Omniglot News (01/09/24)

1st September 20247th September 2024 By Simon

Omniglot News

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

New writing system: Nag Chiki, which was created by Dinesh Mudi from West Bengal in India to write Koda, a North Munda language spoken in India and Bangladesh.

Sample text in Koda in the Nag Chiki alphabet

New language pages:

Koda (কোড়া), a North Munda language spoken mainly in West Bengal in northwestern India
Nateni (Naàteǹni), a Northern Gur language spoken in the Atakora Department in the northwest of Benin.
Mbelime bɛ̄dímɛ), a Northern Gur language spoken in the Atakora Department in the northwest of Benin.
Hanga (Haŋa), a Northern Gur language spoken in the Savannah Region in northern Ghana.

New numbers pages:

Hanga (Haŋa), a Northern Gur language spoken in the Savannah Region in northern Ghana.
Sipakapense (Ri Qyolb’al), a Mayan language spoken in the San Marcos Department in western Guatemala.
Bajaw, a Sama-Bajaw language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

New article: Multiple Ways to Say “To Visit” in French

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Stanzas, Cameras and Salons about the Italian word stanza (room), and related words in 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 central India.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Maay Maay (Af-Mai-Mai), a Lowland East Cushitic language spoken in southern Somlia.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, Groovy Furrows, we’re looking at Celtic words for furrow, trench, ditch and related things, and words in other languages that come from the same roots.

On the Celtiadur blog there are new posts entitled Yoked Bonds and Furrowed Trenches, and improved the post about Ditches and Trenches.

Improved page: Nüshu script 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 – Groovy Furrows

31st August 202431st August 2024 By Simon

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In this episode we’re looking at Celtic words for furrow, trench, ditch and related things, and words in other languages that come from the same roots.

The Proto-Celtic word *ɸrikā means furrow and comes from Proto-Indo-European *pr̥keh₂ (furrow), from *perḱ- (to open, rip up, dig) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

eitre [ˈɛtʲəɾʲə] = furrow, groove, ridge in Irish
eitre = trench, furrow in Scottish Gaelic
eerey = furrow length, plough length in Manx
rhych [r̥ɨːχ/r̥iːχ] = trench, ditch, furrow, groove, wrinkle, cleft, cleavage in Welsh
reg = line, furrow in Breton

Words from the same Proto-Celtic roots, via Gaulish *rikā (furrow) and Latin riga (line, stripe), include raie (stripe, parting, line) in French, porca (ridge between furrows) in Italian, alporquia (layering) in Portuguese, porcoi (haystack, heap, pile, bunch) in Romanian, and erreka (river, stream, ravine) in Basque [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include furrow, farrow and pig in English, Furche (furrow) in German, fåra (furrow, groove) in Swedish, porsas (piglet, pork) in Finnish, and arc [aɾˠk] (piglet) in Irish [source].

Incidentally, the Orkney Islands get their name from Old Norse Orkneyjar (“seal islands”), from Old Norse ørkn (seal) and ey (island). The ørkn part is thought to be a misinterpretation of the Pictish name orc (piglet), which ultimately comes from the PIE root *perḱ- (to dig, etc) [source].

More about words for Furrowed Trenches and related tools 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 (25/08/24)

25th August 202431st August 2024 By Simon

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Omniglot News

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

New fictional script and language: High Valyrian (Valyrio), a fictional language developed for the television series Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, and based on the few words of High Valyrian used in George R. R. Martin’s series of fantasy novels, A Song of Ice and Fire.

Sample text in the High Valyrian script

New constructed script: Vjøbhaž, which was created by David Kos to write his conlang, Vneghlav, and is based on the Cyrillic script.

Sample texts in Vjøbhaž

New language pages:

Kulango Nkuraeng), a Gur language spoken mainly in the northwest of Ivory Coast, and also in western Ghana.
Ibinda (Chibinda), a Bantu language spoken in the Angolan province and exclave of Cabinda.
Vwanji (Ekivwanji), a Bantu language spoken mainly in the Njombe Region in the southwest of Tanzania.
Safwa (Kisafwa), a Bantu language spoken in the Mbeya region in the southwest of Tanzania.
Hehe (Kihehe), a Northeast Bantu language spoken in the Iringa region in southern Tanzania.

