Comparison
The following table demonstrates the relation of modern West Germanic languages to each other, showing some closely related word-forms, as descended from the Proto-Germanic roots *se/*þe, *hwa, and *he, within the three main West Germanic languages (English, Dutch, and High German). (Note: the Proto-Germanic roots given here are simplifications of three sets of related roots that were similar in form, in that they either shared the same initial consonant sound or, in the case of *Se/*þe, alternated between two consonants.)
| Description | From *Se/*þe | From *Hwa | From *He | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Dutch | German | English | Dutch | German | English | Dutch | German | ||
| Nominative | Masc. | the | de | der | who | wie | wer | he | hij, ie | er |
| Neuter | that | dat | das | what | wat | was | it | het | es | |
| Fem. | she | zij, ze | sie, die | (who) | (wie) | (wer) | ME/Dial. hoo | |||
| Plural | they | zij, ze | sie, die | (who) | (wie) | (wer) | ||||
| Demonstrative | this | dit, deze | dies- | |||||||
| Adverbial/Nominal | so, thus | zo, dus | so | while | wijl | Weile | ||||
| Relative | such | zulk | solch- | which | welke | welch- | each | elk | MHG elch- | |
| Dual | whether | weder | ||||||||
| Description | From *Se/*þe | From *Hwa | From *He | |||||||
| Dative | Masc./Neuter | den | dem | whom | wien (obsolete) | wem | him | hem | ihm | |
| Fem. | der | der | (whom) | (wie) | (wem) | her | haar | ihr | ||
| Plural | them | den | den | (whom) | (wie) | (wem) | 'em | hen/hun | ihnen | |
| Genitive | Masc./Neut. | diens, zijn | des(sen), sein- | whose | wiens | wessen | his | |||
| Fem./Plural | their | dier | der(en) | wier | her | haar | ihr- | |||
| Locative | there | daar | da, dar- | where | waar | wo, war- | here | hier | hier | |
| Allative | thither | der | hin | whither | wer(waarts) | wohin | hither | her, heen | her | |
| Ablative | thence | (van) daan | (von) dannen | whence | woher | hence | ||||
| Instrumental | why, how | hoe | wie | |||||||
| Temporal/ Conjunctive | I | then | dan | dann | when | wanneer | wann | |||
| II | than | (dan) | denn | (when) | wen | wenn | ||||
| Description | English | Dutch | German | English | Dutch | German | English | Dutch | German | |
| From *Se/*þe | From *Hwa | From *He | ||||||||
Read more about this topic: West Germanic Languages
Famous quotes containing the word comparison:
“We teach boys to be such men as we are. We do not teach them to aspire to be all they can. We do not give them a training as if we believed in their noble nature. We scarce educate their bodies. We do not train the eye and the hand. We exercise their understandings to the apprehension and comparison of some facts, to a skill in numbers, in words; we aim to make accountants, attorneys, engineers; but not to make able, earnest, great- hearted men.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Most parents aren’t even aware of how often they compare their children. . . . Comparisons carry the suggestion that specific conditions exist for parental love and acceptance. Thus, even when one child comes out on top in a comparison she is left feeling uneasy about the tenuousness of her position and the possibility of faring less well in the next comparison.”
—Marianne E. Neifert (20th century)
“When we reflect on our past sentiments and affections, our thought is a faithful mirror, and copies its objects truly; but the colours which it employs are faint and dull, in comparison of those in which our original perceptions were clothed.”
—David Hume (1711–1776)