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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.