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Appendix:English Swadesh list

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This is a Swadesh list of words in English with British pronunciation in IPA.

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. English IPA
pronunciation
1 I [ˈaɪ]
2 you (singular) [ˈjuː]
3 he [ˈhiː]
4 we [ˈwiː]
5 you (plural) [ˈjuː]
6 they [ˈðeɪ]
7 this [ˈðɪs]
8 that [ˈðæt]
9 here [ˈhɪə]
10 there [ˈðɛə]
11 who [ˈhuː]
12 what [ˈwɒt]
13 where [ˈwɛə]
14 when [ˈwɛn]
15 how [ˈhaʊ]
16 not [ˈnɒt]
17 all [ˈɔːl]
18 many [ˈmɛni]
19 some [ˈsʌm]
20 few [ˈfjuː]
21 other [ˈʌðə]
22 one [ˈwʌn]
23 two [ˈtuː]
24 three [ˈθɹiː]
25 four [ˈfɔː]
26 five [ˈfaɪv]
27 big [ˈbɪg]
28 long [ˈlɒŋ]
29 wide [ˈwaɪd]
30 thick [ˈθɪk]
31 heavy [ˈhɛvi]
32 small [ˈsmɔːl]
33 short [ˈʃɔːt]
34 narrow [ˈnærəʊ]
35 thin [ˈθɪn]
36 woman [ˈwʊmən]
37 man [ˈmæn]
38 person [ˈpɜːsən]
39 child [ˈʧaɪld]
40 wife [ˈwaɪf]
41 husband [ˈhʌzbənd]
42 mother [ˈmʌðə]
43 father [ˈfɑːðə]
44 animal [ˈænɪməl]
45 fish [ˈfɪʃ]
46 bird [ˈbɜːd]
47 dog [ˈdɒg]
48 louse [ˈlaʊs]
49 snake [ˈsneɪk]
50 worm [ˈwɜːm]
51 tree [ˈtɹiː]
52 forest [ˈfɒɹɪst]
53 stick [ˈstɪk]
54 fruit [ˈfruːt]
55 seed [ˈsiːd]
56 leaf [ˈliːf]
57 root [ˈruːt]
58 bark (of a tree) [ˈbɑːk]
59 flower [ˈflaʊə]
60 grass [ˈgɹɑːs]
61 rope [ˈɹəʊp]
62 skin [ˈskɪn]
63 meat [ˈmiːt]
64 blood [ˈblʌd]
65 bone [ˈbəʊn]
66 fat (noun) [ˈfæt]
67 egg [ˈɛg]
68 horn [ˈhɔːn]
69 tail [ˈteɪl]
70 feather [ˈfɛðə]
71 hair [ˈhɛə]
72 head [ˈhɛd]
73 ear [ˈɪə]
74 eye [ˈaɪ]
75 nose [ˈnəʊz]
76 mouth [ˈmaʊθ]
77 tooth [ˈtuːθ]
78 tongue (organ) [ˈtʌŋ]
79 fingernail [ˈfɪŋgəneɪl]
80 foot [ˈfʊt]
81 leg [ˈlɛg]
82 knee [ˈniː]
83 hand [ˈhænd]
84 wing [ˈwɪŋ]
85 belly [ˈbɛli]
86 guts [ˈgʌts]
87 neck [ˈnɛk]
88 back [ˈbæk]
89 breast [ˈbɹɛst]
90 heart [ˈhɑːt]
91 liver [ˈlɪvə]
92 to drink [ˈdɹɪŋk]
93 to eat [ˈiːt]
94 to bite [ˈbaɪt]
95 to suck [ˈsʌk]
96 to spit [ˈspɪt]
97 to vomit [ˈvɒmɪt]
98 to blow [ˈbləʊ]
99 to breathe [ˈbɹiːð]
100 to laugh [ˈlɑːf]
101 to see [ˈsiː]
102 to hear [ˈhɪə]
103 to know [ˈnəʊ]
104 to think [ˈθɪŋk]
105 to smell [ˈsmɛl]
