Reflection: Roots and Connections

Recently I learned something that surprised me: the Italian name Giovanni is actually the same as John. I had known that “Juan” (Spanish) and “John” were connected, but Giovanni looked so different that I never guessed they shared the same root. It reminded me of the word milk. In English, we say “milk,” but in Spanish it’s leche, in Italian latte, and in French lait. At first, these look like totally different words, but they all come from the same Latin root (lacte). English, however, kept its older Germanic version, which is why it looks unrelated.

What struck me is how language works like culture and people: the same root can take on very different forms depending on history, geography, and influence. Giovanni, Juan, John, and Jean are all “the same person” in different languages. Milk, leche, latte, and lait all point to the same thing we drink, just expressed through different traditions. It reminds me things that look different on the surface may share a deeper connection.

Sometimes you have to look at the history or the root to understand how people, ideas, or practices evolved. And when you do, you often discover that we are more similar than different, even if we come from different cultures and backgrounds.