.7 words, verses instant messages were 6 words. A text message conversation lasted longer than an instant message. Recall that for IM transmissions, sequencing of consecutive transmission is common” (Ling, & Baron, 2007). There were more emoticons in instant messages than in text messages, but in texting there were more phonological reductions such as “lol” (laugh out loud), “omg” (oh my god), or “ttyl” (talk to you later). Conclusions to this study were fully based on the fact that specifics of texting and instant messages were determined based on the ease of it depending on the medium. For example: “Contractions typically appear in informal speech and writing, and are shorter to type than full forms, especially when omitting the apostrophe. In computer-based IM, apostrophes require only a single keystroke, while needed four key taps on mobile phones” (Ling, & Baron, 2007).

Texting and instant messages are at the heart of the electronic revolution and making their mark in the evolution of the English language history. Linguist, David Crystal, could not be more excited about the transition. “A new medium of linguistic communication does not arrive very often, in the history of the race” (Crystal, 2001). He has coined a name for technology communication: Netspeak. “It is something completely new. It is neither ‘spoken writing’ nor ‘written speech’… Netspeak is a development of millennial significance” (Crystal, 2001). As the Internet is a medium where a person can have total power and creativity, Netspeak is at the beginning of its creation. “The phenomenon of Netspeak is going to ‘change that way we think’ about language in a fundamental way, because it is a linguistic singularity- a genuine new medium” (Crystal, 2001).   Clearly, as Netspeak and technology grows into its full potential, it will forever change English and linguistics. It slowly is progressing into how children and students are looking at the written language. The education system is beginning to see the effects on students and keeping a strong positive outlook on how to keep students involved in reading by changing from traditional reading to what they like. David Crystal brings up an excellent point is projecting into the future that education of the English language and adapting to its changing one of the most important things linguists and educators can do (Crystal, 2004).

Language Journal 7 to 8 (WC: 307)

For one of my classes we are reading a young adult novel titled Little Brother by Cory Doctorow and the language in it is very intriguing. The book is written in first person, from the main character who is a computer genius. But it really interesting how Doctorow uses a teen character using high technological jargon and intertwines with speaking like a normal, rebellious teenager. This is beginning to happen more often in young adult novels because of the mass increase in technology growing into the English language.

“I have a dark secret. I used to be a LARPer. LARPing is a Live Action Role Playing, and it’s just about what it sounds like: running around in costume, talking in a funny accent, pretending to be a superspy or a vampire or a medieval knight” (pg 16-17).

Another aspect of the novel’s language I find very interesting is how teens tend to mix English with other languages in a daily basis. Many of minor phrases such as “gracias” (thank you) or “da nada” (you’re welcome) are beginning to become very popular in a teenager’s language. I think that it’s because the education system usually requires students to take a second language.  Now this is not to be confused as Spanglish, which is a completely different concept. This idea is the blending of Spanish and English together. Most often this occurs to those who speak both languages or live in the areas where both languages can intertwine and borrow words from each other. In the United States, Spanglish appears most often along the western border, near Mexico. But circling back to Little Brother, as Doctorow set the novel in San Francisco, he may have been trying to create a greater sense of the language culture by having his characters mix the two languages together in a casual conversation.

Language Journal 9 to 10 (WC: 369)

I found a website that had a minor blurb about words that do not exist in the English language.  Most of these words have some type of the emotion. In my experience, novels express these key words with more description than just one word. They give context to the situation. Also these types of words, with an emotion and action connected to them, they will assist an author in describing the personality of a particular character.

Gheegle: (Filipino) The urge to pinch or squeeze something that is unbearably cute.

                This can be related to children or babies who elders have the urge to pinch their cheeks. Also people can think of this word to be related to holding soft baby animals or stuffed animals.

Sgriob: (Gaelic) The itchiness that overcomes the upper lip just before taking a sip of whiskey.

L’esprit de escalier: (French) The feeling you get after leaving a conversation, when you think of all the things you should have said. Translated it means “the spirit of the staircase.”

