Cerddoriaeth

Fel arfer, mi wnes i tipyn bach o waith y bore ‘ma – mi wnes i ateb e-byst a rhoi recordiadau newydd ar y tudalen ymadroddion Sinhaleg – ac roedd sesiwn cerddoriaeth yma yn y prynhawn. Roedd tri ohonon ni yma y prynhawn ‘ma yn chwarae amrywiad o offerynau a cherddoriaeth. Gyda’r hwyr mi es i i’r côr cymunedol Bangor ac mi wnaethon ni’n canu caneuon yn Saesneg, Cymraeg a Xhosa, ac roedd llawer o bobl yna, yn cynnwys rhyw pobl newydd.

As usual, I did a bit of work this morning – I answered emails and put new recordings in the Sinhala phrases page – and there was a music session here in the afternoon. There were three of us here this afternoon playing a variety of instruments and music. In the evening I went to the Bangor Community Choir and we sang songs in English, Welsh and Xhosa, and there were plenty of people there, including some new ones.

Polyglot chat

Last night there were three of us at the polyglot chat group, which I’ve renamed Bangor Language Learners and which now at different times in a different venue. When I set up the group earlier this year my idea was that it would give me and other polyglots a chance to get together to chat in a variety of languages. Some weeks there have been enough of us to have several different conversations in different languages, other weeks there have been only a few of us and we have talked mainly in English, or in other languages we all had in common, like Welsh or German.

During the summer quite a few of the regular attendees were away and the meetings petered out. Then with the start of a new academic year I thought I’d change the focus of the group and make it for anybody who is learning a language, rather than just people who already speak several languages. After discussion on Facebook we came up with better days and times and so far we’ve had two meetings, which have gone well. Last night, for example, there were three of us and we spoke mainly in Welsh and French, which are the languages we have in common, along with English. I’m hoping numbers will increase as more people hear about it.

After the language learners group last night, I went to Global Café, a group run by Bangor University Christian Union which aims to bring together international and local students, and others. I started going to it while I was a student, and have been going on and off since then, though haven’t been regularly for a few years as it clashed with the ukuele club. The ukuele club has now moved to another night and I can go to Global Café again. It’s a great way to meet people from many countries and to practise a variety of languages – as well as English I spoke Mandarin, French, German, Spanish and a bit of Italian, Cantonese and Hungarian last night. I really enjoy opportunities like this. Is there anything similar in your area?

Dydd amlieithog

Dydd eitha nodweddiadol oedd ddoe efo tipyn bach o waith yn bore, ac yn y prynhawn mi wnes i ymarfer y piano, y gitár ac offerynnau eraill, ac mi wnes i dysgu tipyn bach mwy o Lydaweg. Gyda’r nos mi wnes i darllen, a gwilio rhaglen teledu arlein. Heno roedd tri ohonon ni yn yr grŵp sgwrsio amlieithog, ac mi wnaethon ni siarad yn y Gymraeg ac yn Ffrangeg yn bennaf. Ar ôl hynny mi es i i Global Café, grŵp ar gyfer myfyrwyr rhyngwladol a lleol, a phobl eraill, a mi wnes i cwrdd a llawer o bobl gwahanol, a ges i gyfleoedd i siarad sawl ieithoedd, yn cynnwys Mandarineg, Cantoneg, Ffrangeg, Eidaleg, Sbaeneg ac Almaeneg.

Yesterday was a fairly typical day with a bit of work in the morning, and I practised the piano, guitar and other instruments in the afternoon, and learnt a bit more Breton. In the evening I read and watched a television programme online. This evening there were three of us in the polyglot group and we talked mainly in Welsh and French. After that I went to Global Café, a group for international students and locals students, and others, and I met lots of different people and had opportunities to speak many languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, French, Italian, Spanish and German.

Glances, glimpses and peeks

This week I discovered that the French equivalent of a glance or a peek is un coup d’œil (‘a blow/stroke of the eye’), and to glance/peek is jeter un coup d’œil (‘to thow a stroke of the eye’) which I thought was an interesting way of saying it. Other ways of looking in French include voir (to look/see), un aperçu (a glimpse) and entrevoir / apercevoir (to glimpse)

Welsh equivalents of a glance or glimpse are cipolwg, cipdrem and cipedrych which is made up of cip (a snatching), golwg (sight, appearance, view), trem (look, sight) and edrych (to look/see).

Are there interesting equivalents of glance, glimpse, peek or related words in other languages?

Do other languages making a distinction between looking and seeing?

Les mots de la semaine

français English Cymraeg Brezhoneg
les mains vide; bredouille empty-handed gwaglaw; llaw-wag beleg, glapez
(priser) le tabac à priser (to take) snuff (cymryd) snisin (prizenniñ) butun
moucher (une bougie/chandelle) to snuff out (a candle) diffodd (cannwyll) mouchañ (bouji(d)enn)
(donner/jeter) un coup d’œil (to) glance (taflu/bwrw) cipolwg (taoler) ur sell
un regard de côté/oblique a sideways glance cipolwg i’r ochr
au premier abord at first glance ar yr olwg gyntaf da gentañ penn
d’un (simple) coup d’œil at a glance ar gip/gipolwg; mewn amrantiad
couvert overcast (sky) cymylog; tywyll koumoulek
l’infirmière-chef (f) matron (in hospital) metron; penaethes penn klañvdiourez (?)
le sundae; la coupe glacée ice cream sundae hufen iâ a ffrwythau; syndi dienn-skorn gant frouezh
locataire (m/f) lodger (renter of room) lletwyr; lojar feurmour; lokitour
pensionnaire (m/f) lodger (with room and meals) lletwyr; lojar pañsioner

Knowledge and seeing

I discovered today that there is a connection between the Gaelic word for knowledge, information, news – fios in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, fys in Manx – and the English words video and wit.

