Author: Simon

I am a linguist, web developer and musician. I live in Bangor in Wales and run Omniglot - the online encyclopedia of writing systems and languages, as well as making the Radio Omniglot Podcast.

Omniglot News (27/04/25)

By Simon

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Omniglot News

Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot.

New language pages:

  • Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl, an Aztec / Nahuan language spoken in the state of Veracruz in southern Mexico.
  • Ngwii (Engwíí), a Bantu language spoken in Kwilu Province in the Democratic Repubic of the Congo.
  • Njebi (Yinzèbi), a Bantu language spoken in southern Gabon and the southwest of the Repubic of the Congo.
  • Seki (Sekiyani), a Bantu language spoken in northwestern Equatorial Guinea and western Gabon.

New numbers pages:

  • Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl, an Aztec / Nahuan language spoken in the state of Veracruz in southern Mexico.
  • Njebi (Yinzèbi), a Bantu language spoken in southern Gabon and the southwest of the Repubic of the Congo.
  • Northern Paiute (Numu), an Uto-Aztecan language spoken in Nevada, California, Oregon and Idaho in the USA.

New adapted script: Nuevoladino (נוֵבָלַדִנָו / נויבולאדינו), a way to write Spanish with the Hebrew abjad developed by Murray Callahan.

Sample text

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Calm Heat in which we uncover the hot roots of the word calm, there’s another post about the word Piecemeal, and there’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in the northeast of India.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Huasteco (Teenek kaaw), a Mayan language spoken mainly in the states of San Luis Potosi, Veracruz and Tamaulipas in eastern Mexico.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, entitled Floors, we unearth the possible Celtic roots of words for field and related things in Galician and other languages.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog, there’s a new post entitled Monastic Monks about words for monk, nun, monastery and related things in Celtic languages.

For more Omniglot News, see:
https://www.omniglot.com/news/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/
https://www.facebook.com/Omniglot-100430558332117

JapanesePod101.com

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, PlayerFM or podtail.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.




Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

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Celtic Pathways – Floors

By Simon

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In this episode we unearth the possible Celtic roots of words for field and related things in Galician and other languages.

Attic with added cusions

The Proto-Celtic word *ɸlārom means floor and comes from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂ros (to be flat, from *pleh₂- (flat) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • lár [l̪ˠɑːɾˠ] = ground, floor, middle, centre in Irish
  • làr [l̪ˠaːɾ] = floor, ground, storey, middle, centre in Scottish Gaelic
  • laare = flat, level, set, sill, centre, bottom, deck, floor, storey in Manx
  • llawr [ɬau̯r] = floor, deck, stage, platform, cellar, ground in Welsh
  • leur = floor, ground, storey in Cornish
  • leur [løːr] = floor, ground, area in Breton

For more details of related words in the Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post Floor / Ground.

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root possibly include leira (field, a strip of cultivable land) in Galician, leira (furrow, a strip of cultivated land) in Portuguese, llera (a pebbly or stony area) in Spanish [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include flat, floor, palm, piano, plan and plane in English, piazza [ˈpjat.tsa] (square, plaza, market, space) in Italian, Flur [fluːr] (hall, corridor, stairwell) in German, and vloer [vluːr] (floor, ground, surface) in Dutch [source].

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.




Omniglot News (20/04/25)

By Simon

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Omniglot News

Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot.

New language pages:

  • Tai Yo (ไทญ้อ), a Southwestern Tai language spoken in Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
  • Vili (Civili), a Bantu language spoken mainly in the Republic of the Congo, and also in Gabon and Angola.

New adapted script: Vietnamese Arabic Script (چىٰٖ جاوي تيٛەٖڭ ۏیٔەٖط), a way to write Vietnamese with the Arabic script created by Nima Farid.

