Beech Tree Lane

This morning in Abergele I saw a road called Lôn Ffawydd. I know that lôn is the Welsh for lane, but wondered what ffawydd might mean as I hadn’t seen it before.

Ffawydd can mean beech tree, fir tree, chestnut tree, pine tree or fir tree. It appears in such expressions as:

– ffawydd Albanaidd = Scotch fir
– ffwaydd arian(naidd) = silver fir
– ffawydd coch = pitch-pine
– ffawydd coprog = copper-beach
– ffawydd gwyn = white pine/spruce
– ffawydd melyn = yellow pine
– ffawydd Norwy = Norway pine
– cnau ffawydd = beech-mast
– pen ffawydd = stupid person, simpleton, idiot, fool

Twistles and forks

There is a place in Lancashire in the north west of England called Oswaldtwistle [ˈɒzəl.twɪzəl], which a friend went to after visiting me yesterday. Naturally, as we’re linguists, we wondered where the name Oswaldtwistle came from and what it might mean. My friend thought it might have something to do with Saint Oswald, who was King of Northumbria from about 604-642 AD.

According to Wikipedia there is a legend that St Oswald passed though the area and gave his name to it. The twistle part comes from an old English word meaning “brooks meet”. Alternatively the village might been named after a local Oswald.

The word twistle, which I really like the sound of, apparently means a boundary stream and literally means “double, forked”. It comes from the Middle English twisel/twisil, from the Old English twisla (confluence, junction, fork of a river or road), from the Proto-Germanic *twisilą (fork, bifurcation), from the Proto-Indo-European *dwis- (twice, in two). It is cognate with the German Zwiesel (fork). [source. It also appears in the names Entwistle and Tintwistle.

Happy languages

I heard some people talking today in what I think was Nigerian English, which always sounds happy to me. These particularly people seemed to be very cheerful, but there seems to be something about Nigerian English that makes it sound very jolly, to my ears at least. I think it’s something about the sounds they use and the intonation patterns.

This got me wondering whether I alone in thinking this, and whether other languages have an inherently happy sound to them.

Jamaican also sounds happy to me.

Do any particular languages, dialects or accents sound happy/jolly/cheerful to you?

Talking about language and languages

I love using my languages, especially the ones I speak well or at least fairly well. Even the ones I know bits of are fun to use. However, I also enjoy taking about language and languages. I like finding out where words come from and finding connections within and between languages. I’m fascinated by how different languages work – their phonology, syntax, morphology, and also like to discover different cultures and customs.

Actually learning languages is also fun, though can be somewhat tedious at times, and even frustrating, when I don’t make as much progress as I want to, or can’t remember simple vocabulary and grammar. This is probably because I tend to dabble in many languages, learning bits here and there, and rarely focusing on one for any length of time.

Do you see languages a subject of interest and fascination in themselves, or as tools to help you communicate, meet people, and explore other cultures, etc? Or maybe as a bit of both.

I think I’m more interested in languages themselves.

Schlittschuh laufen

While listening to the German version of Radio Praha this morning I heard them taking about Schlittschuh laufen and wondered what this might involve. I guessed that it had something to do with sliding – Schlitt has a deliciously slidey sound and feel to it – and might be skating or skiing. It is in fact (ice) skating: Schlitten = sledge, sled, or big car; Schuh = shoe, and laufen = to run, go, walk.

Schlitten also appears in:

– Pferdeschlitten = (horse-drawn) sleigh
– Rodelschlitten = toboggan
– Rennschlitten = bobsleigh
– Schlitten fahren = to go tobogganing
– mit jdm Schlitten fahren = to have sb on the carpet, to bawl sb out
– Schreibmaschinenschlitten = carriage (in printer), cradle
– ein toller Schlitten = a fancy car
– Schlittenbahn = toboggan run
– Schlittenhund = sledge/sled dog; husky

Are there similarly slidey words for skating/sledging/skiing in other languages?

Multilingual romance

If you come over all romantic today, for some reason or other, and wish to declare your love for another, this infographic will help you do so in a variety of languages.

I love you in many differenct languages

Source: http://www.justtheflight.co.uk/blog/18-how-to-say-i-love-you-around-the-world.html

Note: the sign language referred to here is American Sign Language (ASL). For this phrase in other sign languages see: Spread the Sign – my favourite is the German Sign Language (Deutsche Gebärdensprache) version, though it looks more like the sign for butterfly/Schmetterling.

This video might also be of interest:

See also: http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/iloveyou.htm (includes recordings)

A banana regime

I discovered yesterday that the French equivalent of a bunch of bananas is un régime des bananes. Régime also means (political) regime, (administrative) system, (engine) speed/revs, and un régime alimentaire is a diet.

Other French words for bunch include:

– un bouquet de fleurs = a bunch of flowers
– un trousseau de clés = a bunch of keys
– une grappe de raisin = a bunch of grapes
– une groupe de gens = a bunch of people
– les couettes = bunches (of hair)

Les mots de la semaine

français English Cymraeg
le flûteau; le flûtiau; le pipeau penny/tin whistle chwiban dun; chwisl dun
le sifflet whistle (object) chwibanogl; chwiban
siffler; siffloter to whistle chwibanu
siffler un air to whistle a tune chwibanu alaw
le sifflement whistle (sound) chwiban
pousser un sifflement to give a whistle chwibanu
la cornemuse bagpipes pibgod; bagbib; brochbib
jouer de la cornemuse to play the bagpipes chwarae’r bibgod/fagbib
le biniou breton bagpipes pibgod/bagbib Lydewig
une régime des bananes a bunch of bananas bwnsiad bananas