                Most English speakers relate this feeling to guilt or unintelligent. They feel guilty for not saying something they should have said. Or people can feel unintelligent when they cannot think of a name, or concept then thinking about the conversation later the name suddenly pops in their brain and they usually say “That’s what that’s called!!!”

Stam: (Hebrew) An agreement out of amusement and frustration that something doesn’t have a satisfactory answer among those talking.

                Ironically this happens to a lot of college students when working on a project when people say “That’s good enough for me…”

Forelsket: (Norwegian) The euphoria you experience when you are first falling in love.

                Most of the time in the English language this is described as “love at first sight.”  Many times the beginning feelings of love cannot be described with one word such as the Norwegian word. Many poets and authors use this lack of words in the English language is used to their advantage in order to majestically describe this feeling accurately. Again, this word is a great example of how an English speaking author can how the personality of a character because this word does not exist in English.

               

Language Journal 11 to 12 (WC: 263)

Onomatopoeia is a word used to create the sound source when pronounced out loud. These words occur more often when describing animal sounds, in comics or in poetry. These words are to bring out flavor in the writing passage. In late Latin the term “onomatopoiía” was borrowed from the Greeks which means the make of words. The uses of an onomatopoeia can be used in multiple languages, but common English terms are “tick,” “hiccup,” “zoom,” and “splash.” The zipper was even named the zipper because of the sound it made when used correctly. Also words to signify of electricity are “zap” and “buzz.” Animal sound examples are “hiss” “purr” and “roar.” English terms tend to describe machine sounds with this type of sounds as well. For example: “honk” “beep” “tick” or “vroom.” Advertising is starting to take full advantage of onomatopoeia and in making their products more memorable. Consider Rice Krispies cereal. Their main slogan is snap, crackle, pop. This is a perfect example of onomatopoeia. It reflects the unique sound the cereal makes as milk is being poured over it. Marketing execs picked up on this sound and decided to make it the sole focus of their advertising campaigns. Their tactic was very successful, as Rice Krispies is one of the most popular cereals eaten around the world. Along with Rice Krispies, Alka-Seltzer created a jingle that included an onomatopoeia: "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz. Oh, what a relief it is!" Also Mazda Car Company has used the slogan “zoom zoom” as a positive notion of the smooth, fast ride of their products.

Langauge Journal 13 to 14 (WC: 311)

“First there are the pervs who try to get you to come out to some remote location so they can go all weird and Silence of the Lambs on you.” Little Brother

I find it very interesting that media, entertainment and culture today are beginning to change language as it develops. For those of us who have not seen the movie Silence of the Lambs we are still about to comprehend this sentence simply because the storyline’s popularity. Popular entertainment phrases are beginning to quickly throw themselves into the English language. “Pulling a Keane” is translated as really rude interruptions, after Keane West interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the 2010 MTV Awards. “The Force” can be also a very popular phrase known as the Star Wars’ invisible power-giving force that connects all people including  the standard English force as in natural strength, physical power, or effectiveness. Any person who has been around anytime of media the past few years, especially Harry Potter fans will know exactly what a “Muggle” is. Rowling has created words with multiple root origins base that now Harry Potter fans know exactly what they mean. The song “Bootylicious” caused mild controversy in the media when it was released in 2001. But as it has grown to become such a common word in today’s society it was coined and entered in the Oxford English Dictionary defined as "sexually attractive, sexy; shapley".  As society’s culture becomes more and more influential, it will undoubtly begin to affect the language of its society. This could be a positive or a negative evolution based on opinion, and how the language develops. Personally, I think that people can learn easily when they have things that they can relate to. But with the learning process becoming more “simple” with the connections to entertainment, this could make people rather lazy in the education system.

Langauge Journal 15 to 19 (WC: 715)

When we discussed an article about the creole Gullah in my linguistics class last semester there was a lot of issues when it came to race and language.  There was one person in our class who was convinced that Gullah and multiple variations of AAVE (African American Vernacular English) should not be assisted in a professional education.

