True Cognates:
There is another, even larger group of words that also appear in both languages. There is often a slight difference in how these words are spelled, but they are usually easy to recognize. The reason these words, called "cognates," appear in both languages is because they share common roots. Usually, these roots can be traced back to ancient Latin or Greek.
Two of the words we have been using in this lesson are cognates. Listen now as I say these two words, first in English and then in Spanish.
professor, profesor
doctor, doctor
Listen now as I say some more Spanish words. Because they are all cognates, you will very likely understand their meanings.
absoluto, correcto, directo, error, falso
Were you able to detect the meanings of the words I just said? Now I'm going to say them again, this time in Spanish and in English. Listen very carefully and note how the words are pronounced differently in Spanish than they are in English.
absoluto, absolute
correcto, correct
directo, direct
error, error
falso, false
There are many many cognates. This is great news for you, because it means that right away you know the meaning of hundreds, even thousands of Spanish words. But, I feel I must warn you! There are also "false cognates." These are words that look the same, but do not mean the same thing in both languages. For now, let's not even think about these "falsos amigos." Let's just be thankful for the many true cognates that do exist.
False Cognates:
Don't be tricked by false cognates.
Lots of Spanish words look like English words. But sometimes, looks can be deceiving. For example: The word "asistir" is a false cognate. It does not mean "to assist" but rather "to attend." Likewise, "asistencia" means "attendance" and "asistente" means "atendee."When learning a foreign language, it is common for listening skills to develop more rapidly than speaking skills, leaving the learner in the unfortunate situation of being able to understand, but unable to respond. A good way to surmount this problem is to talk to yourself as much as possible. Because there is no one else around, you won't be weighed down by the inhibition that so frequently burdens the beginning language student.