Swadesh list

The Swadesh list is a collection of basic words used by many languages worldwide, such as "water," "mother," "sun," and "fire." Linguists created it to compare languages and study how they relate and change over time. Because these words are universal and essential for daily life, they tend to stay relatively stable across different languages and generations. By examining similarities and differences in these words, researchers can trace language families' histories, identify common ancestors, and understand human communication's evolution.