The creole Gullah began to develop the tribesmen brought from Africa by the slave traders, which was it pidgin in its own. As many of the tribesmen were sold into slavery in the West Indies, their pidgin language became influenced by the various creoles spoken by the natives in these islands. Throughout time, many of the slaves were brought by plantation owners in the American colonies. This is where their language was further influenced by the English dialects used by the overseers on these plantations. Finally, from the leveling of all these linguistic influences, a new language developed. The language became a creole in the mid 1700s when a second generation began speaking the language.

Contrary to the belief of my classmate, Gullah is not poor, or broken English. It is not a dialect of any other language, neither is it Black English. Gullah possesses every element necessary for it to qualify as a language in its own right. It has its own grammar, phonological systems, idiomatic expressions, and an extensive vocabulary. Since this language was never intended to be written, there are no hard and fast rules governing its standardized way of writing of Gullah.

To describe the language, Gullah is spoken softly, with a rolling rhythm. Since this language is an English-based, or English-derived creole, it sounds like English, but there is a certain flavor of the West African coast in its intonation and stress. This is where a lot of speculations come from because since the language is spoken in an English dialect but is still flavored with West African many, many believe that Gullah is a language that is a part of Black English. On hearing it for the first time you are apt to think you are listening to the Krio spoken in Sierra Leone, or the Jamaican or Barbadian creoles spoken in the West Indies. The vocabulary of Gullah is mostly English with only a few words from African languages reminiscent of its pidgin stage.

I really enjoyed this article and these discussions (without the ignorance of my classmate) because there was history combined with controversy of language and education. A idea that I want to point out from this article is that Gullah is still mostly a language passed down through oral translations. As the language was never intended to become a written language, clearly there are going to be deficits in teaching those born into Gullah, hearing and using it every day, and trying to have these speakers learn to write in what is commonly seen to be “professional English.”

Unlike Gullah, AAVE has no specific origins, but the language is considered a creole by multiple linguists. It is quite clear that AAVE does have similarities to Southern American English, but there still are characteristics of the language that leave all its origins up for debate. AAVE has been a strong influence in American education both in literature and in court. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God are all considered canonical texts in the high school classroom and contains AAVE. Court cases files have also been filled with the questions of whether AAVE should be incorporated with those who speak the language in the classroom. Educators have asked for both AAVE to be discouraged in the education system but also they are asking for more resources of how to help those students who speak/use AAVE. As a student in the education program I understand both of these concepts. As AAVE is being used constantly throughout certain areas of the nation it is important that the teachers understand why students do not understand English grammar, or pronunciation. But on the other hand, as state governments are forcing teachers to teach toward a test in order for student to show progress, training students to become more bilingual becomes time consuming and adds more pressure in the classroom.

Language Jouranl 20 to 22 (WC: 445)

English Sayings and Customs

The Clink:

Then: The name of a prison which was on Clink Street in the Southwark area of London.

Now: The nickname for any prison.

Black Market:

            Then: In medieval England there were nomadic mercenaries who wandered the country side and would sell their services to the highest bidder. These were hardened fighters who lived solitary lives in the wilderness.

Now: Any market used to buy and sell illegal goods or services. Many times the product is stolen or against state law.

Son of a Gun:

            Then: After sailors had crossed the Atlantic to the West Indies, they would take the native women on board the ship and have their way with them in between the cannons. Some of the women the sailors left behind would have boys, who were called sons between the guns.

            Now: A phrase used to describe a person either in a positive or negative light who completed some type of task.

Patent Leather:

Then: After the Patten shoe which the young women wore in the buttery. When the cream spilled on their shoes, the fat would tend to make the leather shiny.

Now: Known to be a special type of leather.

Beat Around the Bush:

Then: Game birds were scared out of their hiding places under bushes and then killed.

Now: To be purposely ambiguous, or speak indirectly about a topic.

Cut through the Red Tape:

Then: Solicitors kept their clients papers in a file folder tied with red ribbon to prevent the papers from falling out. Of course, when they wanted to get at the papers, they would have to cut through the red tape.

Now: To clarify, or eliminate complications.

