Category: Words and phrases

Ráðstefna fjöltyngdra einstaklinga

By Simon

Polyglot Conference logo in Icelandic

One of the Icelandic courses I’m doing on Memrise was made especially for people going to the Polyglot Conference in Reykjavik at the end of October.

Today’s lesson included the phrase “Hefur þú tekið þátt í Ráðstefnu fjöltyngdra einstaklinga?”, which means “Have you been to a Polyglot Conference?”, or literally “Have you taken part in a conference of multilingual individuals?”. Quite a mouthful!

  • Ráðstefna means conference, from ráð (advice, counsel, plan, council) & stefna (direction, course, strategy, policy, movement, convention, conference).
  • Fjöltyngdra is from fjöltyngdur (multilingual, polyglot), from fjöl- (many, multi, poly) & tyngdur (tongued, lingual), from tunga (tongue).
  • Einstaklinga is from einstaklingur (individual, person)

Other Icelandic phrases I’ve learnt from this course, and other courses, are slightly easier to remember and say. For example, “Hvaða tungumál talar þú?” (Which languages do you speak?”).

That’s one that’s easy to ask, but more difficult to answer. The way I answer it depends on the context. At a polyglot event, I’ll go into details about the languages I speak and how well I speak them. Elsewhere I just say something like, “I speak 5 languages fluently, more or less”, or “I speak 11 languages well or fairly well”.

In Icelandic I think I could say “Ég tala fimm tungumál, meira eða minna” (I speak five languages, more or less”) – not sure how to add fluently (fljótt).

Ambling Along

By Simon

Walking stick figure

An Icelandic word I learnt recently is (að) labba [ˈlapːa], which means ‘to walk slowly, to amble, to stroll’ [source].

Here are a few examples of usage:

  • Mér finnst gaman að labba um bæinn = I like to stroll around town
  • Ljúft finnst mér að labba á pöbbinn = I like to walk to the pub [source]
  • Ég labba ein heim eftir myrkur = I walk home alone after dark [source]

Other Icelandic words meaning to walk include:

að ganga [að ˈkauŋka] = to walk, go on foot, to climb; to move, run, go; to go around, be passed on [source].

Here are some examples:

  • að ganga á fjall = to climb a mountain
  • vagninn gengur á 20 mínútna fresti = the bus runs every 20 minutes
  • klukkan gengur = the clock is going
  • vélin gengur vel = the machine is running well
  • sagan gengur = the story is going about
  • þetta gengur vel = this is coming along fine
  • þetta gengur ekki = this won’t work, this won’t do
  • hvað gengur á? = what’s going on?

This word comes from the Old Norse ganga (to go, walk), from the Proto-Germanic *ganganą (to go, walk, step), from the Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- (to walk, step) [source]. This is also the root of the Old English words gangan (to go, walk, turn out) and gang (a journey; way; passage), which is used in some northern dialects of English to mean to go – e.g. in Geordie gan yem = go home [source]. It’s modern meaning of a group of people probably comes from the idea of people travelling (ganging) together [source].

að troða [að ˈtʰrɔːða] = to trample, tread on, step on; to tread, walk; to stuff, fill, pack; to press forward, elbow one’s way [source].

This word comes from the Old Norse troða (to tread, walk), from the Proto-Germanic *trudaną (to tread, step on), which is also the root of the English words tread and trot.

að rölta [að ˈrœlta] = to stroll, saunter [source].

Incidentally, the English word amble comes from the Old French ambler (to walk as a horse does), from the Old Provençal amblar, from Latin ambulō (I walk) [source], and stroll comes from the German strollen, a variant of the Alemannic German strolchen, from Strolch (vagabond; rascal) [source].

Star sailors and children of the sky

By Simon

A sailing ship in space

Did you know that the word astronaut means “star sailor”?

This is something I learnt from an interesting Allusionist podcast on Technobabble.

Astronaut comes from the Ancient Greek ἄστρον (ástron – star) and ναύτης (naútēs – sailor). It first appeared as the name of a space craft in Across the Zodiac, a story written by Percy Greg in the 1880. It was used in the 1920s in writing about the possiblity of space travel, and in the U.S. space program from the 1960s [source].

Some other space-related words have a nautical roots as well, including (space)ship, mast, batton and sail.

