Here’s a recording in a mystery language.
Do you know or can you guess the language?
If you need clues, one is available on this week’s Omniglot Newscast, and another is available to my patrons on Patreon.
Author: Simon
I am a linguist, web developer and musician. I live in Bangor in Wales and run Omniglot - the online encyclopedia of writing systems and languages, as well as making the Radio Omniglot Podcast.
Sleeve Monkeys
There’s an interesting idiom in Dutch – Nu komt de aap uit de mouw – which means ‘now the monkey comes out of the sleeve’ and is roughly the equivalent of the English idioms to let the cat out of the bag and to spill the beans. They mean to reveal a secret, or to reveal one’s true intentions.
Other versions of the Dutch idiom include:
- De aap springt uit de mouw = The monkey jumps out of the sleeve
- De aap kijkt uit de mouw = The monkey looks out of the sleeve
- De aap uit de mouw schudden = To shake the monkey out of the sleeve
- Toen kwam de aap uit de mouw = Then the money came out of the sleeve = Then the true meaning became clear
- Hij heeft de aap in de mouw = He has the monkey up his sleeve = He’s sneaky (hides his true nature)
The origins of the idiom to let the cat out of the bag are uncertain, although we do know it was first used in writing in The London Magazine in 1760 [source].
The origins of the idiom to spill the beans are also uncertain. It was first used in American in the early 20th century, so it’s unlikely to have come from the Ancient Greek practice of using coloured beans to vote, as many sources claim [source].
The Dutch idioms come from the practice of performers hiding an actual monkey up their sleeves which would appear unexpectedly at a certain moment. Alternatively they might refer to our inner ape/monkey or mischievous character which is usually hidden metaphorically up our sleeve [source].
Are there any similar idioms in other languages?
Language Quiz
Enlisted Fathers
As today is St Patrick’s Day, I thought I’d look into the origins of the name Patrick.
Patrick comes from the Latin name Patricius, which comes from the word patricius (patrician, noble), from patrēs cōnscrīptī (Roman senators, or literally “enlisted fathers”) [source].
patrēs is the plural of pater (father, head of household, parent, forefather, priest), which comes from the Proto-Italic *patēr (father), from the Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr (father), from *peh₂- (to protect, shepherd) and *-tḗr (agent suffix) [source].
Another word that comes from pater is patronus, which in the magical world of Harry Potter is a spirit guardian that can be summoned with the charm Expecto Patronum [source]. This is genunine Latin and means “I await my protector” [source].
cōnscrīptī is the plural of cōnscrīptus (senator, counsel(l)or; enrolled, enlisted, composed), which comes from conscrībō (I enroll, enlist, draw up, compose), from con- (with), and scrībō (I write) [source].
The English word conscript (One who is compulsorily enrolled, often into a military service) comes from the same Latin root [source].
Language Quiz
Charlatan Snake Oil
The term snake oil is used to refer to a scam, a fraudulent medicine or remedy, or deceptive marketing. It was first appeared in writing in 1858 in the USA. In Georgia, for example, snake oil was sold as a folk remedy for rheumatism and gout, and it was said to be a cure for deafness in parts of Pennsylvania.
Some such remedies contained oil made from the fat of snakes, especially rattlesnakes, but many didn’t. In the early 20th century such products started to be condemned in professional pharmacy journals as they didn’t contain any snake oil at all. As a result the term snake oil became associated with phony remedies and quackery [source].
In French snake oil is known as remède de charlatan (charlatan medicine) or poudre de perlimpinpin (perlimpinpin powder).
The word charlatan (quack (doctor), charlatan), comes from the Italian ciarlatano (charlatan, quack), from ciarlatore (chatterer) and cerretano (hawker, quack). The latter term means literally a “native of Cerreto”, and is the root of this word because the Italian village of Cerreto di Spoleto in Umbria in the province of Perugia was once widely known for its quacks.
Perlimpinpin [pɛʁ.lɛ̃.pɛ̃.pɛ̃] is one of the French names for Rumpelstiltskin, a company that makes children’s clothes, a restaurant in Paris, and probably others things. The origins of the word are uncertain. According to one theory, it’s a combination of prêle (horsetail – Equisetum hyemale) and pimpin (Pandanus montanus – a type of tree from the island of Réunion), two plants that were used as in a herbal medicine in 17th century France [source].
Perapera
In Japanese if you speak a language fluently you can say that it is ペラペラ (perapera). This is one of the many onomatopeic or mimetic words used in Japanese, and it has come up in some of the Japanese lessons I’ve been studying on Duolingo recently, so I thought I’d write about it.
ペラペラ, which is also written ぺらぺら, can also mean speaking incessantly, glibly, garrulously or volubly; flipping through pages one after the other or thin, flimsy or weak paper, cloth, etc.
For example:
- 日本語がペラペラになりたいです。 (Nihongo ga perapera ni naritai desu) = I want to be fluent in Japanese.
- 彼は英語がペラペラだ。(Kare wa eigo ga perapera da) = He has a good command of English / He speaks Englsh fluently.
- ペラペラしゃべり続ける (perapera shaberi tsudzukeru) = to rattle on
- ペラペラまくしたてる (perapera makushitateru) = to talk a mile a minute
- ペラペラという音 (perapera to iu oto) = a fluttering sound, flip-flap
- ペラペラとうそをつく (perapera to uso o tsuku) = to lie glibly/fluently
- ペラペラの段ボール (perapera no dan bōru) = flimsy / corrugated cardboard
ペラペラヨメナ (perapera yomena) is a type of flower (see photo above), which is known in English as a Latin American fleabane, Karwinsky’s fleabane or Mexican daisy. In Latin it is Erigeron karvinskianus: erigeron comes from the Ancient Greek ἠριγέρων (ērigérōn “groundsel”), from ἦρι (êri, “early in the morning”) and γέρων (gérōn, “old man”), and karvinskianus is named after Wilhelm Friedrich Karwinsky von Karwin (1780-1855), who was a Bavarian naturalist who collected plants and animals in Brazil and Mexico.
Sources: Duolingo, Jisho.org, 英辞郎 on the WEB, Wiktionary
Language Quiz
Fiery Lakes
The French idiom Il n’y a pas le feu au lac [il n‿j‿a pa l(ə) fø o lak], or literally “There’s no fire on the lake”, is used when there is no hurry to do something. It could be translated as “What’s the big hurry?”, “What’s the rush?” or “Where’s the fire?”.
It has been used since the mid-20th century and apparently refers to Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) in Switzerland and the inability of Swiss people to hurry even in an emergency. It is also sarcastic in suggesting that water might be on fire [source].
Variations on this idiom, and phrases with similar meanings, include:
- Il n’y a pas le feu = There’s no fire (on the lake)
- Ya pas l’feu = There’s no fire (informal pronunciation)
- Il n’y a pas de quoi paniquer = There’s no reason to panic
- Il n’y a pas de quoi fouetter un chat = That’s not a reason to whip a cat
- Rien ne presse = There’s no hurry, there’s no need to hurry
- Ça ne presse pas = There’s no hurry / rush
Are there any interesting idioms in other languages involving fiery lakes?