Getting Tanked

Then: When you drank too much out of the above "tankard" you were said to be "tanked" ... if you got so "tanked" that you passed out, there was a chance that somebody might think you had actually died. Since back then they didn't have experience with taking pulses, they often buried people alive who were actually in a drunken stupor or otherwise comatose.

Now: To become very drunk.

Pitcher:

Then: A leather jug treated with tar pitch to help it hold its shape.

Now: A kitchen appliance used to store or pour large amounts of liquid.

Frog in Your Throat:

            Then: Medieval physicians believed that the secretions of a frog could cure a cough if they were coated on the throat of the patient. The frog was placed in the mouth of the sufferer and remained there until the physician decided that the treatment was complete.

            Now: To have difficulty speaking because your throat is dry and cannot clear your throat.

Language Journal 23 (WC: 164)

When learning sign language, it can be quite frustrating at times. According to multiple articles the best way to learn sign language is to find a really great teacher. Teachers should be able to sign with using their mouths or tongues. The grammar of sign language is entirely different from that English or any other spoken languages. For the most part, American Sign Language sentences follow a “topic” then “predicate” word order. The predicate is simply a word or phrase that says something about the topic. Continuing, those who are signing and discussing past or future events the sentence structure is “time” “topic” then “predicate.” Also American Sign Language leaves out all determiners such as “the”or “a.” Clearly those who sign only sign words that are key words to the sentence. 

Examples of English to ASL Word Order:

English: I have a brown dog.

ASL: DOG BROWN I HAVE

English: I’m going to the store at 9 AM.

ASL: 9-HOUR MORNING STORE I GO

Language Journal 24 to 26 (WC: 408)

Jargon is a collection of terms that are defined toward a specific activity or profession. This collection of terms are used by a common group of people who are involved in a particular area. The biggest group of jargon I could think of with a sufficient number of examples is jargon in the medical field.  The medical field is filled with jargon but it is still filled with areas where doctors are encouraged to stay away from jargon as a way to better communicate with patients. Doctors who use medical jargon can cause serious anxiety and intimidation between a highly trained medical professional and a patient.

Jargon is used in the medical field because after learning such an intense vocabulary, many forget that key terms are extremely technical and jargon becomes the best solution in an emergency. Avoiding medical jargon is an important way to improve one’s ability to communicate with patients.

Self-awareness is the key to understanding bedside manner. Self-perception may differ from the way

your patient sees you. It is also essential to understanding your biases and limitations, and to be

mindful of the things that most push your buttons. Avoiding medical jargon and communicating

clearly enhances the physician’s effectiveness in providing good patient care.

MRI= Magnetic Resonance Imaging, scans by a strong magnetic field with a computer base

CT= Computerized Axial Tomography, scans with computer based imagery

STAT= term used to imply urgent and needed in a rush

When asking a patient to move, it is better to say right/left arm or leg rather than the scientific bone name.

Medical professionals are told to tell a patient that they will be injected rather than receiving a shot.

When giving diagnosis, medical professionals should tell the patient they have a bruise rather than an abrasion, even though abrasion is written on the patient’s medical history.

X-ray/MRI techs often call scans films after they are printed and waiting to be read by the doctor, even though they are commonly called x-rays or scans to the patient.

IV push and drip are two different types of speed of injecting solutions into the body. A push is when the solution is being injected quickly compared to a drip that injects the solution slowly.  

Scrub in= Although this is a fairly common term in the medical field now because of medical shows, scrubbing in means to thoroughly wash your arms, hands and putting on a sterile surgical cap and gown.

Language Journal 27 to 29 (WC: 398)

In July of 2008, Ellen DeGeneres interviewed Hugh Laurie and they were comparing common English and British phrases. It was quite evident that even though they both speak English, there is a barrier between the cultures. While both are dialects of English, this is just a great example of the differences between dialects based on a culture. When looking at their guesses and definitions, it is quite easy to see that there is a major difference between American and British English.

