3.1 Recognising cognates
Box 3: Using cognates
When watching videos in Spanish, you will recognise some words or phrases because they are similar to the ones used in your own language(s) or other languages you might know. These are known as cognates. Cognates are words that have the same or similar meaning, spelling and pronunciation in two languages. They are a useful aid when learning a language.
The following are examples of Spanish and English cognates: doctor/doctor, centre/centro, radio/radio. Some languages, like Spanish, have thousands of cognates with English. Sometimes, using your knowledge of the pronunciation, intonation and rhythm of words, you will able to decode other words or phrases that you have never heard before in Spanish.
Just beware of differences in spelling! Identifying a cognate does not help you draw conclusions about the spelling. When listening, you should be able to work out how to spell most words in Spanish as the writing of sounds is very predictable.
Actividad 7
Being aware of words which have the same or similar meaning and spelling in English can help you not only understand authentic Spanish, but also expand your vocabulary in Spanish .
Do you recognise the following words? Write down their English cognate.
| Español | English cognate |
|---|---|
| Actor | Actor |
| Arte | |
| Banco | |
| Concierto | |
| Cultura | |
| Memoria | |
| Problema | |
| Romántico | |
| Tráfico | |
| Verbo | |
| Violencia |
Answer
| Español | English cognate |
|---|---|
| Actor | Actor |
| Arte | Art |
| Banco | Bank |
| Concierto | Concert |
| Cultura | Culture |
| Memoria | Memory |
| Problema | Problem |
| Romántico | Romantic |
| Tráfico | Traffic |
| Verbo | Verb |
| Violencia | Violence |
Actividad 8
Now listen to Paloma Zancajo talking about what she values most in life. Indicate the six cognates you hear in Spanish from the list below:
Answer
Paloma uses the following words:
- familia – family
- libertad – liberty
- justicia – justice
- personas– persons
- honestidad – honesty
Even though the word 'persons' is not commonly used in English, an awareness of the cognate can help you pick up on more details in an authentic conversation.
Notice that some words are not spelt exactly the same in Spanish and English, but are quite similar, so we can work out what they might mean.
Actividad 9
Watch Paloma Zancajo talk about what she values most in life again. Then choose the correct option(s) to complete the statements below.
Para Paloma lo más importante en la vida es _________.
Para Paloma los valores más importantes son _________, __________ y _________ porque ayudan a desarrollarse a las personas.
Actividad 10
Paloma also talks about what surprises people about her. Read the transcript of what she says and identify the eight cognates that have similar spelling in English. Then write them down below. List cognates that appear multiple times only once.
Transcript
“La gente se sorprende mucho cuando me conoce(n) porque no lo aparento pero soy una persona muy paciente, tengo mucha paciencia. O sea, parezco muy nerviosa, parezco muy tal, ¿no? Pero luego la gente cuando… bueno pues cuando me va conociendo dicen: “Paloma, ¡qué paciencia tienes! ¿no?“ Que no debe ser muy habitual en la gente pero yo no sé si es por deformación profesional o porque pues la gente me dice que la paciencia, ¿no? La paciencia que… que tienes.”
Answer
- no
- aparento
- persona
- paciente
- paciencia
- nerviosa
- habitual
- deformación
- profesional
Comment
Note how Paloma uses the term ‘deformación profesional’ in order to distinguish patience acquired as part of the job from a more innate patience.
OpenLearn - Intermediate Spanish: Understanding spoken Spanish
Except for third party materials and otherwise, this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence, full copyright detail can be found in the acknowledgements section. Please see full copyright statement for details.