توٕٛط کەٖࣤ مأي ڠوٚوٖي شيڽ ژەٖ دېٚو دىٖٚوٖق تىٖٔ ذا ۏەٖٚ بيٚڽ دۀٕڭ ۏېٚ ڽان فؤٕم ۏەٖٚ كوٚيەٖن لؤٖي. مأي كان ڠىٖٚوٖي دېٚو دىٖٔوٖق تۀٖو ھوٛەٖ بەٖن چا لیٛ څیٛ ۏەٖٚ لىٖوٖڭ توٕم ۏەٖٚ كوٕٚن فەٖࣤي دۅٛي سىٖࣤ ۏوٖٛي ڽەٕو څوٕوڭ تيٚڽ ءەٖڽ ءەِم.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Jolly Jaunts about the words jaunt and jaunty (which are not related), and there’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in eastern Mexico.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Norman (Normaund), a Gallo-Romance language spoken in Normandy in northern France.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, entitled Theoretical Theatre, we find out what links the words theory and theatre.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog, there’s a new post about words for Masters and related things, and there’s a new Celtic cognates page about words for Vehicles in Celtic languages.

In other news, I went to London this week to see The Warning, a fantastic rock band from Monterrey, Mexico. They put on an incredible show – the best I’ve seen – and looked like they enjoyed it as much as the 5,000 of us in the audience did. They sang mainly in English, with a few songs in Spanish, and on my way to and from the concert, I heard a variety of languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, German, Welsh and Swedish, and even some English.

Here’s a little video I made:

The Warning at the O2 Academy Brixton

For more Omniglot News, see:
https://www.omniglot.com/news/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/
https://www.facebook.com/Omniglot-100430558332117

JapanesePod101.com

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, PlayerFM or podtail.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.




Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

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Adventures in Etymology – Theoretical Theatre

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology, we find out what links the words theory and theatre.

The Warning at the O2 Academy Brixton

Theory [ˈθɪə.ɹi / ˈθɪ.ɹi] has a variety of meanings, including:

  • A description of an event or system that is considered to be accurate.
  • (sciences) A coherent statement or set of ideas that explains observed facts or phenomena and correctly predicts new facts or phenomena not previously observed, or which sets out the laws and principles of something known or observed; a hypothesis confirmed by observation, experiment etc.
  • The underlying principles or methods of a given technical skill, art etc., as opposed to its practice.
  • (informal) A hypothesis, conjecture, unsubstantiated statement or idea.

It comes from Middle French théorie (theory), from Late Latin theōria (speculation, theory), from Ancient Greek θεωρία (theōría – contemplation, divine perspective, speculation, a looking at, a seeking) from θεωρέω (theōréō – I look at, view, see, consider, examine), from θεωρός (theōrós – spectator), from θέα (théa – view, perspective, sight) and ὁράω (horáō – I see, look) [source].

Words from the same roots include theorem and theatre / theater in English, θεωρία (theoría – theory, contemplation), θεατής (theatís – spectator, viewer, onlooker) and θεατρίνος (theatrikós – actor, theatrical) in Greek, théâtre (theatre) in French, and teatro (theatre, drama, cinema) in Spanish [source].

Incidentally, in Middle English theatre was written both theatre and theater. It comes from Old French t(h)eatre (theatre), from Latin theātrum (theatre, playhouse, stage), from Ancient Greek θέατρον (théatron – theatre, gathering place, play, spectacle), from θεάομαι (theáomai – to view, watch, observe), from θέα (théa – view, perspective, sight) [source].

Theater is usually written with -er at the end in the USA, and sometimes in Canada, while in other English-speaking countries, it’s usually written with an -re spelling. However, theatrical people in the USA apparently use the -re spelling when referring to the art-form, and reserve the -er spelling to refer to the building in which theatre is performed. It that right?

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Podchaser, Podbay or Podtail and other pod places.

The theme tune for this episode is The Unexpected Badger / Y Mochyn Daear Annisgwyl, a piece I composed and recorded in 2017.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com

I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the Celtiadur blog.




Omniglot News (13/04/25)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Omniglot News

Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot.

New language pages:

  • Yaka (Yiyáká), a Bantu language spoken mainly in Kwango Province in the southwest of the DRC.
  • Yansi (kiBeembe), a Bantu language spoken in the south of the Republic of the Congo.
  • Shatt (Caning), an Eastern Sudanic language spoken in South Kordofan Province in the south of Sudan.

New numbers pages:

  • Shatt (Caning), an Eastern Sudanic language spoken in South Kordofan Province of Sudan.
  • Occitan (occitan, lenga d’òc), a Gallo-Romance language spoken in southern France, Monaco, northwest Italy and northern Spain.
  • Limosin (lemosin), a variety of Occitan spoken in Limousin, Charente and Dordogne in the southwest of France.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Lord of the Marches in which we investigate the word marquis, and there’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in northern France.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Monguor (Dēd Mongol), a Mongolic language spoken in Qinghai and Gansu Provinces in the of northeast of China.

