Omniglot News (09/10/22)

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Äiwoo, an Oceanic language spoken mainly in the Reef Islands in Temotu Province of the Solomon Islands.
  • Iaai, a Southern Oceanic language spoken in New Caledonia.
  • Dumi (दुमी‎), a Kiranti language spoken in eastern Nepal.

There’s a new constructed script called Altus, which was devised by Paul Mbongo as an alternative way to write Lingala, a Bantu language spoken mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the Republic of Congo.

Sample text in Lingala in the Altus alphabet

There are new numbers pages in:

  • Wapishana (Wapixana), a Northern Arawakan language spoken in Guyana and Brazil.
  • Yaghnobi (yaɣnobī́ zivók / яғнобӣ зивок), an Eastern Iranian language spoken in the Yaghnob valley in northwestern Tajikistan.
  • Dumi (दुमी‎), a Kiranti language spoken in eastern Nepal.

There’s a new page with family words in Urdu.

There’s a new Tower of Babel translation in Iaai.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a post called Different Worlds, which is about the Japanese stories known as isekai (different world), and the linguistic situations in such worlds, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in the USA.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was
Nheengatu (ñe’engatú), a Tupí-Guarani language spoken in Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela.

There’s a new Celtiadur post about words for flour and related things in Celtic languages.

On the Celtic Pathways podcast we are digging up the origins of the word Iron.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we’re looking into, examining, scrutinizing and underseeking the origins of the word investigate.

In other news. this week my current streak on Duolingo passed 1,900 days, and yesterday I got to 1,904 days. So with my previous 96-day streak, I have now been studying languages every day for the past 2,000 days, or about five and a half years. In that time I’ve completed courses in Swedish, Russian, Danish, Romanian, Czech, Esperanto and Dutch. I also finished all the Spanish lessons, but then they added a whole bunch of new ones, which I’m working on those at the moment. I’m also refreshing my Japanese and Scottish Gaelic.

Do I speak all these languages now? Well, yes and no. I speak some of them fairly well, and can at least have basic conversations in the others. Some I understand and can read better than I speak or write them. The one I know the least of is Romanian, which I hadn’t studied before and tried to learn just using Duolingo. I found it difficult trying to work out the grammar, and there were no explanations.

Recently I’ve been enjoying using Super Duolingo (formerly Duolingo Plus). Normally you have to pay a monthly subscription for it, but I can use it for free, thanks to people who have signed up via one of the links on Omniglot. For each person that signs up, I get a free week. Would it be worth paying for this? Maybe, if you can afford it. You don’t have to worry about making mistakes as you don’t run out of hearts, except in the crown levels, you can practise your mistakes and take tests.

Have you tried Super Duolingo? If so, what do you think of it?

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

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.

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Adventures in Etymology – Investigate

Sherlock

Today we are looking into, examining, scrutinizing and underseeking the origins of the word investigate.

Investigate [ɪnˈves.tɪ.ɡeɪt/ɪnˈves.tə.ɡeɪt] means:

  • to inquire into or study in order to ascertain facts or information.
  • to examine, look into, or scrutinize in order to discover something hidden or secret.
  • to conduct an inquiry or examination.

It comes from investigation, from the Latin investīgātiō (a searching into), from investīgātus (investigated), from investīgō (I track, trace out, search after, discover), from in- (in, within, inside) and vestīgō (I follow a track, search, investigate), possibly from the PIE root *steygʰ- (to walk) [source].

Related words in English include vestige (a mark left on the earth by a foot; a faint mark or visible sign left by something which is lost, or has perished, or is no longer present), vestigial, and the old word pervestigate (to investigate thoroughly) [source].

A synonym for investigate is underseek (to examine, explore, investigate, spend too little time or effort in seeking). It comes from the Middle English underseken, from the Old English undersēcan [ˌun.derˈseː.t͡ʃɑn] (to investigate, examine), from under (beneath), and sēċan (to look for, seek, visit, attack) [source].

Related words in other languages include onderzoeken (to investigate, research) in Dutch, untersuchen (to examine, investigate) in German, and undersøge (to examine, test, investigate) in Danish [source].

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly [afflilate link].

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.

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.