New numbers pages:

Ibinda (Chibinda), a Bantu language spoken in the Angolan province and exclave of Cabinda.
High Valyrian (Valyrio), a fictional language developed for the television series Game of Thrones.
Latino Sine Flexione, an International Auxiliary Language based on Latin without the inflections.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Foolish Consistency about foolishly consistent hobgoblins, insanity and misquotation. 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 Somalia.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Tundra Yukaghir (Вадул аруу), a Yukaghir language spoken in the Far East region of the Russian Federation, particularly in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, we find out whether the word Grass is connected to words like green, graze, grow and herb.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Grinding Mills, which is about words for grind, mill and related things in Celtic languages.

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 – Grass

24th August 202424th August 2024 By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we find out whether the words grass, graze and green are connected.

Grass [ɡɹɑːs/ɡɹas/ɡɹ̠æs] is:

Any plant of the family Poaceae, characterized by leaves that arise from nodes in the stem and leaf bases that wrap around the stem, especially those grown as ground cover rather than for grain.

It comes from Middle English gras [ɡras] (grass, herb, pasture, meadow, fodder), from Old English græs [ɡræs] (grass), from Proto-Germanic *grasą [ˈɣrɑ.sɑ̃] (grass) from Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- (to grow, become green) [source].

Words from the same roots include grow, green, gray/grey, graze and herb in English, groen (green) in Dutch, grasen (to graze) in German, and rohi (grass, medicine) in Estonian [source].

Incidentally, in British slang, a grass is an informer, police informer, or one who betrays a group (of criminals, etc) to the authorities. This is probably an abbreviation of grasshopper (police officer, informant), which is rhyming slang for copper (police officer) or shopper (informant).

So we’d better not let the grass grow under our feet and kick this into the long grass, because the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence and if we listen carefully, we can hear the grass grow.

Other grass-related idioms and expressions are available, and I wrote a song about the grass appearing greener called The Other Side. It goes something like this:

Simon Ager · The Other Side

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 (18/08/24)

18th August 202418th August 2024 By Simon

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Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

Biatah bidayuh), a Land Dayak language spoken in Sarawak in Malaysia and West Kalimantan in Indonesia.
Kembayan (Matéq), a Southern Land Dayak language spoken in West Kalimantan Province in Indonesia.
Modang, a Kayanic language spoken in East Kalimantan Province in northern Indonesia.
Maay Maay (Af-Mai-Mai), a Lowland East Cushitic language spoken mainly in southern Somlia, and also in Ethiophia and Kenya.
Pendau (Umalasa), a Celebic language spoken in Central Sulawesi Province in Indonesia.

New numbers pages:

Biatah (bidayuh), a Land Dayak language spoken in Sarawak in Malaysia and West Kalimantan in Indonesia.
Modang, a Kayanic language spoken in East Kalimantan Province in Indonesia.
Pendau (Umalasa), a Celebic language spoken in Central Sulawesi Province in Indonesia.
Maasai (ɔl Maa), an Eastern Nilotic language spoken in central and southern Kenya and northern Tanzania.

New constructed script: Rountounge (Valkh’raash Dub Namtarak), which was invented by Kitsune Sobo as the script and language of various beings in the fictional Rhodinoverse.

Sample text in Rountongue

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Superfluously Redundant, .in which we dive into some redundant and superfluous words. 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 Siberia in the Far East Region of the Russian Federation.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Wichita (Kirikir’iis), a Northern Caddoan language that was spoken in western Oklahoma in the USA and which is being revived.

In this week’s episode of Celtic Pathways podcast, we look into the Celtic roots of words for Tin in some Romance languages.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled A Meeting of Assemblies and I improved the posts about Wolves & Sea Monsters and Roundness

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 – Tin

17th August 202417th August 2024 By Simon

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In this episode, we’re looking into the Celtic roots of some Romance tins.