American Slang: Flossing

Hugh Laurie’s Guess: something close fitting

American Definition: showing off

British Slang: Chin Wag

Ellen’s Guess: a blundering idiot

British Definition: to chat (to speak and wag their chins)

American Slang: Ba-Donka-Donk

Hugh’s Definition: To pass someone on a motorcycle

American Definition:  An extremely curvaceous female behind

British Slang: Chuffed to Bits

Ellen’s Definition: exhausted

British Definition: to be really pleased about something

I also heard that there was also an interview with Emma Watson and her discussion of deciding to go to Brown University and her struggles with the differences between the two Englishes. During her first week of class we said that she had cut her finger and she went from door to door in for dorm looking for a “plaster” but no one else knew she needed a band-aid. Then in class she asked a class if she had a “rubber” and the entire class burst into laughter confusing the American term from condom with the British term for an eraser. Many students when they have professors from Great Britain or travelers going to the country they enjoy the accent and the differences in the languages because they can still understand them but they also learn little tid-bits of a different culture when listening to their common phrases that are not a part of the American culture. For example: “Brilliant.” “Jolly-good.”

Also there are some common spelling differences between American English and British English. For example American English uses “or” rather than British English’s “our” (color and colour.) When it comes to spelling verbs and making them past tense, American English uses the suffix –ed, while British English uses the suffix –t. The second category of difference includes verbs that use either the base form of the verb or the -ed ending for the simple past.

-ed vs -t

to dream>>>dreamed>>>dreamt

to leap>>>>>leaped>>>>>leapt

base word vs –ed

to fit>>>fit>>>fitted

to forecast>>>forecast>>>forcasted

Language Journal 30 to 52 (WC: 2,927)

There is no doubt that J.K.Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, is a genius of today’s written world. Her success story is one that any author would dream about. But not only is she incredibly brilliant and famous for these novels, Rowling is no doubt a pirate of other British authors such as Jane Austin and Charles Dickens. However, what most Harry Potter fans do not realize is how much thought and background information can be seen by just her character’s names and her magical spells or potions in the Harry Potter series. Many can be related back to mythological or biblical stories, or various roots throughout language. Common origins are Old English, Middle English, Old Norse, Latin, and some French and various Irish languages.

