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A Swadesh list is a prescribed list of basic vocabulary developed by Morris Swadesh in the 1940-50s, which is used in glottochronology (lexicostatistical dating).
Usage in glottochronology
The Swadesh word list is used in glottochronology to determine the approximate date of first separation of genetically related languages. The closeness of the relationship of the languages is suggested to be roughly proportional to the number of cognate words present in the list. The reason that a fixed set of concepts is used, rather than a list of arbitrary words, is that the basic vocabulary learned during early childhood is assumed to change very slowly over time. Note that the task of counting the number of cognate words in the list is far from trivial, and may be subjected to dispute, because cognates do not necessarily look similar, and recognition of cognates presupposes knowledge of the sound laws of the respective languages. For example, English 'wheel' and Hindi 'cakra' are cognates, although they are not recognizable as such without knowledge of the history of both languages. Also, even in cases where the number of cognates is undisputed, use of Swadesh lists for dating is disputed, because of the underlying assumption that the rate of replacement of basic vocabulary is constant over long periods of time. While Swadesh lists are a useful tool to get a rough idea, mainstream historical linguistics is usually very sceptical about claims of relatedness based on Swadesh lists exclusively.
The use of Swadesh lists in glottochronology was most popular during the 1960s and 1970s, after which enthusiasm waned and the discussion of the method's merit became emotional, leading to a temporary demise of the method. Refinements since the early 1970s include the incorporation of a geographical dimension into the equations, accounting for borrowing. A recent example of the use of Swadesh lists for absolute dating is the study of Gray and Atkinson (2003), calculating a tree of Indo-European languages with absolute dates for its nodes, using Bayesian principles, dating the Proto-Indo-European language to ca. 7000 BC (see Indo-Hittite). The study is based on Swadesh lists of modern Indo-European languages (and three extinct languages). Although Gray and Atkinson's result is not widely accepted, further refinement of their approach represents a potentially important source of evidence for historical linguistics.
Whilst the use of the Swadesh list for absolute dating remains controversial, it has gained popularity in the field of translation in defining core concepts that are universal to all human languages.
External links
- Lexico-semantic universals: A critical overview (.pdf, require login)
- Rosetta project
References
- Gray, Russell D.; & Atkinson, Quentin D. Language-tree divergence times support the Anatolian theory of Indo-European origin, Nature, 426. (Online: http://www.psych.auckland.ac.nz/psych/research/Evolution/Gray&Atkinson2003.pdf).
- Gudschinsky, Sarah. (1956). The ABC's of lexicostatistics (glottochronology). Word, 12, 175-210.
- Hoijer, Harry. (1956). Lexicostatistics: A critique. Language, 32, 49-60.
- Swadesh, Morris. (1950). Salish internal relationships. International Journal of American Linguistics, 16, 157-167.
- Swadesh, Morris. (1952). Lexicostatistic dating of prehistoric ethnic contacts. Proceedings American Philosophical Society, 96, 452-463.
- Swadesh, Morris. (1955). Towards greater accuracy in lexicostatistic dating. International Journal of American Linguistics, 21, 121-137.
- Swadesh, Morris (1972). What is glottochronology? In M. Swadesh, The origin and diversification of languages (pp. 271–284). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Swadesh list in English
Below is the Swadesh list of 207 words in the English language. For a Swadesh list that compares English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Esperanto, Swedish, and Latin (with links to other lists in other languages) use this link: Wiktionary:Swadesh list.
- I
- you (singular)
- he
- we
- you (plural)
- they
- this
- that
- here
- there
- who
- what
- where
- when
- how
- not
- all
- many
- some
- few
- other
- one
- two
- three
- four
- five
- big
- long
- wide
- thick
- heavy
- small
- short
- narrow
- thin
- woman
- man (adult male)
- man (human being)
- child
- wife
- husband
- mother
- father
- animal
- fish
- bird
- dog
- louse
- snake
- worm
- tree
- forest
- stick
- fruit
- seed
- leaf
- root
- bark
- flower
- grass
- rope
- skin
- meat
- blood
- bone
- fat (n.)
- egg
- horn
- tail
- feather
- hair
- head
- ear
- eye
- nose
- mouth
- tooth
- tongue
- fingernail
- foot
- leg
- knee
- hand
- wing
- belly
- guts
- neck
- back
- breast
- heart
- liver
- drink
- eat
- bite
- suck
- spit
- vomit
- blow
- breathe
- laugh
- see
- hear
- know
- think
- smell
- fear
- sleep
- live
- die
- kill
- fight
- hunt
- hit
- cut
- split
- stab
- scratch
- dig
- swim
- fly (v.)
- walk
- come
- lie
- sit
- stand
- turn
- fall
- give
- hold
- squeeze
- rub
- wash
- wipe
- pull
- push
- throw
- tie
- sew
- count
- say
- sing
- play
- float
- flow
- freeze
- swell
- sun
- moon
- star
- water
- rain
- river
- lake
- sea
- salt
- stone
- sand
- dust
- earth
- cloud
- fog
- sky
- wind
- snow
- ice
- smoke
- fire
- ashes
- burn
- road
- mountain
- red
- green
- yellow
- white
- black
- night
- day
- year
- warm
- cold
- full
- new
- old
- good
- bad
- rotten
- dirty
- straight
- round
- sharp
- dull
- smooth
- wet
- dry
- correct
- near
- far
- right
- left
- at
- in
- with
- and
- if
- because
- name
See also
- Swadesh list
- Basic English
- Historical linguistics
- Glottochronology
- Proto-language
- cognate
- Indo-European studies
- Mass lexical comparison
Сводеш исемлеге | Listenn Swadesh | Lista Swadesh | Liste Swadesh | Lista Swadesh | רשימת סוואדש | Список Сводеша | Swadeshev seznam | Swadeshlista
"Swadesh list"