Английская Википедия:False cognate
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Distinguish False cognates are pairs of words that seem to be cognates because of similar sounds and meaning, but have different etymologies; they can be within the same language or from different languages, even within the same family.Шаблон:Sfnp For example, the English word dog and the Mbabaram word dog have exactly the same meaning and very similar pronunciations, but by complete coincidence. Likewise, English much and Spanish mucho came by their similar meanings via completely different Proto-Indo-European roots, and same for English have and Spanish haber. This is different from false friends, which are similar-sounding words with different meanings, and may or may not be cognates.
Even though false cognates lack a common root, there may still be an indirect connection between them (for example by phono-semantic matching or folk etymology).
Phenomenon
The term "false cognate" is sometimes misused to refer to false friends, but the two phenomena are distinct.Шаблон:SfnpШаблон:Sfnp False friends occur when two words in different languages or dialects look similar, but have different meanings. While some false friends are also false cognates, many are genuine cognates (see False friends § Causes).Шаблон:Sfnp For example, English pretend and French prétendre are false friends, but not false cognates, as they have the same origin.[1]
"Mama and papa" type
The basic kinship terms mama and papa comprise a special case of false cognates.[2][3][4][5]
Examples
Note: Some etymologies may be simplified to avoid overly long descriptions.
Within English
| Term 1 | Etymology 1 | Term 2 | Etymology 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| day | OE dæġ Шаблон:Br<< PGmc *dagazШаблон:Br<< PIE *dʰeǵʰ-[6] | diary | Latin diārium << dies ("day")Шаблон:Br<< Proto-Italic *djēm Шаблон:Br<< PIE *dyḗws ("heaven")Шаблон:Thin space[7][8] |
| island | OE īġland Шаблон:Br<< PGmc *awjōlandąШаблон:Bror ea + land | isle | Latin insula |
Between English and other languages
| English term | English etymology | Foreign term | Foreign etymology |
|---|---|---|---|
| bad | Possibly from OE bæddel ("hermaphrodite, effeminate man")Шаблон:Br<< PGmc *bad- ("defile") | Persian Шаблон:Lang, badШаблон:Thin space[9][8] | Middle Iranian *vatШаблон:Br<< PIE *wed(h)- |
| better | OE betera | Persian Шаблон:Lang, behtar and Hindustani descendants | |
| cinder | OE sinder
<< PGmc *sendra- "slag" << PIE *sendhro- "coagulating fluid" |
French cendre ("ash") | Latin cinerem
<< PIE *ken- ("to arise, begin") |
| dog | OE docga or dogga | Mbabaram dog ("dog")Шаблон:Thin space[8] | Proto-Pama-Nyungan *gudaga |
| day | OE dæġ Шаблон:Br<< PGmc *dagaz Шаблон:Br<< PIE *dʰeǵʰ-[6] | Latin dies ("day") and descendantsШаблон:Thin space[7][8] | Proto-Italic *djēm Шаблон:Br<< PIE *dyḗws ("heaven")Шаблон:Thin space[7][8] |
| hollow | OE holh Шаблон:Br<< PGmc *holhwo- | Lake Miwok hólluШаблон:Thin space[9] | |
| much | OE myċel Шаблон:Br<< PGmc *mikilaz Шаблон:Br<< PIE *meǵa- ("big, stout, great") | Spanish mucho ("much")Шаблон:Thin space[8] | Latin multus (many)Шаблон:Br<< PIE *ml̥tos ("crumbled") |
| desert | Latin dēserō ("to abandon") Шаблон:Br<< ultimately PIE **seh₁- ("to sow") | Ancient Egyptian Deshret (refers to the land not flooded by the Nile)Шаблон:Thin space | from dšr (red) |
| saint | Latin sanctusШаблон:Br<< PIE *seh₂k- ("to sanctify") via French | Sanskrit sant and descendantsШаблон:Thin space[10] | sat ("truth, reality, essence") |
Between other languages
| Term 1 | Etymology 1 | Term 2 | Etymology 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| French feu ("fire") | Latin focus | German Feuer ("fire") | PGmc *fōr ~ *fun-[6][11][8]Шаблон:Br<< PIE *péh₂wr̥ |
| French nuque ('nape') | Hungarian nyak ('neck')[12] | ||
| German haben ('to have') | PG *habjanąШаблон:Br<< PIE *keh₂p- ("to grasp") | Latin habere ("to have") and descendants[13] | PIE *gʰeh₁bʰ- ("to grab, to take") |
