false cognate

{{short description|Words that look or sound alike, but are not related}}

False cognates are pairs of words that seem to be cognates because of similar sounds or spelling and meaning, but have different etymologies; they can be within the same language or from different languages, even within the same family.{{sfnp|Moss|1992|p=?}} For example, the English word dog and the Mbabaram word dog have exactly the same meaning and very similar pronunciations, but by complete coincidence. Likewise, English much and Spanish mucho came by their similar meanings via completely different Proto-Indo-European roots, and same for English have and Spanish haber. This is different from false friends, which are similar-sounding words with different meanings, and may or may not be cognates. Within a language, if they are spelled the same, they are homographs; if they are pronounced the same, they are homophones. Cross-linguistic or interlingual homographs or homophones sometimes include cognates; non-cognates may more specifically be called homographic or homophonic noncognates.{{Cite book |last=Szubko-Sitarek |first=Weronika |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Multilingual_Lexical_Recognition_in_the/Jge7BAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=false+cognate+cross-language+homophone&pg=PA106&printsec=frontcover |title=Multilingual Lexical Recognition in the Mental Lexicon of Third Language Users |date=2014-10-07 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-642-32194-8 |pages=106 |language=en}}

Even though false cognates lack a common root, there may still be an indirect connection between them (for example by phono-semantic matching or folk etymology).

Phenomenon

The term "false cognate" is sometimes misused to refer to false friends, but the two phenomena are distinct.{{sfnp|Moss|1992|p=?}}{{sfnp|Chamizo-Domínguez|2008|p=166}} False friends occur when two words in different languages or dialects look similar, but have different meanings. While some false friends are also false cognates, many are genuine cognates (see False friends § Causes).{{sfnp|Chamizo-Domínguez|2008|p=166}} For example, English pretend and French prétendre are false friends, but not false cognates, as they have the same origin.{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=pretend |title=Pretend |work=The Online Etymological Dictionary |last=Harper |first=Douglas |author-link=Douglas Harper |access-date=2015-09-14}}

"Mama and papa" type

The basic kinship terms mama and papa comprise a special case of false cognates; many languages share words of similar form and meaning for these kinship terms, but due to common processes of language acquisition rather than relatedness of the languages.Jakobson, R. (1962) [https://archive.org/stream/selectedwritings01jako#page/538/mode/2up "Why 'mama' and 'papa'?"] In Jakobson, R. Selected Writings, Vol. I: Phonological Studies, pp. 538–545. The Hague: Mouton.Nichols, J. (1999) [https://books.google.com/books?id=tBsd89VO4HsC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA253 "Why 'me' and 'thee'?"] Historical Linguistics 1999: Selected Papers from the 14th International Conference on Historical Linguistics, Vancouver, 9–13 August 1999, ed. Laurel J. Brinton, John Benjamins Publishing, 2001, pages 253-276.Bancel, P.J. and A.M. de l'Etang. (2008) [https://books.google.com/books?id=MV46AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA417 "The Age of Mama and Papa"] Bengtson J. D. In Hot Pursuit of Language in Prehistory: Essays in the four fields of anthropology. (John Benjamins Publishing, Dec 3, 2008), pages 417-438.Bancel, P.J. and A.M. de l'Etang. (2013) [https://books.google.com/books?id=S64bAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA333 "Brave new words"] In New Perspectives on the Origins of Language, ed. C. Lefebvre, B. Comrie, H. Cohen (John Benjamins Publishing, Nov 15, 2013), pages 333-377.

Examples

Note: Some etymologies may be simplified to avoid overly long descriptions.

=Within English=

Term 1	Etymology 1	Term 2	Etymology 2
class="wikitable sortable"
day	Old English dæġ {{br}}<< Proto-Germanic *dagaz{{br}}<< Proto-Indo-European *dʰeǵʰ-Kroonen, Guus (2013) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill	diary	Latin diārium << dies ("day"){{br}}<< Proto-Italic *djēm {{br}}<< PIE *dyḗws ("heaven"){{thin space}}Oxford English Dictionary, Second edition.
island	Middle English iland{{br}}<< Old English īeġland{{br}}<< Proto-Germanic *awjōlandą	isle	Middle English ile{{br}}<< Old French i(s)le{{br}}<< Latin insula
policy{{cite web\|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/policy#etymonline_v_17569\|website=Online Etymology Dictionary\|title=policy}}	Middle English policie{{br}}<< Old French policie{{br}}<< Late Latin politia{{br}}<< Ancient Greek politeía	police, (insurance) policy	French police{{br}}<< Italian polizza{{br}}<< Medieval Latin apodissa{{br}}<< Ancient Greek apódeixis