In this week’s Celtic Pathwys podcast, Crooked Rims, we discover the crooked Celtic roots of words for rim and wheel rim in French, Spanish and other languages.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog, there’s a new post about words for Stewards & Mayors and related things.

For more Omniglot News, see:
https://www.omniglot.com/news/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/
https://www.facebook.com/Omniglot-100430558332117

JapanesePod101.com

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, PlayerFM or podtail.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

Unlimited Web Hosting - Kualo

Celtic Pathways – Crooked Rims

By Simon

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In this episode we unravel the Celtic roots of words for wheel, rim and related things in French, Spanish and other languages.

circus wagon wheel

The Proto-Celtic word *kambitā means rim and comes from Proto-Celtic *kambos (twisted, crooked, bent), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱh₂embos (crooked), possibly from *(s)ḱamb- (bent, crooked) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • camedd [ˈkameð] = crookedness, curvature, loop, bend, joint, hook in Welsh
  • kammek = (wheel) rim in Cornish
  • kammed [ˈkã.mːɛt] = rim, rounded in Breton

For more details of related words in the Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post Crooked.

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root, via Transalpine Gaulish cambita (curve) and Latin *cambita, include jante (rim, wheel rim) in French, jante (rim, wheel rim) in Portuguese, llanta (tyre rim, wheel rim, tyre, fat) in Spanish, jant (rim, wheel rim) in Turkish [source].

Words from the same PIE roots possibly include schimpen (to abuse, swear at, mock) in Dutch, schimpfen (to tell off, scold, yell at) in German, skimp (to jeer, jibe, scoff, taunt) in Afrikaans, and skimp (to poke fun (at), banter, mock, speak sarcastically (about)) in Scots [source].

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com

Omniglot News (06/04/25)

By Simon

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Omniglot News

Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot.

New language pages:

  • Bembe (kiBeembe), a Bantu language spoken in the south of the Republic of the Congo.
  • Kwambi (Oshikwambi), a Southwest Bantu language spoken mainly in northern Namibia.
  • Luyana (Esiluyana), a Bantu language spoken in mainly the Western Province of Zambia.
  • Yeyi (Shiyeyi), a Bantu language spoken mainly in the northwest of Botswana, and also in the northeast of Namibia.

New numbers pages:

  • Alyawarr, a Pama-Nyungan language spoken mainly in the Northern Territory of Australia.
  • Kala Lagaw Ya, a Pama-Nyungan language spoken on the Torres Strait Islands between Australia and Papua New Guinea.
  • Jah Hut, an Aslian language spoken mainly in Pahang state in the south of peninsula Malaysia.

On the Omniglot blog we find out what the Italian word matita (pencil) has to do with blood and stones in a new post entitled Bloody Pencils, and there’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in the northeast of China.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Nambikwara (Kitãulhu), a Nambikwaran language spoken in Mato Grosso in western Brazil.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, we’re risking ridicule and getting rather ridiculously Ridiculous

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog, there’s a new post about words for Malt and related things, and I made improvements to the posts about Swords and Spikes and Nails, Claws and Talons.

In other news, I added the 8,000th page to Omniglot this week.

For more Omniglot News, see:
https://www.omniglot.com/news/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/
https://www.facebook.com/Omniglot-100430558332117

JapanesePod101.com

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, PlayerFM or podtail.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

Unlimited Web Hosting - Kualo

Adventures in Etymology – Ridiculous

By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology, we’re risking ridicule and getting rather ridiculously ridiculous.

Ridiculous

Ridiculous [ɹɪˈdɪkjələs/ɹɪˈdɪkjʊləs] means deserving or ridicule, foolish, absurd, astonishing, extreme or unbelievable.

It comes from Latin rīdiculus [riːˈd̪ɪkʊɫ̪ʊs̠] (laughable, funny, amusing, silly, absurd, ridiculous), from rīdeō (to laugh (at), ridicule, mock), the origins of which are not known [source].

