Appendix:Proto-Afroasiatic Swadesh list

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This is a Swadesh list of words in Proto-Afroasiatic, compared with definitions in English. The terms are from a list of Proto-Afroasiatic reconstructions by Ehret (1995).

Presentation

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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.

List

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No.EnglishProto-Afroasiatic
1I*ʔân-/*ʔîn-, *ân-/*în-, *i, *yi
2you (singular)*ʔânt-/*ʔînt-, *ânt-/*înt-, *ki, *ku, *ka
3he, she, it*si, *isi
4we*ʔǎnn-/*ʔǐnn-, *ǎnn-/*ǐnn-
5you (plural)*kuuna
6they*su, *usu
7this*kaa, *ha, *h-
8that*ha, *h-
9here*-d- (*ada ?), *-ts- (*ts-, *âts-)
10there*-d- (*ada ?), *-ts- (*ts-, *âts-)
11who*ma, *mi, *wa-/*wi-
12what*ma, *mi, *wa-/*wi-
13where
14when
15how
16not*-kǎḥ-, *-gʷǎb-, *-ma-, *ba
17all*-kal-/*-kul-
18many*ɬâg-
19some
20few*-nikʷ-
21other*hāl-/*hīl-
22one
23two*ɬâm-, *tsan-, *can-, *tsîr(n)-, *cîr(n)-
24three*xaynz-
25four*fâzw-
26five
27big*-gâd-/*-gûd-, *ʔǎw-
28long*t’eer-, *ʔǎw-, *tl’-̌z-
29wide*-p’oh-
30thick*-ʕatl’-
31heavy*-ʕis-
32small*-gʷîts-, *jûl-, *xiš-
33short*xiš- (low)
34narrow*šuuk’-, *šuukʷ’-
35thin*-kʷ’-, *kʷ’an-
36woman*xʷ-
37man (adult male)
38man (human being)*ʔîns-, *ʕid-, *nim-, *nam-
39child*jiʔ-, *dziʔ-
40wife
41husband
42mother
43father
44animal*ɬǒʔ- (cattle)
45fish
46bird
47dog
48louse
49snake
50worm
51tree*ɣǎ
52forest*gâr-
53stick
54fruit*tsim-/*tsam-
55seed*b-j(r)-, *tsim-/*tsam-
56leaf
57root*sǎr-/*sǐr-
58bark (of a tree)
59flower
60grass*ɬaʔ-, *ɬaaʔ-
61rope
62skin*k’ōoŋ-, *ɣah-, *biš-, *bǔɬ-
63meat*ʔâayš-
64blood*dîm-/*dâm-
65bone*k’os-
66fat (noun)
67egg*kʷ’ânḥ-
68horn
69tail
70feather
71hair*ɬ-ʔr-, *ɬ-rʔ-, *dab(n)-, *tsuun-, *cuun-, *t’îḥ-
72head
73ear*-ʔânxʷ-
74eye*ʔǐl-
75nose
76mouth*âf-
77tooth
78tongue (organ)
79fingernail*c’irf-, *c’ifr-
80foot*rǐiz-
81leg*-ʔaš-
82knee
83hand
84wing*kanf-/*kinf-
85belly*cîl-
86guts
87neck*ʔâl-
88back*sâr-
89breast*wiz-, *bôf-, *bôp-
90heart*līb-
91liver*tǐr-
92to drink*-s’aʔ-, *-kitḥ-
93to eat*-mǎaʕ-, *-iit-
94to bite*-ɬikʷ-
95to suck*-nuuk’-
96to spit*-tuf-
97to vomit
98to blow*-tl’iiʕ-, *-ʔûuf-
99to breathe*-xʷin-, *-xʷan-, *-xʷiŋ-, *-xʷaŋ-
100to laugh
101to see*-ʔîl-/*-ʔal-, *-ʕaaf-
102to hear
103to know*-ʔâr-
104to think
105to smell*-tsoon-, *-coon-, *-fîʔ/*-fâʔ-
106to fear*-ɲer-, *-dzac-
107to sleep*-wis-
108to live*-ɬâf-