Their roots can all be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root woid-/wid- (to see/to know), which, according to the OED, is also the root of words such as the Sanskrit वेदा (veda – knowledge); the Latin vidēre to see); the Welsh gwybod (to know); the Lithuanian véidas (face); and the Greek ἰνδάλλεσθαι (to appear).

The Irish and Scottish Gaelic word fios is also related to the word fionn (white, fair, pale; sincere, true, certain; small; fine, pleasant), which is how I discovered this while putting together a new page of Scottish Gaelic colours – you can see how easily I get distracted. This doesn’t worry me as it’s all very interesting.

Les mots de la semaine

français English Cymraeg Brezhoneg
baver; tomber goutte à goutte to dribble diferu; dafnio babouzat
dribbler to dribble (football) treiglo; driblo; driblan dribiliañ
le plombage filling (in tooth) llenwad plomadenn
le porche; la véranda porch porth; cyntedd; portsh porched; chambarleg; heolienn
la porte d’entrée (maison); la portière avant (voiture) front door drws ffrynt dor-dal
la porte de derrière back door drws cefn dor a-dreñv
le château; le manoir mansion plas; plasty castell; maner
le commerce équitable fair trade masnach deg kenwerzh reizh
la pleine lune harvest moon lleuad fedi; lleuad y nawnos olau; lleuad gynhaeaf loargann
la bouilloire kettle tecell; tegell kitell, pod-berver
c’est une autre paire de manches that’s another kettle of fish peth arall yw hynny ur c’hoari all eo an dra-se
la colonne vertébrale spine (of person/animal) asgwrn cefn livenn-gein

Cymraeg ar y trên

On my train back from London on Sunday evening the train manager started someone of his announcements Welsh. For example he said, “Croeso, welcome to this train”, and when checking tickets he said, “Diolch yn fawr, thank you very much” to everyone. I think this was the first time I’d heard Welsh being used on a train, so it caught my attention. I think that announcements on trains and stations in South Wales are usually in Welsh and English, but I had never heard them any elsewhere. The departures board in London Euston also listed the final destination of the trains as ‘Holyhead Caergybi’.

In Wales most signs are bilingual, as is printed material produced by public bodies. In Gaelic-speaking parts of Scotland some signs are bilingual and token amounts of Gaelic can be heard on ferries and sometimes elsewhere. The situation is similar with Manx in the Isle of Man. In Ireland many signs and notices are bilingual, but not much Irish is to be heard on public transport.

In other regions where minority languages are spoken, how visible / audible are the languages?

Les mots de la semaine

français English Cymraeg Brezhoneg
l’allée (f) aisle (in a church or theatre) ystlys; eil ale
le couloir aisle (on plane, train or bus); corridor eil; coridor trepas
le moteur à réaction jet engine peiriant/motor jet
la fatigue due au décalage horaire jet lag jetludded skuizh dale-eur (?)
souffrir du décalage horaire to be jet-lagged bod yn jetludded gouzañv skuizh dale-eur (?)
la vérité finit toujours par se savoir the truth will out fe ddaw’r gwir i’r golau; taer yw’r gwir am y golau
s’en sortir très bien to come up smelling of roses
à fourrure furry (covered with fur) blewog blevenneg
poilu(e) furry (tail, body) blewog blevenneg
en peluche furry (toy) ffyrraidd grognonet
se retirer son permis de conduire to be disqualified from driving gwahardd rhywun rhag gyrru
être casse-pieds / emmerdant to be a pain in the neck bod yn bigyn yn dy glust di bezañ torr-penn
vitalité vitality bywiogrwydd; sioncrwydd buhezegezh
la veuve widow gweddw intañvez
le veuf widower gwr gweddw intañv
le boudin noir black pudding pwdin gwaed gwadegenn

Les mots de la semaine

français English Cymraeg Brezhoneg
le campus; le cité universitaire campus campws kampus
les vents wind (flatulence) gwynt avel
le casse-croûte snack byrbryd; tamaid torr-naon; adlein
casser la croûte / la graine to have a bite/something to eat cael tamaid debriñ ur begad
grignoter to snack cael tamaid; cael pryd ysgafn krignat
l’amuse-gueule (m) appetizer; nibble mymryn; briwsionyn lipaj
le moucheron midge gwybedyn mân c’hwibu
gardien(ne); concierge caretaker gofalwr gourner; porzhier
la dialyse dialysis dialysis dializ
la gravité; le pesanteur gravity disgyrchiant graviter
en propriété libre freehold rhydd-ddaliadol; rhyddfreiniol
loué/donné à bail leasehold prydles
la douve moat ffos douvez; tuv
le cambriolage burglary lladrad laerezh en tiez
pratique handy (object) hwylus; hylaw boazmant; pleustr