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.
№ English Albanianshqip edit (207) 1 I (1sg )unë 2 you (2sg )ti ju respectful 3 he , she , it (3sg )ai masculine ajo feminine 4 we (1pl )ne 5 you (2pl )ju 6 they (3pl )ata masculine ato feminine 7 this ky 8 that i cili ai 9 here këtu 10 there atje 11 who kush cili 12 what çfarë ç' 13 where ku 14 when kur 15 how si 16 not nuk s' 17 all të gjithë të tërë të tanë Gheg 18 many shumë 19 some disa ca 20 few pak 21 other i tjetër 22 one një 23 two dy 24 three tre tri 25 four katër 26 five pesë 27 big i madh 28 long i gjatë 29 wide i gjerë i gjanë Gheg 30 thick i trashë 31 heavy i rëndë 32 small i vogël 33 short i shkurtër 34 narrow i ngushtë 35 thin i hollë 36 woman grua 37 man (adult male)burrë 38 man (human being)njeri 39 child fëmijë fëmi Gheg 40 wife grua 41 husband burrë 42 mother nënë mëmë ëmë nanë Gheg mâmë Gheg âmë Gheg 43 father atë babë baba 44 animal shtazë kafshë 45 fish peshk 46 bird zog 47 dog qen 48 louse morr 49 snake gjarpër 50 worm krimb 51 tree dru 52 forest pyll 53 stick shkop 54 fruit frutë fryt 55 seed farë bërthamë 56 leaf gjeth 57 root rrënjë rrâj Gheg 58 bark (of a tree)shkëlbozë 59 flower lule 60 grass bar 61 rope litar 62 skin lëkurë 63 meat mish 64 blood gjak 65 bone eshtër 66 fat (noun)dhjamë 67 egg ve vezë 68 horn bri 69 tail bisht 70 feather pendë 71 hair flok qime lesh 72 head kokë krye kre 73 ear vesh 74 eye sy 75 nose hundë 76 mouth gojë 77 tooth dhëmb dhâm Gheg 78 tongue (organ)gjuhë 79 fingernail thua 80 foot këmbë kâmbë Gheg 81 leg këmbë kâmbë Gheg 82 knee gju 83 hand dorë 84 wing fletë flatër 85 belly bark stomak 86 guts zorrë 87 neck qafë 88 back kurriz shpinë 89 breast gji 90 heart zemër 91 liver mëlçi 92 to drink pi 93 to eat ha 94 to bite kafshoj 95 to suck thith 96 to spit pështyj 97 to vomit vjell 98 to blow fryj 99 to breathe marr frymë 100 to laugh qesh 101 to see shoh 102 to hear dëgjoj 103 to know di 104 to think mendoj 105 to smell nuhas 106 to fear druaj 107 to sleep fle 108 to live jetoj 109 to die vdes 110 to kill vras 111 to fight luftoj përleshem 112 to hunt gjuaj 113 to hit godas 114 to cut pres 115 to split çaj 116 to stab ther shpoj 117 to scratch kruaj 118 to dig gërmoj 119 to swim notoj 120 to fly fluturoj 121 to walk eci heci Gheg 122 to come vij 123 to lie (as in a bed) shtrihem 124 to sit ulem 125 to stand rri 126 to turn (intransitive) kthehem 127 to fall bie 128 to give jap ap Gheg 129 to hold mbaj 130 to squeeze shtrydh 131 to rub fërkoj 132 to wash laj 133 to wipe fshij 134 to pull tërheq 135 to push shtyj 136 to throw hedh 137 to tie lidh 138 to sew qep 139 to count numëroj njeh njef Gheg 140 to say them 141 to sing këndoj 142 to play luaj 143 to float pluskoj 144 to flow rrjedh 145 to freeze ngrij 146 to swell bymehem fryhem ënjtem 147 sun diell 148 moon hënë hânë Gheg 149 star yll 150 water ujë 151 rain shi 152 river lumë 153 lake liqen 154 sea det 155 salt kripë krypë Gheg 156 stone gur 157 sand rërë rânë Gheg 158 dust pluhur 159 earth dhe tokë trokë 160 cloud re 161 fog mjegull 162 sky qiell 163 wind erë 164 snow borë dëborë 165 ice akull 166 smoke tym 167 fire zjarr 168 ash hi 169 to burn djeg 170 road udhë rrugë 171 mountain mal 172 red i kuq 173 green i blertë 174 yellow i verdhë 175 white i bardhë 176 black i zi 177 night natë 178 day ditë 179 year vit mot 180 warm i ngrohtë i nxehtë 181 cold i ftohtë i ftoftë Gheg 182 full i mbushur i plotë 183 new i 184 old plak i vjetër 185 good i mirë 186 bad i keq 187 rotten i kalbur 188 dirty i fëlliqët 189 straight i drejtë 190 round rrumbullak rrotullak 191 sharp (as a knife)i mprehtë 192 dull (as a knife)i mpirë 193 smooth i lëmuar 194 wet i lagur 195 dry i thatë 196 correct i drejtë 197 near i afërm 198 far i largë 199 right i djathtë 200 left i majtë 201 at te tek 202 in në 203 with me 204 and dhe e edhe 205 if nëse në qoftë se 206 because sepse 207 name emër emën Gheg
Swadesh lists
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