106 to fear [ˈfɪə]
107 to sleep [ˈsliːp]
108 to live [ˈlɪv]
109 to die [ˈdaɪ]
110 to kill [ˈkɪl]
111 to fight [ˈfaɪt]
112 to hunt [ˈhʌnt]
113 to hit [ˈhɪt]
114 to cut [ˈkʌt]
115 to split [ˈsplɪt]
116 to stab [ˈstæb]
117 to scratch [ˈskɹæʧ]
118 to dig [ˈdɪg]
119 to swim [ˈswɪm]
120 to fly [ˈflaɪ]
121 to walk [ˈwɔːk]
122 to come [ˈkʌm]
123 to lie (as in a bed) [ˈlaɪ]
124 to sit [ˈsɪt]
125 to stand [ˈstænd]
126 to turn (intransitive) [ˈtɜːn ]
127 to fall [ˈfɔːl]
128 to give [ˈgɪv]
129 to hold [ˈhəʊld]
130 to squeeze [ˈskwiːz]
131 to rub [ˈɹʌb]
132 to wash [ˈwɒʃ]
133 to wipe [ˈwaɪp]
134 to pull [ˈpʊl]
135 to push [ˈpʊʃ]
136 to throw [ˈθɹəʊ]
137 to tie [ˈtaɪ]
138 to sew [ˈsəʊ]
139 to count [ˈkaʊnt]
140 to say [ˈseɪ]
141 to sing [ˈsɪŋ]
142 to play [ˈpleɪ]
143 to float [ˈfləʊt]
144 to flow [ˈfləʊ]
145 to freeze [ˈfɹiːz]
146 to swell [ˈswɛl]
147 sun [ˈsʌn]
148 moon [ˈmuːn]
149 star [ˈstɑː]
150 water [ˈwɔːtə]
151 rain [ˈɹeɪn]
152 river [ˈɹɪvə]
153 lake [ˈleɪk]
154 sea [ˈsiː]
155 salt [ˈsɔːlt]
156 stone [ˈstəʊn]
157 sand [ˈsænd]
158 dust [ˈdʌst]
159 earth [ˈɜːθ]
160 cloud [ˈklaʊd]
161 fog [ˈfɒg]
162 sky [ˈskaɪ]
163 wind [ˈwɪnd]
164 snow [ˈsnəʊ]
165 ice [ˈaɪs]
166 smoke [ˈsməʊk]
167 fire [ˈfaɪə]
168 ash [ˈæʃ]
169 to burn [ˈbɜːn]
170 road [ˈɹəʊd]
171 mountain [ˈmaʊntɪn]
172 red [ˈɹɛd]
173 green [ˈgɹiːn]
174 yellow [ˈjɛləʊ]
175 white [ˈwaɪt]
176 black [ˈblæk]
177 night [ˈnaɪt]
178 day [ˈdeɪ]
179 year [ˈjɪə]
180 warm [ˈwɔːm]
181 cold [ˈkəʊld]
182 full [ˈfʊl]
183 new [ˈnjuː]
184 old [ˈəʊld]
185 good [ˈgʊd]
186 bad [ˈbæd]
187 rotten [ˈɹɒtən]
188 dirty [ˈdɜːti]
189 straight [ˈstɹeɪt]
190 round [ˈɹaʊnd]
191 sharp (as a knife) [ˈʃɑːp]
192 dull (as a knife) [ˈdʌl]
193 smooth [ˈsmuːð]
194 wet [ˈwɛt]
195 dry [ˈdɹaɪ]
196 correct [kəˈɹɛkt]
197 near [ˈnɪə]
198 far [ˈfɑː]
199 right [ˈɹaɪt]
200 left [ˈlɛft]
201 at [ˈæt]
202 in [ˈɪn]
203 with [ˈwɪð]
204 and [ˈænd]
205 if [ˈɪf]
206 because [bɪˈkɒz]
207 name [ˈneɪm]
Swadesh lists
Individual languages
Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
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