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This is a Swadesh list of words in Proto-Cushitic English .
For further information, including the full final version of the list, read the Wikipedia article: Swadesh list .American linguist Morris Swadesh believed that languages changed at measurable rates and that these could be determined even for languages without written precursors. Using vocabulary lists, he sought to understand not only change over time but also the relationships of extant languages. To be able to compare languages from different cultures, he based his lists on meanings he presumed would be available in as many cultures as possible. He then used the fraction of agreeing cognates between any two related languages to compute their divergence time by some (still debated) algorithms. Starting in 1950 with 165 meanings, his list grew to 215 in 1952, which was so expansive that many languages lacked native vocabulary for some terms. Subsequently, it was reduced to 207, and reduced much further to 100 meanings in 1955. A reformulated list was published posthumously in 1971.
№ English Proto-Cushiticedit (207) 1 I (1sg )*ʔani 2 you (2sg )*ʔant- *ʔint- 3 he , she , it (3sg )4 we (1pl )*ʔann- *ʔinn- 5 you (2pl )6 they (3pl )7 this 8 that 9 here 10 there 11 who 12 what 13 where 14 when 15 how 16 not 17 all 18 many 19 some 20 few 21 other *hal- *hil- 22 one *laħ- *liħ- 23 two *ɬa(a)ma 24 three *sazħ- 25 four *sacl- *salc- 26 five 27 big *gad- *gud- 28 long 29 wide 30 thick 31 heavy 32 small 33 short *yar- 34 narrow 35 thin *-kʷ’- 36 woman *nat’- 37 man (adult male)38 man (human being)39 child *ʔiŋ- *haaw- *hiiw- *yuw- *yaw- 40 wife 41 husband 42 mother *yaay- 43 father 44 animal 45 fish 46 bird 47 dog 48 louse *ʔint- 49 snake *moxʷr- 50 worm 51 tree *ɣa *ɣaʔ- 52 forest 53 stick *gomp- 54 fruit *ɣuup- *ɣaap- 55 seed 56 leaf 57 root 58 bark (of a tree)59 flower 60 grass 61 rope 62 skin *gayn- *ɣah- 63 meat *ʃiʔ- 64 blood 65 bone *mikʷ’- 66 fat (noun)67 egg *kʷ’anħ- 68 horn *mayloɣ- 69 tail *ʃam- *ʃim- 70 feather *lop- 71 hair *ħam- *ħim- 72 head 73 ear 74 eye *ʔil- 75 nose *ʔisŋʷ- 76 mouth *ʔaf- *yaf- 77 tooth *ʔiɬkʷ- 78 tongue (organ)*caanrab- 79 fingernail 80 foot *ragad- *rigid- 81 leg *lukʷ- *ɬukʷ- 82 knee *gʷilb- *gulb- 83 hand 84 wing *kanf- *kinf- 85 belly 86 guts 87 neck *kʷ’ac’- 88 back 89 breast *ʔangʷ- *ʔungʷ- 90 heart 91 liver 92 to drink *cag- 93 to eat *ɬaam- 94 to bite *zaac- 95 to suck *nuuk’- 96 to spit *tuf- 97 to vomit 98 to blow *bar- *bur- *-?-ff- 99 to breathe 100 to laugh 101 to see *ʔark’- 102 to hear *-mkʷ’-l- 103 to know *ʔar- 104 to think 105 to smell *fiʔ- *fic- 106 to fear *rikʷ’- 107 to sleep *gam- *gim- 108 to live 109 to die *yac- 110 to kill 111 to fight *ɬaakʷ’- 112 to hunt 113 to hit *dlac- 114 to cut *ɣab- *ɣub- 115 to split *tuz- 116 to stab 117 to scratch *xayt’- *xayc-’ 118 to dig 119 to swim 120 to fly *par- *pir- *pur- 121 to walk *ya? 122 to come *ʔim(t)- 123 to lie (as in a bed) *tliixʷ- *tliiɣʷ- 124 to sit *gir- 125 to stand 126 to turn (intransitive) *-ʔgʷar- 127 to fall *ɬap- *ɬip- 128 to give *-ħ- 129 to hold *ʔaz- *caz- 130 to squeeze *dleek’- 131 to rub *fic’- 132 to wash *kʷ’aat’- 133 to wipe 134 to pull *t’akʷ’- *t’ikʷ’- *t’ak- *t’ikʷ- 135 to push 136 to throw 137 to tie 138 to sew 139 to count 140 to say *yo- 141 to sing 142 to play 143 to float *xas- 144 to flow *daʔ- *-nok’- *tlow- 145 to freeze 146 to swell *nakʷ’- 147 sun 148 moon *ɬeeh- 149 star *ħazk- *ħizk- *ħuzk- 150 water 151 rain *cir- 152 river 153 lake 154 sea 155 salt *dzaxʷ- *dzixʷ- 156 stone *tlaɣwħ- 157 sand *haats’- 158 dust *ter- *tir- 159 earth 160 cloud *damn- *dumn- 161 fog 162 sky 163 wind 164 snow 165 ice 166 smoke 167 fire *ʔeekʷ- 168 ash 169 to burn *giiʔ- 170 road 171 mountain 172 red *di(i)m- *du(u)m- 173 green 174 yellow 175 white 176 black 177 night 178 day 179 year 180 warm 181 cold 182 full 183 new *cazz- 184 old *dok- 185 good 186 bad 187 rotten 188 dirty 189 straight 190 round 191 sharp (as a knife)192 dull (as a knife)193 smooth 194 wet 195 dry 196 correct 197 near 198 far *seg- *sog- 199 right 200 left 201 at *la 202 in 203 with 204 and 205 if 206 because 207 name *sim- *sum-
Ehret, Christopher (1987 ), “Proto-Cushitic Reconstruction”, in Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika , volume 8, pages 7–180
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