= Between English and other languages =

English term ! English etymology ! Foreign term ! Foreign etymology
class="wikitable sortable"
bad	Possibly from OE bæddel ("hermaphrodite, effeminate man"){{br}}<< PGmc *bad- ("defile")	Persian {{lang\|fa\|بد}}, bad{{thin space}}Lyle Campbell, Historical Linguistics: An Introduction, 3rd edition, p. 350{{cite book\|first1=Lyle\|last1=Campbell\|author-link1=Lyle Campbell\|first2=Mauricio J.\|last2=Mixco\|title=A Glossary of Historical Linguistics\|year=2007\|publisher=Edinburgh University Press\|isbn=978-0-7486-2378-5\|page=29}}	Middle Iranian *vat{{br}}<< PIE *wed(h)-
better	OE betera	Persian {{lang\|fa\|بهتر}}, behtar and Hindustani descendants	به (beh, "good") + تر (-tar, "-er")
cinder \|OE sinder << PGmc sendra- "slag" << PIE sendhro- "coagulating fluid" \|French cendre ("ash") \|Latin cinerem << PIE *ken- ("to arise, begin")
day	OE dæġ {{br}}<< PGmc *dagaz {{br}}<< PIE *dʰeǵʰ-	Latin *dies* ("day") and descendants{{thin space}}	Proto-Italic *djēm {{br}}<< PIE *dyḗws ("heaven"){{thin space}}
desert	Latin dēserō ("to abandon") {{br}}<< ultimately PIE **seh₁- ("to sow")	Ancient Egyptian *Deshret* (refers to the land not flooded by the Nile){{thin space}}	from dšr (red)
dog	OE docga or dogga	Mbabaram *dog* ("dog"){{thin space}}	Proto-Pama-Nyungan *gudaga
emoticon \|emotion + icon \|Japanese *絵文字* (emoji) {{thin space}}{{cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VPO4CgAAQBAJ\|title=New Words for Old: Recycling Our Language for the Modern World\|first=Caroline\|last=Taggart\|date=5 November 2015\|publisher=Michael O'Mara Books\|via=Google Books\|isbn=9781782434733 \|quote=Emoji is made up of the Japanese for picture (e) and character (moji) so its resemblance to emotion and emoticon is a particularly happy coincidence.}} \|絵 (e) ("picture") + 文字 (moji) ("character")
have	Middle English haven << OE habban ("to have") << Proto-West Germanic habbjan << Proto-Germanic habjaną ("to have"), durative of habjaną ("to lift, take up") << PIE kh₂pyéti present tense of *keh₂p- ("to take, seize, catch").	Corsican *avè* ("to have")	Latin habēre, present active infinitive of habeō << Proto-Italic habēō << PIE gʰeh₁bʰ- ("to grab").
hollow	OE holh {{br}}<< PGmc *holhwo-	Lake Miwok *hóllu*{{thin space}}
much	OE myċel {{br}}<< PGmc *mikilaz {{br}}<< PIE *meǵa- ("big, stout, great")	Spanish *mucho* ("much"){{thin space}}	Latin multus (many){{br}}<< PIE *ml̥tos ("crumbled")
saint	Latin sanctus{{br}}<< PIE *seh₂k- ("to sanctify") via French	Sanskrit *sant* and descendants{{thin space}}{{cite book \|last1=Schomer \|first1=Karine \|last2=McLeod \|first2=W. H. \|title=The Sants: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OkKhOivXrhgC \|year=1987 \|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass \|location=Delhi \|isbn=978-81-208-0277-3 \|oclc=879218858 \|page=3 \|access-date=7 November 2018 \|quote=Thus conceptually as well as etymologically, it differs considerably from the false cognate 'saint' which is often used to translate it. Like 'saint', 'sant' has also taken on the more general ethical meaning of the 'good person' whose life is a spiritual and moral exemplar, and is therefore attached to a wide variety of gurus, 'holy men', and other religious teachers.}}	sat ("truth, reality, essence")
shark	Middle English shark from uncertain origin	Chinese 鲨 (shā){{thin space}}	Named as its crude skin is similar to sand (沙 (shā))

