Month: January 2019

A Review of Mondly

By Simon

Mondly screenshot

Recently I was approached by the people behind Mondly, a newish language-learning app, who wanted to advertise on Omniglot.

Before agreeing to advertise such apps, I usually try them out for myself to see if I can recommend them. So I’m currently learning Czech on Mondly. It’s a language I’ve studied on and off for years, so I have a basic knowledge of it. Mondly lets you start at beginning, or at an intermediate or advanced level – I chose the intermediate level.

The app presents you with a daily lesson, and you can choose to study other lessons as well. These have various themes such as family, travel, food & drink, and so on. There is also a chatbot, with which you can have conversations using the words and phrases you’ve learnt, and at the end of each week there’s a quiz.

It looks good, the interface works well for me, the lessons teach you a manageable number of words and phrases, and show you how to put them into sentences, and the audio is clear.

33 different languages are available on Mondly, including major European languages, and Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Vietnamese, Hindi, Indonesian and Thai.

There are often special offers: more details.

Disclaimer – although I will receive a commission if you subscribe to Mondly after clicking on the links in this post, I do think this app is worth a try.

Danish rooms

By Simon

My lodgings in Aarhus

Recently I learnt that there are two different words for room in Danish: rum [ʁɔmˀ], which is a general room, and værelse [ˈʋæʁɑlsə], which is a room for spending time in, at least according to Memrise. Is this correct?

Værelse comes from være (to be) and -else (a suffix that turns verbs into nouns) [source].

Subspecies of værelse include:

  • soveværelse = bedroom
  • badeværelse = bathroom
  • arbejdsværelse = study
  • børneværelse = nursery
  • hotelværelse = hotel room
  • klasseværelse = classroom
  • loftsværelse = loft
  • gæsteværelse = guest room

[source]

A related word is tilværelse (life, existence).

Rum means room, comparment or space, and comes from the Old Norse rúmr, from the Proto-Germanic *rūmaz (roomy, spacious, open), the same root as the English word room [source].

Subspecies of rum include:

  • omklædningsrum = changing room, locker room
  • møderum = meeting room
  • siderum = (small) chamber, side room
  • tørrerum = drying room
  • haverum = garden room
  • gårdrum = courtyard

[source].

Other Danish words for rooms include lokale (room), stue (living room), sal (hall) and køkken (kitchen).

Knufflige Knuffelbeests

By Simon

Giant Giraffe

If someone called you a knuff, would you see it as a compliment or an insult?

Knuff is an obsolete English word that means a lout or clown, so it would be an insult. It comes from the Old English cnof (a churl). The k is silent, but I think in Old English the c was pronounced [source].

Possibly related Swedish words include knuff (nudge, push, boost, dig, shove) [source] and knuffa (to push, nudge, shove) [source].

Possibly related German words include knuffen (to nudge; to jab; to pinch (usually playfully or even tenderly)) [source] and knuffig (cuddly) [source]

Possibly related Dutch words include knuffelen (to cuddle, hug), from the Low German knuffen (to poke; bump; nudge) [source], knuffig (cuddly) [source], knuffel (hug, cuddle, stuffed toy) [source] and knuffelbeest (stuffed toy) [source].

The word knuff came up in one of my Swedish lessons this week, and as I like the sound of it, I thought I’d write about it. There’s something about that combination of k and n and the beginning of a word that makes it sound cute and cuddly to me.

Which sounds and combinations of sounds (in any language) most appeal to you?

Bamboozling Baboons!

By Simon

This week I learnt a couple of interesting French words – embabouiner [ɑ̃.ba.bwi.ne] (to flatter, butter up) and embobiner [ɑ̃.bɔ.bi.ne] (to bamboozle).

Embabouiner combines the prefix em- and suffix -er with babouin (baboon), so you are making a baboon of someone when you flatter them [source].

Babouin comes from the Middle French babouyne, baboin, from Old French babouin, from baboue (grimace, muzzle), which is related to German dialectal word Bäppe (lips, muzzle) [source].

