How To Tell True Cognates From False Cognates? - The Daily Definition — Transcript

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1. 0:08How to tell true cognates from false
2. 0:10cognates?
3. 0:11Have you ever stumbled upon words in
4. 0:13different languages that look or sound
5. 0:15alike and wondered if they mean the same
6. 0:17thing?
7. 0:18This is where the concept of cognates
8. 0:20comes into play.
9. 0:22Cognates are words into languages that
10. 0:24share a common origin or root.
11. 0:26However, not all similar sounding words
12. 0:28are created equal.
13. 0:30Some are true cognates while others are
14. 0:32false cognates. Let's break down how to
15. 0:35tell them apart.
16. 0:37True cognates not only look or sound
17. 0:39alike but also share similar meanings
18. 0:41and come from the same ancestral word.
19. 0:44For instance, the English word animal
20. 0:46and the Spanish word animal are true
21. 0:48cognates.
22. 0:49They both mean the same thing and trace
23. 0:51back to the same origin.
24. 0:53Another example is the English word
25. 0:54action and the Spanish word acción.
26. 0:57They are spelled similarly, sound alike,
27. 1:00and have related meanings.
28. 1:03On the other hand, false cognates can be
29. 1:05tricky.
30. 1:06These are words that may appear similar
31. 1:08but differ in meaning and do not share
32. 1:10the same root. For example, the English
33. 1:12word embarrassed and the Spanish word
34. 1:14embarazada look alike but mean ashamed
35. 1:17and pregnant, respectively.
36. 1:19Another pair is the English word large
37. 1:21and the Spanish word largo.
38. 1:23While large refers to size, largo means
39. 1:26long in length.
40. 1:28To distinguish true cognates from false
41. 1:30cognates, consider these steps. First,
42. 1:33check the meaning. True cognates will
43. 1:35have similar meanings. If the meanings
44. 1:37differ significantly, you may be looking
45. 1:39at a false cognate.
46. 1:41Second, research the etymology. True
47. 1:43cognates share a common origin, often
48. 1:46from languages like Latin or Greek.
49. 1:48False cognates do not share this origin,
50. 1:51even if they look alike.
51. 1:54Next, look for usage context. A word's
52. 1:57meaning can shift or expand over time.
53. 1:59True cognates usually maintain related
54. 2:02meanings, while false cognates often
55. 2:04have unrelated meanings.
56. 2:06Lastly, be aware of partial false
57. 2:09cognates.
58. 2:10Some words may share a root and have one
59. 2:12meaning in common but differ in another.
60. 2:15These requiring careful attention to
61. 2:17context.
62. 2:19For example, the Spanish word importante
63. 2:21and the English word important are true
64. 2:23cognates, both meaning significant or of
65. 2:26value.
66. 2:27In contrast, the English word actual
67. 2:29means real or current, while the Spanish
68. 2:32word actual means present or current.
69. 2:35This can lead to confusion if assumed to
70. 2:37be identical in all contexts.
71. 2:40Using these guidelines, you can avoid
72. 2:42mistakes in translation or
73. 2:44communication.
74. 2:45By verifying the origin and meanings of
75. 2:47words that look similar across
76. 2:49languages, you can navigate the world of
77. 2:51cognates with confidence.
78. 2:53Remember, true cognates share both
79. 2:55origin and meaning, while false cognates
80. 2:58only share appearance or sound but
81. 3:00differ in meaning.
82. 3:02Understanding etymology and meaning is
83. 3:04key to identifying which is which.