| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| le mine (de charbon) | (coal) mine | mwynfa (glofa; pwll glo) | poull-glaou |
| le mine | (explosive) mine | ffrwydryn | min |
| se venger (de qn) | to take one’s revenge (on sb) | dial (ar rywun) | venjiñ |
| ingénieux; astucieux | clever (device, system) | dyfeisgar; medrus | ijinek; barrek |
| à double vitrage | double-glazed | dwbl-wydrog | gweradur doubl |
| le double vitrage | double glazing | ffenestri dwbl; gwydro dwbl | |
| le store | (window) blind | cysgodlen; bleind | rideoz |
| le volet | (window) shutter | caead | stalaf |
| le rideau | curtain | llen; cyrten | rideoz |
| le valeurs mobilières; les titres | stocks and shares | stociau a chyfrannau | teulioù |
| toxicomane; accro | addict | adict | drammgaezhiad |
| l’ardoisière (f) | slate quarry | chwarela llechi | meinglazeg |
| la déesse | goddess | duwies | doueez |
| la lance | spear | gwaywffon | goaf |
| la hanche | hip | clun | lez |
| nier; refuser | to deny | gwadu | nac’hañ |
| creuser; bêcher | to dig | cloddio; palu | kleuzañ; palarat |
Category: Welsh (Cymraeg)
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| la surabondance | superfluity | gormodedd | gourfaoter |
| superflu | superfluous | gormodol | didal; diouverus |
| le pari | a bet | bet; mentro arian | pariadenn |
| parier | to bet | betio; mentro; chwarae hap | pariañ |
| les futilités; les bagatelles | trivia | pethau dibwys/diwerth | raneoù |
| la dune de sable | sand dune | twyn tywod | tevenn (traezh) |
| le gage | pawn (in chess) | gwerinwr | gouestl |
| le paon [pɑ̃] | peacock | paun | paun |
| la paonne [pan] | peahen | peunes | paunez |
| la pantoufle | slipper | sliper; llopan; esgid nos | pañtoufl |
| pantoufler | to switch from civil servant to the private sector | luduenniñ | |
| pantouflard | stay-at-home | cartrefol; diantur; difenter | ludu |
| se relaxer | to chill out | ymlacio | dibrezañ; dizalc’hen |
| le soap; le feuilleton | soap opera | sioe sebon; opera sebon | heuliadenn |
| tour à tour | alternately | bob yn ail | a bep eil |
| l’échange | exchange | cyfnewid | eskemm |
| intermédiaire | go-between | canolwr | hanterour |
| le relais; l’auberge | hotel, inn | llety, gwesti | leti; ostaleri |
| le relais | (electronic) relay | relái | relae |
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg |
|---|---|---|---|
| le gratte-papier | pen(cil)-pusher | clercyn | louf-torchenn |
| l’écurie (f) | stable (for horses) | ystabl | kraou (-kezeg) |
| la fausse couche | miscarriage | erthyliad (naturiol) | kolladenn |
| l’erreur judiciaire | miscarriage of justice | aflwyddiant cyfiawnder | fazi barnerezh |
| le mal d’altitude | altitude sickness | salwch pen mynydd | |
| le vertige | vertigo | pendro; pensyfrdandod | pennfoll |
Peran ha pastiow
As today is St Piran’s Day, here are a few Cornish words and phrases (provided by Sam Brown at the Polyglot conversation group), with equivalents in Welsh, Breton and French:
| Kernewek | English | Cymraeg | Brezhoneg | français |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goel Peran Lowen | Happy St Piran’s Day | Gwyl Peran Hapus | Gouel Peran laouenn | Joyeuse fête de Saint Péran |
| kerdhva | parade | parêd; rhodfa | prosesion | défilé |
| kebywi | party | parti | fest | fête |
| solempnyans | celebration | dathliad | fest | fête |
| solempnya | to celebrate | dathlu | goueliañ | célébrer; fêter |
| pasti (kernowek) | (Cornish) pasty | pastai/pasten (Gernyweg) | pastez (keneveg ?) | petit pâté (en croûte) (cornouaillais) / chausson à la viande et aux légumes |
| keus hag onyonenn | cheese and onion | caws a nionyn | keuz hag ognon | fromage et oignons |
Goel Peran Lowen!
Today is St Piran’s Day and a special day in Cornwall as Piran is regarded as the patron saint of Cornwall (and of tin miners), along with Saint Michael and Saint Petroc. Piran or Perran was an abbot of possibly Irish origin who lived in Cornwall in the early 6th century and later became a saint. His flag (see top right) is a symbol of Cornwall.
Here are a few Cornish phrases related to today (provided by Sam Brown)
– Goel Peran Lowen – Happy Saint Piran’s Day;
Gŵyl Peran Llawen (Welsh); Gouel Peran laouenn (Breton)
– Dydh da ha goel Peran lowen dhis! = Hello and happy Saint Piran’s day!
– A vynnydh ta pasti kernowek? = Would you like a Cornish pasty?
– Gwell yw genev pasti keus hag onyonenn = I’d prefer a cheese and onion pasty.
I haven’t started learning Cornish yet, put have picked up odd bits and pieces of the language and can understand it to a limited extent thanks to my knowledge of Welsh and Breton.
Are any of you learning Cornish?
Potatoes from the same furrow
I discovered an interesting Welsh expression today – maen nhw’n datws o’r un rhych (‘they’re potatoes from the same furrow’), which is one equivalent of saying that they are as thick as thieves, i.e. they are close friends. Other Welsh equivalents of this expression include maen nhw’n gryn lawiau (‘they’re pretty (?) hands’); maen nhw’n yng nghegau ei gilydd (‘they’re in mouths together’); and maen nhw’n drwyn wrth drwyn (‘they’re nose to nose’).
