neal@druny.UUCP (Neal D. McBurnett) (01/03/85)
One of the exciting by-products of my interest in the international inter-language Esperanto has been the acquisition of a better knowledge of the background of many English word roots. Although there are no detailed records of how Zamenhof (the inventor of Esperanto (NOT a committee effort, thank goodness!)) selected each of the basic roots, Esperanto contains roots from most Indo-European languages. Frequently the Esperanto root seems to reflect the most common modern form of the word. Most of the roots I have come across have an obvious counterpart in English. Below I have listed some of those which WEREN'T so obvious to me. In some cases I have tentatively indicated some similar English words, or a likely derivation from another language. I would be especially interested to have people point out English "guide words" for the ones I have listed. I am also interested in the origins of these words (their etyma), or what other languages they appear in. Any pointers would be appreciated. Also, are there any good multi-lingual dictionaries which might be able to help me in the future? I have already found the American Heritage dictionary to be invaluable. Besides having an etymon for each word, in the back is an extensive Proto-Indo-European vocabulary, with lots of derived words in many languages. Disclaimer: I am NOT a linguist, nor an etymologist. Forgive me if I've made any howling errors! I know that this is not a good scientific approach to either of these fields: I'm mainly trying to gain a practical advantage in my study of Esperanto, English, and other Indo-European languages, so while I'm interested in learned comments, I'm not above using coincidental similarities between words as a learning aide.... Many thanks! -Neal McBurnett, ihnp4!druny!neal Hint: nouns end in "o", adjectives in "a", verbs in "i", and adverbs in "e". ^geni inconvenience ^sloso lock Ger schloss ^sra^ubi screw a^ceti buy afero thing agi act agree, agent bezoni need bildo picture Ger bild brako arm bracelet, brachial bruo noise bruhaha? devi must G dei? diri say voir dire, L dicere doloro pain fari make fabricate? fono background fermi close flava yellow L flavus flegi nurse fu^si botch Ger verpfuschen grasa fat gross iri go L? koro heart courage, cardiac kruro leg ku^si lie cushy? Hindi khush, pleasant? kuri run course L cursus; cursive, IE kers manki lack Ger mangeln? mateno morning matutinal L matuninus (Matuta, goddess of dawn meti put montri show demonstrate SP monstr mur wall mural pa^so step paroli speak parole: "word of honor" perdi lose perdition (loss of soul) peza heavy plendi complain plaint, plaintiff, plague! po^so pocket pravi right preni take prehensile, comprehend provi try sago arrow Sagitarius, Sagitta, sage. IE: seek out se^go chair sedan sekvi follow sequel, second, sect semajno week SP semana soifi thirst sveni faint voli will Ger wollen zorgi concern Ger sorge Prepositions and function words: ^car because ^ce whether ^cirka^u around circa ^gis until Ger bis a^u or L aut ajn whatever almena^u at least amba^u both ambidextrous anka^u also ankora^u still anstata^u instead of stand? Ger anstatt anta^u before anterior, antique, anti- apud beside balda^u soon Ger bald dum during heira^u yesterday L heri hodia^u today Ger heute, L hodie jam already kaj and G kaj ke that kontra^u against contrary krom besides kun with L cum kvasa^u as if L quasi la^u according to morga^u tomorrow Ger morgen nek neither Ger nun, L nec nun now IE nu nur only Ger nur ol than Ger als plej most pleistocene plena full plenty, replenish pli more pliocene plu further plus, plural preska^u almost preter past preterit, preternatural pri about se if L si sed but L sed sen without L sine sur on tamen nevertheless L tamen tro too much tuj immediately G=Greek Ger=German IE=Proto-Indo-European L=Latin SP=Spanish
berry@zinfandel.UUCP (Berry Kercheval) (01/04/85)
In article <1129@druny.UUCP> neal@druny.UUCP (Neal D. McBurnett) writes: >I would be especially interested to have people point out English >"guide words" for the ones I have listed. >I am also interested in the origins of these words (their etyma), >or what other languages they appear in. Any pointers would be appreciated. >Also, are there any good multi-lingual dictionaries which >might be able to help me in the future? There is a multi-language dictionary available from the infamous Publisher's Central Bureau -- I think it has 12 languages. >^sloso lock Ger schloss German for 'key' is 'schlussel' >a^ceti buy French 'acheter' == to buy >bezoni need French 'besoin' == a need >brako arm bracelet, brachial I think this is from Greek >devi must G dei? French 'devoir' == a must, 'faits votre devoirs' -> do your homework >doloro pain Spanish 'dolor' == pain >fari make fabricate? French 'faire' == to make or do, from Latin Facere >fermi close French 'fermer' == to close >grasa fat gross French 'gros' == fat >iri go L? Latin 'ire' == to go (Romani ite domum!!) >koro heart courage, cardiac Latin cor, cordis == heart. 'cardiacus' is the stomach! French 'coeur' == heart >kuri run course L cursus; cursive, IE kers French 'courir' == to run, Latin v. 