Swadesh list

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The Swadesh list, [ˈswɒdɛʃ], is a classic compilation of basic concepts for the purposes of historical-comparative linguistics. Translations of the Swadesh list into a set of languages allow researchers to quantify the interrelatedness of those languages. The Swadesh list is named after linguist Morris Swadesh. It is used in lexicostatistics (the quantitative assessment of the genealogical relatedness of languages) and glottochronology (the dating of language divergence). Because there are several different lists, some authors also refer to "Swadesh lists".

In conlanging, the Swadesh list is usually employed by language creators in order to get a sense of conlang's phonological character. It is also popular as a source for the creation of lexical items and in Proto-language group projects, to exemplify the different branches.

Principle

In origin, the words in the Swadesh lists were chosen for their universal, culturally independent availability in as many languages as possible, regardless of their "stability". Nevertheless, the stability of the resulting list of "universal" vocabulary under language change and the potential use of this fact for purposes of glottochronology have been analyzed by numerous authors.

The Swadesh list was put together by Morris Swadesh on the basis of his intuitions. More recent similar lists, such as the Dolgopolsky list (1964) or the Leipzig–Jakarta list (2009), are based on systematic data from many different languages, but they are not yet as widely known nor as widely used as the Swadesh list.

Usage

Lexicostatistical test lists are used in lexicostatistics to define subgroupings of languages, and in glottochronology to "provide dates for branching points in the tree". The task of defining (and counting the number) of cognate words in the list is far from trivial, and often is subject to dispute, because cognates do not necessarily look similar, and recognition of cognates presupposes knowledge of the sound laws of the respective languages. For example, English "wheel" and Sanskrit chakra are cognates, although they are not recognizable as such without knowledge of the history of both languages.

Swadesh 100 original list

Swadesh's final list, published in 1971, contains 100 terms. Explanations of the terms can be found in Swadesh 1952 or, where noted by a dagger (†), in Swadesh 1955. Note that only this original sequence clarifies the correct meaning which is lost in an alphabetical order, e.g., in the case "27. bark" (originally without the specification here added).

  1. I (Pers.Pron.1.Sg.)
  2. you (2.sg! 1952 thou & ye)
  3. we (1955: inclusive)
  4. this
  5. that
  6. who? (“?” not 1971)
  7. what? (“?” not 1971)
  8. not
  9. all (of a number)
  10. many
  11. one
  12. two
  13. big
  14. long (not wide)
  15. small
  16. woman
  17. man (adult male human)
  18. person (individual human)
  19. fish (noun)
  20. bird
  21. dog
  22. louse
  23. tree (not log)
  24. seed (noun)
  25. leaf (botanics)
  26. root (botanics)
  27. bark (of tree)
  28. skin (1952: person’s)
  29. flesh (1952 meat, flesh)
  30. blood
  31. bone
  32. grease (1952: fat, organic substance)
  33. egg
  34. horn (of bull etc., not 1952)†
  35. tail
  36. feather (large, not down)
  37. hair (on head of humans)
  38. head (anatomic)
  39. ear
  40. eye
  41. nose
  42. mouth
  43. tooth (front, rather than molar)
  44. tongue (anatomical)
  45. claw (not in 1952)†
  46. foot (not leg)
  47. knee (not 1952)†
  48. hand
  49. belly (lower part of body, abdomen)
  50. neck (not nape)
  51. breasts (female; 1955 still breast)†
  52. heart
  53. liver
  54. drink (verb)
  55. eat (verb)
  56. bite (verb)
  57. see (verb)
  58. hear (verb)
  59. know (facts)
  60. sleep (verb)
  61. die (verb)
  62. kill (verb)
  63. swim (verb)
  64. fly (verb)
  65. walk (verb)
  66. come (verb)
  67. lie (on side, recline)
  68. sit (verb)
  69. stand (verb)
  70. give (verb)
  71. say (verb)†
  72. sun
  73. moon (not 1952)†
  74. star
  75. water (noun)
  76. rain (noun, 1952 verb)
  77. stone
  78. sand
  79. earth (soil)
  80. cloud (not fog)
  81. smoke (noun, of fire)
  82. fire
  83. ash(es)
  84. burn (verb intr.!)
  85. path (1952 road, trail; not street)
  86. mountain (not hill)
  87. red (color)
  88. green (color)
  89. yellow (color)
  90. white (color)
  91. black (color)
  92. night
  93. hot (adjective; 1952 warm, of weather)
  94. cold (of weather)
  95. full†
  96. new
  97. good
  98. round (not 1952)†
  99. dry (substance)
  100. name

"Claw" was only added in 1955, but again replaced by many well-known specialists with "nail", because expressions for "claw" are not available in many old, extinct, or lesser known languages.

