Omniglot News (16/06/24)

16th June 202414th June 2024 By Simon

Omniglot News

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

New language and alphabet: Bactiran (Αριαο) , an Eastern Iranian language that was spoken from about 300 BC to 1000 AD in Bactria, an ancient Iranian civilisation in Central Asia, and which was written with a version of the Greek script.

Surkh Kotal inscription, 2nd century AD

New language pages:

Biak (wós Vyak / wós kovedi), a South Halmahera-West New Guinea language spoken in the Bial Islands in eastern Indonesia.
Nambya (chiNambya), a Southern Bantu language spoken in northwest Zimbabwe and northeast Bostwana.
Bariai, a Western Oceanic language spoken in West New Britain Province of Papua New Guinea.

New numbers page: Bariai, a Western Oceanic language spoken in West New Britain Province of Papua New Guinea.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Earthlings and Other Lings about words ending in -ling, such as earthling, and there’s a post about my trip to Ireland / Éire. There’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Angika (अंगिका), a Bihari language spoken mainly in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand in northern India, and also in eastern Nepal.

There’s no Adventure in Etymology this week as I’m on holiday in Ireland. I probably won’t have time to work on Omniglot during that time, and there’ll be no recorded newscasts.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post about words for Acorns and related things, and I made improvements to the post about Battle-related words.

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.

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 (09/06/24)

9th June 20249th June 2024 By Simon

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Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

Zeme, a Kuki-Chin-Naga language spoken in Assam, Manipur and Nagaland in the northeast of India.
Borong, a Western Huon language spoken in Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea.
Boko, an Eastern Mande language spoken in northern Benin and northern and western Nigeria.
Vatlongos, a Southern Oceanic language spoken mainly on Ambrym Island in Malampa Province in northern Vanuatu.

New numbers pages:

Zeme, a Kuki-Chin-Naga language spoken in Assam, Manipur and Nagaland in northeastern India.
Northern Pomo, an extinct Pomoan language that was spoken in Lake County in California in the USA, and which is being revived.
Lebanese Arabic, a variety of Levantine Arabic spoken mainly in Lebannon.

New Tower of Babel translations: Alur, Akha, Adhola, Dangme, Achi and Abua.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Speading Sweetness about how words for honey, mead and related things possibly spread throughout Europe and as far as China and Japan. There’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken mainly in northern India, and also in eastern Nepal.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Forest Enets (Баи), a dialect of Enets (Онэй база), a Samoyedic language spoken in Krasnoyarsk Krai in Siberia in the Russian Federation.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, Charming Witches, we look into the possible Celtic roots of words for witch in some Romance languages, such as bruja in Spanish.

On the Celtiadur blog there are a new posts about words for Mixed & Confused and Honey Wine and I improved the post about Magic and Spells.

I also improved the Maltese language 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.

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.

Celtic Pathways – Charming Witches

8th June 2024 By Simon

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In this episode we look into the possble Celtic roots of words for witch in some Romance languages.

The Proto-Celtic word *brixtā means spell, magical formula or incantation. It possibly comes from PIE *bʰerHǵ- (enlighten) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

briocht = charm, spell, amulet in Irish
lled(f)rith = magic, spell, charm, enchantment, apparition, spectre, phantom, illusion, delusion, fantasy, imagination in Welsh
bre = incantation magic in Breton

Words that probably come from the same Proto-Celtic root, via the Celtiberian *bruxtia, include bruja (witch, crone, hag, owl) in Spanish, bruxa (witch, hex) in Galician, bruxa (witch) in Portuguese, and bruixa (witch) in Catalan [source].

Alternatively, bruja and similar words, might might be related to the Old Irish name Brigit [ˈbʲrʲiɣʲidʲ] (patron goddess of Druids), which comes from Proto-Celtic *Brigantī (high, elevated, an exalted person) [source].

The city of Bragança (Braganza) in northern Portugal gets its name from the same Celtic roots, as do the Welsh words brenin (king, monarch, sovereign) and braint (privilege) [source].

More about words for Magic and Spells and related things in Celtic languages.

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

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 (02/06/24)

2nd June 2024 By Simon

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Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

Lakon, a Southern Oceanic language spoken on Gaua Island in Torba Province of Vanuatu.
Maléku (malécu jaíca) – a Chibchan language spoken in northern Costa Rica.
Kadiwéu (Ejiwajigi) – a Guaicuruan language spoken in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul in southern Brazil
Mocoví (moqoit) – a Southern Guaicuruan language spoken in Chaco, Santa Fe and Formosa provinces in the northeast of Argentina.

New numbers pages:

Bosnian (bosanski), a South Slavic language spoken mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Celtiberian – an extinct Celtic language that was spoken in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula until about the 1st century AD.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Super Brows about the word supercilious and other (eye)brow-related expressions in English and other languages. 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 Siberia.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Blin (ብሊና), a Central Cushitic language spoken in and around the city of Keren in central Eritrea.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, we free ourselves by looking into the word Escape and related words.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post about words for Eyebrows and related things.