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Celtic Pathways – Iron

In this episode we are digging up the origins of the word iron.

iron fence

The Proto-Celtic word for iron is *īsarnom. It comes from the Proto-Indo-European *h₁ēsh₂r̥no- (bloody, red), from *h₁ésh₂r̥ (blood) [source].

Descendants in the Celtic languages include:

  • iarann [ˈiəɾˠən̪ˠ] = iron in Irish
  • iarann [iər̪ˠən̪ˠ] = iron, (metal) blade, day’s worth cutting peat (for two) in Scottish Gaelic
  • yiarn = iron; tool, scythe, blade; dough (money); tip (gratuity) in Manx
  • haearn = iron, iron bar, hardness, strength, resoluteness, hard, strong, unyielding in Welsh
  • horn = iron in Cornish
  • houarn [ˈhuː.arn] = iron, flat iron; horseshoe in Breton

Words for iron in Germanic languages come from the same Proto-Celtic root, via the Proto-Germanic *īsarną (iron). They include iron in English, ijzer in Dutch, Eisen in German, järn in Swedish, and jern in Danish [source].

Words from the same PIE roots, include արյուն (aryun – blood, slaughter) in Armenian, asinis (blood, temperament, origin) in Latvian [source], words for blood in Romance languages [source], and words for sister in most European languages [source].

More details about these words on Celtiadur, a blog where I explore connections between Celtic languages in more depth. I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog.

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.

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Omniglot News (02/10/22)

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Hiw, a Southern Oceanic language spoken on the island of Hiw, one of the Torres Islands in Torba province of Vanuatu.
  • Rapa (Reo Rapa), an Eastern Polynesian language spoken on Rapa Iti, one of the Austral Islands in French Polynesia, and on Mangaia in the Cook Islands.

There’s a new constructed script called Nawa, which was created by Arturo Jiménez Zavala as an alternative way to write Spanish and Nahuatl.

Nawa alphabet

There are new numbers pages in:

  • Besermyan (бесерман), a dialect of Udmurt spoken in Udmurtia and the Kirov and Perm regions of the Russian Federation.
  • Rapa (Reo Rapa), an Eastern Polynesian language spoken on Rapa Iti in French Polynesia and Mangaia in the Cook Islands.
  • Fula (Fulfulde / 𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤬𞤵𞤤𞤣𞤫), a Senegambian language spoken in many parts of in West, Central and North Africa.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a post called Sake, which is about Japanese words for salmon (鮭 [sáꜜkè]) and alcohol / rice wine (酒 [sàké]), and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in parts of South America.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was
Namonuito, a Micronesian language spoken on Namonuito Atoll in the Caroline Islands in the Federated States of Micronesia.

There are new Celtiadur posts about words for Flowers, Foundations and related things in Celtic languages.

On the Celtic Pathways podcast we are teasing out the origins of the word Wool.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we unload the origins of the word Quay, and related words.

I also improved the Beitha Kukju and Elbasan pages, and made a separate page for the Old Uyghur alphabet.

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

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.

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Celtic Pathways – Wool

In this episode we are teasing out the origins of the word wool.

Wool

The Proto-Celtic word for wool is *wlanā. It comes from the Proto-Indo-European *h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂ (wool), from *h₂welh₁- (hair, wool) [source].

Descendants in the Celtic languages include:

  • olann [ˈɔlˠən̪ˠ] = wool, woolly hair, mop of hair; woollen in Irish
  • olann [ˈɔl̪ˠən̪ˠ] = wool (usually while on sheep) in Scottish Gaelic
  • ollan = wool in Manx
  • gwlân = wool, down, soft hair, grass, herbage; woollen, soft, made of wool in Welsh
  • gwlan = wool in Cornish
  • gloan = wool in Breton

The English word flannel (a soft cloth material originally woven from wool, washcloth) comes from the same Proto-Celtic root, via Gaulish, Old French, Anglo-Norman and Middle English. This was reborrowed into French, and from French into other languages such as Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Swedish [source].

Words for wool in other European languages come from the same PIE root, including wool in English, wol [ʋɔl] in Dutch, Wolle [ˈvɔlə] in German, and lana in Italian and Spanish [source]

More details about these words on Celtiadur, a blog where I explore connections between Celtic languages in more depth. I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog.

