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
Volapük
1
I
ob
2
you (singular)
ol
3
he , she , it
om
4
we
obs
5
you (plural)
ols
6
they
ons
7
this
atos
8
that
etos
9
here
is
10
there
us
11
who
kin
12
what
kis
13
where
kiöpo
14
when
kiüpo
15
how
lio
16
not
no
17
all
valik
18
many
mödik
19
some
anik
20
few
nemödik
21
other
votik
22
one
bal
23
two
tel
24
three
kil
25
four
fol
26
five
lul
27
big
gretik
28
long
lunik
29
wide
vidik
30
thick
bigik
31
heavy
vetik
32
small
smalik
33
short
brefik
34
narrow
nabik
35
thin
slenik
36
woman
vom
37
man (adult male)
man
38
man (human being)
men
39
child
cil
40
wife
jimatan
41
husband
himatan
42
mother
mot
43
father
fat
44
animal
nim
45
fish
fit
46
bird
böd
47
dog
dog
48
louse
puf
49
snake
snek
50
worm
vum
51
tree
bim
52
forest
fot
53
stick
staf
54
fruit
fluk
55
seed
sid
56
leaf
bled
57
root
vul
58
bark (of a tree)
jal
59
flower
flor
60
grass
yeb
61
rope
jain
62
skin
skin
63
meat
mit
64
blood
blud
65
bone
bom
66
fat (noun)
pin
67
egg
nög
68
horn
hon
69
tail
göb
70
feather
plüm
71
hair
her
72
head
kap , cif
73
ear
lil
74
eye
log
75
nose
nud
76
mouth
mud
77
tooth
tut
78
tongue (organ)
lineg
79
fingernail
nuel
80
foot
fut
81
leg
lög
82
knee
kien
83
hand
nam
84
wing
flitäm
85
belly
bälid
86
guts
ninäms
87
neck
nük , särvig
88
back
bäk
89
breast
blöt
90
heart
lad
91
liver
foad
92
to drink
drinön
93
to eat
fidön
94
to bite
beitön
95
to suck
sügön
96
to spit
spukön
97
to vomit
sputön , vomitön
98
to blow
bladön
99
to breathe
natemön
100
to laugh
smilön
101
to see
logön
102
to hear
lilön
103
to know
nolön , sevön
104
to think
tikön
105
to smell
smeilön
106
to fear
dredön
107
to sleep
slipön
108
to live
lödön
109
to die
deadön
110
to kill
deidön
111
to fight
komipön
112
to hunt
yagön
113
to hit
flapön
114
to cut
kötön
115
to split
slitön
116
to stab
dägön
117
to scratch
kratön
118
to dig
jüpön , sebön
119
to swim
svimön
120
to fly
flitön
121
to walk
golön
122
to come
kömön
123
to lie (as in a bed)
seatön
124
to sit
seadön
125
to stand
stanön
126
to turn (intransitive)
flekön
127
to fall
falön
128
to give
givön
129
to hold
kipön
130
to squeeze
knibön
131
to rub
röbön
132
to wash
lavön
133
to wipe
kluinön
134
to pull
tirön
135
to push
joikön
136
to throw
jedön
137
to tie
tanön
138
to sew
nägön
139
to count
nümädön
140
to say
sagön
141
to sing
kanitön
142
to play
pledön
143
to float
flotön
144
to flow
flumön
145
to freeze
flodön
146
to swell
svelikön
147
sun
sol
148
moon
mun
149
star
stel
150
water
vat
151
rain
rein
152
river
flumed
153
lake
lak
154
sea
mel
155
salt
sal
156
stone
ston
157
sand
sab
158
dust
püf
159
earth
tail
160
cloud
lefog
161
fog
fog
162
sky
sil
163
wind
vien
164
snow
nif
165
ice
glad
166
smoke
smok
167
fire
fil
168
ash
zen
169
to burn
filön
170
road
veg
171
mountain
bel
172
red
redik
173
green
grünik
174
yellow
yelovik
175
white
vietik
176
black
blägik
177
night
neit
178
day
del
179
year
yel
180
warm
vamik
181
cold
koldik
182
full
fulik
183
new
nulik
184
old
bäldik
185
good
gudik
186
bad
badik
187
rotten
puridik
188
dirty
miotik
189
straight
stedälik
190
round
klöpik
191
sharp (as a knife)
japik
192
dull (as a knife)
dofik
193
smooth
smudik
194
wet
luimik
195
dry
sägik
196
correct
verätik
197
near
nilü
198
far
fagik
199
right
detik
200
left
nedetik
201
at
tö , len , pö
202
in
in
203
with
ko , me
204
and
e , ed
205
if
if
206
because
bi
207
name
nem
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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