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Translation Solutions: False Cognates
Source Language
Term
Meaning Etymology Target Language
Term
Meaning Etymology Relationship
thea Ancient Greek
goddess dhes Indo-European
dea Latin
goddess deiwós Indo-European
Although both terms mean ‘goddess,’ they are derived from different
roots.obrigado
Portuguese thank you Past participle of the
verb obrigar, from Latin obligāre, ‘to
compel.’ It results from simplifying the expression ‘Fico obrigado a’ (feel
compelled) to return a favor.
arigatoo Japanese
thank you Compound of the
verb ar- (有り) + adjective katasi
(難し). The original meaning
of ありがたし was ‘rare,
exceptional,’ and the modern
meaning is ‘worth thanking.’
Due to Portuguese contact with Japan, the
loan may seem plausible, but the Japanese language started borrowing from the Portuguese language
in the 16th century. However, earlier
citations of arigatoo may be found in
Man'yōshū 17:4011 (c. 759).
© 2017 Victory Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. www.victoryprd.com
Translation Solutions: False Cognates
Source Language
Term
Meaning Etymology Target Language
Term
Meaning Etymology Relationship
cash English
money in the form of bills or
coins; currency
from Middle French caisse ‘money
box’ (16 c.), from Provençal caissa or Italian cassa, from Latin capsa ‘box’
cash Colonial British term
any of various
Chinese, Indonesian,
or Indian coins of low
value
from Portuguese caixa, from Tamil
kāsu, from Sanskrit karsha, from
Sinhalese kasi: weight of gold or
silver
Although these terms are spelled and pronounced the same, they are false cognates because their
etymologies are different.
dog English
dog from Middle English dogge, from Old
English docga, ‘hound, powerful breed of dog’
dog Mbabaram (Australian Aboriginal language)
dog from gudaga in Yidiny, an Australian Aboriginal
language spoken by the Yidindji
tribe
Although the words are pronounced almost
identically, there is no apparent relationship between English and
Mbabaram.