Tag: omniglot

Omniglot News (15/06/25)

By Simon

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Omniglot News

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

New writing system: Thirke Script, which was used in the 14th century in Kodagu in Karnataka, India.

Sample text in Thirke Script

New language pages:

  • Idaxo-Isuxa-Tiriki (Luidakho, Luisukha, Lutirichi), a Northwest Bantu language spoken mainly in Kakamega County in western Kenya.
  • Baduy (Basa Baduy / Basa Sunda Kanékés’), a Sundanese-Baduy language spoken Banten Province in western Java in Indonesia.
  • Kalabari (Kalaḅarị), an Ijoid language spoken in Rivers State and Bayelsa State in southern Nigeria – language number 2,200!

New numbers pages:

  • Wantoat (Taap), a Trans-New Guinea language spoken in Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea.
  • Valencian (valencià), a Western Catalan language spoken mainly in Valencia in eastern Spain.
  • Mojave (Hamakhav), a Yuman language spoken in parts of Arizona, California and Nevada in the USA.
  • Mohican (Mahiikan), an Eastern Algonquian language formerly spoken in eastern New York State and Vermont, which is currently being revived.

New Tower of Babel translation: Kalabari

On the Omniglot blog we find connections between the Italian word palco (stage) and English words such as balcony, plank and block in a post entitled Stages & Balconies, 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 Siberia in the far north of the Russian Federation.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Rongmei (Ruanglat / ꯔꯣꯡꯃꯩ), a Kuki-Chin-Naga language spoken in Assam, Manipur and Nagaland in the northeast of India.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, Jots & Tittles, we jot down a jot or two about jots (and tittles).

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Credible Belief about words for belief, faith, credit and related things.

Improved pages: Murui Huitoto language page.

In other news, I started learning Swahili on Duolingo this week after finishing the other language courses I’ve been working on, apart from Italian. I haven’t studied a Bantu language before, or indeed a language from Africa, and am curious to see what it’s like and how it’s structured. So far I can’t say much, apart from “Habari, jina langu ni Simon. Mimi ni Muingereza.” (Hello, my name is Simon. I’m British).

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

JapanesePod101.com

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.

Unlimited Web Hosting - Kualo

Adventures in Etymology – Jots & Tittles

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this Adventure in Etymology we jot down a jot or two about jots (and tittles).

gocco moleskine - jotter

A jot [ʤɒt / ʤɑt] is:

  • The smallest letter or stroke of any writing; an iota.
  • A small, or the smallest, amount of a thing; a bit, a whit. E.g. He didn’t care a jot for his work.
  • A brief and hurriedly written note.
  • An instant, a moment. (obsolete)

And to jot (down) means:

  • to write (something) quickly; to make a brief note of (something). E.g. I will jot it down in my jotter.

It comes from Middle English jote (jot, tittle, whit), from Latin iōta (iota – a Greek letter), from Ancient Greek ἰῶτα (iôta – the 9th letter of the Ancient Greek alphabet (Ιι), a very small part of writing, a jot), from Phoenician 𐤉 (yodh / y‬ – the 10th letter of the Phoenician abjad), ultimately from the Ancient Egytian hieroglyph 𓂝 (arm) [source].

Related words include jotter (a memordandum book, exercise book, someone who jots), jotting (a brief note or sketch), and jotty (written as, or like, a brief informal sketch) [source].

The expression (every) jot and tittle means a small detail, or the smallest details [source].

A tittle is any small dot, stroke, or diacritical mark, especially if part of a letter, or if a letter-like abbreviation; in particular, the dots over the Latin letters i and j. A small, insignificant amount (of something); a modicum or speck. [source].

Related words include tittle-tattle(r) (an idle gossip, a trifling talker, to engage in/spread gossip), tittle-tattling (idle gossip) title, and tilde (e.g. ~, as used on ã, ñ, õ, etc.).

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

The theme tune for this podcast is The Unexpected Badger / Y Mochyn Daear Annisgwyl, a piece I wrote and recorded in 2017.

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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com

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 (01/06/25)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

  • Bambalang (Chrambo), a Grassfields Southern Bantoid language spoken in Cameroon.
  • Bila (kiBila), a Bantu language spoken in Ituri Province in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • Budu (Ɨbʉdhʉ), a Bantu language spoken in Orientale Province in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

New numbers pages:

  • Zotung (Zo), a Kuki-Chin language spoken mainly in Chin State in western Myanmar.
  • Yine, a Southern Arawakan language spoken mainly in eastern and southern Peru.