The 110-item Global Lexicostatistical Database list uses the original 100-item Swadesh list, in addition to 10 other words from the Swadesh–Yakhontov list.

Swadesh 207 list

The most used list nowadays is the Swadesh 207-word list, adapted from Swadesh 1952.

  1. I
  2. you (singular)
  3. he
  4. we
  5. you (plural)
  6. they
  7. this
  8. that
  9. here
  10. there
  11. who
  12. what
  13. where
  14. when
  15. how
  16. not
  17. all
  18. many
  19. some
  20. few
  21. other
  22. one
  23. two
  24. three
  25. four
  26. five
  27. big
  28. long
  29. wide
  30. thick
  31. heavy
  32. small
  33. short
  34. narrow
  35. thin
  36. woman
  37. man (adult male)
  38. man (human being)
  39. child
  40. wife
  41. husband
  42. mother
  43. father
  44. animal
  45. fish
  46. bird
  47. dog
  48. louse
  49. snake
  50. worm
  51. tree
  52. forest
  53. stick
  54. fruit
  55. seed
  56. leaf
  57. root
  58. bark (of a tree)
  59. flower
  60. grass
  61. rope
  62. skin
  63. meat
  64. blood
  65. bone
  66. fat (noun)
  67. egg
  68. horn
  69. tail
  70. feather
  71. hair
  72. head
  73. ear
  74. eye
  75. nose
  76. mouth
  77. tooth
  78. tongue (organ)
  79. fingernail
  80. foot
  81. leg
  82. knee
  83. hand
  84. wing
  85. belly
  86. guts
  87. neck
  88. back
  89. breast
  90. heart
  91. liver
  92. to drink
  93. to eat
  94. to bite
  95. to suck
  96. to spit
  97. to vomit
  98. to blow
  99. to breathe
  100. to laugh
  101. to see
  102. to hear
  103. to know
  104. to think
  105. to smell
  106. to fear
  107. to sleep
  108. to live
  109. to die
  110. to kill
  111. to fight
  112. to hunt
  113. to hit
  114. to cut
  115. to split
  116. to stab
  117. to scratch
  118. to dig
  119. to swim
  120. to fly
  121. to walk
  122. to come
  123. to lie (as in a bed)
  124. to sit
  125. to stand
  126. to turn (intransitive)
  127. to fall
  128. to give
  129. to hold
  130. to squeeze
  131. to rub
  132. to wash
  133. to wipe
  134. to pull
  135. to push
  136. to throw
  137. to tie
  138. to sew
  139. to count
  140. to say
  141. to sing
  142. to play
  143. to float
  144. to flow
  145. to freeze
  146. to swell
  147. sun
  148. moon
  149. star
  150. water
  151. rain
  152. river
  153. lake
  154. sea
  155. salt
  156. stone
  157. sand
  158. dust
  159. earth
  160. cloud
  161. fog
  162. sky
  163. wind
  164. snow
  165. ice
  166. smoke
  167. fire
  168. ash
  169. to burn
  170. road
  171. mountain
  172. red
  173. green
  174. yellow
  175. white
  176. black
  177. night
  178. day
  179. year
  180. warm
  181. cold
  182. full
  183. new
  184. old
  185. good
  186. bad
  187. rotten
  188. dirty
  189. straight
  190. round
  191. sharp (as a knife)
  192. dull (as a knife)
  193. smooth
  194. wet
  195. dry
  196. correct
  197. near
  198. far
  199. right
  200. left
  201. at
  202. in
  203. with
  204. and
  205. if
  206. because
  207. name

See also

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