>> ZG·Lingua >  >> Applied Linguistics >> Second Language Acquisition

What do you call the words that are spelled same and mean in two different languages?

There are a couple of terms for words that are spelled the same and mean the same in two different languages:

* Cognates: This is the most common and accurate term. Cognates are words that share a common ancestor. They usually have similar spelling and meaning because they developed from the same root word in a common ancestral language. For example, "animal" in English and "animal" in Spanish are cognates, both coming from Latin "animal."

* International words: This term is less specific but can be used for words that are spelled and pronounced similarly in different languages, even if they don't have a direct common ancestor. These words often come from scientific or technical fields, like "computer," "telephone," or "Internet."

It's important to note that while cognates and international words share similarities, they aren't always perfect matches. Sometimes, subtle differences in meaning or pronunciation exist.

Copyright © www.zgghmh.com ZG·Lingua All rights reserved.