Introduction
Words are not always unique to one language; many words used in English appear in more than one language. Similar words across languages exist because they share common ancestors, most pertinently Latin. However, we also share words with other languages as well that don’t have Latin roots. You don’t have to be fluent in German to understand that an auto is something that speeds down the highway. You don’t need to speak Spanish to know that an artista wears a beret while a turista wears a backpack. The meanings of these words are transparent because they are cognates—words that sound or look alike from one language to the next.
In this lesson you’ll learn about different types of cognates. You’ll learn how leveraging cognate knowledge helps you figure out unfamiliar words in English. When you combine cognate know-how with your knowledge of Greek and Latin affixes, and your understanding of how to use context clues, you’ll have a powerful set of tools to help you make reasonable guesses about the meanings of unknown words.
Food for Thought
Listen as an editor from Merriam-Webster briefly describes the Latin influence on English and sets the context for this lesson on cognates.
Who knew that the words for raw meat were Germanic while the words for cooked meat were French?
Barbacoa. © 2008 by Hedwig Storch.|
Germanic |
French |
|
cow |
beef |
|
pig |
pork |
|
sheep |
mutton |
The Italians have given us spaghetti, pasta, macaroni, ravioli, Parmesan, cappuccino, and pizza, along with the words that name them. Food words seem to bridge languages easily. A more Texan word pair for cooked meat is the English word “barbecue” and its Spanish cognate barbacoa. Other Spanish words that have made their way into the English language through our stomach are guacamole, tortilla, taco, tamale, nacho, burrito and chili con carne. That’s not the whole enchilada, but you get the idea.
Cognate Pre-Quiz
An estimated 30–40 percent of all words in English have a related word in Spanish, so it’s pretty certain that your Spanish vocabulary will be useful in determining the meaning of many English words. We’ll begin by showing you how much you already know. You’ll assess your awareness of Spanish cognates by matching them with their English definitions. Even if you’re not familiar with Spanish, you’ll be able to use your knowledge of English words to figure out the meaning of these cognates. The meanings are included with the Spanish words for a hint. Of course, if you’re a Spanish speaker this pre-quiz will be "no problemo."
Shared Ancestors
Family Tree. Image © 2009 by m-louis. One way to describe cognates is in terms of common ancestors or familial relationships. You resemble the relatives on your family tree. You may have your father’s nose, your grandmother’s hairline, or your great grandmother’s thick ankles. Latin is a parent to many European tongues, and English developed alongside those siblings as a linguistic cousin. It follows that English shares some features with other European languages, Spanish for example. Cognates are English words with the same meaning and similar spellings as words in another language. Think of cognates as familial features.
Let’s explore some types of relationships between Spanish and English cognates. First, the easiest cognates to recognize are the closest relatives. These are the Spanish words that are spelled identically to their English equivalents. Among these cognates are animal, cafeteria, and patio. Although these words are spelled identically, they’re all pronounced differently.
Next are the linguistic cousins that are spelled nearly the same. Among these are familia and family, diferente and different, importante and important, and cognados and cognates, the vocabulary tool featured in this lesson.
Another group of linguistic cousins are the Spanish–English cognates pronounced nearly the same. Among these are bebé for baby, igual for equal, and norte for north.
If you’re a native Spanish speaker or studying Spanish, you have an advantage in learning English. If you pay attention to cognates, you can draw logical conclusions about the meanings of many unfamiliar words in English.
False Cognates
Some word pairs that seem like cognates are not. A small proportion of look-alikes are false cognates, so called because they don’t share the same meaning. These false friends can get you in trouble. In French the noun luxure appears to be a cognate for the English word luxury, but luxure means lust. It would be a faux pas—that’s the French phrase for “false step, or social blunder”—to say luxure when you are complimenting your supervisor’s cologne. In German if you were to identify a man with a shaved head by calling him bald, you’d get a blank stare because bald means soon. In Spanish if you feel ashamed, it'd be best not to say you feel embarazada, which means pregnant.
Some English–Spanish cognates are not identical because of the connotations, or shades of meaning, in one language. For instance, an inferior is a subordinate in both the English and Spanish workplace, but it is derogatory only in English. The cognates suburbs and suburbios both indicate areas outside the city limits, but the Spanish word usually connotes slums. Nor would you describe your digestive problems by using the word constipado, because it means congestion of the nasal variety.
Words Migrate
Some Spanish words, like flautas and burritos, are absorbed into English because they describe something culturally unique. The dances mentioned in “Geraldo No Last Name,” a chapter from Sandra Cisneros’ novel, The House on Mango Street, provides more examples of these assimilated words. We read that Geraldo knew how to dance the cumbia, salsa, and ranchera.
