Category: Language

Omniglot News (20/02/22)

By Simon

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Here are the latest developments on the Omniglot websites.

This week there are new language pages about:

  • Tawbuid (Batangan / Bangon), a South Mangyan language spoken in the centre of Mindoro Island in the Mimaropa region of the Philippines.
  • Ambala (Ayta Ambala), a Sambalic language spoken in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines.
  • Hatang Kayi, a Central Philippine language spoken in the provinces of Quezon and Rizal on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.

There’s a new adapated script: Greek Arabic (Αλ-γ̲αραπυιιατȣ λ-ιωνάνυιιαχ̌), a way to write Arabic with the Greek alphabet devised by Mohammad Shakeb Baig.

There are new numbers pages in:

  • Andi (къIaваннаб мицци), a Northeast Caucasian language spoken in Dagestan in the Russian Federation.
  • Kodava, (ಕೊಡವ ತಕ್ಕು), a Dravidian language spoken in Karnataka state in southern India.
  • Aheri Gondi, a South-Central Dravidian language spoken in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Telangan.

There’s a new article about Ancient language and extra-Indo-European language in Britain.

I wrote a new song – a lullaby called Lillilu, which is a Scots word for lullaby, inspired by this video by misspunnypennie on TikTok.

On the Omniglot blog we have a post about words for lullabys, a post about the Norfolk dialect word gadwaddick, which means to go on a pleasure trip or jaunt, or to gad about, and a new Language Quiz

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Dovahzul, or the Dragon Language, a constructed language that appears in some of the Elder Scrolls series of video games. The recording was from an original song called Vokul Fen Mah (Evil Will Fall) by Malukah, a wonderful singer-songwriter from Mexico.

Another version of this song with Malukah and Peter Hollens:

There are Celtiadur posts about words for smiths and walls and related things in Celtic languages.

The Adventure in Etymology this week tries to see the wood for the trees by looking into the origins of the word wood.

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 – Wood

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Today we’re trying to see the wood for the trees by looking at the origins of the word wood.

Here be trees!

Wood [wʊd] is:

  • The substance making up the central part of the trunk and branches of a tree. Used as a material for construction, to manufacture various items, etc. or as fuel.
  • A forested or wooded area.

It comes from the Middle English wode [ˈwoːd(ə)] (wood), from the Old English wudu [ˈwu.du] (wood, forest, woods, tree), from the Proto-West-Germanic *widu (forest, tree, wood), from the Proto-Germanic *widuz [ˈwi.ðuz] (wood), from the PIE *h₁weydʰh₁ (wood, wilderness) [source].

Words from the same PIE root include ved (wood, firewood) in Swedish, Danish and Norwegian, gwŷdd [ɡwɨːð] (trees) in Welsh, fiodh [fʲɪ] (wood, timber) in Irish, and vidus (middle, centre) in Latvian [source].

How did a word meaning wood come to mean middle or centre in Latvian? Well, apparently the areas between villages were mainly forested in the past, and the meaning shifted from forest to area (between villages) to middle [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 (13/02/22)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The new language pages on Omniglot this week are:

  • Khorchin (ᠬᠣᠷᠴᠢᠨ), a variety of of Mongolian spoken in the Hinggan League in the east of Inner Mongolia in the north of China.
  • Bugan (Pakan), a Pakanic language spoken in the southeast of Yunnan province in the southwest China.
  • Khamnigan Mongol (ᠬᠠᠮᠨᠢᠭᠠᠨ), a Mongolic language spoken mainly in the Chen Baehru Banner of the Hulunbuir League in the northeast of Inner Mongolia in northern China.

There are two new adapated scripts:

There are new numbers pages in: Wa (Va), Nyah Kur (ญัฮกุ้ร) and Mon (ဘာသာ မန်), which are Austroasiatic languages spoken in Myanmar, Thailand and China.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a post about Language Politics, which discusses some criticisms that are often made of minority and endangered languages, and the usual Language Quiz.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Selkup (шӧльӄумыт әты), a Samoyedic language spoken along the River Taz in Siberia in northern Russia.

The Celtiadur post this week is about words for material and related things in Celtic languages.

In the Adventure in Etymology this week we look into the origins of the word paint.

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 – Paint

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Today we’re looking into the origins of the word paint.

