– le portail = gate = gât / porth / llidiart
– la critique = review (of book, film) = adolygiad
– le cours = lesson, course = gwers / cwrs
– faire un stage = to do/go on a (training) course = gwneud cwrs (hyfforddiant)
– le petit bâtiment préfabriqué = Portakabin
– aiguisser / affûter = to sharpen (knife) = hogi / awchlymu / minio
– tailler = to sharpen (pencil) = hogi / awchlymu/ minio
– le poignet = wrist = arddwrn
– la ronce = bramble = miaren
– la ronceraie = bramble patch
– la mûre = blackberry = mwyaren
– la cardère = teasel = cribau’r-pannwr gwyllt
– carder = to card (wool) = cardio
– la moisissure / les champignons = mould = lwydni
– la Tamise = (River) Thames = Tafwys
– tamiser = to sieve, sift = gogru / rhidyllu / rhidyllio
– lumière tamisée = subdued lighting = golau isel
Category: French (français)
Les mots de la semaine
– bouchon (m) / embouteillage (m) = traffic jam = tagfa drafnidiaeth (f)
– descendre en rappel = to abseil = abseilio
– rebondir = to bounce = sboncio / bowndio / tampio
– rebond (m) = bounce = sbonc / bownd
– être refusé = to bounce (a cheque) = gwrthod
– videur = bouncer = dryswr
– squelette (m) = skeleton = (y)sgerbwd / esgyrn sychion
– être aigri / en voulour à tout le monde = to have a chip on one’s shoulder = sglodyn ar dy ysgwydd
Best languages to study
According to an article I came across in the Daily Telegraph today, the best / most useful languages to study, for those in the UK, are:
1. German
2. French
3. Spanish
4. Mandarin
5. Polish
6. Arabic
7. Cantonese
8. Russian
9. Japanese
10. Portuguese
The reasons why each language is useful vary quite a bit. For example Brazil is the sixth largest economy in the world and will be hosting the next (football) World Cup and Summer Olympics; apparently Russia is the UK’s fastest-growing major export market; and Poland is the largest consumer market in the EU. Languages valued by UK employers includes German, French, Spanish, Polish and Mandarin.
If a language is useful or in demand by employers, that’s quite a good reason to study it, but if you that’s your only reason for choosing a particular language, studying it might seem like hard work. If you also have an interest in the language itself, the culture of those who speak and/or the places where it’s spoken, you’re more likely to enjoy your studies and became proficient in the language.
Have you studied any languages solely because you thought they might be useful?
One of the comments on the article suggest that it is better to study a vocational subject such as science, medicine or law and to study a language as a secondary subject, rather than just focusing on a langauge. Another comment states that a university in a language or languages isn’t particular useful if you don’t have other skills.
Les mots de la semaine
– asticoter = to wind up (annoy, provoke) = pryfocio, cythruddo
– fermer = to wind up (a company) = dirwyn i ben
– faire marcher qn = to pull sb’s leg (tease) = tynnu coes rhywun
– la (future/jeune) mariée = bride = priodferch
– le marié = (bride)groom = priodfab
– se casser le col du fémur = to break one’s hip = torri clun
– directeur (-trice) = warden (institution) = warden
– contractuel (le) = traffic warden = warden traffig
– barboter / faire trempette = to paddle (in water) = padlo / rhodli
– pagayer = to paddle (boat/canoe) = padlo
– (faire la) nage du chien = (to do the) doggy paddle = padlo ci
Scottish adventures
I’ve been in Scotland since last Saturday, mainly at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Gaelic college on the Isle of Skye. I’m doing a course in Gaelic mouth music (puirt à beul) and waulking songs (òrain luaidh) with Christine Primrose, and am having a wonderful time.
There are eight of us in the singing class – some from Scotland, some from England, one from Japan and one from Sardinia. The ones from Japan and Sardinia are both professional singers, and earlier today we were treated to some lovely songs from Okinawa, which sound quite similar to Irish traditional songs.
I’ve been speaking quite a bit of Scottish Gaelic, and find that I can now understand most of what I hear in Gaelic and have relatively complex conversations – so my Gaelic has improved a lot since I was last here four years ago. When I don’t know how to say something in Scottish Gaelic I try saying it in Irish and it’s usually understood, though not always.
I’ve also spoken some French, German, Czech and Welsh here, and quite a bit of Japanese. My Japanese is very rusty, but it’s starting to come back. It’s great to have opportunities to speak so many languages 🙂
Menhirs, dolmens and cromlechs
The word menhir come up in discussion yesterday and I posted it on Facebook today along with the the Welsh translation maen hir, which is what I found in this dictionary. This provoked further discussion about whether the two terms mean the same thing. So I thought I’d find out.
