Omniglot News (04/08/24)

4th August 20244th August 2024 By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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.

Omniglot News (28/07/24)

28th July 2024 By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

Fataluku, a Timor-Alor-Pantar language spoken in eastern East Timor.
Rongga, an Sumba-Flores language spoken on Flores Island in southeastern Indonesia
Kakwa (Kãkwã), a Puniave-Maku language spoken mainly in the southeast of Colombia.
Wejewa, a Sumba-Flores language spoken on Sumba Island in southeastern Indonesia.

New phrases page: Guernésiais, a Gallo-Romance language spoken on the Channel Island of Guernsey.

New numbers pages:

Dinka (Thuɔŋjäŋ), a Western Nilotic language spoken mainly in Sudan and South Sudan.
Lugbara, an Eastern Moru-Madi language spoken in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Water Parties about the Spanish word aguafiestas (party pooper, wet blanket), 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 South Sudan.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was East Frisian (Oostfräisk), a West Germanic language spoken in the Ostfriesland region of Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, we look into the origins of the word Folk.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Razors, and I made improvements to the posts about Fathers and Land, Parishes & Enclosures.

Improved page: Lugbara language page.

Incidentally, this is the 150th episode of the Omniglot News.

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 – Folk

27th July 2024 By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this Adventure in Etymology we’re looking into the origins of the word folk.

Some folk playing folk music

Folk [fəʊk / foʊk] can refer to:

People, persons
One’s relatives, especially one’s parents (e.g. my folks)
Short for folk music
A people; a tribe or nation; the inhabitants of a region, especially the native inhabitants. (Archaic)

It comes from Middle English folk [fɔlk] (people, nation, group, family, kin, relatives, humanity), from Old English folc [folk] (people, nation, tribe, crowd) from Proto-Germanic fulką [ˈɸul.kɑ̃] (people, tribe), *fulkaz (crowd, army), possibly from PIE *pleh₁- (to fill) [source].

Words from the same roots include fill, pleb, plenty, plural, plus and public in English, pul̃kas [ˈpʊlkɐs] (flock, crowd, regiment) in Lithuanian, pułk [puwk] (regiment) in Polish, and Volk [fɔlk] (people, native, tribe) in German [source].

The French word plouc [pluk] (country bumpkin, yokel) also comes from the same roots, via Breton plouk [pluːk] (yokel), from ploue [pluːe] (parish, countryside) Proto-Brythonic *pluɨβ (countryside, parish, common people) and Latin plēb(ē)s (common people, plebians) [source].

Related words in other Celtic languages include pluw (parish) in Cornish, and plwy(f) [pluːɨ̯(v) / plʊi̯(v)] (parish, poor relief, parishioners, people) in Welsh [source].

For more details, see the post about Land, Parishes & Enclosures on the Celtiadur.

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 (21/07/24)

21st July 2024 By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

Meyah, a West Papuan language spoken in eastern Indonesia.
Izon, an Ijaw language spoken in soutern Nigeria.
Kakwa (Kãkwã), a Puniave-Maku language spoken mainly in southeastern Colombia.
Bori, an Eastern Tani language spoken in Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India.

New numbers page:

Bori, an Eastern Tani language spoken in Arunachal Pradesh in the northeast of India.
Izon, an Ijaw language spoken in soutern Nigeria.
Ladino (djudeo-espanyol / ג’ודיאו-איספאנייול), a Jewish language based on Medieval Spanish and spoken mainly in Israel, Turkey and Greece.

New constructed script: Dust Witch Runes, which were invented by Kitsune Sobo as the native script of the Dust Witches in the fictional Rhodinoverse.

Sample text in Dust Witch Runes

New constructed script: Zuravot, which was created by Eliya Gobani to write a constructed language by the same name based on Arabic.

Sample text in Zuravot

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post about the word Taradiddle (a trivial lie or fib) and other diddlesome words, 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 Germany, but isn’t a variety of German.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Batsbi (ბაცბურ მოტტ), a Northeast Caucasian language spoken in the Akhmeta distict in eastern Georgia.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, Bits & Pieces, we piece together the Celtic roots of the word piece, and related words.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Monday Moons, and I made improvements to the post about Parts and Portions.

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 – Bits and Pieces

20th July 2024 By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode, we’re piecing together the Celtic roots of the word piece and related words.

Piece comes from Middle English pece [ˈpɛːs(ə)] (piece, morsel, bit), from Anglo-Norman piece (piece, bit, part), from Late Latin petttia (piece, portion), from Gaulish *pettyā, from Proto-Celtic *kʷezdis (piece, portion) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

cuid [kɪdʲ] = part (of whole), share, portion, some in Irish
cuid [kudʲ] = portion, share, allotment, means, belongings in Scottish Gaelic
cooid = certain, some, stuff, assets, goods in Manx
peth [peːθ] = thing, object, material, stuff in Welsh
pyth, peth [pɪːθ / pɛθ] = commodity, material, matter, possession in Cornish
pezh [peːs] = piece, bit, room, part, what in Breton [source]

Words from the same Celtic roots, via Gaulish and Latin, include pièce (room, patch, piece, play, document) in French, pieze (piece, part) in Spanish, biisi (song) in Finnish, and ピース (pīsu – piece) in Japanese [source].

The Irish word píosa (piece, bit, patch, piece-work, literary or musical composition, coin) also comes from the same roots, via Middle Irish pís(s)a (piece, fragment, coin), and Middle English pece [source].