'currere' = to run, n. cursus = a run >manki lack Ger mangeln? French 'manquer' == to lack. Latin 'mancus' == maimed, lame, incomplete >meti put French 'mettre' = to put >montri show demonstrate SP monstr Latin 'monstro' == to show. >mur wall mural Latin 'murus' == wall, mound, dam >pa^so step French 'pas', Latin 'passus' == a step (faux pas) >paroli speak parole: "word of honor" French 'parler' = to speak (Mademoiselle from Armentieres, parlez vous?) >perdi lose perdition (loss of soul) Latin 'perdire' == to destroy, ruin, waste, lose >peza heavy French 'peser' == to weigh >preni take prehensile, comprehend French 'prendre', Latin prehendere == to take >semajno week SP semana French 'semaine' == week >soifi thirst French 'soif' == thirst >sveni faint prob. rel. to 'swoon'. >voli will Ger wollen French 'vouloir', Latin 'volo' > >Prepositions and function words: > >^car because French 'car' == because, since >apud beside Latin 'apud' == among, in the mind of, at, with, in the presence of >dum during Latin 'dum' == during >jam already Latin 'jam' >ke that prob. Latin 'qui' >nun now IE nu Latin 'nunc' == now >plena full plenty, replenish Latin 'plena' == full (plena sunt coeli) >preska^u almost French 'presque' == almost >sur on French 'sur' == on -- "Take this //JOB and run it!" Berry Kercheval Zehntel Inc. (ihnp4!zehntel!zinfandel!berry) (415)932-6900
gam@amdahl.UUCP (gam) (01/05/85)
> Also, are there any good multi-lingual dictionaries which > might be able to help me in the future? I have a paperback "The Concise Dictionary of 26 Languages" which is quite interesting. It is published by Signet Books (ISBN 451-Y3368-125), compiled by Peter M. Bergman. It has a 1000 word vocabulary, each word shown with all 26 translations. The vocabulary is understandibly limited but covers many common concepts. One quickly sees the similarities of the Scandinavian languages and the Romance languages, etc. -- Gordon A. Moffett ...!{ihnp4,hplabs,sun}!amdahl!gam "Will Mr. 'Uh, Clem' please come to the hospitality shelter in this area immediately? Thank you."
tom@uwai.UUCP (01/05/85)
In response to Neal's request for other languages with words
sharing common roots I have added what comes to mind from
my knowledge of the Romance tongues.
L=Latin
S=Spanish
F=French
I=Italian
C=Catalan
esperanto trans rel. english other tongues
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
brako arm bracelet, brachial S brazo; F,I bras
devi must debt S deber; F devoir; I devore
diri say L dicere; F,I dire; S decir
doloro pain S dolor
fari make L facere; S hacer; F faire
fono background foundation S fondo; F fond
fermi close F fermer
grasa fat foie gras S grasa; F gras
iri go S ir (inf.), F irais,etc. (conj.)
koro heart courage, cardiac S corazon; F coeur; I cuore
kuri run course L cursus; S correr; F courir
meti put S meter; F mettre
montri show demonstrate S mostrar; F montrer
mur wall mural S muralla
pa^so step F pas; S paso; F passo
paroli speak parlous F parler; S parlar; I parlare
perdi lose perdition F perdre; S perder; I perdere
peza heavy S peso
po^so pocket S pozo? ( == well )
preni take F prendre
provi try S probar
sekvi follow sequel, second, S seguir; F suivre
semajno week S semana; F semaine
soifi thirst F soif
voli will volition S voluntad; F vouloir; I volere
Prepositions and function words:
^car because F car; old S car
^cirka^u around circa S cerca
a^u or L aut S o; F ou
almena^u at least S al menos; F au moins
amba^u both ambidextrous S ambos; C amb
anta^u before anterior, S antes
heira^u yesterday L heri; S ayer; F hier
hodia^u today L hodie; S hoy
jam already L iam; S ya
ke that F, S, C que; I che
kontra^u against contrary L, S contra
kun with L cum; S con
plena full plenty, replenish S pleno, lleno; F plein
plu further plus, plural F plus
preska^u almost F presque
se if S,F,L si; I se
sen without L sine; S sin; F sans
sur on surface F sur
tro too much F trop, I troppo
--
Tom Christiansen
University of Wisconsin
Computer Science Systems Lab
...!{allegra,heurikon,ihnp4,seismo,uwm-evax}!uwvax!tom
tom@wisc-ai.arpagino@voder.UUCP (Gino Bloch) (01/08/85)
> I have already found the > American Heritage dictionary to be invaluable. Besides having an etymon > for each word, in the back is an extensive Proto-Indo-European > vocabulary, with lots of derived words in many languages. CAUTION: I have read a review of the new edition of the AH Dictionary - the reviewer (Laurence Urdang) said that the Proto-Indoeuropean vocabulary is no longer there (I didn't verify it). -- Gene E. Bloch (...!nsc!voder!gino) Extend USENET to omicron Ceti.
nick@utai.UUCP (Nicholas Graham) (01/11/85)
> > Also, are there any good multi-lingual dictionaries which > > might be able to help me in the future? > > I have a paperback "The Concise Dictionary of 26 Languages" > which is quite interesting. It is published by Signet Books > (ISBN 451-Y3368-125), compiled by Peter M. Bergman. > ... > Gordon A. Moffett ...!{ihnp4,hplabs,sun}!amdahl!gam I also have a useful multi-language dictionary, by name of "The Insult Dictionary", by Wolfe publishing. The front cover bills the book as demonstrating 'How to be abusive in FIVE languages: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.' The book provides such indispensable phrases as "Stop yapping so that I can hear the play", "The rest of my change would be nice now plaese", "When did the waiters start their strike?", and of course, "Yes, you deserve a tip: the tip of my boot!" It would appear that this is the only phrase book that should ever be required by an American travelling in Europe :-). Nick Graham, University of Toronto ..!{anywhere}!utcsrgv!utai!nick