Our focus, however, is on the cognates, that large group of similar words which migrated long ago establishing dual residency in English and Spanish. Migrate itself is one of these words; its Spanish counterpart is migrar. In this section, you’ll listen to the Spanish pronunciation of words with English counterparts in “Geraldo No Last Name.” This exercise will help increase your awareness of useful cognates. Some of you will be able to identify even more cognates in this selection.
To experience the full impact of this poignant story, “Geraldo No Last Name,” listen to this reading.
Click on the words to listen to pronunciation of the Spanish cognates in the chapter. Then you'll answer some questions.
Audio Files
Image © 2006 by Guardardo altrove To answer the questions about the vocabulary words in “Geraldo, No Last Name,” you will need to use context clues. You may want to review the lesson on context clues before you start. Read the following questions. Using your Take Notes Tool, write your responses. When you are finished, check your understanding below.
- Which of the cognates is spelled exactly the same in English and in Spanish?
- Which English word has two Spanish cognates, one feminine and one masculine?
- The English/Spanish cognates lamentable can be used to describe this account of Geraldo's death.
What does lamentable mean?
- hospital
- intern
- regrettable, mournful, terribly sad
Vocabulary/Vocabulario
In Section Five we discussed cognates in a work of fiction, “Geraldo, No Last Name.” You’ll find that you can also rely on cognate knowledge when you read nonfiction. Mining your cognate reserve will help you improve your academic vocabulary and have a better understanding of the words you find in textbooks and on tests. Read the passage below. When you finish you’ll be asked to identify the English cognate for each Spanish word and make a reasonable guess about the meaning of each word. If you need help use http://www.spanishdict.com to find the correct English word.
Richard Rodriguez’ essay, “Dawn’s Early Light,” has been modified for this exercise. English words have been replaced by their Spanish counterparts. The first highlighted word in this passage is ilegal. That English word is illegal, and the synonym “undocumented” gives the reader a context clue. Rodriguez places both words in quotation marks, making us think about our labels for the Geraldos with no last names and no citizenship papers.
We see them lined up on American streets at dawn’s early light. Depending on our point of view, we call them “ilegal” or “undocumented.” The question preocuparse us now as a nation, from the White House on down, is “them”— what to do with them? Grant them amnistía? Send them all back? Make them guest workers?
But I wonder about us. How they have changed us, even while we have paid them cheaply to wash our restaurant dishes and to pick our apples and to sit with dying grandparents. For much of the 20th century, we employed Mexicans when it suited us.
For example, during the war, we needed Mexicans to harvest our crops. Slowly, mutual dependence was established. A rumor of dollars spread through Mexican villages, and Americans grew acustumbrado to cheap laboring hands.
Now they come, children following the footsteps of parents and grandparents, often at the risk of death or injury. We say about them that they are disrespectful of American laws. But for every illegal worker employed today in America, there is an empleador—one of us—equally disrespectful of American law. Mexicans reveal our hipocresía to ourselves. They, in their relentless movement back and forth, are forcing us to see America within the Americas.
Now that you’ve read the passage, look at each highlighted term. For each Spanish word, determine the English word along with a reasonable guess about its meaning. Using your Take Notes Tool, write your responses. When you are finished, check your understanding below.
- preocuparse
- amnistía
- acustumbrado
- empleador
- hipocresía
- Preoccupying: thinking about or worrying about by (someone) very often or constantly
- Amnesty: a decision that a group of people will not be punished or that a group of prisoners will be allowed to go free
- Accustomed: often used or practiced, got used to
- Employer: one who provides a job that pays wages or salaries
- Hypocrisy: the behavior of people who do things that they tell other people not to do
Resources
Resources Used in This Lesson: Bibliography
Cisneros, Sandra. "Geraldo, No Last Name." Film by Jo Karabasz. YouTube video, 2:09. Posted March 8, 2009.
http://jokarabasz.site90.net.
Honig, Bill, Linda Diamond, and Linda Gutlohn, eds. Teaching Reading Sourcebook. 2nd ed. Novato, California:
Arena Press, 2008.
MacNeil, Robert and William Cran. Do You Speak American? New York: Nan A. Talese, 2005.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/essays/jan-june04/rodriguez_01-30.html.
Rodriguez, Richard. "Dawn's Early Light." Public Broadcasting Service. NewsHour. January 30, 2004.
"Using Cognates to Develop Comprehension in English." ¡Colorín colorado! 2007. http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/14307.
Vaughn, Sharon. Effective Instruction for Middle School Students. Texas Education Agency/University of Texas
System, 2008.