A menhir is a standing stone of the kind that Obelix delivers in the Asterix books. According to the Dictionary of Word Origins and the OED, menhir comes from Breton mean-hir (long stone), which is what the Welsh term maen hir means, so it seems that they are the same. The usual Breton word for such standing stones is peulvan, however.
The word dolmen (a prehistoric structure of two or more upright stones surmounted by a horizontal one), comes via French from Breton: the men part means stone, and the dol part either comes from the Breton word tōl (table), a borrowing from the Latin tabula (board, plank), or from the Cornish tol (hole). So dolmen either means ‘stone table’ or ‘stone hole’.
The word dolmen also exists in Welsh, and another word for such structures is cromlech, which exists in Welsh and English and comes from the Welsh words crwm (bent, stooped) and llech (stone), and is related to the Irish word cromleac (‘bent stone’).
Les mots de la semaine
– mégalithe (m) = megalith = megalith / maen mawr
– menhir (m) = standing stone = maen hir
– dolmen (m) = dolmen = dolmen / cromlech
– tombe (f) tombeau (m) = tomb = bedd
– faire dévier de son sujet / distraire / dérouter = to sidetrack = gwrthdynnu / troi o’r neilltu
– s’écarter de son sujet = to get sidetracked
– en liquide = in cash = ym mhres / yn arian parod
– payer comptant = to pay cash = talu drwy/ag arian parod
– petite caisse = petty cash = arian pitw/mân
– argent liquide = ready cash = arian/pres parod
– monnaie (f) = change = newid (?)
– guérir = to cure (illness, problem, habit) = iacháu / gwella
– remède (m) = a cure = iachâd / gwellhad
– agent secret = secret agent = asiant cudd
– sous contrôle = under control = dan rheolaeth
– c’est une honte! = it’s a disgrace! = mae’n waradwydd!
– grange (f) = barn = ysgubor
– injection (f) piqûre (f) = injection = pigiad
Cars, carts and chariots
Last week I was told that the English word car originally comes from the Irish word carr (donkey cart). Apparently when cars came to Ireland Irish speakers thought it was better to come up with a new word for them than to name them after the humble donkey cart, so the term gluaisteán (‘moving thing’) was coined. I hadn’t heard about this before so thought I’d check it.
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary the English word car has been used to refer to a wheeled vehicle since 1300 and comes from the Old Northern French word carre, from the Latin carrum/carrus, which originally referred to a two-wheeled Celtic war chariot, from the Gaulish word karros, from the Proto-Indo-European word *krsos, from the root *kers- (to run).
There are related words in Welsh carr (cart, wagon), and in Breton: karr (chariot, cart), in Cornish: karr (car), in Manx: carr (car), in Spanish and Italian: carro (cart, wagon) and probably in other languages.
The word chariot comes from the same root as car, but cart probably comes from the Old Norse word kart-r (cart), according to the OED.
Another vehicle-related word we discussed last week is carbad (chariot), from the Old Irish carpat (war-chariot, waggon). It is related to the Welsh cerbyd (vehicle, car, carriage, coach), the Old Breton cerpit, the Gaulish carpentoracte, from the Latin corbis (basket), from carpentum (two wheeled chariot), which was probably borrowed from Gaulish. The root idea is ‘wicker’, referring to the basket character of the body of these chariots.
Gleann Cholm Cille
I returned to Bangor from the Isle of Man yesterday after a very enjoyable week at Yn Chruinnaght. I spoke and sang lots of Manx, and heard all the other Celtic languages, except Breton, being spoken and/or sung. I also spoke a bit of French and German, and even some English.
I was even inspired to write a new song while I was there, which is even sillier than my previous efforts.
Today I arrived in Gleann Cholm Cille for the Summer School in Irish language and Culture at Oideas Gael, so am now switching to Irish mode. During the week I’m here blog posts, up-dates on Omniglot and replies to emails might become somewhat sporadic.
Les mots de la semaine
– faire une entrée (remarquée) = to make a (big) entrance = gwneud mynedfa (fawr)
– à feuilles persistantes = evergreen = bythwyrdd
– le moineau = sparrow = aderyn y to
– la mouette = seagull = gwylan
– la mésange bleue = blue tit = titw tomas las
– avoir un mouvement de recul / reculer = to cringe = ymgreinio
– ça me donne envie de rentrer sous terre = it makes me cringe (with embarrassment)
– ça me hérisse = it makes me cringe (with disgust)
– les cacahuètes = peanuts = cnau daear
– les petits oignons au vinaigre = pickled onions = nionod/winwns wedi’u piclo
– les oeufs marinés = pickled eggs = wyau wedi’u piclo