Category: Words and phrases

Šup!

By Simon

Last week I learnt a useful Czech word – Šup! – which can mean Whoosh!, Go!, Move!, Hurry up! and similar, and Šup šup! means Chop-chop!

A more polite way to say the same thing is pojďme, which literally means “Let’s (do something)”. Here are some examples of usage:

– Pojďme na procházku = Let’s go for a walk
– Pojďme pěšky = Let’s walk
– Pojďme na to / Pojďme to udělat = Let’s do this
– Pojďme se na to podívat = Let’s take a look at it
– Pojďme spolupracovat = Let’s work together
– Pojďme přemýšlet = Let’s think

Sources: bab.la Dictionary and Slovnik.cz

Are there similar expressions in other languages?

Llongrats!

By Simon

In the comments on an article about Welsh literature I read today, I came across the word llongrats!, which appears to be a Welsh-English hybrid combining the Welsh word llongyfarchiadau and it’s English equivalent, congratulations.

While it’s common for bilingual people to switch languages, often in mid-sentence, this is the first example I’ve seen of a mid-word switch in Welsh/English.

Have you come across anything like this?

Actually, when I come to think about it some words in English do have bilingual roots, particularly those borrowed from Latin and Greek, such as television, from the Greek τῆλε ‎(têle – at a distance, far off/away/from) and from the Latin vīsiō ‎(vision, seeing), via Anglo-Norman and Old French.

Dardledumdue

By Simon

Today I came across the wonderful word dardledumdue. It means “daydreamer” in East Anglian dialect (east of England), and its origin is uncertain. Perhaps it’s the type of nonsense words a daydreamer might sing or mumble while daydreaming [source].

It also sounds like the kinds of ‘words’ some Irish singers use when lilting – a way of singing tunes with made-up words.

Here’s an example:

Another example:

Does anything like this exist elsewhere?

Nix and Natch

By Simon

The words nix and natch have come up quite a bit in things I’ve read and/or heard recently, so I thought I’d look into their meanings and origins.

Nix as a verb means “to ​stop, ​prevent, or ​refuse to ​accept something” and as a noun it means “nothing or no”. These usages are apparently mainly informal and used in the US [source].

Accroding to the Online Etymology Dictionary, nix comes from the German nix, a dialectal variant of nichts (nothing), from the Middle High German nihtes, from the genitive of niht/nit (nothing) from the Old High German niwiht, from ni/ne (no) and wiht (thing, creature).

I rarely come across this word in British English.

Natch is an abbreviation of naturally, natch – I didn’t realise this until I looked it up. I thought it was some kind of negative, but wasn’t sure what it meant.

Pinkies

By Simon

Finger names

What do you call your smallest finger?

I call it my little finger, but I hear more and more people in the UK calling it their pinkie / pinky, which I thought was exclusively used in North America. Is this name used in some dialects of English in the UK, or is this an example of American influence?

[Addendum] The word pinkie apparently comes from Dutch, via Scots. It was first recorded as meaning little finger in John Jamieson’s An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language in 1808. It comes from the Old Dutch phrase pinck ooghen (pink eye = half-shut or peering eye), which is the root of the modern Dutch verb pinkogen (to half close the eyes or squint). The modern Dutch word for little finger is pink, the diminutive of which is pinkje [source]. Other etymologies are available.

Anatomical names for the fingers are:

– 1st finger (thumb)
– 2st finger, digitus secundus or digitus II
– 3rd finger, digitus tertius, digitus III, digitus medius
– 4th finger, digitus quartus, digitus IV, digitus annularis, digitus medicinalis
– 5th finger, digitus quintus, digitus V

Others names for the fingers include:

– Thumb
– Index finger, pointer finger, forefinger, trigger finger
– Middle finger, bird finger, long finger
– Ring finger
– Little finger, baby finger, pinky

Source: http://www.yourdictionary.com/finger

Do you use other names for fingers?

A not entirely uninteresting post

By Simon

The title of this post is perhaps an example of litotes [laɪˈtəʊ.tiːz], a figure of speech that uses understatement, particularly double negatives, to make a positive statement [source]. Other examples include:

– I didn’t do too badly in the test
– It’s a bit chilly
– He’s not a bad guitarist

Litotes comes from the Ancient Greek λιτότης ‎(litótēs), from λιτός ‎(litós – simple) via the French litote (litotes, understatement) [source].

The antonym of litotes is hyperbole (overstatement), which comes, via Latin, from the Ancient Greek ὑπερβολή ‎(huperbolḗ – excess, exaggeration), from ὑπέρ ‎(hupér, -above) and βάλλω ‎(bállō – I throw) [source].