Other words for star sailors include:

– cosmonaut, from the Russian космона́вт (kosmonávt), from the Ancient Greek κόσμος (kósmos – universe) &+ -naut [source]
– taikonaut, from the Chinese 太空 (tàikōng – space) +‎ -naut [source]
– spationaut, from spatio (space) + -naut [source]

Many other languages use one or other of these words. Here are some exceptions:

– In Chinese an astronaut is either 太空人 (tài​kōng​rén – “space person”), 航天員 (háng​tiān​yuán – “boat sky personnel”), or 宇航员 [宇航員] (yǔhángyuán – “universe boat personnel”) [source].

– In Icelandic an astronaut is a geimfari, from geimur (space) + -fari (traveler) [source].

– In Welsh an astronaut is a gofodwr, from gofod (space) + gŵr (man).

– In Swahili an astronaut is a mwanaanga, from mwana (child) +‎ anga (sky) [source]

Are there interesting words for astronauts in other languages?

Project-based learning

By Simon

When learning languages I use a variety of tools. At the moment I’m using Duolingo and Memrise, and also Colloquial Icelandic. I like the way Duolingo puts words in different contexts and tests you in different ways. I like the way Memrise gives you the option to create your own memory hooks, and the conversations and grammar notes in Colloquial courses are useful.

To practise my speaking and writing, I find projects helpful. For example, I might decide to write a blog post, conversation, story, song or poem in a language I’m learning, or to write about some aspect of that language – words, idioms, grammar, etc. The process of doing this helps me learn new vocabulary and grammar, and it tends to stick if I find it interesting and/or amusing.

So today I will write about the Swedish word snart, which means ‘soon, shortly, any time soon, anon’. Here are some examples of use:

– så snart som möjligt = as quickly as possible
– det snart är jul = the run-up to Christmas
– för snart ett år = nearly a year ago
– vi måste göra det snart = we have to do it soon; we must act quickly

Related expressions include:

– snar = early, ready, quick, swift
– inom kort = shortly, before long
– om en stund = in a while
– strax = soon, close, directly

Snart comes from the Old Norse snart (quickly). Danish and Norwegian have the same word with the same meanings, and in Icelandic there are snar (quick, swift, fast) and snarlega (quickly, fast).

Sources: bab.la, Wiktionary and The Old Norse World

Do you set yourself projects or tasks when learning languages, or other things?

Do you find it useful?

Running like a …?

By Simon

A photo of a tap

If you see or heard the phrase “running like a”, what would you expect to the next word to be?

If you’re from the UK you might say “tap” – that’s certainly what I would expect to come next here.

A tap in this context refers to “A device by which a flow of liquid or gas from a pipe or container can be controlled” [source].

Such devices are commonly known as faucets in the USA [source].

What about in other English-speaking countries?

I picked a cold this week, and yesterday my nose was running like a tap, which is why I decided to blog about this expression. I wondered if people talk about things ‘running like a faucet’ in the USA, and if not, what expression they use.

If you Google “running like a”, the top results (at the time of writing) are “running like a Kenyan on speed”, “running like a girl” and “running like a dog”.

A Telling Chat

By Simon

In interesting word I learnt recently in Icelandic is spjall [ˈspjatl̥], which means chat, converstation, talk or gossip.

It comes from the Old Norse spjall [ˈspjɑlː] (saying, tale, words, tales, tidings); from Proto-Germanic *spellą (news, message, tale, story), from the Proto-Indo-European *spel- (to tell).

A related word is spjalla, which means ‘to converse, to chat’. You could use it like this, I think,

– Ég er að spjalla á íslensku = I am chatting in Icelandic.

The Proto-Indo-European *spel- is also the root of the English word spell, the German -spiel in Beispiel (example – literally “by talk”) There were similar words in Old English: bīspel (proverb, pattern, example), and Scots: byspel (byword, rarety, outcast).

The German word spielen comes from a different root: the Proto-Germanic *spilōną (to play, to dance, to move), from *spilą (game, play, dance).

Icelandic words with related meanings include:

– tal = speech, conversation
– tala = to talk, to speak
– talmál = spoken language
– talsháttur = phrase, idiom
– talsmaður = advocte, spokesperson
– talsmát = manner of speaking, expression
– ræða = speech, address; to speak, talk, discuss
– ræðinn = talkative

Sources: Wiktionary, Íslensk – ensk orðabók / Concise Icelandic – English Dictionary

Orkar du?

By Simon

A useful Swedish expression I learnt recently is Orkar du?, which can mean “Do you have the energy?”, “Can you be bothered?” or similar.

It doesn’t mean “Are you a killer whale (orca)?”, as I thought it did when I first heard it.

