Spanish- English partial cognates: analysis of their use in academic texts

Abstract

Partial cognates are words in two languages that share similar visual and phonetic features, and its meaning in both can also be similar in some contexts, but different in others. This research article is based on a qualitative methodology, and aims to analyze the use of English- Spanish partial cognates in academic texts produced in English by researchers from Universidad de Oriente, thus Spanish speakers. The sample for this analysis consisted of 22 academic papers, including resumes, doctoral proposals, international scholarship foundations and foundations of collaborative projects, all written as part of the collaboration project Cuba- Belgium VLIR. The main results of this research are the explanation of the use of partial cognates in these texts, and of how they affect the correct transmission of the message.