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 Malagasymalagasy edit (207) 1 I (1sg )aho 2 you (2sg )ianao 3 he , she , it (3sg )izy 4 we (1pl )isika inclusive izahay exclusive 5 you (2pl )ianareo 6 they (3pl )izy izy ireo ry ireo 7 this ity 8 that izany 9 here eto 10 there ao 11 who iza 12 what inona 13 where aiza 14 when oviana past rahoviana future 15 how ahoana manahoana 16 not tsy 17 all ny ... rehetra 18 many betsaka 19 some vitsivitsy 20 few kely 21 other hafa 22 one iray 23 two roa 24 three telo 25 four efatra 26 five dimy 27 big lehibe 28 long lava 29 wide malalaka 30 thick matevina 31 heavy mavesatra 32 small kely 33 short fohy 34 narrow tery 35 thin manify mahia 36 woman vehivavy 37 man (adult male)lehilahy 38 man (human being)olombelona 39 child zaza 40 wife vady 41 husband vady 42 mother reny 43 father ray 44 animal biby 45 fish trondro hazandrano 46 bird vorona 47 dog alika amboa 48 louse hao 49 snake bibilava 50 worm kankana 51 tree hazo 52 forest ala 53 stick kibay tehina 54 fruit voankazo 55 seed voa 56 leaf ravina 57 root faka fototra 58 bark (of a tree)hodi-kazo 59 flower voninkazo 60 grass ahitra bozaka 61 rope tady 62 skin hoditra 63 meat hena 64 blood ra 65 bone taolana 66 fat (noun)taviny 67 egg atody 68 horn tandroka 69 tail rambo 70 feather penina volom-borona 71 hair bolo 72 head loha 73 ear sofina 74 eye maso 75 nose orona 76 mouth vava 77 tooth nify 78 tongue (organ)lela 79 fingernail hoho 80 foot tongotra 81 leg ranjo 82 knee luhalika 83 hand tanana 84 wing elatra 85 belly kibo 86 guts tsinay 87 neck vozona tenda 88 back lamosina 89 breast tratra 90 heart fo 91 liver aty 92 to drink misotro 93 to eat mihinana 94 to bite manaikitra 95 to suck mifiaka 96 to spit mandrehoka 97 to vomit mandoa 98 to blow mitsoka 99 to breathe miaina misefo 100 to laugh hehy tokelaka 101 to see mahita 102 to hear maheno 103 to know mahafantatra 104 to think mieritreritra 105 to smell manambolo 106 to fear matahotra manahy 107 to sleep matory 108 to live velona 109 to die nodimandry maty 110 to kill mamono mahafaty 111 to fight miady 112 to hunt mihaza 113 to hit mikapoka 114 to cut mandidy 115 to split mamaky 116 to stab manatsatoka antsy 117 to scratch mikiky mikaoka 118 to dig mihady mandavaka 119 to swim milomano 120 to fly manidina 121 to walk mandeha 122 to come avy tonga tamy 123 to lie (as in a bed) mivelatra 124 to sit mipetraka 125 to stand mifoha mitsangana 126 to turn (intransitive) mihodina 127 to fall mihajera 128 to give manome 129 to hold mitantana 130 to squeeze mandray 131 to rub manakasoka 132 to wash manasa 133 to wipe mamafa 134 to pull mitifitra 135 to push manosika 136 to throw manoraka 137 to tie mamehy manatotra 138 to sew manjaitra 139 to count manisa 140 to say milaza miteny 141 to sing mihira mikalo 142 to play milalao 143 to float mitsinkafona 144 to flow mikoriana 145 to freeze mandry 146 to swell mibontsina 147 sun masoandru 148 moon volana 149 star kintana 150 water rano 151 rain orana 152 river renirano 153 lake kamory farihy 154 sea ranomasina riaka 155 salt sira 156 stone vato 157 sand fasika 158 dust vovoka 159 earth tany 160 cloud rahona 161 fog zavona 162 sky lanitra 163 wind rivotra 164 snow ranomandry lanezy 165 ice rano mandry 166 smoke setroka 167 fire avo 168 ash lavenona 169 to burn may 170 road lanana 171 mountain tondrombohitra 172 red mena 173 green maitso 174 yellow mavo 175 white fotsy 176 black mainty 177 night alina 178 day andro 179 year taona 180 warm mafana 181 cold mangatsiaka 182 full feno 183 new vaovao 184 old antitra tonta 185 good tsara 186 bad ratsy 187 rotten bobongolo 188 dirty maloto 189 straight mahitsy 190 round boribory 191 sharp (as a knife)maranitra 192 dull (as a knife)dombo 193 smooth malama 194 wet mando 195 dry maina 196 correct mendrika 197 near akaiky 198 far lavitra 199 right havanana 200 left havia 201 at izy postposition 202 in anaty 203 with amin'ny 204 and sy ary 205 if raha 206 because satria 207 name anarana
Dictionnaire français-malgache (Narivelo Rajaonarimanana, Pierre Vérin), L'Asiathèque, Paris 2000 - →ISBN
Le malgache de poche, Assimil, Chennevières-sur-Marne 2004 - →ISBN
Les langages de l'humanité (Michel Malherbe), Robert Laffont, Paris 1995 - →ISBN
Swadesh lists
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Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
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