Baboons.

Embobiner means to get round (someone), to pull to wool over someone’s eyes, to bamboozle or to outfox. It can also mean to wind up, reel up/in or wrap up. It combines the same prefix and suffix as embabouiner with bobine (bobbin, reel, spool, drum), so you are winding someone on a bobbin when you bamboozle them [source].

Bobine probably comes from the Latin word balbus, (stammering, stuttering, lisping, fumbling) and is immitative of the noise of a bobbin [source].

The English word bamboozle comes from the 17th century slang word bam (to trick, to con), from the noun bam (fraudster, cheat), possibly from the French embobiner [source].

Thrapple & Wabbit

By Simon

Thrapple & Wabbit, Solicitors, Establised 1729
If someone said to you, “A’m gey wabbit, an a’v a sair thrapple comin on”, would you have any idea what they were talking about?

This is an example of Scots from L Colin Wilson’s Luath Scots Language Learner. It means, “I’m very tired, and I’ve a sore throat coming on”.

Wabbit, is a childish pronunciation of rabbit in English, and means exhausted, tired out, played out, feeble or without energy in Scots. It is also written wubbit, wibbit or wappit [source]., and it’s not certain where it comes from [source].

Here are some examples of how it’s used:

  • She sat doon, clean wabbit oot, pechin’. = She sat down, completely tired out, panting.
  • You’re lookin’ fair wubbit. What ails ye the day? = You’re looking quite tired. What is wrong with you today?

Thrapple [ˈθrɑpəl], means the windpipe, gullet or throat; to grip by the throat, throttle, strangle; to suppress (laughter) in the throat; to entangle with cords; to gobble up, to devour. It is also written thropple or throapple [source].

It is not certain where it comes from, but may be realted to the English dialect word thropple (larynx, windpipe), which comes from the Old English þrotbolla (windpipe) [source].

Here are some examples of how it’s used:

  • Yer thrapple shuts ticht wi’ the kink-hoast. = Your throat shuts tightly with the chincough (a breath drawn when coughing or laughing).
  • knot o’ the thrapple = Adam’s apple
  • thrapple-deep = up to one’s throat
  • thrapple-girth = a cravat or necktie

Thrapple & Wabbit would be a good name for a firm of solicitors / lawyers perhaps, or a comedy double act.

When is a buffalo not a buffalo?

By Simon

One of the things that came up at the French Conversation Group last night was the difference between buffalo and bison, and the words for them in French.

American bison / le bison d’Amérique du Nord

Where the Buffalo Roam

The creature found North America commonly known as a buffalo is actually a bison or American bison, and the its scientific name is Bison bison. There are two subspieces: the plains bison (Bison bison bison) – so good they named it thrice – and the wood bison (Bison bison athabascae).

In French it’s known as le bison or le bison d’Amérique du Nord. The plains bison is known as le bison des plaines, and the wood bison as le bison des bois [source].

European bison / le bison d’Europe

Żubry/European bisons #4

There is also a European bison (Buson bonasus), which was hunted to extinction by the early 20th century, but was kept alive in captivity, and has since been reintroduced into the wild [source].

In French it is known as le bison d’Europe [source].

Africa buffalo / le buffle d’afrique

Cape Buffalo

There are several species of buffalo in African, including the African buffalo or Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in southern and eastern Africa, the African forest buffalo (Syncerus caffer nanus) in central and west Africa, the Sudanese buffalo (Syncerus caffer brachyceros) in west Africa, and the Nile buffalo (Syncerus caffer aequinoctialis) in east Africa [source].

In French the African/Cape buffalo is known as le buffle d’afrique, le buffle noir des savanes or le grand buffle noir des savanes [source].

Water buffalo / le buffle domestique

Asian Water Buffalo.01

The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) originating in South Asia, Southeast Asia and China, and is now found in other places [source].

In French it’s known as le buffle domestique or le buffle d’Asie [source].