FALSE FRIENDS AND DISTANT COUSINS: LATIN ROOTS, ENGLISH-SPANISH
It is commonly estimated that about 45 percent of English vocabulary is Latin in origin. This makes the Romance languages, in a manner of speaking, second cousins to English, and an advantage for understanding more formal or learned registers. There is, however, a caveat, and we must tread carefully before rushing into translation or interpretation. Consider two examples. The Latin appositus gives English apposite , meaning ‘fit’ or ‘suitable’, while in Spanish the same root yields apósito , ‘dressing’ or ‘bandage’. Likewise, Latin nescius (‘ignorant’) eventually became English nice , whereas in Spanish it retains its original sense in necio , ‘silly’ or ‘foolish’. These may seem quaint developments, but they are worth bearing in mind—especially for the more pedantic among bilingual students of communication.