I make some use litotes (that’s an example), as do many British people. Is this common in other countries?

This post was inspired by an episode of The Allusionist, a podcast in which Helen Zaltzman discusses language, words and related topics.

Stalls, stinkards and parterres

By Simon

In theatres in the UK the seats at ground level in front of the stage are usually known as stalls or orchestra stalls. If there are balconies above that level, the first balcony might be known as the dress circle, grand circle or balcony, the second as the upper circle, grand circle, first circle or circle, the third as the upper circle or gallery, and the fourth as the gallery. There may also be private boxes along the sides of the theatre. The exact terms vary from theatre to theatre.

In French the stalls are known as l’orchestre, les fauteuils d’orchestre or le parterre, the first level balcony might be le balcon, the second level balcony might be la galerie, and the third level might be le paradis (paradise) – ‘the gods’ is sometimes used for the highest level of balconies in English. Boxes are les loges.

A parterre in English is a “a formal garden constructed on a level surface, consisting of planting beds, typically in symmetrical patterns, separated and connected by gravel pathways.” [source]. Parterre can also refer to the ground level part of a theatre (stalls) and the audiences who congregate there. The word pit is also used [source]. The denizens of the pit or yard in Shakespeare’s Globe theatre were known as a groundlings, stinkards or penny-stinkers [source].

The French word parterre has also been borrowed into Russian as партер and is used to refer to the stalls in a theatre.

What terms are used in theatres you go to?

Dystopias and Utopias

By Simon

Why is it that so many films and novels set in the future are dystopian?

I thought about this after watching The Hunger Games last night, and tried to think of any stories of utopian futures. The only films I could think featuring non-dystopian futures of were Back to the Future II and Bicentennial Man. Can you think of any others?

The word dystopia combines the Ancient Greek δυσ (dus – bad), and τόπος ‎(tópos – place, region) with the Latin/Ancient Greek suffix ia/ία ‎(-ía). It was derived from the word utopia, which was coined by Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia. The u part of utopia comes from the Greek ou (οὐ – not) and by the 17th century was used to refer to a place or society that was considered perfect or ideal. The prefix ou possibly got confused with εὖ ‎(eû, – well, good). Dystopia was first used by J. S. Mill in a parliamentary speech in 1868 [source].

Matignon and other metonyms

By Simon

Last night I discovered that the French equivalent of “Number 10”, which in the UK refers to the British Prime Minister, is Matignon or L’Hôtel de Matignon, the official residence of the French Prime Minister.

Number 10 is shorthand for Number 10 Downing Street, is the official residence and office of the British Prime Minister, and the headquarters of the executive branch of the British Government. The British Government is also referred to as “Westminster”, from the Palace of Westminster where the British Parliament meets.

The Scottish Parliament is informally referred as “Holyrood” – named after the area of Edinburgh where it meets, while in Northern Irish Assembly is referred as “Stormont”, after the Stormont Estate where the main government buildings are. Stormont comes from the Stoirmhonadh, (place for crossing the mountains) and is named after a district in Perthshire in Scotland. The National Assembly of Wales / Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru is referred to as the Assembly in English, and y Cynulliad or y Senedd (the Senate) in Welsh. I don’t know of any particular metonyms for it.

Using the name of a place or building to refer to an institution or other organisation is known as metonymy, from the Greek μετωνυμία (metōnymía) – a change of name. Other examples include using Hollywood to refer to the US film industry, and Silicon Valley to refer to the US high-tech sector.

Are metonyms used to refer to governments, prime ministers, or other government institutions in other countries?

Flan cupboards

By Simon

A Welsh plygain song I’ve been learning recently with some friends (Carol y Swper) features the word fflangell in the line “Ein Meichiau a’n Meddyg dan fflangell Iddweig”.

We weren’t sure what it meant at first, and guessed that it was some kind of container for a flan or a flan cupboard. A fflan is a flan, and cell means cell or bower, and in compound words can mean a container or building. For example oergell (cold cell) is a fridge, rhewgell (frost/ice cell) is a freezer, and llyfrgell (book cell) is a library.

So we thought the line meant something like “Our arms and doctor under the Jewish flan cupboard.” Hilarity ensued. It actually means “Our Surety and Healer under the Jewish scourge.”

You can hear the whole song at:

We will be singing in a plygain service in Bangor cathedral starting at 7pm on Friday 15th January as Parti Min Menai.

Do you have any examples of mistranslated or misheard song lyrics?