Paint

Paint [peɪnt] is:

  • A substance that is applied as a liquid or paste, and dries into a solid coating that protects or adds colour to an object or surface to which it has been applied.

It comes from the Middle English peinten (to paint, portray, decorate), from the Old French peintier (to paint), from peindre (to paint), from the Latin pingere (to decorate, embellish, paint, tint, colour), from pingō (I decorate, embellish, etc) from PIE *peyḱ- (to hew, cut out, stitch, embroider, mark, paint, color) [source].

English words from the same Latin root include picture, depict, pigment and pint [source].

In Old English the word for paint was tēafor [ˈtæ͜ɑː.vor], which became tiver (a kind of ochre used for marking sheep in some parts of England). It comes from the Proto-Germanic *taubrą (magic, sorcery), which is the root of the German word Zauber (magic, spell) [source].

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly – an easy-to-use animated video creator [affiliate link].

I chose this word as my new studio is currently being painted.

Studio / Stwdio

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 (06/02/22)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Here are details of the latest developments on Omniglot websites and blogs.

This week we have three new language pages on Omniglot, which are:

  • Western Subanon (Sinubanon), a Philippine language spoken in the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay on the Zamboanga Peninsula in the Mindanao region in the south of the Philippines.
  • Mamanwa (Minamanwa), a Philippine language spoken on the island of Mindanao in provinces of Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Norte in the Caraga region of the southern Philippines
  • Bugkalot, a Philippine language spoken in the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Quirion in the north of Luzon in the Philippines.

There’s a new constructed script: Nkoma, an alternative way to write Lingala and other languages spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) devised by Paoli Mbongo from Kinshasa.

Sample text in the Nkoma alphabet

There are a new numbers pages in: Muong (thiểng Mường) and Kri (meengq Kri), which are Vietic languages spoken in Vietnam and Laos, and Santali (ᱥᱟᱱᱛᱟᱲᱤ), a Munda language spoken in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a post about Chinese New Year – Year of the Tiger, a post about the word deuce – What the Deuce‽, and the usual Language Quiz.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Talian (taliàn), a variety of Venetian spoken in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil.

This week’s Celtiadur post is about words for Corners. and related things in Celtic languages.

In the Adventure in Etymology we looking into the various origins of the word veranda.

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 – Veranda

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Today we’re looking at the various origins of the word veranda.

Veranda

A veranda [vəˈɹæn.də] is:

  • A porch or balcony, usually roofed and often partly enclosed, extending along the outside of a building.

It comes from Hindi बरामदा [bə.ɾɑːm.d̪ɑː] (barāmdā – porch, veranda, gallery, balcony), from Portuguese varanda [vɐˈɾɐ̃.dɐ] (balcony, veranda, terrace, porch), possibly from Latin vāra (fork, tripod, easel), from vārus (bent outwards, bandy) from PIE *h₁weh₂- (separate) [source].

Alternatively veranda might be related to the Sanskrit word वरण्ड (varaṇḍa – barrier, partition) [source], and/or the Spanish word baranda (railing, banister, handrail, balustrade) [source].

English words that probably come from the same Latin root (vārus), include various, vary and variety [source].

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly – an easy-to-use animated video creator [affiliate 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 (30/01/2022)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Here are details of the latest developments on Omniglot websites and blogs.

There are four new language pages on Omniglot this week, which are:

  • Agutaynen, a Philippine language spoken in the Province of Palawan in the Mimaropa region in the east of the Philippines.
  • Jarud (ᠵᠠᠷᠤᠳ), a variety of Mongolian spoken in Jarud Banner in the east of Inner Mongolia in northern China.
  • Komering (Cawa Komering), a Lampungic language spoken in the Indonesian provinces of Lampung and South Sumatra in the south of Sumatra island.
  • Kaitag (хайдакьан гъай), a Northeast Caucasian language spoken in Dagestan in the south of the Russian Federation.

There’s a new constructed script: Jyutcitzi (粵切字), which is a way to write Cantonese using combinations of Chinese characters to represent sounds phonetically which was devised by the Cantonese Script Reform Society. It looks something like this:

Sample text in Jyutcitzi

There are a new numbers pages in: Chipewyan (Dënesųłıné), Sekani (Tse’khene) and Agutaynen, and there’s a new page about Cistercian Numbers, an interesting numeric system that was developed by Cisterican monks in the early 13th century.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a post about words from Britain in various languages called Britland, and the usual Language Quiz.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Kaitag (хайдакьан гъай), a Northeast Caucasian language spoken in Dagestan in the Russian Federation.

