The Power of Cognates
The Power of Cognates
You already know more than you think
In a recently posted video, Rob Watts of the splendid RobWords channel, shared some tips for English-speaking people trying to make sense of written German. At the root of all of these techniques was the phenomenon of cognates: words that, thanks to a common ancestor, resemble each other in both sound and meaning. (As it’s almost time for dinner, the first of these to come to mind are Milch and Butter.)
One way to harness the power of cognates is to play with the words you are reading. If, for example, you pronounce Kuh in ways that entertain your ears (or those of indulgent friends), you will not be surprised to learn that, while properly pronounced like the sound made by a dove, it means “cow.”
Another way is to learn about the evolution of the English language and its near relations over the last two thousand years or so. For that, I can recommend both a classic book and an episode of one of my favorite podcasts.
