Here’s a recording in a mystery language.
Do you know or can you guess the language, and do you know where it’s spoken?
Fences
There are various words in Dutch for fence, and apparently the new wooden fence in my garden (see below) is a schutting [ˈsxʏ.tɪŋ], which is definied as “a (usually wooden) solid, or nearly solid, barrier separating two pieces of land; fence” or in Dutch “gewoonlijk dichte afscheiding tussen twee tuinen, stukken land, windvang” [source].
Schutting comes from schutten (to stop, hold back, protect, cover), from the Proto-Germanic *skutjaną (to shoot, dash), from the Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewd- (to drive, fall upon, rush) [source]. The English word shoot comes from the same root [source].
Related words include beschutting (shelter, cover, board) and schuttingtaal (obscene / foul language).
Other Dutch words for fence include:
- afrastering = fence, lattice, barricade – any kind of fence of wooden, metal, wire or mesh
- heg = hedge, fence, hedgerow – hedge or wooden fence
- hek = fence, gate – wooden or metal fence with spaces between the upright parts
- hekwerk = fence, fencing, trellis – any type of fence
- heler = fence – middleman for transactions of stolen goods
- omheining = fence, enclosure, perimeter – any type of fence
The notes are based on Google image searches.
Incidentally, someone who remains neutral, does not have an opinion about something, or does not want to commit to something is known as a fence sitter, or someone who sits on the fence. One equivalent in Dutch is op het hek te zitten (“to sit on the fence/gate”). In Welsh a person who does this is known as Sioni bob ochr (“Johnny every side”), or eisteddwr pen clawdd (“hedge sitter”).
What about in other languages?
Worthless Slabs
Recently I discovered that the slate fences that are common in this part of Wales are known as crawiau in Welsh. I had thought they were something like ffensys llechi or ffensiau llechi, but according to one of the guys who is working on my garden at the moment, a native Welsh speaker, they’re called crawiau.
Such fences were made of pieces of slate from the local slate quarries that were no use for anything else, such as roof tiles. The Welsh word for this kind of slate is craw, which the Geiriadur Priysgol Cymru defines as “piece of slate which has been rejected, worthless slab”. So a slate fence made up of these worthless slabs, which are partially buried in the ground and wired together, is called a crawiau (the plural of craw).
The slate fence on one side of my garden have now been removed and is being replaced with a wooden one, which will stop my neighbour’s dog (Hector – see below) from getting in my garden all the time. My slate fences probably date back to when the houses on my street were built back in 1910 for local quarry workers.
On the other side of the garden there’s a privet hedge, a slate fence and a wooden fence. I’m having the hedge removed to make more room in the garden, and then a garden studio will be built. I’ll use that for practising and recording music and songs, and maybe making podcasts and videos as well.
Here’s a tune I wrote a few months ago called “Hector Got Through the Fence Again” played on the cavaquinho. It’s one of the videos I’ve posted on Tiktok – yes, I am now on Tiktok as @ieithgi (same as Instagram). Incidentally, iethigi is a “term for one who is interested in the study of language (rather than of literature), philologist” or literally “languages-dog” [source]. Hector apparently responds best to commands in German, so he’s a bit of a ieithgi as well.
Language Quiz
Here’s a recording in a mystery language.
Do you know or can you guess the language, and do you know where it’s spoken?
Steering Club
The other day I came across the Dutch word stuurknuppel [ˈstyːrˌknʏ.pəl] and had to find out where it comes from. I also rather like the sound of it.
Stuurknuppel means joystick, stick or controls, particularly in an aeroplane. It comes from sturen [ˈstyːrə(n)] (to steer, guide, send), and knuppel [ˈknʏpəl], which means a club, cudgel or other blunt instrument, and also a clown, lout or awkward individual [source].
Sturen comes from the Middle Dutch sturen (to steer, direct, lead), from the Old Dutch stiuren, from the Proto-Germanic *stiurijaną (to direct, steer). The English word steer comes from the same root, as do related words in other Germanic languages [source].
