International Scientific Vocabulary

International Scientific Vocabulary (or ISV) is a form of vocabulary comprising scientific and specialized words whose language of origin may or may not be certain, but which are in current use in several modern languages. The name "International Scientific Vocabulary" was first used by Philip Gove in "Webster’s Third New International Dictionary" (1961). [McArthur, Tom (editor), "The Oxford Companion to the English Language." Oxford University Press, 1992.] As noted by Crystal, [Crystal, David, "The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language." Cambridge University Press, 1995.] science is an especially productive field for new coinages.

According to "Webster's Third", "some ISV words (like haploid) have been created by taking a word with a rather general and simple meaning from one of the languages of antiquity, usually Latin and Greek, and conferring upon it a very specific and complicated meaning for the purposes of modern scientific discourse." An ISV word is typically a compound or a derivative which "gets only its raw materials, so to speak, from antiquity." Its morphology may vary across languages.

The online version of Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged (Merriam-Webster, 2002) [The online version is available by subscription.] adds that the ISV "consists of words or other linguistic forms current in two or more languages" that "differ from New Latin in being adapted to the structure of the individual languages in which they appear." ["International scientific vocabulary." [http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002.] Accessed July 11, 2006.] In other words, ISV terms are often made with Greek, Latin, or other combining forms, but each language pronounces the resulting neo-lexemes within its own phonemic "comfort zone," and makes morphological connections using its normal morphological system.

McArthur [McArthur, Tom, [http://kdictionaries.com/lia-intro.html "Asian Lexicography: Past, Present, and Prospective", "Lexicography in Asia" (Introduction). Password Publishers Limited, 1998.] Accessed January 17, 2007.] characterizes ISV words and morphemes as "translinguistic", explaining that they operate "in many languages that serve as mediums for education, culture, science, and technology." Besides European languages, such as Russian, Swedish, English, and Spanish, ISV lexical items also function in Japanese, Malay, Filipino, and other Asian languages. McArthur contends that no other set of words and morphemes is so international.

The ISV is one of the concepts behind the development and standardization of Interlingua. Scientific and medical terms in Interlingua are largely of Greco-Latin origin, but, like most Interlingua words, they appear in a wide range of languages. Interlingua's vocabulary is established using a group of "control languages" selected because they radiate words into, and absorb words from, a large number of other languages. A "prototyping" technique then selects the most recent common ancestor of each eligible Interlingua word or affix. The word or affix takes a contemporary form based on the control languages. This procedure is meant to give Interlingua the most generally international vocabulary possible. [Gode, Alexander, "". New York: Storm Publishers, 1951.]

Words and word roots which have different meanings from in the original languages

This is a list of scientific words and word roots which have different meanings from in the original languages.

References

ee also

*Interlingua
*Internationalism (linguistics)
*Combining form
*Classical compound
*Hybrid word
*Binomial nomenclature
*List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names
*Medical terminology
*List of medical roots, suffixes and prefixes
*Medical dictionary
*Greek and Latin roots in English
*List of Germanic and Latinate equivalents
*Latin nouns
*Latin verbs
*List of Latin words with English derivatives
*List of Greek words with English derivatives
*Latinization

External links

* [http://garden-gate.prairienet.org/botrts.htm Glossary of Roots of Botanical Names]
* [http://www.winternet.com/~chuckg/dictionary.html Dictionary of Botanical Epithets]
* [http://cdsjcl.f2g.net/derivatives.html List of Latin Words with Derivatives to English]
* [http://www.phthiraptera.org/Classical%20Roots/Classic_frame.html Some classical Greek and Latin roots]
*"Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language 1998" entry on [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-INTERNATIONALSCNTFCVCBLRY.html International Scientific Vocabulary]