What is a cognate?
A word that shares the same origin as another word in a different language.
Cognate: Words That Connect Us Across Time and Space
As a creative writer, you know the power of words. But did you know that some words have a special connection that spans centuries and continents? These words are called cognates, and they show us just how intertwined language can be.
A cognate is a word that shares the same root as another word in a different language. For example, the Spanish word rojo and the English word red have the same Indo-European root, which means that they are cognates. This means that even though they look and sound different, they have a deep connection that spans time and space.
While cognates can be helpful for language learners (since they provide an easy way to learn new words), they can also be useful for creative writers. By exploring the cognates of a language, you can uncover hidden connections and meanings that you might not have otherwise discovered. You can also use cognates to create wordplay and puns that rely on the similarities between languages.
So the next time you're writing, don't forget about the power of cognates. With these special words, you can connect with readers across time and space, and tap into the shared history of human language.
Many writers have used cognates to connect their works to different languages and cultures. Check out these two examples:
Shakespeare uses the cognate prospero (the name of the play's protagonist) to evoke both his character's positive qualities (e.g. prosper, prospering) and his more negative desire to exact revenge (as in the word 'prosperity', which can have a darker side).
Rushdie uses cognates to explore the deep connections between India and Britain. For example, he describes a character as having a 'sympathetic nervous system, vibrissae and hair cells, optic nerve and semicircular canals' (all medical terms that have cognates in both Hindi and English).