Language quiz

Here’s a recording in a mystery language.

Can you identify the language and where it’s spoken?

Comments (22)

xarxaOctober 31st, 2010 at 9:05 am

wow, i havent got a clue. sounds vaguely somali-ish?

RauliOctober 31st, 2010 at 11:17 am

Sounds like a Semitic language. Other than that, no idea.

JurčíkOctober 31st, 2010 at 11:22 am

Hebrew? I heard the word xoven.

d.m.falkOctober 31st, 2010 at 12:16 pm

Didn’t sound Semitic at all to me, but rather Turkic/Altaic– I’ll hazard a guess and say it’s Uyghur. As usual, I could be wrong.

d.m.f.

AndrewOctober 31st, 2010 at 1:15 pm

Sounds vaguely Slavic. Honestly though, no clue. Props to whoever gets this one.

MateuszOctober 31st, 2010 at 2:20 pm

Mongolian perhaps?

JurčíkOctober 31st, 2010 at 3:12 pm

For Andrew: This isn’t Slavic language!

Leonardo CecchiniOctober 31st, 2010 at 3:28 pm

Sounds like a drunk man talking!

fiosachdOctober 31st, 2010 at 3:56 pm

I’ll go for Kazakh-Kirghiz-Uzbek.

Christopher MillerOctober 31st, 2010 at 5:27 pm

With the consonant clusters and the gutturals (especially the voiceless pharyngeal fricative) I would guess Noxchi (Chechen) or something closely related.

michael farrisOctober 31st, 2010 at 5:28 pm

Guessing something Caucasian, but beyond that I have no idea.

SimonOctober 31st, 2010 at 10:03 pm

Christopher and Michael are on the right lines – it is a Caucasian language.

Leonardo C.October 31st, 2010 at 11:52 pm

Georgian, maybe? Lots of guttural sounds…

michael farrisNovember 1st, 2010 at 12:41 am

I’ll take a wild guess and say Adyge (just cause it’s the first non-Georgian language of the reason that came to mind).

Christopher MillerNovember 1st, 2010 at 1:48 am

I was thinking maybe Adyghe as well, as an alternative; Ubykh perhaps? (These are just names of languages I know of in the Caucasus; otherwise I know nothing about them really.) If this is a language of the Caucasus, I don’t think it’s Kartvelic (i.e. closely related to Georgian). If one of the two above languages turn out to be Kartvelic, I request everyone to have a good laugh at my expense.

EeeNovember 1st, 2010 at 3:38 am

Maybe Azeri? Just guessing.

FMNovember 1st, 2010 at 4:46 am

Abkhaz? Avar? Laz? Tsez? (yeah, I’m just throwing out names of languages off the top of my head…)

JurčíkNovember 1st, 2010 at 1:38 pm

Abhkaz or Georgian?

GregNovember 1st, 2010 at 4:25 pm

It’s interesting to note how whenever a language appears that does not seem to fit any obvious category, so many people seem to jump to Georgian.

Although this is definitely not Georgian, I would still guess that it’s one of the northern Caucasian languagues; either NW, Central or NE. So in the neighborhood of Adyg, Chechen, Ingush or perhaps a Daghestani languages like Avar.

JurčíkNovember 1st, 2010 at 4:42 pm

Myslím si, že je to tamilština.

SimonNovember 1st, 2010 at 4:47 pm

The answer is Abkhaz (аҧсуа бызшәа), which is spoken mainly in Abkhazia in Georgia.

The recording comes from YouTube.

fiosachdNovember 1st, 2010 at 5:50 pm

So, it’s a part – or an edited version – of this exchange:

- You got anything to say, stranger?
- I said it all at my trial. You didn’t believe me then.
- String him up! Kill the horse thief!
- You, uh … you wanna know my name before you hang me?
- Not particularly. Just your last words.
- I demand a re-count.
- We’ve been all through that before. It was your word against the Garrett boys, three of the finest men I know … born and bred right here in this town.
- Three of the finest liars you know?
- Stealing a man’s horse in this country is worse than stealing his wife. There’s been too much of this thing going on and I’m going to put a stop to it.
- Horse stealing or wife stealing, Judge?
- Let’s get on with it. I got some steers want brandin’.
- I’m a reasonable man, Judge.
- Give him a re-count.
- All right, Coley. Whatever you say.