English-Turkish cognates and false cognates: Compiling a corpusand testing how they are translated by computer programs

Abstract

Cognate status is one of the most complicated issues for those who deal with or are interested in linguistics. In the present study, we have provided a general overview related to this specific matter, and compiled a list of English-Turkish cognates and false cognates. According to the derived list, we determined that 2411 of English words, examined from among approximately 80,000 words, are either cognates or false cognates in Turkish. After determining the number of cognate and false cognate words, we tested and evaluated the correctness of the translations of three software programs and five websites that provide translation services using some of the cognates and false cognates from the derived list. Results suggest that cognate words are translated correctly in most sentences at lexical level, while false cognates and especially partial false cognates are mostly translated wrongly. Nevertheless, at sentential level, it is revealed that almost all sentences translated by computer are unsatisfactory, and need human correction.