109to die*-yaʕ-, *-maaw-
110to kill*-guʕ-, *-guuʕ-, *-jaʕ-, *-dzaʕ-
111to fight
112to hunt
113to hit*-tl’ip-/*-tl’up-, *-boɣ-, *-muɣʷ-, *-xaf-, *-ɣan-/*-ɣun-, *-ɣaŋ-/*-ɣuŋ-
114to cut*-wâḥ-, *-ŋiɬ-, *-k’ât’-, *-sar-
115to split*-p’ak’-/*-p’ik’-, *-ɣʷǎp-, *-ɣʷâap-, *-tl’aw-/*-tray-
116to stab
117to scratch*-ḥetl’-/*-ḥotl’-, *-šul-/*-šuul-, *-naʔ-/*-naaʔ-
118to dig*-ḥôz-, *-c’aḥ-
119to swim
120to fly*-pîr-
121to walk*-r-d-, *-dzaʔ-, *-daw-, *-sǎk-/*-sǔk-
122to come*-yâʔ-, *-im-
123to lie (as in a bed)*-ɣʷîn-, *-dĕeḥ-/*-dǒoḥ-, *-zîn-
124to sit*-lîb-, *-lîib-, *-baʕ-, *-gǐr-
125to stand*-wīitl’
126to turn (intransitive)*-zâkʷ-, *-gʷar-, *-kʷatl’-, *-kʷaatl’-, *-xʷâar-, *-wir-
127to fall*-hu-, *-huu-
128to give
129to hold*-ḥâb-/*-ḥûb-, , *-bêr-, *-kam-, *-ʔaz-
130to squeeze*-dleek’-
131to rub*-tl’ook‘-, *-hip’-, *-ɲuuk’-, *-xâj-, *-s’uuɣ-, *-s’uuɣʷ’
132to wash
133to wipe
134to pull*-jool-, *-sîl-
135to push*-dlôkʷ’-
136to throw*-dzik’-/*-dzak’-
137to tie*-c’uf-/*-c’if-
138to sew*-rip-
139to count
140to say*-yo-
141to sing*-hes’-
142to play
143to float*-xas-
144to flow*-wadl-, *-s’aw-, *-dac-
145to freeze
146to swell*-yǔf-, *-dlaḥ-, *-box-
147sun
148moon*-ɬêeh-
149star
150water*âm-, *akʷ’-
151rain
152river
153lake
154sea
155salt*dzixʷ-
156stone
157sand*haas’-
158dust
159earth*tĕr-/*tǒr-, *šâp-
160cloud*ʕarf-, *dumn-
161fog
162sky*-ʕir-
163wind
164snow
165ice
166smoke
167fire*-ʔâakʷ-, *-ŋîiwr-
168ash
169to burn*-s’âʕ-/*-s’îʕ-, *-lib-/*-lab-, *-âaɬ-
170road*-ɣʷaax- (path)
171mountain
172red
173green
174yellow*k’âɲ-
175white
176black*c’ilm-/*c’alm-
177night
178day
179year
180warm*-tâ-, *-ɣʷây-/*-ɣʷîy-
181cold*k’âb-
182full
183new
184old*-gêrʕ-
185good*-šeŋ-
186bad*-ʕadz-
187rotten
188dirty*-t’ur-
189straight
190round
191sharp (as a knife)
192dull (as a knife)
193smooth
194wet*-māʔ-/*-mīʔ-, *-m- (*-mǎ- ?), *-kʷ’-, *-t’ôɣ-, *-t’ôɣʷ-
195dry*-ɣâl-/*-ɣûl-
196correct*lǒ
197near
198far
199right
200left
201at*la
202in*ar-
203with*nê(e)/*nê/*nêe
204and
205if
206because
207name*sǔm-/*sǐm-

See also

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References

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  • Ehret, Christopher. 1995. Reconstructing Proto-Afroasiatic (Proto-Afrasian): vowels, tone, consonants, and vocabulary. University of California Press. →ISBN.


Swadesh lists
Individual languages
Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
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