This week’s Celtiadur post is about words for wings and related things in Celtic languages.

I also made improvements to the Celtiadur post about verbs for To See & To Be.

In the Adventure in Etymology we find connections between the word champion and words such as camp, campus, 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.

Blubrry podcast hosting

Adventures in Etymology – Champion

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Today we’re looking into the origins of the word champion.

S Champion

A champion [ˈtʃæmpiən] is:

  • An ongoing winner in a game or contest.
  • Someone who is chosen to represent a group of people in a contest.
  • Someone who fights for a cause or status.
  • Someone who fights on another’s behalf.

It comes from Middle English champioun [tʃampiˈuːn] (martial artist, soldier, guardian, promoter, winner), from Old French champion [ʃɑ̃.pjɔ̃] (champion), from Late Latin campiō(nem) (champion, fighter), from Frankish *kampijō (fighter), from Latin campus (flat level ground, plain, field), from Proto-West Germanic *kampijan (to battle, campaign), from *kamp (battle(field)) from PIE *kh₂emp- (to bend, curve) [source].

English words from the same Latin root include campus, camp, campaign and champagne [source].

The word cam/kamm (crooked, bent, false), which found in all the modern Celtic languages, comes from the same PIE root via Proto-Celtic *kambos (twisted, crooked, bent) [source].

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root include the obsolete English words kam (crooked, awry), from Welsh, and camous (flat/crooked (nose), depressed) via Middle English, French, Latin and Gaulish [source].

The French name Camus probably comes from the same Celtic root, as do the Scottish names Campbell (“crooked mouth”) and Cameron (“crooked nose”) via Scottish Gaelic [source].

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly – an easy-to-use animated video creator [affiliate 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.

Blubrry podcast hosting

Omniglot News (23/01/22)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Here are details of the latest developments on Omniglot websites and blogs.

The new languages on Omniglot this week are:

  • Lambya (Ichilambya), a Bantu language spoken in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia.
  • Chakhar (ᠴᠠᠬᠠᠷ), a variety of Mongolian spoken in the central region of Inner Mongolia in northern China.
  • Barin (ᠪᠠᠭᠠᠷᠢᠨ), a variety of Mongolian spoken in the southeast of Inner Mongolia in northern China.
  • Nusu, a Loloish language spoken in southern China and northern Myanmar/Burma.

There’s a new numbers page in: Tsakonian (τσακώνικα), a variety of Greek spoken in the Tsakonian region of the Peloponnese in Greece.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a post about druids or Oak Knowers, a post about Playing Around which looks at ways to say ‘to play’ in English, Portuguese and Welsh, and the usual Language Quiz.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Lambya (Ichilambya), a Bantu language spoken in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia.

On the Celtiadur this week there’s a post about words for knowledge and related things in Celtic languages.

In the Adventure in Etymology we find out how the word dust is related to words such as dusk, dune and fume.

I wrote a new song about dust, which goes something like this:

I also made improvements to the Russian, Krymchak and Thai language pages, the Theban alphabet page, and the Ukrainian numbers page

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.

Blubrry podcast hosting

Adventures in Etymology – Dust

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Today we’re looking into the origins of the word dust.

Dust Storm 1585 and Milwaukee and Mailbox in Road

dust [dʌst] is:

  • earth or other matter in fine, dry particles.
  • a cloud of finely powdered earth or other matter in the air.
  • to wipe the dust from
  • to sprinkle with a powder or dust

It comes from the Middle English d(o)ust [du(ː)st] (dust, powder, dirt, grit), from the Old English dūst [duːst] (dust, powder), from the Proto-Germanic *dunstą [ˈdun.stɑ̃] (mist, haze, dust), from the Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (smoke, mist, haze) [source].

English words from the same PIE root include dew, dusk and dye (via Proto-Germanic), down (hill) and dune (via Proto-Celtic), and fume (via Latin) [source].

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly – an easy-to-use animated video creator [affiliate link].

I also wrote a song about dust this week, which goes something like this:

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.

Blubrry podcast hosting