| Swedish göl ("pool") | PG *guljō | Salar göl ("pool") | Proto-Turkic *kȫl ("lake") |
| German Erdbeere ('strawberry') | Erd ('earth') + Beere ('berry') | Hungarian epér ('strawberry')[12] | |
| German Haus ('house') | Hungarian ház ('house')[12] | ||
| Hungarian nő ('woman') | Mandarin Chinese 女 (nü̆) ('woman')[12] | ||
| Inuktitut ᖃᔭᖅ (kayak) | Proto-Eskimo *qyaq | Turkish kayık[14] | Old Turkic kayguk Шаблон:Br<< Proto-Turkic kay- ("to slide, to turn") |
| Mayaimi Mayaimi (Big water) | Hebrew מים mayim ("water") | ||
| Japanese Шаблон:Lang arigatō ("thank you") | Clipping of 有難う御座います "arigatō gozaimasu" ("(I) am thankful") Шаблон:Br<< 有難く "arigataku"Шаблон:Br<< 有難い "arigatai" ("thankful, appreciated") Шаблон:Br<< Old Japanese 有難斯 "arigatasi" ("difficult to be")Шаблон:Thin spaceШаблон:Cn | Portuguese obrigado ("thank you")[15] | Literally "obliged"Шаблон:Br << Latin obligātus |
| Indonesian tanah ("ground") | Proto-Austronesian *tanaq | Aleut tanax̂ ("ground") | Proto-Eskimo *luna ("earth") |
False cognates used in the coinage of new words
The coincidental similarity between false cognates can sometimes be used in the creation of new words (neologization). For example, the Hebrew word Шаблон:Lang dal ("poor") (which is a false cognate of the phono-semantically similar English word dull) is used in the new Israeli Hebrew expression אין רגע דל en rega dal (literally "There is no poor moment") as a phono-semantic matching for the English expression Never a dull moment.[16]
Similarly, the Hebrew word דיבוב dibúv ("speech, inducing someone to speak"), which is a false cognate of (and thus etymologically unrelated to) the phono-semantically similar English word dubbing, is then used in the Israeli phono-semantic matching for dubbing. The result is that in today's Israel, דיבוב dibúv means "dubbing".[17]
See also
- Areal feature
- Convergent evolution
- Equivalence
- Etymological fallacy
- False etymology
- False friend
- Linguistic interference (language transfer)
- Pseudoscientific language comparison
- Semantic change
- Sprachbund
References
Works cited
Further reading
- Rubén Morán (2011), 'Cognate Linguistics', Kindle Edition, Amazon.
- Geoff Parkes and Alan Cornell (1992), 'NTC's Dictionary of German False Cognates', National Textbook Company, NTC Publishing Group.
- Шаблон:Citation
- Шаблон:Citation
External links
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Jakobson, R. (1962) "Why 'mama' and 'papa'?" In Jakobson, R. Selected Writings, Vol. I: Phonological Studies, pp. 538–545. The Hague: Mouton.
- ↑ Nichols, J. (1999) "Why 'me' and 'thee'?" Historical Linguistics 1999: Selected Papers from the 14th International Conference on Historical Linguistics, Vancouver, 9–13 August 1999, ed. Laurel J. Brinton, John Benjamins Publishing, 2001, pages 253-276.
- ↑ Bancel, P.J. and A.M. de l'Etang. (2008) "The Age of Mama and Papa" Bengtson J. D. In Hot Pursuit of Language in Prehistory: Essays in the four fields of anthropology. (John Benjamins Publishing, Dec 3, 2008), pages 417-438.
- ↑ Bancel, P.J. and A.M. de l'Etang. (2013) "Brave new words" In New Perspectives on the Origins of Language, ed. C. Lefebvre, B. Comrie, H. Cohen (John Benjamins Publishing, Nov 15, 2013), pages 333-377.
- ↑ 6,0 6,1 6,2 Kroonen, Guus (2013) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill
- ↑ 7,0 7,1 7,2 Oxford English Dictionary, Second edition.
- ↑ 8,0 8,1 8,2 8,3 8,4 8,5 8,6 Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ 9,0 9,1 Lyle Campbell, Historical Linguistics: An Introduction, 3rd edition, p. 350
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Lyle Campbell, Historical Linguistics: An Introduction, 3rd edition, p. 355
- ↑ 12,0 12,1 12,2 12,3 Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite journal
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
- ↑ Page 91 of Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Page 96 of Шаблон:Cite book
