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In this recent question, I was trying to research a list of translation for "no", and a quick google found this page. That website also has other similar pages, like translation of "Hello", "Good morning", etc.

However, I am not sure about the reliability of those translations, and the website seems to target a tourist audience, not linguists. Where can I find a reliable and academic source?

They can be helpful to find/identify cognates, etc.

Community
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Louis Rhys
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    As a rule of thumb, the more languages a particular work deals with, the more it is prone to errors. Simply because no one knows so many languages, or even knows whom to invite to contribute. If you want reliable translations, you should consult individual dictionaries, and preferably the printed ones, not online, and most of all not open to anyone like Wiktionary – unless you know the language and can judge for yourself if the translation makes sense. If you need extra certitude, you should find a specialist or two in the given language and ask them which dictionary they recommend. – kamil-s Feb 24 '12 at 19:11

3 Answers3

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Wiktionary lists many translations into different languages for different etymologies, along with comments and examples for those translations. An extract from a "no":

  • Haitian Creole: okenn

  • Hungarian: semmi, semelyik (it is always expressed with a negative verb, and usually semmi is not used)

    • There is no water. — Nincs víz.
    • No horse has two tails. — Semelyik lónak sincs két farka.
    • I see no problem. — Semmi bajt nem látok.

  • Icelandic: enginn (is) m., engin (is) f., ekkert (is) n.

  • Ido: nula (io)
  • Igbo: ḿbà

These translations should not be less reliable than your average dictionary.

4

For a subset of words there's World Loanword Database and The Intercontinental Dictionary Series based on the book "A Dictionary of Selected Synonyms in the Principal Indo-European Languages", Carl Darling Buck, 1949.

kaleissin
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I found this site, called Omniglot. If you scroll down there are also links to other similar resources and multilingual pages.

I don't know if there is a search tool, but in case you don't find the expression you need, you can explore the site for other resources or visit the links for external sites.

Alenanno
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