Finally, here’s my latest song, which I finished writing and recording this week. It’s in the style of a sea shanty called Off To Sea

Simon Ager · Off To Sea

You can hear more 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.

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.

Adventures in Etymology – Escape

1st June 20241st June 2024 By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we free ourselves by looking into the word escape.

Escape [ɪˈskeɪp / əˈskeɪp] can mean:

To get free; to free oneself.
To avoid (any unpleasant person or thing); to elude, get away from
To avoid capture; to get away with something, avoid punishment
To elude the observation or notice of; to not be seen or remembered by

It comes from Middle English escāpen (to free oneself, get away, avoid, elude), from Old Northern French escaper (to evade, avoid) from Vulgar Latin *excappāre (to escape) from ex- (out) and cappa (cape, cloak), or literally “to get out of one’s cape; to leave a pursuer with just one’s cape” [source].

Words from the same roots include escapade (a daring or adventurous act; an undertaking which goes against convention) in English, scappare (to run away, flee, escape) in Italian, échapper (to escape, evade) in French, and escapar (to escape, get out, run away) in Spanish [source].

The English word scamper (to run lightly and quickly, especially in a playful or undignified manner) possibly comes from similar roots, via Middle Dutch schamperen (to insult, scorn, dishonour), Old French esc(h)amper (to break loose) and Vulgar Latin *excampāre, from ex- (out) and campō, from campus (field) [source].

Other interesting English word related to escaping include:

absquatulate = to leave quickly or in a hurry, to depart, flee, abscond – a jocular mock-Latin word coined in the USA in the 1830s from abscond, squat and perambulate [source].
skedaddle = to move or run away quickly – appeared in the USA in the 1860s. Possibly from scaddle, a UK dialect word meaning to run off in fright [source].
vamoose = to run away, flee, hurry – from Spanish vamos (we go) or vámonos (let’s go) [source].

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

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.

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 (26/05/24)

26th May 202426th May 2024 By Simon

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Omniglot News

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

New writing system: Sheek Bakrii Saphaloo Script, which was created in 1956 by Sheikh Bakri Sapalo from Ethiopia, and is used to write Oromo, a Cushitic language spoken in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Egypt.

Sample text in the Sheek Bakrii Saphaloo script

New fictional script: Exception, which appears in the Netflix anime series “Exception”.

Sample text in Exception

New constructed script: Formetta, an alternative way to write English invented by TCSenpai, and designed to be clear, simple, and easy to learn and reproduce.

Sample text in Formetta

There are new language pages about:

Maká (mac’a) – a Matacoan language spoken in the Chaco region of Paraguay and Argentina.
Wichí Lhamtés Nocten (‘weenhayek) – a Matacoan language spoken mainly in southeastern Boliva, and also in northwestern Argentina.
Wichí Lhamtés Güisnay (Wiznay) – a Matacoan language spoken in Salta Province in northern Argentina
Wichí Lhamtés Vejoz – a Matacoan language spoken mainly in northern Argentina and also in southern Bolivia.

New phrase pages in Taíno-Quisqueyanaíqui, a reconstructed language based on the Taíno that was spoken in the Dominican Republic created by Desmond Johnson Montes De Oca.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled A Little Alliteration about alliteration and other kinds of rhymes, and how they can be difficult to translate into other languages. 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 Eritrea.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Mocoví, a Southern Guaicuruan language spoken mainly in Santa Fe, Chaco, and Formosa provinces in Argentina.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, Bills and Gouges, we find connections between Celtic beaks and bills, and chisels and gouges in other languages.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled The End about words for end, final, after and related things in Celtic languages.

2,500 days of Duolingo

I also made improvements to the Taíno language page.

In other news, I reached 2,500 days in my current streak on Duolingo this week. I’m still concentrating on Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Spanish and Japanese, and occasionally doing a bit of Dutch or Swedish.

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.

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.

Celtic Pathways – Bills and Gouges

25th May 2024 By Simon

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In this episode we find connections between Celtic bills and beaks, and chisels and gouges in other languages.

A gouge [ɡaʊdʒ] is a chisel with a curved blade for cutting or scooping channels, grooves, or holes in wood, stone, etc.

The word comes from Middle English gouge (gouge), from Old French gouge (gouge), from Late Latin goia / gu(l)bia (chisel, piercer), from Gaulish *gulbiā (beak, bill), from Proto-Celtic *gulbā / *gulbīnos (beak, bill) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

gulba = beak, bill, tip, point, projection in Irish
gulb [gul̪ˠub] = beak, nose in Scottish Gaelic
gylf = sharp point, knife, bird’s beak or snout in Welsh
gelvin = beak, bill in Cornish
gwlib = curlew, whimbrel (?) in Breton

Other words from the same Proto-Celtic roots, via Gaulish and Latin, include gulbia (gouge) in Galician, gubia (gouge) in Spanish, gorbia (ferrule*) in Italian [source].