The Proto-Celtic word *stagnos means tin and probably comes from the Proto-Indo-European *sth₂gʰ-nó-s (standing, firm), from *steh₂- (to stand) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

stán = tin, tin vessel in Irish
staoin [sdɯːn̪ʲ] = tin, pewter in Scottish Gaelic
stainney = tin, can, tin-plate in Manx
(y)staen [ˈ(ə)staɨ̯n] = tin, pewter in Welsh
sten [stɛːn / steːn] = tin in Cornish
staen [ˈstɛːn] = tin in Breton

Words from the same Celtic roots, via Gaulish *stagnom (tin) and Latin stannum (tin, silver-lead alloy), include estany (tin) in Catalan, étain (tin) in French, stagno (tin) in Italian, and estanho (tin) in Portuguese [source].

I forgot to mention in the recording that the symbol for the element tin is Sn, which comes from Latin stannum, and the English words such as stannary (of or pertaining to tin mining, especially in Cornwall), and stanniferous (containing or producing the metal tin) come from the same roots [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include cost, distant, estate, instant, obstinate, stand, stem and stool in English [source], and words from heel in Celtic languages, such as sawdl in Welsh and sáil in Irish [source].

Incidentally, the word tin comes from Middle English tyn(ne) (tin), from Old English tin (tin), from Proto-Germanic *tiną (tin), probably from a pre-Indo-European language [source].

More about words for Tin and related tools 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 (11/08/24)

11th August 2024 By Simon

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Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

Chamacoco (Ɨshɨr), a Zamucoan language spoken in the Alto Paraguay department in northern Paraguay.
Mising (mising agom), an Eastern Tani language spoken mainly in Assam in the northeast of India.
Ocaina (Xáfahxajoh), a Bora-Huitoto language spoken mainly in northeastern Peru, and also in southern Colombia.
Ayoreo, a Zamucoan language spoken in northern Paraguay and eastern Bolivia.
Binumarien, a Kainantu language spoken in Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea.

New numbers pages:

Mising (mising agom), an Eastern Tani language spoken mainly in Assam in the northeast of India.
Ocaina (Xáfahxajoh), a Bora-Huitoto language spoken mainly in northeastern Peru, and also in southern Colombia.
Binumarien, a Kainantu language spoken in Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea.

New phrases page: Mising

New adapted script: Italorussian (Италоруссо), a way of writing Italian with the Cyrillic alphabet devised by Walter Loi.

Тутти љи эссэри умани насконо либэри эд эгўали ин дињита̀ э диритти. Эсси соно дотати ди раджонэ ди кощэнца э дэвоно адзирэ љи уни вэрсо љи альтри ин спирто ди фратэлланца.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Rucksacks & Mistletoe, in which we find out how the Italian word zaino (rucksack, backpack) is related to the English word mistletoe. There’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language was spoken in Oklahoma in the USA and is being revived.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Chamacoco (Ɨshɨr), a Zamucoan language spoken in northern Paraguay.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, we find out what links the word Antique with words like eye, window and Antigua.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Habitual Customs and words for habits, customs and related things.

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 – Antique

10th August 202410th August 2024 By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology, we find out what links the word antique with words such as eye, window and Antigua.

Antique [ænˈtiːk] can mean:

An old object perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance (noun)
Having existed in ancient times, descended from antiquity; out of date, old (adjective)
to search or shop for antiques; to make (an object) appear to be an antique in some way (verb)

It comes from French antique (ancient, old), from Latin antīquus (old, ancient, aged, classic, traditional) from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti-h₃kʷ-o-s (“facing the front, in front of the eye”), from *h₂énti (opposite, near, in front, before) and *h₃ekʷ- (to see, eye) [source].

Words from the same Latin root (antīquus) include antic in English, antik (ancient, antique) in German, and antiguo (old, ancient, vintage) in Spanish [source].

The island of Antigua in the Caribbean also gets its name from the same roots, via Spanish antigua (ancient, old), and was originally named Santa María de la Antigua by Christopher Columbus to honour a mural known as Virgen de la Antigua or Santa María de la Antigua in Seville Cathedral (see below) [source].

Other words from the PIE root *h₂énti (in front, before) include and and words beginning with ante-/ant(i)- such as antechamber and anticlockwise in English, antes (before, earlier, sooner) in Spanish, and anzi (on the contrary, indeed, actually) in Italian [source].