Harry Potter Character	Meaning/Root/Reference
Ambrosius Flume	As the founder of Honeydukes Sweet Shop, his first name most likely comes from the word "ambrosia," which means especially sweet and delicious. In mythology, in order for the gods to continue to be immortal they must consume ambrosia nectar, which is very sweet. Continuing to his last name, "flume" is a narrow tunnel or a chute that usually has something flowing through it. Combining the names, he can be seen as a supplier of sweets. Coincidentally, there is also an underground tunnel that connects Hogwarts and Honeydukes which is where ‘flume” makes more sense for this character’s last name.
Alastor Moody	Alastor is the Scottish (Gaelic) form of Alexander. It means "defender of mankind." This is a very appropriate name for an Auror and this character responsible for protecting the magical world by apprehending evil wizards. This character in particular is known for having a lot of experience in fighting dark magic. Because of his experiences, he is constantly alert to near paranoid in defending himself. This trait in his personality carries over to his last name, where is he known for not being the kindest of characters, yet he never kills until necessary.
Aragog	"Arachnid" means spider in Latin and a form in Greek, while "gog" was the name of a legendary giant in the Muslim Quran. Combined, the name means "giant spider." Also  this name possibly derived from the Greek word "agog," meaning "leader." This completely relates the character in the series, as the character is a giant spider and a leader of what appears to be all the spiders near the Hogwarts castle.
Bellatrix Lestrange	"Bella" is a construct of the word "bellic" being a reference to the Latin phrase "casus belli" which is commonly associated with war. And "trix" is a suffix borrowed from Latin to form feminine nouns. Bellatrix can therefore be compared to with her personality of starting wars when killing Sirius Black, and thriving in battles and being a part of the Death Eaters. Continuing to her last name, Lestrange can be grouped with the word "estrange" which means to turn away or to make hostile. Again, this correlates with the character’s personality very well.
Cedric Diggory	As Cedric is translated into Old English for "chief" or "warleader" this name is a great one for the character that was originally chosen to be the Hogwarts's champion the in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. As said before, Rowling is an expert pirate and choose Cedric's last name is a great example. Diggory can be related to Digory Kirke, a character from The Chronicles of Narnia. Both characters are known to be loyal with a great sense of morale.
Cho Chang	Cho is Japanese for "butterfly" and in Chinese means "autumn." As readers, we begin to view Cho very similar to a butterfly: having the beauty and grace but still Harry cannot quite "catch" her. Chang is Chinese for "free" or "unhindered." In Chinese, "chou chang" means "melancholy." This is great foreshadowing from the fourth novel to the fifth, after Cedric Diggory’s death Cho is constantly an emotional disaster and grieving.
Colin Creevey	Colin is a common Irish/Scottish name meaning "young creature."  Creevey is also a common Irish name, from Irish origin meaning "profilic." Clearly, the "young creature" definition expresses this character's innocence throughout the novels, the "profilic" is continuation of Colin's constant desire to producing many photos of Harry.
Dobby	In a British dialect “dobby” means a fatuous or foolish person.  Also, a weave of cloth that is very durable and long-lasting is called the dobby weave. This connects to the house elf character that is at first seen to be quite idiotic. But as the books continue the meaning and the character's personality because an ironic factor in the series, finding that Dobby is quite intelligent. A deeper part of all house elves that was introduced with Dobby is that they are slaves until presented clothing, which connects to the dobby weave.
Dolores Umbridge	Dolores functions in multiple languages. In the Latin origin, Dolores means "lady of sorrows or pain" (psychological or physical). In Greek, "doleros" means "deceitful," and in Spanish, "dolor" means "to have pain." Continuing to her last name, Umbridge can be grouped with "umbrage," which means to offend, annoy or displease based on the Middle English term. In Latin, "umbra" means shadow, shade, or ghost and can also be interpreted as "jealous or suspicious of another" or "standing in one's light or way."  She certainly does this for Harry. She causes a continuing amount of pain and annoyance for the main trio of the novels. Also Umbridge is constantly suspicious of Harry in the fifth novel, suspecting him of conspiracy against the Ministry and begins to shadow Dumbledore as the Ministry interferes at Hogwarts.
Draco Malfoy	Draco is a constellation that is a snake but commonly mistaken for a dragon. In Latin, Draco means "dragon." There was also a Greek ruler named Draco who developed a system of severe punishments for the smallest of crimes. "Draconian" means "harsh or cruel." In Romanian, "drac" means "devil." Continuing to the character's last name, Malfoy can be grouped with many different roots. In Latin, "malus" means "bad" and "mal" means "pale." In French, "Mal foi" means "bad faith, an act with bad intentions, or a malicious act." "Mal de foi" means a "loss of faith." The similar French phrase "Mal fait" can be interpreted as "badly made" or "evil deeds." This can be seen in Rowling's character of how Draco is continuously causing problems for Harry and his friends. Also Draco can be considered on the darker side of the series after being placed in Slytherin whose animal is the snake and his family asides with the Dark Lord throughout the novels.
Errol	This name can be grouped with the Latin term "errare" which means to wander. This accurately describes the Weasley owl that always seems to get off track when delivering the post.