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.

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Adventures in Etymology – Quay

Nyhavn, Copenhagen / København

Today we are unloading the origins of the word quay.

A quay [kiː/keɪ] is:

  • a stone or concrete structure on navigable water used for loading and unloading vessels; a wharf.

It comes from the Middle English key(e) [ˈkɛi̯(ə)] (quay), from the Old French kay / cail (quay, wharf), from the Gaulish *kagyum / *cagiíum (enclosure), from the Proto-Celtic *kagyom (pen, enclosure), from the Proto-Indo-European *kagʰyóm (enclosure, hedge) [source].

The spelling quay was adopted in the 1690s to emulate the French spelling quai. In Middle English it was spelled kay, kaye, key or keye.

Other words from the Proto-Celtic root *kagyom include cae [kaːɨ̯/kai̯] (hedge, fence, field, enclosure) in Welsh, ke (fence, hedge) in Cornish, kae (hedge, quay) in Breton, quai (quay, wharf, platform) in French, and cais (quay, wharf, pier) in Portuguese [source].

Words for quay in the Celtic languages come from the same Proto-Celtic root, via Middle English / Anglo-Norman and Gaulish. They include cidhe [kʲi.ə] in Scottish Gaelic, in Irish, and cei [kei̯] in Welsh [source].

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly [afflilate link].

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.

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.

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Omniglot News (25/09/22)

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Gourmanchéma (gùlmàncéma), a Gur language spoken mainly in Burkina Faso, and also in Togo, Niger and Benin.
  • Konkomba (Likpakpaln), a Gur language spoken mainly in northern Ghana, and also in northern Togo.
  • Moba (Muaba), a Gur language spoken mainly in northern Togo, and also in southeastern Burkina Faso.

There’s a new constructed script called Mawar, which was created by Eko Wahyu Darmansyah to write his constructed language, Darman.

Sample text in the Mawar

There are new numbers pages in:

  • Rotuman (Fäeag Rotuma), an Oceanic language spoken mainly in the South Pacific island group of Rotuma.
  • Phoenician, a Northern Semitic language that was spoken around the Mediterranean until about the 2nd century AD.
  • Iu Mien (Iu Mienh), a Hmong-Mien language spoken in China, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand.
  • Ewe (Èʋegbe), a Volta-Niger language spoken in Ghana, Togo and Benin.

There’s an Omniglot blog post entitled Fangled, which is about words that are newfangled, oldfangled and just fangled, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

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

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was
Gallo (galo), a Romance language spoken in parts of Brittany and Normandy in the northwest of France.

There’ s a new Celtiadur post about words for Buying and Purchasing and related things in Celtic languages.

There’s an episode of the Celtic Pathways podcast about words for Beer and related things.

In the Adventure in Etymology we burrowing into the origins of the word Rabbit, and related words.

I wrote a new song based on idioms that mean something is easy, such as ‘as easy as falling off a log’. It called As Easy As and sounds a bit like this:

You can hear this song, other songs and tunes I’ve written on SoundCloud.

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

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.

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Adventures in Etymology – Rabbit 🐇

Today we are burrowing into the origins of the word rabbit.

Easter Bunny

A rabbit [ˈɹæbɪt] is:

  • a mammal of the family Leporidae, with long ears, long hind legs and a short, fluffy tail.

It comes from the Middle English rabet(te) (young rabbit), from the Middle French *robotte/rabotte or the Anglo-Latin rabettus, from the Old French rabotte, probably from the Middle Dutch / West Flemish robbe (rabbit, seal). Beyond that its origins are uncertain [source].

Until the 19th century a rabbit was a young rabbit, while an adult rabbit was con(e)y (rabbit, hyrax), which comes from the Anglo-Norman conis (rabbits), from the Vulgar Latin *cuniclus (rabbit), from the Latin cuniculus (rabbit), from the Ancient Greek κύνικλος (kúniklos – rabbit), which probably comes from Iberian or Celtiberian [source].

