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.

Naming names

By Simon

When you talk to someone, do you use their name in the conversation?

Obviously this depends on whether you know their name, but if you do, how often would you use it?

For example, if you bump into a friend or acquaintence in the street, would you greet them with their name, (“Hi [Insert name here]”)?

If you have then have a chat with them, would you continue to drop their name into the conversation every so often?

I rarely use people’s names in conversations, unless there are several people involved and I want to say something particularly to one of them. This is just a habit, and also because I don’t always remember their name – I’m much better at remembering faces.

I’ve noticed that sales and marketing people tend to use your name a lot when they’re talking to you. I find this a bit annoying, especially when they mispronounce it – I know who I am, and there’s no need to keep showing that you do. On the other hand, it does make you feel a bit special, which is probably the point.

In other languages is it normal or necessary to use people’s names in conversation? Or is it just personal preference?

Snow falls

By Simon

As there has been some snow here this week, and it’s snowing at bit as I write this, I thought I’d look at some words for snow.

Snow / Eira
A bit of snow in my garden yesterday morning

In Romanian snow is zăpadă [zəˈpadə], which comes from the Slavic word zapadati (to fall) [source]. To snow is a ninge, and snowfall is ninsoare, which both come from the Latin ningere (to snow), utimately from the Proto-Indo-European *sneygʷʰ- (to snow) [source].

The English word snow comes from Middle English snow/snaw, from the Old English snāw (snow), from the Proto-Germanic *snaiwaz (snow), from the Proto-Indo-European *snóygʷʰos (snow), from the root *sneygʷʰ- (to snow).

Many of the words for snow in other European languages come from the same Proto-Indo-European root. However, words for snow in Welsh (eira), Cornish (ergh) and Breton erc’h, come from the Proto-Celtic *argyos (white), via the Proto-Brythonic *ėrɣ (snow) [source].

Polyglot Pathways

By Simon

Recently I’ve seen questions on various Facebook groups about whether someone can be called a polyglot if they only speak certain languages, e.g. only Romance languages, or only languages from one region, e.g. Europe, or if they only can read and write the languages but cannot speak them.

As far as I’m concerned, a polyglot could be anyone who speaks, understands, reads, writes and/or signs serveral languages. It doesn’t matter how many languages or which languages they are.

There are many different paths to polyglothood, or polyglot pathways, as I like to call them. Each polyglot and potential polyglot has their own reasons for learning languages, and for choosing particular languages.

  • You could specialise in one language and its variant forms – dialects and accents; regional, social and historical versions; creoles based on it (if any); and the other languages that have contributed to it.
  • You could specialise in one language family, or one part of a language family.
  • You might prefer to learn languages from various language families and regions.
  • You might concentrate on languages with the most speakers, or ones spoken in the most countries.
  • Alternatively you might prefer smaller languages, or endangered, revived or ancient languages.

I’m currently concentrating on Germanic, Slavic and Romance languages, and to a lesser extent on Celtic languages.

What polyglot pathways are you exploring?

International Mother Language Day

By Simon

International Mother Language Day Poster

As you might know, today is International Mother Language Day. The theme this year is “Linguistic diversity and multilingualism: keystones of sustainability and peace”.

To do my bit for multilinguism, I’m currently learning Swedish, Russian, Romanian and Slovak, and practising other languages, especially French and Welsh. So far today I’ve learnt a bit more Romanian and Russian, listened to some Welsh language radio, and read a bit of Swedish.

Tonight I studied some Swedish and Slovak, spoke English and Laala, read in English, Latin and Scots, and sang in English, Welsh, French, Zulu and Church Slavonic.

What languages have you spoken, read, heard, written, sung and/or studied today?

Pining for the fjords

By Simon

An image of a dead mobile phone

Last week my phone stopped working when I was in the middle of a Russian lesson on Duolingo. It never objected to me learning Russian, or any other language, before, so I don’t know why it chose that moment to cease functioning. I took it to a phone repair shop, but unfortunately they couldn’t help, so I bought a new one.

I could say that old phone died, it gave up the ghost, it packed-up, it’s finished, it’s kaput, and has had it. Or to paraphrase Monty Python’s Dead Parrot scetch, it’s resting, it’s stunned, it’s probably pining for the fjords, it has ceased to be, it has expired, and it is an ex-phone.

The sketch was about a dead Norwegian blue parrot, hence the reference to the fjords. My ex-phone was made in Korea, so perhaps it’s pining for the mountains.

Do you have any other ways to say that something has stopped working?

Image from: www.modernmom.com

Rememberers

By Simon

I discovered a new word today – rememberer – it means one who remembers, and in sociolinguitics it has a more specific meaning:

“One who remembers several words and phrases from a moribund language, but never became fluent in it.”

I came across this word on Wikipedia in an article about the Southern Pomo language, which states that “In 2012 there was one fluent speaker, from Dry Creek, one rememberer, and a handful of people who learned some vocabulary as children.”

Does anyone know that the current situation is for Southern Pomo?

The article mentions revival efforts, but I can’t find anything more recent about the state of the language.

Related words include rememberancer – a person who reminds someone, and reremember – to remember again. So someone who remembers again would be a rerememberer.

Sources: Wiktionary and Wikipedia

Playgrounds and yards

By Simon

Schools in the UK usually have a bit of outside space where the pupils play during break times and at lunch time. This is known, at least in primary schools, as a playground. There are also playgrounds for children in some parks.

In American schools such spaces are known as schoolyards, and the students play in them during recess – is that right? Are other words used for playground?

In the UK you might have a garden at the back of your house, which is referred to as a garden or back garden, or if it’s paved, concreted or covered in decking, you may refer to it as a yard. I understand that in the USA a backyard is the area at the back of your house, whether it’s paved, grass or whatever. Is that right?

In French a school playground is a cour de récréation, and elsewhere it is a terrain de jeu or cour de jeu. A playground for the rich is a lieu de divertissement. Are other words used?

What about in other languages?