Godric Gryffindor	As Godric is derived from the Old English "god" combined with "ric," meaning "God" and "rule."  In mythology, a griffin was a creature with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle.  In Greek, "gryphon" means protector of wealth, while in French "d'or" means of gold. All of these characteristics fit with the house and the character himself.  As one of the Gryffindor House colors is gold, the gryffin is fitting, considering lions are characterized as brave and courageous and eagles are described as being noble birds, all traits of the members of the Gryffindor House.
Tom Marvolo Riddle	A lot is considered when studying the background of this name. Tom is a shortened version of the name Thomas, originally from Greek, whose meaning is twin. This easily represents that fact that Lord Voldemort left parts of himself in a dairy of Tom's. Although the character, Tom Riddle is not a twin, he represents another version of Voldemort himself. Morvolo is a bit more complication because it has multiple meanings. The name itself implies "marvelous," but it also contains the Latin root "volo" meaning " I wish, want, will, ordain, suppose, maintain that, be willing, to mean, signify, or denote." This connects to the constant greed and desires of Lord Voldemort contained as a child. He wished, wanted, and willed for an immortal life without second-thinking the costs. "Volo" also means "to fly, speed, or move rapidly." Finally, a "riddle" is a form of word puzzle designed to test someone's ingenuity in arriving at its solution. This brings great irony to his character not only because his name transfigured turns into "I am Lord Voldemort," and also he leave a giant, perplex riddle for Harry with the horocruxes.
Minerva McGonagall	Minerva is the Roman counterpart to the Greek goddess named Athena. Both goddesses in their respective mythologies represent war, handicraft and practical reason or wisdom. This suits the character quite well to the fact that not only is she a sense of wisdom for Harry in the beginning of the series, and also fights for Hogwarts in its time of need. Continuing to her last name, in which she is called most often in the series, McGonagall is Scottish origin and is from the Celtic name "Conegal," which means "the bravest." The "Mc" in McGonagall means "son of." The bravery fits well with her first name, Minerva, the goddess of wisdom and war.
Nagini	This character is pretty straight forward in her name. In sanskrit, "naga" is a term often used to describe ambiguous, and also refers to snakes. Then adding on the female inflection, "nagi" or "nagini" refers to a female snake.
Mrs. Norris	As said before, J.K. Rowling is a fantastic pirate. A character in Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, one of J.K. Rowling's favorite authors. The character is a busybody, always into everyone's business and trying to run things the way she wants to, even though she's not really in a position of power. Although in the Harry Potter series, Mrs.Norris is a cat she stalks the grounds telling on any student not following the rules.
Rita Skeeter	Although Rita does not have much of significance to the character, other than the fact that it rhymes with her last name. However, Skeeter can have multiple meanings, not necessarily with origins but with wordplay. In today's American English "skeeter" can be defined as a mosquito. As mosquitoes have the reputation of being annoying and incessant, they have the same qualities as Rowling's character. Also, as Rita turns herself into a beetle secretly to get more information on her new article topics, Rowling does use a bit of wordplay in the fourth book with "bugging," in the sense of electronic bugging.
Severus Snape	This character is more complicated than others when finding the roots and meaning in his name. "Severen" in Middle English means to cut off. In the first five novels, Snape appears to have "cut off" his ties with the Lord Voldemort, and then with Dumbledore and the Order in Half-Blood Prince. "Severe" having the Latin origin of "severus" means cruel or strict. Both of these characteristic fit this personality quite well. He is constantly strict to the main trio of the book, and grows to become a huge fear to Neville Longbottom because of his cruelty.  "Snape" from Old Norse can be defined as to be hard on, or to dishonor is disgrace.
Sirius Black	Sirius is named after the star, Sirius, also known as the Dog Star or Great Dog. While Sirius is the Latin translation, in Greek mythology Seirios was the god or goddess of the dog star who was commonly associated with the sun or light. This strongly relates to Sirius Black, because he transfigures into a black dog throughout the series until his death. Also he tends to be a light or star for Harry because it is a sense of family and support Harry never had until Sirius's arrival in the novels. Continuing to Sirius's last name, because black can be traced back to Old Norse and Old English there are a lot of definitions for the word. Common definitions include dismal, or relations to death, or guilt. In British terms, black is another word for banning or boycotting. All of these definitions connect to the character, especially in the third book where Black is seen as a mad murderer who just escaped from prison.
Lord Voldemort	In many European languages, "mort" or "mord" refer to "death or evil." In French, "vol-de-mort" means "flight from death" (meaning escaping death). Also in French, "vol" translates as "the act of stealing," giving Voldemort's name the alternate meaning to "steal from death." This is precisely what the Lord does. He kills others in order to keep himself alive. While, do that, he barely escapes death himself when trying to murder Harry.  In Norwegian and Danish, "vold" means "violence." In Danish, "volde" means "to cause" and could be derived from the Latin "valde," meaning "great, exceedingly, strongly, powerfully." Using these definitions Lord Voldemort's name would then mean "excessive, great, or extreme death."