Orkar is the present tense of orka [ˈɔrˌka], which means to manage, to be able to, to cope with, or can. It is used in Icelandic and Faroese as well. It comes from the Old Norse orka, from Proto-Germanic *wurkijaną (to work, to make), from Proto-Indo-European *wṛǵ- (to make), which is also the root of the English word work.

Here are a few examples of how it’s used:

– så mycket de orkar bära = as much as they can bear
– ät-så-mycket-du-orkar = all-you-can-eat
– Jag orkar inte = I can’t be bothered
– Jag orkar inte med tanken på att förlora de små skatterna = I can’t stand the thought of losing my little treasures.
– Hur ofta hör vi inte att människor inte orkar bry sig? = How often do we hear that people just don’t care?
– Jag orkar inte med detta längre. = I can’t take this anymore

A related word is ork, which means energy.

Sources: Linguee, bab.la and Wiktionary

Joyful and blessed

By Simon

I have now been learning Icelandic for a couple of weeks, and am still on Lesson 1 in Colloquial Icelandic. I’m in no hurry, and just want to learn the basics, at least at first, so my lack of progress doesn’t worry me.

There seem to be quite a few ways to greet people in Icelandic. These include:

– Halló
– Góðan dag(inn) = Good day
– Komdu sæll og blessaður (>m) = “Come joyful and blesed”
– Komdu sæl og blessað (>f) = “Come joyful and blessed”
– Komdu sæll (>m), Komdu sæl (>f)
– Sæll (>m), Sæl (>f)
– Sæll vertu (>m), Sæl vertu (>f)
– Blessaður (>m), Blessað (>f)

Goodbyes include:

– Vertu blessaður (>m), Vertu blessuð (>f) = “Be blessed”
– Vertu sæll (>m), Vertu sæl (>f) = “Be joyful”
– Bless á meðan = “Bye as long as”
– Bless bless = Bye bye
– Bless = Bye
– Við sjáumst = “We (will) see each other again”
– Sjáumst síðar = See you later

>m = said to males, >f = said to females

You can hear recordings of some of these on my Icelandic phrases page.

Are these all commonly-used?

Do other languages have gender-specific greetings?

Rochester and the Huguenots

By Simon

This weekend I visited Rochester in Kent for first time, and had a nice day exploring the town. Among its historic buildings, which include an impressive Norman castle, there is the French Hospital. This was founded in 1718 to provide accommodation for Hugenots (French protestants), fleeing religious persecution in France. It now provides sheltered accommodation for elderly descendents of those Hugenots.

Rochester Castle

I also visited the nearby Hugenot Museum, which is very interesting.

One question that is apparently often asked, is where does the name Hugenot come from?

There are various answers to this, but nobody knows which is correct.

The Hugenots in fact referred to themselves, at least early on, as members of L’Église Réformée (the Reformed Church).

The most credible theories are:

– It is derived from the Flemish Huisgenooten (House fellows), and/or the Swiss German Eidgenosen (confederate), and also possibly from the name of Hugues Besançon, a leader of the Genevan partisans.

– They are named after King Hugo’s Gate in Tours, which was reputedly haunted by Le Roy Huget.

– They are named after Hugh Capet (941-996), the first King of the Franks of the House of Capet.

Apparently my surname, Ager, is a Huguenot name, though there is no Huguenot connections in the family history, as far as I’m aware.

Sources: Hugenot Museum, Online Etymology Dictionary

Rochester Cathedral

Меньше кошек / Fewer cats

By Simon

Fletcher and Smudge, my sister's cats

The following useful sentence came up in one of the Russian Duolingo lessons I went through today:

У неё меньше кошек, и это хорошо.

This means, “She has fewer cats, and that is good.”

To me this suggests a whole backstory:

There once was a woman who had really liked cats. Her family always had cats when she was growing up, and when she had a place of her own, she got a couple of kittens. When they grew up, one of them had kittens, and the woman liked them so much, she couldn’t bear to part with them, so she kept all four of them. She also took in cats from animal shelters, and before long her house was full of them. Her friends were worried about her as she spent all her money on her cats, and spent most of her time with them. They offered to find alternative homes for the cats, and eventually persuaded her to give some of them away. She has fewer cats now, and that is good. The End.

Now, if I could just write that all in Russian, it would be a very useful exercise.

Does the Russian sentence suggest anything to you?

The cats in the photo are my sister’s, when they were kittens. The ginger one is Fletcher, and the black and white one is Smudge.