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.
No.
English
Limburgish
1
I
ich
2
you (singular)
doe , geer
3
he , she , it
hae
4
we
weer
5
you (plural)
geer
6
they
die
7
this
dit
8
that
det
9
here
hie , hiej
10
there
dao
11
who
wae
12
what
waat
13
where
wo
14
when
wen
15
how
wie
16
not
neet
17
all
al
18
many
väöl
19
some
get
20
few
weinige
21
other
anger
22
one
ein
23
two
twie
24
three
drie
25
four
veer
26
five
vief
27
big
groet
28
long
lank
29
wide
wied
30
thick
dik
31
heavy
zjwaor
32
small
klein
33
short
kórt
34
narrow
sjmaal
35
thin
dön
36
woman
vrouw
37
man (adult male)
man
38
man (human being)
minsj
39
child
kèndj
40
wife
vrouw , wief
41
husband
man , echgenoet
42
mother
moder
43
father
vader
44
animal
deer , bies
45
fish
vèsj
46
bird
vogel
47
dog
hóndj
48
louse
loes
49
snake
sjlang
50
worm
wörm
51
tree
boum
52
forest
bósj
53
stick
sjtek
54
fruit
vröch
55
seed
zaod
56
leaf
blaad
57
root
wórtel
58
bark (of a tree)
sjèl
59
flower
bloom
60
grass
graas
61
rope
touw
62
skin
vel
63
meat
vleisj
64
blood
blood
65
bone
knaok
66
fat (noun)
vet
67
egg
ei
68
horn
hore
69
tail
sjtart
70
feather
vaer
71
hair
haor
72
head
huid , kop
73
ear
oer
74
eye
oug
75
nose
naas
76
mouth
móndj
77
tooth
tandj
78
tongue (organ)
tóng
79
fingernail
nagel
80
foot
voot
81
leg
bein
82
knee
knee
83
hand
handj
84
wing
vleugel
85
belly
boek
86
guts
derm
87
neck
nak
88
back
rök
89
breast
bórs
90
heart
hert
91
liver
laever
92
to drink
drinke
93
to eat
aete
94
to bite
biete
95
to suck
zókke
96
to spit
sjpieje
97
to vomit
sjpieje , euvergaeve
98
to blow
blaoze
99
to breathe
aome
100
to laugh
lache
101
to see
zeen
102
to hear
hure
103
to know
weite
104
to think
dinke
105
to smell
roeke
106
to fear
vreize
107
to sleep
sjlape
108
to live
laeve
109
to die
sjterve
110
to kill
vermaorde
111
to fight
vlöchte
112
to hunt
jaoge
113
to hit
sjlaon
114
to cut
sjnieje
115
to split
sjpliete
116
to stab
doorbaore , staeke
117
to scratch
kretsje
118
to dig
grave , spaje
119
to swim
zjwumme
120
to fly
vlege
121
to walk
loupe
122
to come
kómme
123
to lie (as in a bed)
ligke
124
to sit
zitte
125
to stand
sjtaon
126
to turn (intransitive)
drejje
127
to fall
valle
128
to give
gaeve
129
to hold
hawte
130
to squeeze
pitse
131
to rub
vrieve
132
to wash
wesje
133
to wipe
vaege
134
to pull
trèkke
135
to push
duje
136
to throw
werpe , goeje
137
to tie
aantrèkke
138
to sew
nejje
139
to count
tèlle
140
to say
zègke
141
to sing
zinge
142
to play
sjpeule
143
to float
zjwaeve
144
to flow
vleuje
145
to freeze
vrere
146
to swell
zjwelle
147
sun
zon
148
moon
maon
149
star
sjter
150
water
water
151
rain
rege
152
river
reveer
153
lake
maer
154
sea
zie
155
salt
zawt
156
stone
sjtein
157
sand
zandj
158
dust
sjtub
159
earth
eerd
160
cloud
wolk
161
fog
naevel
162
sky
hiemel , loch
163
wind
wèndj
164
snow
sjnie
165
ice
ies
166
smoke
rouk
167
fire
veur
168
ash
asj
169
to burn
branje
170
road
waeg
171
mountain
berg
172
red
roed
173
green
greun
174
yellow
gael
175
white
wit
176
black
zjwart
177
night
nach
178
day
daag
179
year
jaor
180
warm
werm
181
cold
kawd
182
full
vol
183
new
nie
184
old
aid
185
good
good
186
bad
sjlech
187
rotten
bedorve
188
dirty
vies
189
straight
rech
190
round
róndj
191
sharp (as a knife)
sjerp
192
dull (as a knife)
sjtómp
193
smooth
glad
194
wet
naat
195
dry
druug
196
correct
zjus
197
near
kortbie
198
far
wied , wiedeweg
199
right
rechs
200
left
links
201
at
bie
202
in
in
203
with
mit
204
and
en
205
if
es
206
because
omdat
207
name
naam
See also
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Swadesh lists
Individual languages
Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
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