COGNATES

What is a cognate?

They are words that exist in two languages that are spelled exactly or almost exactly the same way and have the same meaning. This makes it easier to learn much of the vocabulary of another language. You simply use your knowledge of English vocabulary and apply the rules that determine the spelling change between the two languages.

HOW DOES A COGNATE HELP TO LEARN SPANISH?

Spanish is a language that evolved from Latin over the last two thousand years.

English, although it is not as closely related to Latin as Spanish, borrows thousands of words from Latin, many of them the same words that Spanish uses.

Both languages have borrowed many words from Classical Greek. This results in thousands of cognates between English and Spanish.

This helps to give us a leg up in learning Spanish vocabulary.

BUT BE AWARE!!

While some of the words with a common origin in Latin have different meanings in the two languages.

These words are called false cognates.

But relax… Only about 10 % of these words are false

cognates.

GENDER IN SPANISH

When looking at an English word, we don't necessarily know the gender of the Spanish cognate. When you learn the Spanish word, learn the gender with it.

Keep in mind that… Knowing cognates is a quick shortcut, but it doesn't cover all

the bases.

SPELLING

As you learn Spanish cognates, notice that many of these words also have a slightly different spelling from English.

Words that end in -a, -o, or -e very often drop or change this last vowel in English.

For example: The Spanish word 'forma' simply drops the -a to become 'form' in English, but for 'positivo' we must change the -o to -e.

WATCH OUT FOR SOME INTERNAL SPELLING CHANGES.

For instance, in Spanish double consonants like -tt, -nn and -mm are much more rare than in English.

The -rr is a different letter in Spanish - it is the highly trilled or rolled erre not the slightly trilled or tapped ere.

The -cc is like in English 'accent' - the first c is hard like k and the second is soft like s. It is never like 'accumulate' where there is no soft s sound, which would be spelled with just one c.

MORE ABOUT SPELLING

The h sound is always silent in Spanish, and where it occurs in English words it often disappears in Spanish.

There is no th in Spanish, the h is usually dropped and it is spelled and pronounced as just a t.

Words that start with st or sp in English often have a Spanish cognate with an added e in front. For example 'estado' equals English 'state'.

PRONUNCIATION OF COGNATES

Many words in English have nearly identical Spanish cognates. Only the pronunciation is different and, at most, a very little spelling change.

Examples:

autochocolatecónsulfamiliargashotelideamelónmillónplazaradioregularsimilarteléfonovilla

SPELLING, SPELLING, SPELLING. Spanish words that end in -a, -o or -e very often have an equivalent

in English. Simply drop or change the last vowel.Examples:

aireatleta (athlete)casocausacostocreativocreditodietadrama

SPELLING SPANISH-ENGLISH

Many Spanish words that end in -ma are irregular in that they are masculine in gender, even though they end in the usually feminine -a.

Examples: clima (climate)

diagramaidioma (idiom,language)problemaprogramasistema (system)tema (theme)

COGNATES: HELPFUL WORDS

There are many Spanish cognates that end in -cion. The equivalent English word ends in -tion. Note that all of these words have the stress on the final syllable. Also, all of these words are feminine in gender.

Examples: abreviación

sensaciónseparaciónsignificaciónsituaciónventilaciónviolación

WORD ENDINGS

Words that end in -ary in English very often have a Spanish cognate that ends in -ario.

Examples: aniversario

diccionariodisciplinarioitinerarioliterarionecesarioordinariosalariovocabulario

WORD ENDINGS

Words that in in -dad are quite common in Spanish. They usually correspond to an English word that ends in -ty. All of these words are feminine in gender.

Examples: autoridad (authority)

ciudad (city)comunidaddificultadenfermedad (infirmity, illness)formalidadvelocidad

MORE COGNATES WORDS

English words that end in -ic usually have a Spanish cognate that simply add an -o.

Examples: atlántico

automáticodemocráticodidácticoescolásticorománticosarcástico

Like the previous category, English words that end in -ical have a Spanish cognate that ends in -ico.

Examples: clásico

cómicoeléctricofísicohistéricometódicoperiódico (newspaper,periodical)políticoprácticosicológico (psychological)técnico

English words that end in -ent often have a cognate in Spanish that ends in -ente. These words are usually adjectives.

Examples: agente

clientediferenteequivalenteindiferenteinteligentesuficiente

KEEP AN EYE ON… Spanish words that end in - mente (as opposed to just -

ente). They usually have an English cognate that ends in -ly. These are adverbs.

Examples:

correctamentedesafortunadamente (unfortunately)especialmenteexactamentefinalmentegeneralmentemoralmenterapidamente

Words that end in -ment in English have equivalents in Spanish that simply add an -o. These words are nouns.

argumentomonumentosacramentosuplementotestamento

Words that end in -al in both English and Spanish are often cognates.

Examples;

animalanualcapitalcentralcomercialespecialgeneralhospitalintelectual

WORD ENDINGS

WORD ENDINGS

English words that end in -ence or -ance often have a Spanish cognate that ends in -encia or -ancia.

Examples: abundancia

ausencia (absence)circunstanciaconcienciadiferencia

WORDS ENDINGS

-ant (or sometimes –ent )words in English sometimes end in -ante in Spanish.

Examples: abundante

constanteeleganteestudianteimportante

WORD ENDINGS

Some English words that end in -ous have a Spanish cognate that ends in -oso.

Examples: ambicioso

curiosodeliciosofamosogloriosogracioso

WORD ENDINGS

English words with the ending -y sometimes have an equivalent in Spanish with the ending -ia or -io.

Examples: aristocracia

compañía (company)democraciaeficaciafamiliafarmacia (pharmacy)historia

WORD ENDINGS

English words that end in -or often have a Spanish cognate that is identical.

Examples: actor

autor (author)colordirectordoctorhumor

WORD ENDINGS

English words that end in -ist often have a Spanish cognate.

Examples: artista

floristamoralistapianistaturista

WHY AND HOW?

Cognates help to Spanish beginners feel more comfortable with this new language.

Establishes a link between English and Spanish.

Students are aware of the common origin of words.

Allows students to explore the language far beyond from school’s objectives.

WHY AND HOW?

Activities for finding and using cognates Look for cognates in their textbook. Read magazines and newspapers in order to

find cognates Try to translate the main idea of a paragraph

by identifying cognates that will help to understand its content.