1). What is a "cognate"?
2). Why is learning cognates the most efficient and rapid way to learn to read, speak, increase vocabularly and get high marks on tests in a foreign language?
Bonus question: What is the relationship between "cognates" and "etymology"?
Definition of ETYMOLOGY
1
: the history of a linguistic form (as a word) shown by tracing its development since its earliest recorded occurrence in the language where it is found, by tracing its transmission from one language to another, by analyzing it into its component parts, by identifying its cognates in other languages, or by tracing it and its cognates to a common ancestral form in an ancestral language.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cognate
1) A "cognate" refers to a word in one language that shares a similar origin, meaning, and sometimes even spelling with a word in another language. Cognates are typically derived from a common root language and have undergone similar linguistic changes over time.
2) Learning cognates can be highly beneficial for several reasons. Firstly, cognates can help you quickly expand your vocabulary in a foreign language. Since cognates share similarities with words in your native language, you can easily recognize, remember, and understand their meanings. This facilitates faster language acquisition and vocabulary growth.
Additionally, cognates can enhance your reading skills. Once you identify a cognate in a foreign language text, you can quickly grasp the general meaning of a sentence or paragraph without needing to translate each word individually. This aids in comprehension and makes reading more efficient.
Moreover, recognizing cognates can also improve your ability to speak a foreign language. When you encounter a cognate, you can use your knowledge of the corresponding word in your native language as a starting point to correctly pronounce and remember the foreign word. This makes speaking more accurate and natural.
Furthermore, when it comes to tests in a foreign language, cognates provide an advantage. Since you already possess knowledge of these related words, you can easily recall their meanings, spelling, and pronunciations. This boosts your performance in vocabulary tests and overall language evaluations.
Bonus answer: The relationship between "cognates" and "etymology" lies in their connection to language history and linguistic development. Etymology is the study of the origin and history of words, including their phonetic and semantic changes over time. It traces words back to their earliest recorded occurrences, analyzes their components, identifies cognates in other languages, and often traces them to a shared ancestral form. Cognates are directly linked to etymology as they are identified through the study of word origins and language families, allowing for the recognition and understanding of similarities and connections between languages.