Some related words include:
- fietsstuur = handlebars
- stuurhuis = wheelhouse, pilothouse
- stuurhut = wheelhouse, cockpit, flight deck
- stuurstang = handlebar, steering rod
- stuurwiel = steering wheel
- gummiknuppel = truncheon, baton
- honkbalknuppel = baseball bat
Unreliable Wool
If your thinking is woolly, it is unclear, fuzzy, hazy, confused, vague, cloudy and/or confused and irrational, and you base it more on emotions rather than logic. You might be said to be woolly-headed or woolly-minded. For those of you who use American English, just ignore the second l in woolly [source].
If you like to do a bit of woolgathering, then you either gather tufts of wool caught on bushes, are absentminded, or like to indulge in idle fancies and daydreams [source].
In Dutch the word wollig [ˈʋɔ.ləx] means woolly, fluffy, fuzzy, and also vague, unclear or muddy (tone) [source].
In Welsh, one word for woolly is gwlanog [ˈɡwlanɔɡ], which also means fleecy, unshorn, downy, woollen, and a well-off or well-to-do person. There are more sheep than people in Wales and owning a lot of them was probably a sign of prosperity in the past.
A related Welsh word gwlanen [ˈɡwlanɛn], which means a flannel or face-cloth, and also a man of weak character, one who lacks backbone, and a spineless or unreliable person, gwlanennog means flannel-like, soft and also weak-willed, without backbone, unreliable or spineless [source].
So a well-off person who is spineless would be a gwlanog gwlanennog.
You can find more woolly words in Celtic languages in today’s Celtiadur post.
Incidentally, the English word flannel comes ultimately from *wlanā, a Gaulish word meaning wool, via Old French and Norman [source].
Are there any interesting wool-related expressions in other languages?
Language Quiz
Here’s a recording in a mystery language.
Do you know or can you guess the language, and do you know where it’s spoken?
Funny Grips
One of the Dutch words I learnt recently is grappig [ˈɣrɑ.pəx], which means funny or amusing. It comes from grap [ɣrɑp] (a joke or prank), and is related to grijpen [ˈɣrɛi̯pə(n)] (to grap, seize, intervene), which comes from the Middle Dutch gripen (to grab, attack, overwhelm, understand), from the Old Dutch grīpan (to seize, grasp), from the Proto-West Germanic *grīpan (to grab, to grasp), from the Proto-Germanic *grīpaną (to grab, grasp), from the Proto-Indo-European *gʰreyb- (to grab, grasp) [source].
The English words grip and gripe come from the same Proto-Germanic root, as do words such as the German greifen (to grab, grasp, grip, seize, snatch, reach), the Danish gribe (to catch, seize, grab, grasp, grip), the Swedish gripa (to catch hold of, seize, detain), and the French griffer (to scratch) and gripper (to grab, grasp) [source].
Some related words and expressions include:
- grapje = joke, kidding, joking
- grappigheid = humour, funniness, comicality, liveliness, succulence
- grappenmaker = joker, prankster, funny man, comic
- grappen maken = to joke, make jokes, make fun
Do you know any good Dutch jokes?
Do you find jokes in languages you’re learning / have learnt funny? If you do, that is a sign that you really understand a language well.
Language Quiz
Here’s a recording in a mystery language.
Do you know or can you guess the language, and do you know where it’s spoken?
The Pull of Pandas
An interesting Japanese expression I came across today is 客寄せパンダ (kyakuyose panda), which means a star attraction, draw card or crowd puller, or literally “visitor-gathering-panda” [source]. Originally it referred to pandas, which tend to be popular attractions in zoos and pull in many visitors, and came to refer to other crowd pulling attractions [source].
客寄せパンダ is made up of words of Chinese, Japanese and English origin and is an example of 混種語 (konshugo), or a hybrid word that combines elements from several languages.
- 客 (kyaku) was borrowed from Chinese and means guest, visitor or customer.
- 寄せ (yose) is a native Japanese word and means gathering, collection, coming together, or the last moves or endgame in chess, go or other games.
- パンダ (panda) comes from English.
The English word panda was borrowed from French, which possibly comes from nigálya-pónya, a name for the red panda used in Nepal and Sikkim, which may come from the Nepali निँगाले (nĩgāle – a species of bamboo), and the Tibetan name for the same animal: ཕོ་ཉ (pho nya, or literally “messenger”) – quite a hyrid word [source].