Words from the same roots include ridicule (mocking words or behaviour; to make fun of), risible (ludicrous, ridiculous, provoking laughter) and derisory (laughably small or inadequate) in English, ridere (to laugh) in Italian, sourire (to smile) in French, and ridikül (ridiculous) in German [source].

The rare English word ridibund (inclined to and easily brought to laughter, happy), and the anatomical term risorius (the facial muscle used when smiling) also come from the same roots [source]

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Podchaser, Podbay or Podtail and other pod places.

The theme tune for this episode is The Unexpected Badger / Y Mochyn Daear Annisgwyl, a piece I composed and recorded in 2017.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com

I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the Celtiadur blog.

Unlimited Web Hosting - Kualo

Omniglot News (30/03/25)

By Simon

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Omniglot News

Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot.

New writing system: Hurûf-ı munfasıla, a script based on the Ottoman Turkish alphabet with the letters written separately and all the vowels written devised by Enver Pasha in 1914.

Sample text in the Hurûf-ı munfasıla

New adapted script: Hengul (헨규얘 아얘푸벹), an alternative way to write English with the Korean Hangeul alphabet devised by Evan Wenning.

곧ㅉ 얘우ㄸ 푤 혀유마니터 이ㅉ 쇼 이멘ㅅ, 빹 허 개ㄸ 히ㅉ 요냬어 순 ㅌ유 탴 앆ㄹ ㅸ이앳 쇼 빹 꺼 칸 버 ㅍ러 우ㄸ 앆ㄹ 신 안ㄷ 버 컈언 ㅍ룸 오얘 운랴예엣닛.

New language pages:

  • Ivbiosakon (émáì), an Edoid language spoken in the north Edo State in southern Nigeria.
  • Ososo (Ósósọ̀), an Edoid language spoken in Edo and Kogi states in southern Nigeria.
  • Moro, a Talodi language spoken in Southern Kordofan state in southern Sudan.

New numbers pages:

  • Narragansett (Nãikanset), an Eastern Algonquian language that was spoken in Rhode Island in the USA until the 19th century, and that is being revived.
  • Konkomba (Likpakpaln), a Gur language spoken in northern Ghana and northern Togo.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Squally Showers about the Spanish word chubasco (shower, downpour) and there’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in western Brazil.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Budukh (Будад мез), a Lezgian language spoken mainly in northeastern Azerbaijan.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, Windy Braying, we uncover the flatulent Celtic roots of words for to bray and related things in English, French and other languages.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog, there are new posts entitled Night and Breaking the Wind.

New article: How to Transition from Modern Standard Arabic to Real-Life Lebanese Arabic

Improved pages: Herero and Bashkir language pages.

New song: What Are You Waiting For?, which I started writing back in November 2024, and finally finished this week.

For more Omniglot News, see:
https://www.omniglot.com/news/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/
https://www.facebook.com/Omniglot-100430558332117

JapanesePod101.com

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, PlayerFM or podtail.

If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

Unlimited Web Hosting - Kualo

Celtic Pathways – Windy Braying

By Simon

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In this episode we discover the flatulent Celtic roots of words for to bray and related things in English, French and other languages.

Cacahuète braying

The Proto-Celtic word *bragyeti means to fart or flatulate and comes from Proto-Celtic *braxsman (fart), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreHg- (to stink, smell, have a strong odour) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • broim [bˠɾˠiːmʲ] = fart in Irish
  • braim [brãũm] = fart, breaking of wind in Scottish Gaelic
  • breim = fart in Manx
  • bram [bram] = fart, gentle puff in Welsh
  • bramm = fart in Cornish
  • bramm [brãmː ] = fart in Breton

For more about words for fart and related things in Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post: Breaking the Wind.

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root, Gaulish *bragiū (fart) and Latin bragiō (to bray, cry, weep), include (to) bray in English, braire (to bray, shout, cry, weep) and brailler (to shout, yell, speak very loudly) in French, and sbraitare (to shout, scream, yell, rant) in Italian [source].

Words from the same PIE root possibly include braña (mire, bog, fen, march, moorland) in Galician, flair, fragrant in English, flairer (to smell, sniff, scent, sense) in French, fragare (to smell) in Italian, and cheirar (to smell) in Portuguese [source].

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com