Incidentally, the French word pièce, has ben borrowed into a variety of diffent languges, including Turkish – piyes ([theatrical] play), Russian – пьеса [ˈp⁽ʲ⁾jesə] (a play, piece [of music]), and Georgian – პიესა [pʼiesa] (a play) [source].

More about words for Parts and Portions 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 (14/07/24)

14th July 202414th July 2024 By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

Nafanan, a Southern Senufo spoken mainly in Ghana, and also Ivory Coast.
Papapana, a Northwest Solomonic language spoken on the east coast of Bougainville Island in Papua New Guinea.
Yelmek, a Trans-Fly-Bulaka River language spoken in the Merauke Regency in South Papua Province in eastern Indonesiaa.

New constructed script: Arleng Mekʼlek. which was invented by Ripu Rahang as an alternative way to write Karbi, a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in northern India.

Sample text in Arleng Mekʼlek

New numbers page:

Zarma (Zarmaciine), a member of the Songhay branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family spoken mainly in Niger.
Sun(u)war (सुनुवार), a Kiranti language spoken mainly in eastern Nepal, and also in Sikkim in norteastern India..
Slovio, an International Auxiliary Language based on Slavic languages invented by Mark Hucko.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post about the Spanish word Muchedumbre (crowd, throng, multitude, mob), and related words in other languages, and there’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is related to Chechen and Ingush.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Saraiki (ਸਰਾਇਕੀ / सराइकी / سرائيكى), a Western Punjabi language spoken in parts of Pakistan and northern India.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, we look into the origins of the word door, and find links to words like forum, forensic and thyroid.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Similar Likeness and I made improvements to the posts about Doors and Sticks and Rods.

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 – Door

13th July 202413th July 2024 By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this Adventure in Etymology, we’re opening doors to find the origins of the word door.

A door [dɔː / dɔɹ] is:

A portal of entry into a building, room, or vehicle, typically consisting of a rigid plane movable on a hinge. It may have a handle to help open and close, a latch to hold it closed, and a lock that ensures it cannot be opened without a key.

It comes from Middle English dor(e) [ˈdɔːr(ə)] (door), from Old English duru [ˈdu.ru] (door, opening) from Proto-West-Germanic *dur (door, hatch, flap) from Proto-Germanic *durz (door, hatch, flap), from PIE *dʰwer- (door) [source].

Words from the same roots include forum, forensic and thyroid in English, dörr (door) in Swedish, drws (door, doorway) in Welsh, dvor (court, courtyard) in Slovak and ترس (tors – shield, buckler) in Persian [source].

Incidentally, in Old English one word for window was ēagduru [ˈæ͜ɑːɡˌdu.ru], or literally “eye-door”. Another was ēagþyrel [ˈæ͜ɑːɡˌθy.rel], or “eye-hole” [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 (07/07/24)

7th July 2024 By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

Helong, a West Timor language spoken in mainly in West Timor in the Kupang Regency of East Nusa Tenggara province in southern Indonesia.
Phom, a Brahmaputran language spoken in Nagaland in the northeast of India.
Sursurunga, a Western Oceanic language spoken in New Ireland Province of Papua New Guinea.

New numbers page:

Jingpho (Jìngphòʔ gà / ဈိာင်ေဖါစ်), a Tibeto-Burman language spoken mainly in Kachin and Shan States in northern Myanmar.
Guernésiais, a Romance language spoken on the Channel Island of Guernsey.
Lavukaleve, a Central Solomons language spoken in the Russell Islands in the Central Province of the Solomon Islands.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Jentacularity in which we discuss things jentacular (related to breakfast) and prandial (related to dinner), 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 Pakistan and northern India.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Rangi (Kilaangi), a Southern Bantoid language spoken in central Tanzania.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, we look into the Celtic roots of words for heather and related things in some Romance languages.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post about words for Seeds and related things, and I made improvements to the Ceilidh Companions post.

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 – Heather

6th July 20246th July 2024 By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

The Proto-Celtic word *wroikos means heather. Its origins are uncertain, and it possibly comes from a non-Indo-European substrate source [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

fraoch [fˠɾˠeːx] = heather, heath, moor in Irish
fraoch [frɯːx] = heather in Scottish Gaelic
freoagh = heather, heath in Manx
grug [ɡrɨːɡ / ɡriːɡ] = heather, heath in Welsh
grug [ɡryːɡ / ɡriːɡ] = heather, heath in Cornish
brug [bryːk] = heather in Breton

Words from the same Proto-Celtic roots, via Gaulish and Latin, include brezo (heath) in Spanish, breixo (heather) in Galician, brugo (heather) and brughiera (heath, moor) in Italian, and bruyère (heath, heather, brier) in French [source].

Related words in other languages possibly include vřes (heather) in Czech, wrzos (heather) in Polish, viržis (heather) in Lithuanian, and ericaceous (Of or pertaining to the heath family; Acid-loving, acidic) in English [source].

Incidentally, the word heather comes from Old English *hǣddre (heather), from hǣþ (wasteland, wilderness, heath), from Proto-Germanic *haiþī [ˈxɑi̯.θiː] (heath, wasteland), possibly from PIE *kóy-t-os (forest, wasteland, pasture) [source].

Other words from the same roots include heath in English, heide (heath, heathland, heather) in Dutch, Heide (heath, heathland, nation, country) in German [source], and also coed (forest, wood, trees) in Welsh, koos (forest) in Cornish, and koad (wood, forest) in Breton [source].

More about words for Heather, and Trees, Wood(s) & Forests, 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.