Harry Potter Magic	Meaning/ Root/ Reference
Accio	As Accio is the summoning charm, "accio" is the Latin word for "I summon."
Alohomora	This is a spell that opens locks. The word can be studied back to the Hawaiian word "Aloha" meaning hello or goodbye, while the Latin word "mora," meaning "obstacle." So the spell could be translated to "good-bye obstacle" or "hello obstacle" then making it disappear.
Aparecium	This word is from the Latin term "aperio," meaning to uncover, lay bare, reveal, or make clear or "apparere," meaning to make clear.  But notice how it is spelled with only one "p." This could cause the word to be grouped with another Latin term "apertus," which means "open, obvious, and public." This makes perfect sense as this spell that makes invisible ink appear, making what is written public those who are reading the invisible ink.
Arithmancy	This is also known as numerology; Arithmancy is method of fortune-telling based on names, numbers, and mathematical calculations. The word is based from the Greek, "arithmo" meaning number and "mancy" meaning prophecy.
Colloportus	When separating the word's syllables, in French "Coller" means to stick together, and "portus" means door in Latin. The spell is to lock doors.
Crucio	"Crucio" is Latin for "I torture." Also looking at the word, you can see the relations with the Latin term "cruciare" which means to torment or crucify. Crucio conjures the Cruciatus curse which tortures its victims causing excruciating pain.
Expecto Patronum	When looking at the spell incantation it is very easy to see the word "expect." In Latin, "exspectare" is to look out for, await, desire, or hope for. Also when breaking down the word "patronum", "patron" can be seen. This word, originating from Middle English has the definition of a protector of a dependant from Roman History. The Latin term for "patron" is "patronus." Hence, when putting the spell together it means "to hope for a protector." A Patronus is used to protect against a Dementor.
Expelliarmus	When breaking the spell down, it can be grouped with the Middle English term "expellen" and the Latin term "expellere" meaning to drive out or to drive away. Combining that with the multiple origins for "arma," which is currently taken from the Middle English verb "armen," then derived back to the Old French term "armere," which all mean to arm, as in weapons or tools. As this spell is a disarming spell, when fusing the two meanings together it reads "to drive out arms."
Imperio	The "Imperio" is the curse that forces its victim to obey any command given to them. This spell can be traced back to a last Latin term "imperativus" and its past participle "imperare" which means to impose, order or command.
Incendio	In today's dictionary, "incendiary" is related to setting something on fire deliberately, in both cases, as an adjective or a noun. As the spell is used to set something on fire, the word can be studied back to the Latin term "incendiarius" which translates to a fire or "incendere" which means to kindle.
Lumos	Having done some very recent studies on this word, the Indo-European root for this word is "leuk" which means light or brightness. But more recently words that the spell can with grouped with are "luminary," "lunar," and "luna;" all of which are based back to the original Indo-European root leuk-. Clearly, this root's words traveled to today's American English, but of you focus on "luminous" it shows the Middle English to Latin term "luminosus" which can be grouped with our spell in question. The result of this spell is a bright light shines from the wand of the one saying the spell.
Nox	Nox is the spell that cancels out "Lumos," therefore is takes away light, bringing darkness or night. This can be related in two main ways. The word nox can be related to the Greek counterpart Nyx, who was the Roman goddess of night. But also when the word "night" is defined, multiple origin appear such as Middle English to Old English with "niht" or "neaht." "Aox" is the Latin translation for night with the stem of noct-.
Obliviate	This spell is used to erase a person's memory. Because it looks a lot like the word "oblivious" which means unaware or forgetful. Then tracing the word back, the Latin term "oblivious" which continued onto late Middle English means forgetful.
Reducio	As this charm causes things to shrink, the incantation can be grouped with the word "reduce". Reduce means "to make smaller, or shrink back to its original size." Its origin traces back to the Middle English term "reducen" and also the Latin term "reducere " both mean "to bring back."