This week we have a question from David. Can you identify the following language and translate it into English? Note: to make this slightly more difficult, I’ve made a phonetic transcription of the sentence using the IPA. The language isn’t normally written like this.

Clues: This a well-known proverb. The language is a constructed one built over a period of many years and only a few people actually speak it.

Here’s a recording of another sentence in the same language.

This week we have a recording of a mystery language. Can you identify it? Here it is.

A few clues: this language is part of a large, widely scattered language family and is spoken mainly on a group of quite remote islands. This language has a regular spelling system devised by a missionary during the 19th century.

The recording is a news item from an online radio station. I don’t understand it, but I think the story has something to do with Walmart.

This week we have a quiz question from TJ. Can you identify this language and provide a translation?

Abán hav lan lahhamá d’sunqan yawman

Clues: this language acted as a lingua franca in a large region for about 1000 years, and is still spoken by a few small communities in that region. It was also the mother tongue of a famous carpenter. The above sentence refers to a type of food.

This week’s challenge is the identify the language below and to translate the phrase:

Clues: this language is spoken in an Asian country and the phrase has something to do with transportation.

This week’s challenge is to identify the language in this audio sample.

A few clues: this language is spoken mainly in one country and is not related to any of the languages spoken in the neighbouring countries. The verbs in this language have hundreds of forms.

Here’s another challenge for you – can you identify the following language and/or translate this phrase into English?

kalunáa baw sai pa̖a dàek

Some clues: this is a real language and is normally written with its own unique alphabet. The accent marks indicate tones. The phrase is something you might say in a restaurant.

Here’s a challenge for you – can you identify the following language and translate it into English?

Nangeguaqavoq sitkasigpai

A few clues – it appears in a book by an author with an alliterative name. The title of the book includes a reference to a certain biblical garden. The people who speak this language live in places where it’s cold most of the time.

Good luck!