Other words from the PIE root *h₃ekʷ- (to see, eye) include eye, ocular, ogle and window in English, occhio (eye) in Italian, wyneb (face, surface) in Welsh, and oineach (honour, reputation) in Irish [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 (04/08/24)

4th August 20244th August 2024 By Simon

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Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

Hill Miri (muri-mugli / मुरि-मुग्लि), Western Tani language spoken in Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India.
Chiru (ꯆꯤꯔꯨ), a Kuki-Chin-Naga language spoken in Manipur, Assam and Nagaland in the northeast India.
Bimin, a Mountain Ok language spoken mainly in Sandaun Province in the west Papua New Guinea.

New numbers pages:

Bimin, a Mountain Ok language spoken mainly in Sandaun Province in the west Papua New Guinea.
Hill Miri (muri-mugli / मुरि-मुग्लि), Western Tani language spoken in Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India.
Galo (gallo), a Western Tani language spoken in Arunachal Pradesh in the northeast of India.

New phrases pages:

Galo (gallo), a Western Tani language spoken in Arunachal Pradesh in the northeast of India.
Hill Miri (muri-mugli / मुरि-मुग्लि), Western Tani language spoken in Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India.

New constructed script: Nomish, which was invented by Kitsune Sobo as the native script of the Nomes in the fictional Rhodinoverse.

Sample text in Nomish

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Forest Cities, in which we ask what a forest is, and whether cities like London and Berlin could be classified as forests. 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 Paraguay.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Lokoya, an Eastern Nilotic language spoken in South Sudan.

In this week’s episode of Celtic Pathways podcast, entitled Boring Tools we’re drilling down to find the possibly Celtic roots of words for drill, auger and related tools in some Romance languages.

On the Celtiadur blog there are new posts entitled Augers & Drills and Shells.

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 – Boring Tools

3rd August 20243rd August 2024 By Simon

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In this episode we’re drilling down to find the possibly Celtic roots of words for drill, auger and related tools in some Romance languages.

The Proto-Celtic word *taratrom means auger and comes from the Proto-Indo-European *térh₁trom (tool for drilling), from *terh₁- (to rub, turn, drill, pierce) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

tarathar = auger in Irish
tora [tɔrə] = auger, gimble, gimlet in Scottish Gaelic
tarrar = drill in Manx
taradr [ˈtaradr] = auger, drill, borer, awl, gimlet in Welsh
tarder = drill in Cornish
tarar [ˈtɑː.rar] = augur, chignole (a hand drill), shipworm (mollusk) in Breton

Words that possibly come from the same Celtic roots, via Gaulish taratron (auger) and Late Latin taratrum, include taradre (to bore) in Catalan, trade (auger) in Galician, taladro (drill) in Spanish and tarière (auger) in French [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include thread, thresh, trout and throw in English, settentrione (north) in Italian, třít (to rub) in Czech, and drehen (to turn) in German [source].

Incidentally, an auger is a carpenter’s tool for boring holes longer than those bored by a gimlet (a small screw-tipped tool for boring holes); a plumber’s snake (a plumbing tool for removing obstructions from pipes); a tool used to bore holes in the ground, or a hollow drill used to take core samples of soil, ice, etc. for scientific study [source].

In Middle English it was a nauger [ə ˈnau̯ɡər], which was rebracketed as an auger in modern English. It comes from Old English nafugār (nave drill, lit. “nave spear”) – nave refers to the hub of a wheel and not the body of a church, and is related to navel [source].

The gār part of nafugār means spear, arrow or dart, and is possibly the root of the ger part of my surname Ager [source].

Auger should not be confused with augur, which refers to a diviner who foretells events by observing the behaviour of birds or other animals, or by signs derived from celestial phenomena, or unusual occurrences. In ancient Rome, an augur was an official who interpreted omens before the start of public events [source].

More about words for Drills & Augers and related tools in Celtic languages.

The theme tune for this episode is one I wrote in 2017 called The Clockwork Octopus / Yr Wythdroed Clocwaith. You can hear a longer version here:

Simon Ager · The Clockwork Octopus / Yr Wythdroed Clocwaith

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.