In French the equivalent of this phrase is comme larrons en foire (‘like thieves in (a) fair’) – the word larron is a old word for thief – the usual word is voleur.
What about in other languages?
Les mot de la semaine
– impressionnable; dégoûté = squeamish = dicra = santidig
– facilement dégoûté par = to be squeamish = bod yn ddicra = dic’hoantaat
– l’enterrement (m); les obsèques (fpl) = funeral = angladd = interamant; obidoù
– le piano droit = upright piano = piano unionsyth = piano eeun
– le piano à queue = grand piano = piano grand = piano lostek
– la gamme = (musical) scale = graddfa = skeulenn
– l’école maternelle (f); le jardin d’enfants = nursery school; kindergarten = meithrinfa = skol-vamm
– qui se ressemble s’assemble = it takes one to know one; birds of a feather flock together = tebyg at ei debyg
– le larron = thief (obsolete) = lleidr = laer
– l’occasion fait le larron = opportunity makes the thief
– (s’entendre) comme larrons en foire = (to be) thick as thieves = (bod yn) gryn lawiau = en em glevet d’ober droug
Język polski w Anglii i Walii (Polish language in England and Wales)
The 2011 UK census found that Polish is the third most-spoken language in England and and Wales, after English and Welsh, and the second most-spoken language in England after English. According to a report in The Guardian, there are 546,000 speakers Polish in England and Wales, which is compared with the 562,000 people who report that they speak Welsh in Wales.
Statisticians who analysed data from the census found that in response to the question “what is your main language?” 104 different languages were listed, and 49 of them have 15,000 or more speakers. In England and Wales 8% of the population, or 4.2 million people, speak a language other than English as the main language. The most spoken languages after English, Welsh and Polish are Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali and Gujarati. There are also significant numbers of Arabic, French, Chinese and Portuguese speakers. Of the Chinese speakers, most list Hakka, Hunanese or other Sinitic languages as their main language, and fewer list Mandarin or Cantonese. There were found to be particularly concentrations of Gujarati speakers in Leicester, Cantonese and Mandarin speakers in Manchester, Lithuanian speakers in Boston in Lincolnshire, Punjabi speakers in Slough, and Somali speakers in Brent in northwest London.
So if you’re in the UK and considering learning a foreign language, Polish might be a good choice, or maybe another language that is widely spoken in the area where you live. In London you have a choice of over 100 languages in most boroughs.
Another article I found in The Guardian today talks about a primary school in Peterborough where 20 different languages are spoken among the pupils, but none of them speaks English as a mother tongue. The headmistress, who has worked in Pakistan and speaks Urdu, doesn’t see this as a problem but rather celebrates the diversity of the school and does everything possible to ensure that children do well. Many of the teaching assistants in the school are bilingual; new pupils are paired with older pupils who speak their language in a buddy system, and there are arrangements with other local schools where the pupils can learn alongside others who speak English as a native language.
Les mot de la semaine
– un compte courant = current account = cyfrif cyfredol = kont-red
– un compte d’épargne / de dépôt = savings account = cyfrif cynilion = kont-espern
– l’épargne, l’économie = savings = cynilion = arboell
– économiser = to save (money) = cynilo; arbed = armerzhañ
– l’intérêt (m) = interest = llog = laz
– le taux d’intérêt = interest rate = cyfradd llog = feur kampi
– l’assurance-vie (f) = life insurance = yswiriant bywyd = asurañs war ar vuhez
– les nouveaux visages (m); de nouvelles têtes (f) = new faces = gwynebau newydd = pennoù nevez
– retenir son souffle = to hold one’s breath (lit/fig) = dal dy wynt
– concorder = to fit (facts) = cytuno (efo ffeithiau)
– poseur (de tapis) = (carpet) fitter; poseur = fittiwr (carpedi)
– le pépin = glitch, snag, hitch; pip; umbrella = rhwystr; dincodyn; ymbarél = skoilh; disglavier
– greffer = to graft = impio = imboudañ
Slugs and snails and owls
Here some of the words that came up this week at the polyglot conversation group, along with a few related words and expressions.
Kernewek
bulhorn = snail
gluthvelhwenn; melhwenn = slug
kowann; oula = owl
mordardha = to surf
modardh = surf
Cymraeg
malwoden; malwen (malwod, pl) = snail
gwlithen; malwen ddu = slug
tylluan; gwdihŵ = owl
brigdonni; brigo tonnau; reidio tonnau; syrffio = to surf
pori = to surf (the web)
brigdonnwr; brigwr tonnau; syrffiwr = surfer
ewyn môr; brig y don; ewyn y don = surf
talp = nugget, chunk, lump, byte
cnepyn = nugget, nodule, lump, pommel
gwrthrychedd; gwrthrycholdeb = objectivity
Brezhoneg
melc’houed; melc’hwed; mailgorn; melc’houedenn-grogennek = snail
melc’houed; melc’hwedenn; likoch = slug
penn-kazh; toud; korverig = owl
Français
doué(e); de talent = talented
avoir du talent = to be talented
un musicien de talent = a talented musician
aux talents multiples = multi-talented
avoir plusieurs cordes à son arc = to have many tricks up one’s sleeve (be multi-talented)
elle est extrêmement douée = she is extremely talented
l’escargot (f) = snail
la limace = slug
le hibou; la chouettte = owl
Deutsch
die Streichholzschachtel = matchbox
der Streichholzschächtelchen = little matchbox
die Schnecke = snail
das Schneckengehäuse = snail shell
die Nacktschnecke = slug (“naked snail”)
die Eule = owl