*A ferrule is band or cap (usually metal) placed around a shaft to reinforce it or to prevent splitting [source].

Incidentally, the word chisel comes from Old Northern French c(h)isel (cutting tool, chisel), from cisoir (cutting tool), from Late Latin cīsōrium (cutting instrument), from Latin caedō (to cut, hew, fell), from Proto-Italic *kaidō, from PIE *kh₂eyd- (to cut, hew) [source].

Words from the same roots include cement, concise, decide, excise, hit, incision, precise and scissors in English; and hitta (to find, locate) in Swedish [source].

More about words for Beaks and Snouts and related things in Celtic languages.

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

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 (19/05/24)

19th May 2024 By Simon

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Omniglot News

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

There are new language pages about:

Bhaca (isiBhaca) – a Southern Bantu language spoken in Eastern Cape Province in South Africa.
Ulumandaʼ – a South Sulawesi language spoken in West Sulawesi Province in Indonesia.
Bambam– a South Sulawesi language spoken in West Sulawesi Province in Indonesia.

New numbers pages in Ulumandaʼ and Bambam.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post called Buckling Swashes in which we learn about swashbucklers, and also pirates, privateers, buccaneers, freebooters and corsairs. 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 Argentina.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Kagoshima dialect (鹿児島弁), a variety of Japanese spoken in Kagoshima Prefecture in southern Japan. It is also known as Satsugū dialect (薩隅方言).

The recording comes from YouTube:

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, we look into the word Landlubber, and related words in English and other languages.

New Celtic Cognates page: Names – a collection of Celtic personal names from Celtic and non-Celtic roots.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post about words for Glens and Valleys and I made improvements to the post about words for Full and related things.

In other news, the Polyglot Gathering is currently taking place in Prague in the Czech Republic. I decided not to go this year for various reasons, but if any of you were there, I hope you had a good time. I may go to the Polyglot Conference in Valletta in Malta in November.

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.

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.

Adventures in Etymology – Landlubber

18th May 202418th May 2024 By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we look into the word landlubber, and related words in English and other languages.

A landlubber [ˈlænd.lʌ.bə / ˈlænd.lʌ.bɚ] is:

Someone unfamiliar with the sea or seamanship, especially a novice seaman.

It comes from lubber (a big, clumsy, stupid fellow who lives in idleness), from Middle English lobre (lazy lout) from lobbe (a lump), or from Old French lobeor (swindler, parasite), or from a Nordic word [source].

Related words include abbey-lubber (an able-bodied idler who grew sleek and fat from the charity of religious houses; a lazy monk), lubberly (clumsy, awkward, coarse), lubberland (a land of plenty), and lubberwort (a mythical herb that produces laziness) [source].

Landlubbers are also known as landsmen, land-lopers or fresh-water seamen in English.

Words in other languages for landlubber include landkrabbe (“land crab”) in Danish, landrot (“land rat”) in Dutch, and marin d’eau douce (“freshwater mariner”) in French [source].

Experienced sailors and seaman used to call themselves, and were called (Jolly) Jack Tars or Tars in English. The name Jack is/was used as a generic name, in the UK at least, and tar is probably related to the use of tar on ships to make things waterproof [source].

For more seafaring-related words, see this Omniglot blog post: Buckling Swashes, and this podcast, which inspired this post:

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

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.

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 (12/05/24)

12th May 202412th May 2024 By Simon

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Omniglot News

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

There are new language pages about:

Teanu – an Oceanic language spoken on Vanikoro Island in Temotu Province in the east of the Solomon Islands.
Nanggu (Engdewu) – an Oceanic language spoken on the island of Nendö in Temotu province in the east of the Solomon Islands.
Uneapa (Uniapa) – an Oceanic language spoken on Unea Island in West New Britain Province of Papua New Guinea.

Uneapa happens to be the 2,000th language on Omniglot, by the way.

There’s a new adapted script, Turkorece (툴코레제), a way to write Turkish with the Korean Hangeul script created by Wojciech Grala.

Turkorece (툴코레제)

New numbers pages:

Nawat (Nāwat), an Uto-Aztecan language spoken mainly in western El Salvador.
Classical Nahuatl (Nāhuatlahtōlli), an Uto-Aztecan language that was spoken in the Valley of Mexico and central Mexico until about the 17th century.
Chakma (𑄌𑄋𑄴𑄟𑄳𑄦 𑄞𑄌𑄴 / চাাংমা ভাচ), an Eastern Indo-Aryan language spoken in parts of Bangladesh and India.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled 2,000 Languages!, in which I talk about some significant Omniglot-related moments from the past 26 years, including adding the 2,000th language to the site this week. 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 Japan, but isn’t (standard) Japanese.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Nambya, a Bantu language spoken in northwestern Zimbabwe and northeastern Botswana.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, we find some Celtic Brio behind some vigorous Romance and English words.

On the Celtiadur blog there are new posts entitled Bodies and Meaty Flesh, and I made improvements to the post about words for Horses and Strength.

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.

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.