Pelf

By Simon

Pelf noun, money or wealth, especially if dishonestly acquired; lucre. Also a slang term for money.

Etymology: from the Old French pelfre (booty); related to the Latin pilāre (to despoil).

[Source]

I came across this word today in The Times in an article about a British supermarket starting a pawn broking service, or more specifically a gold exchange service. I hadn’t encountered it before and thought at first that it was a typo. The context is:

Most of the other alchemists promising to turn gold into cupro-nickel are doing so at a rate so miserly that even a richly embossed heirloom would barely provide a widow’s pelf.
From: The Times, 3rd January 2011

On the grow

By Simon

A somewhat unusual turn of phrase I heard today on BBC Radio 4 was “on the grow“. The programme was called Where England Meets Wales, and they were taking about the increase in the number of speakers of Welsh in north east Wales. The context was:

I’m not entirely sure why, if compared to Scots Gaelic or Cornish, it’s thrived, but I think it’s something that really symbolises the Welsh nation, and as a nation we’re incredibly passionate about having the language and keeping alive. What’s really encouraging is that there’s a high number of Welsh learners in every county, so it is on the grow, and it’s growing very quickly.

Have you heard this construction before?

Segues and sequels

By Simon

Segue [ˈseɪgweɪ; ˈsɛgweɪ]

– verb

  1. to continue at once with the next musical section or composition (often used as a musical direction).
  2. to perform in the manner of the preceding section (used as a musical direction).
  3. to make a transition from one thing to another smoothly and without interruption: The conversation segued from travel anecdotes to food.

– noun

  1. an uninterrupted transition made between one musical section or composition and another.
  2. any smooth, uninterrupted transition from one thing to another.

Etymology: from 1740 it was used as a musical instruction to play into the following movement without a break, literally “now follows”. It is a third person singular of the Italian verb seguire (to follow), and comes from the Latin sequī (to follow), from the Proto-Indo-European *sekw- (to follow)

*sekw- is also the root of the English word sequel, via the Old French sequelle, from the Late Latin sequela (that which follows, result, consequence), from the Latin sequī (to follow).

[Source]

This word came up in a crossword I did yesterday and though I’d heard it before, I haven’t seen it written down and thought it was spelt something like segway.

Puzzle

By Simon

I don’t have a quiz for you today, but do have a question from a correspondent:

Can any of you provide a good English version of the following?

Recht haben und Recht bekommen sind zwei verschiedene Dinge.

This would be used in a context of somebody who loses or fears losing in a court of justice in spite of having a very strong legal case. Typically your lawyer could say this to you, when discussing the case.

Christmas

By Simon

Nadolig Llawen
Joyeux Noël
聖誕快樂
Nollaig shona doibh
¡Feliz Navidad!
Nollick Ghennal
Bo Nadal
Nollaig chridheil
メリークリスマス
Buon Natale
Frohe Weihnachten
Bon Nadal
Veselé vánoce
and Merry Christmas!

Irish language strategy / Straitéis don Ghaeilge

By Simon

According to an article I found today, the Irish government has a strategy, launched yesterday, to increase the number of regular speakers of Irish in Ireland by a factor of three over the next 20 years. Apparently there are currently about 83,000 who speak Irish on a daily basis, and the government would like this number to increase to 250,000 by 2030.

Their aims are:

  • – to increase the number of families throughout Ireland who use Irish as the daily language of communication
  • – to provide linguistic support for the Gaeltacht as an Irish-speaking community
  • – to ensure that in public discourse and in public services the use of Irish or English will be, as far as practical, a choice for the citizen to make
  • – to ensure that Irish becomes more visible in society, both as a spoken language by citizens and also in areas such as signage and literature.

Details of the strategy can be found at:
http://www.pobail.ie/en/IrishLanguage/Strategy/Strategy.pdf (English)
http://www.pobail.ie/ie/AnGhaeilge/Straiteis/Strait%C3%A9is.pdf (Irish)

I haven’t read it all in detail, but it looks like there are plenty of good ideas in there. Whether they can all be implemented and how well is another matter. Reversing a language shift that has been going for centuries is a difficult process.

Sniaghtey

By Simon

Sniaghtey er Straid William, raad ta mee cummal ayns Bangor

V’eh ceau sniaghtey dy trome oie Jerdein as Jeheiney shoh chaie, as ta yn sniaghtey foast ayn ayns shoh nish. Ta yn sniaghtey aalin, as t’eh feaee er yn oyr nagh vel mooney gleashtanyn er ny raaidyn, agh t’eh feayr agglagh, as ta yn shiaghtey riojit stooalt er ny pemmadyn as er ny cooyl-raaidyn, as t’eh shliawin agglagh fo chosh. Cha ren mee fakin wheesh da shiaghtey rieau ayns Bangor.

Golwg o Fae Hirael a'r Carneddau efo eira arnynt

Eira

Roedd hi’n bwrw eira yn drwm Nos Iau a Ddydd Gwener yr wythnos diwetha, ac mae’r eira yn dal i fod yma bellach. Mae’r eira yn hyfryd, ac mae hi’n dawel oherwydd nag oes llawer o draffig ar y strydoedd, ond mae’n oer ofnadwy, ac mae’r eira wedi ei rhewi yn galed ar y palmentydd ac ar y strydoedd cefn, ac mae’n lithrig iawn dan droed. Dw i erioed wedi gweld cymaint o eira ym Mangor.