Presentation
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For further information, including the full final version of the list, read the Wikipedia article: Swadesh list .American linguist Morris Swadesh believed that languages changed at measurable rates and that these could be determined even for languages without written precursors. Using vocabulary lists, he sought to understand not only change over time but also the relationships of extant languages. To be able to compare languages from different cultures, he based his lists on meanings he presumed would be available in as many cultures as possible. He then used the fraction of agreeing cognates between any two related languages to compute their divergence time by some (still debated) algorithms. Starting in 1950 with 165 meanings, his list grew to 215 in 1952, which was so expansive that many languages lacked native vocabulary for some terms. Subsequently, it was reduced to 207, and reduced much further to 100 meanings in 1955. A reformulated list was published posthumously in 1971.
Swadesh list
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No.
English
Dalmatian
1
I
ju
2
you (singular)
te
3
he , she , it
jal
4
we
nu noi
5
you (plural)
vu voi
6
they
jali jale
7
this
cost
8
that
cost
9
here
kauk
10
there
luk
11
who
ko
12
what
ce
13
where
jo
14
when
kand
15
how
kal
16
not
na naun
17
all
tot
18
many
un maur
19
some
certioin
20
few
un pauk
21
other
jultro jiltri
22
one
join
23
two
doi
24
three
tra
25
four
kuatro
26
five
cenk
27
big
maur luarg
28
long
luang
29
wide
luarg
30
thick
dais
31
heavy
pesunt
32
small
pedlo
33
short
kort
34
narrow
35
thin
36
woman
femia
37
man (adult male)
jomno vair
38
man (human being)
jomno
39
child
kratoir
40
wife
mulier
41
husband
marait
42
mother
njena
43
father
tuota
44
animal
45
fish
pask
46
bird
paserain
47
dog
kun
48
louse
pedoklo
49
snake
50
worm
viarm
51
tree
jarbul
52
forest
buask
53
stick
stal
54
fruit
froit
55
seed
grun
56
leaf
fualja
57
root
radaika
58
bark (of a tree)
59
flower
fiaur
60
grass
jarba
61
rope
kanapial
62
skin
pial
63
meat
kuarne
64
blood
suang
65
bone
vuas
66
fat (noun)
gruas
67
egg
juf juv
68
horn
kuarno
69
tail
kauda
70
feather
71
hair
kapei
72
head
kup
73
ear
orakla
74
eye
vaklo
75
nose
nuas
76
mouth
buka
77
tooth
diant
78
tongue (organ)
langa
79
fingernail
jongla
80
foot
pi
81
leg
82
knee
denaklo
83
hand
mun
84
wing
jal
85
belly
viantro
86
guts
alaite
87
neck
kual
88
back
duas
89
breast
90
heart
kur
91
liver
fekuat
92
to drink
bar
93
to eat
mancur
94
to bite
95
to suck
96
to spit
spoit
97
to vomit
98
to blow
sublar
99
to breathe
100
to laugh
redro
101
to see
vedar
102
to hear
senter
103
to know
sapar
104
to think
105
to smell
106
to fear
taimo
107
to sleep
dormer
108
to live
109
to die
morer
110
to kill
111
to fight
112
to hunt
113
to hit
botur
114
to cut
taljur
115
to split
spartar
116
to stab
117
to scratch
118
to dig
pasnur
119
to swim
120
to fly
121
to walk
kaminur
122
to come
venir
123
to lie (as in a bed)
124
to sit
125
to stand
stur
126
to turn (intransitive)
127
to fall
kadar
128
to give
duor
129
to hold
tenar
130
to squeeze
shtrengar
131
to rub
jongar
132
to wash
133
to wipe
134
to pull
135
to push
136
to throw
truar
137
to tie
138
to sew
koser
139
to count
embruar
140
to say
dekro
141
to sing
kantur
142
to play
jukur
143
to float
144
to flow
145
to freeze
glazir
146
to swell
147
sun
saul
148
moon
loina
149
star
stala
150
water
jakva
151
rain
pluaja
152
river
fluaim
153
lake
lak
154
sea
mur
155
salt
suol
156
stone
pitra
157
sand
sablaun salbaun
158
dust
pulvro
159
earth
tiara
160
cloud
161
fog
162
sky
cil
163
wind
viant
164
snow
nai
165
ice
glaz
166
smoke
167
fire
fuk
168
ash
kanaisa
169
to burn
ardar
170
road
kale
171
mountain
muant
172
red
173
green
viart
174
yellow
zuola
175
white
jualb
176
black
fosk niar
177
night
nuat
178
day
dai
179
year
jan
180
warm
181
cold
182
full
plain
183
new
nuv
184
old
vieklo
185
good
bun
186
bad
mul ri
187
rotten
muas ri
188
dirty
189
straight
drat
190
round
191
sharp (as a knife)
192
dull (as a knife)
193
smooth
194
wet
joit
195
dry
196
correct
drat jost
197
near
alic
198
far
distuont
199
right
diastro
200
left
201
at
saupra
202
in
in
203
with
kon
204
and
e
205
if
206
because
perko
207
name
naum
See also
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Bibliography
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Les langages de l'humanité (Michel Malherbe), Robert Laffont, Paris 1995 - →ISBN Further reading
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Swadesh lists
Individual languages
Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
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