Words from the same root include cuniculus (a burrow or low underground passage) in Englsh, coniglio (rabbit), cunicolo (tunnel, burrow, wormhole) in Italian, conejo (rabbit) in Spanish, and cwningen (rabbit, hyrax) in Welsh [source].

In Old English the word for rabbit, and hare, was hara [ˈhɑ.rɑ], which is the root of the word hare, and comes from the Proto-Germanic *hasô [ˈxɑ.sɔːː] (hare), from the Proto-Indo-European *ḱeh₂s- (grey) [source].

Another word for rabbit is bunny, which probably comes from the Scots bun(n) (the tail of a rabbit or hare), from the Scottish Gaelic bun (base, bottom, source, butt, stump), from the Old Irish bun (base, butt, foot), from the Proto-Celtic *bonus (foundation, base, butt) [source].

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly [afflilate link].

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.

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.

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Celtic Pathways – Beer

In this episode we are investigating words for beer and related things.

P1020436

In Proto-Celtic beer was *kormi or *kurman, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *kremH- (to burn), or from *ḱr̥h₃-m- (porridge, soup), or from *ḱh₁erh₂- (to mix) [source].

Descendants in the Celtic languages include:

  • coirm [kɞɾʲəmʲ] = ale, drinking-party, feast, banquet in Irish
  • cuirm [kurʲum] = feast, banquet, entertainment; ale, beer (archaic) in Scottish Gaulish
  • cuirrey = banquet, feast in Manx
  • cwrw [ˈkʊru / ˈkuːru] = beer, ale in Welsh
  • korev, kor = ale, beer in Cornish
  • korev = ale, beer in Breton

The Latin word cervēsa (beer) comes from the same Proto-Celtic roots. From this we get the Spanish word cerveza (beer), the Portuguese word cerveja (beer), the French word cervoise (ale, beer – archaic), and the Italian word cervogia (beer – archaic) [source].

Other words for beer in Celtic languages include:

  • beoir [bʲoːɾʲ] = beer in Irish
  • beòir [bjɔːrʲ] = beer in Scottish Gaulish
  • beer = beer in Manx
  • bir = beer, ale in Welsh
  • bier = ale, beer in Breton

The words in the Goidelic languages come from the Old Norse bjórr (beer), from the Proto-Germanic *beuzą [ˈbeu̯.zɑ̃] (beer), from the Proto-Indo-Eurpean *bʰews- (dross, sediment) [source]. The Welsh word were borrowed from English, and the Breton word was borrowed from French.

Sláinte! Slàinte! Slaynt! Iechyd da! Yeghes da! Yec’hed mat! (Good health! / Cheers!)

More details about these words on Celtiadur, a blog where I explore connections between Celtic languages in more depth. I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog.

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.

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Omniglot News (18/09/22)

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Bedawi Arabic (بدوي‎), a variety of Arabic spoken mainly in Egypt and Jordan, and also in Israel, Syria and Palestine.
  • Midland Mixe (Ayüük), a Mixe-Zoque language spoken in the Sierra Norte Region in Oaxaca in southern Mexico.
  • Berba (Byali), a Gur language spoken mainly in northern Benin, and also in Burkina Faso and Togo.

There’s a new phrases page in Basaa (Ɓǎsɔ́ɔ̀), a Western Kru language spoken in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

There are new numbers pages in:

  • Tedim (Tidim), a Kukish language spoken in northwestern Myanmar and northern India.
  • Acehnese (Bahsa Acèh), a Chamic language spoken in Aceh in Sumatra in Indonesia.
  • Dungan (Хуэйзў йүян), a variety of Chinese spoken in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

There’s an Omniglot blog post about Wanderwörter, which are words that have spread to many different languages, often via trade, such as tea, wine and chocolate, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this isn’t French, but it’s closely related to French.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was
Iñupiaq (Inupiatun), an Eskimo-Aleut language spoken in northern Alaska in the USA.

There’ s a new Celtiadur post about words for Hammers and related things in Celtic languages.

There’s an episode of the Celtic Pathways podcast about words for Bells and Clocks, and I improved the Bells and Clocks post on the Celtiadur blog.

In the Adventure in Etymology we explore into the origins of the word campus, and find out how it’s connected to words like campaign and champagne.

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

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.

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