= Between other languages =

Term 1 ! Etymology 1 ! Term 2 ! Etymology 2
class="wikitable sortable"
French *feu* ("fire")	Latin focus	German *Feuer* ("fire") \|PGmc fōr ~ fun-Lyle Campbell, Historical Linguistics: An Introduction, 3rd edition, p. 355{{br}}<< PIE *péh₂wr̥
French *nuque* ('nape')	Latin nucha, from Arabic نُخَاع nukhāʻ 'spinal marrow'	Hungarian *nyak* ('neck'){{cite book\|first=Géza\|last=Bárczi\|year=1958\|title=A magyar szókincs eredete\|location=Budapest\|publisher=Tankönyvkiadó\|page=8}}	Proto-Uralic *ńᴕkkɜ 'neck'
German *haben* ('to have')	PG *habjaną{{br}}<< PIE *keh₂p- ("to grasp")	Latin *habere* ("to have") and descendants{{cite web\|url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=have\|title=have - Search Online Etymology Dictionary\|website=www.etymonline.com}}	PIE *gʰeh₁bʰ- ("to grab, to take")
Swedish *göl* ("pool")	PG *guljō	Salar *göl* ("pool")	Proto-Turkic *kȫl ("lake")
German *Erdbeere* ('strawberry')	Erd ('earth') + Beere ('berry')	Hungarian *eper* ('strawberry')
German *Haus* ('house')		Hungarian *ház* ('house')
Hawaiian *kahuna* ('priest')		Hebrew כוהן (kohen) ('priest'){{cite journal\|last=Hevesi\|first=Francis\|title=Kahuna and kohen: A study in comparative religion\|volume=16\|journal=Social Process in Hawaii\|pages=30–33}}
Hungarian nő ('woman')		Mandarin Chinese 女 (nǚ) ('woman')
Inuktitut ᖃᔭᖅ (kayak)	Proto-Eskimo *qyaq	Turkish *kayık* ('small boat'){{cite journal\|first=José Andrés Alonso\|last=de la Fuente\|title=Urban legends: Turkish kayık 'boat' {{!}} "Eskimo" Qayaq 'Kayak'\|journal=Studia Linguistica Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis\|year=2010\|url=http://www.filg.uj.edu.pl/documents/41616/4333148/12701-Fuente.pdf\|access-date=2015-03-06}}	Old Turkic kayguk {{br}}<< Proto-Turkic kay- ("to slide, to turn")
Mayaimi Mayaimi (Big water)		Hebrew מים mayim ("water")
Japanese {{lang\|ja\|ありがとう}} arigatō ("thank you")	Clipping of 有難う御座います "arigatō gozaimasu" ("(I) am thankful") {{br}}<< 有難く "arigataku"{{br}}<< 有難い "arigatai" ("thankful, appreciated") {{br}}<< Old Japanese 有難斯 "arigatasi" ("difficult to be"){{thin space}}{{citation needed\|date=September 2019}}	Portuguese *obrigado* ("thank you"){{cite news \|title='Arigato in Japanese and Obrigado in Portuguese', Semantic Enigmas \|url=https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-197840,00.html \|access-date=June 24, 2021 \|work=The Guardian}}	Literally "obliged"{{br}} << Latin obligātus
Hindustani अम्मा / {{nq\|اما}} (ammā, "mother") \| Prakrit 𑀅𑀁𑀫𑀸 (aṃmā), from Sanskrit {{lang\|sa\|अम्बा}} ({{Transliteration\|sa\|ambā}}, "mother, feminine honorific") \| Tamil அம்மா (ammā, "mother") \| Proto-Dravidian *amma ("mother")
Indonesian *tanah* ("ground") \| Proto-Austronesian tanaq \| Aleut tanax̂* ("ground") \| Proto-Eskimo *luna ("earth")
Tagalog *bagay* ("thing") \| Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bagay \| Haitian Creole *bagay* ("thing") \| Saint Dominican Creole French bagage
Dusun do ("of") \| Austronesian o \| Portuguese do ("of") \| Latin de
Spanish *gusano* ("worm, insect larva") \| Uncertain, possibly from Latin cossus ("woodworm") \| Russian *гусеница* (gusenica) ("caterpillar") \| Proto-Slavic *ǫsěnica ("caterpillar")

False cognates used in the coinage of new words

The coincidental similarity between false cognates can sometimes be used in the creation of new words (neologization). For example, the Hebrew word {{lang|he|דַּל}} dal ("poor") (which is a false cognate of the phono-semantically similar English word dull) is used in the new Israeli Hebrew expression אין רגע דל en rega dal (literally "There is no poor moment") as a phono-semantic matching for the English expression Never a dull moment.Page 91 of {{cite book|last=Zuckermann|first=Ghil'ad|author-link=Ghil'ad Zuckermann|year=2003|title=Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=9781403917232}}

Similarly, the Hebrew word דיבוב dibúv ("speech, inducing someone to speak"), which is a false cognate of (and thus etymologically unrelated to) the phono-semantically similar English word dubbing, is then used in the Israeli phono-semantic matching for dubbing. The result is that in Modern Hebrew, דיבוב dibúv means "dubbing".Page 96 of {{cite book|last=Zuckermann|first=Ghil'ad|author-link=Ghil'ad Zuckermann|year=2020|title=Revivalistics: From the Genesis of Israeli to Language Reclamation in Australia and Beyond|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=9780199812790}}

References

Works cited

{{citation

|last=Chamizo-Domínguez

|first=Pedro J.

|year=2008

|title=Semantics and Pragmatics of False Friends

|publisher=Routledge

|location=New York/Oxon

}}

{{citation

|last=Moss

|first=Gillian

|year=1992

|title=Cognate recognition: Its importance in the teaching of ESP reading courses to Spanish speakers

|journal=English for Specific Purposes

|volume=11

|issue=2

|pages=141–158

|doi=10.1016/s0889-4906(05)80005-5

}}

External links

[http://www.cognates.org Cognates.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161216001410/http://cognates.org/ |date=2016-12-16 }}
{{cite web |last1=Carey |first1=Stan |title=The mamas & the papas in babies' babbling |url=https://stancarey.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/the-mamas-the-papas-in-babies-babbling/ |website=Sentence first |date=2 January 2012}}

Category:Historical linguistics

Category:Comparative linguistics

Category:Etymology