New constructed script: Ilo Reverse Abugida, an alternative writing system for Hawaiian invented by TheDankBoi69 and based on the Maldivian Thaana script.

Sample text in Hawaiian in the Ilo Reverse Abugida

New adapted script: Sawi Toki Pona, a way to write Toki Pona with the Shavian script devised by Aahan Kotian.

New article: Decoding Meanings in Spanish Color Expressions

On the Omniglot blog we find out when a tomato is not a tomato in a post entitled Foreign Eggplants, 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 Queenland in Australia.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Musey (Museyna), a Chadic language spoken in southern Chad.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, Luxurious Locks, we unlock connections between the words luxury and lock.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Captive Hostages about words for hostage, captive, pledge and related things in Celtic languages, and I made improvements to the Soft and Tender post.

In other news, I went to see Babymetal at the O2 Arena in London this week. It was a fantastic show that I thoroughly enjoyed. Their songs are almost all in Japanese and I’ve heard most of them many times, so I can sort of sing along, and while I can understand Japanese to some extent, and have everyday conversations, understanding songs is on a different level. I might understand some words and phrases, but the overall meaning usually escapes me.

At the concert, and on my way to and from it, I heard people speaking a variety of languages. The ones I recognised included Spanish, German, Dutch, Czech, Russian, Arabic and Welsh.

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

JapanesePod101.com

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.

Unlimited Web Hosting - Kualo

Adventures in Etymology – Luxurious Locks

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this Adventure in Etymology we unlock connections between the words luxury and lock.

Sofitel So Bangkok - Wood Element Room - 01

As a adjective luxury [ˈlʌk.ʃə.ɹi / ˈlʌɡʒəɹi] can mean:

  • Very expensive.
  • Not essential but desirable and enjoyable and indulgent.

As a noun luxury can mean:

  • Very wealthy and comfortable surroundings.
  • Something desirable but expensive.
  • Something that is pleasant but not necessary in life.

It comes from Middle English luxurie [ˈluksjuri(ə)] (lustfulness; sexual desire or attraction; copulation), from Old French luxur(i)e (lust), from Latin lūxuria (luxury, extravangance, lust), from lūxus (a dislocation, extravagance, luxury, excess, debauchery, pomp, splendor), from Proto-Italic *luksos, from Proto-Indo-European *lewg- (to bend, twist) [source].

Words from the same roots include lock, locket and reluctant in English, lok (lock of hair) in Dutch, Loch (hole, perforation, pit, gap, cavity, dungeon) in German, lujuria (lust, excess) and luchar (to fight, battle, struggle, strive) in Spanish, and gollwng (to releasse, drop, leak) in Welsh [source].

Incidentally, one word for luxury in Old English was firenlust / fyrnlust [ˈfi.renˌlust] which also means sinful lust, sinful pleasure, or extravagance, and comes from firen (crime, sin, torment, suffering) and lust (desire, pleasure, appetite, lust) [source].

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

The theme tune for this podcast is The Unexpected Badger / Y Mochyn Daear Annisgwyl, a piece I wrote and recorded in 2017.

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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com

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 (25/05/25)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

  • Kebu (Kǝkpǝǝkǝ), a Kwa language spoken in southern Togo and southeastern Ghana.
  • Bangubangu (Kibangubangu), a Bantu language spoken in the east and south the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • Cherepon (Kyiripong), a Kwa language spoken in the Eastern Region of Ghana.

New numbers pages:

  • Kebu (Kǝkpǝǝkǝ), a Kwa language spoken in southern Togo and southeastern Ghana.
  • Butuanon, a Southern Bisayan language spoken Mindanao in the Philippines.

New constructed script: Sadalian (新德書), a phonetic script for Cantonese created by Wong “Sadale” Cho Ching.

Sample text in Sadalian

On the Omniglot blog we discover whether the words host and hostage are related in post entitled Hosting Hostages, 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 southern Chad.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Wapishana (Wapixana), a Northern Arawakan language spoken in Guyana and Brazil.

This week’s episode of Celtic Pathways, entitled Cheesy Hills, uncovers the possible Celtic roots of words for hillsides and rough scrub land in Romance languages, and also of the French cheese brie.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Spring Fountains about words for spring, fountain, well and related things in Celtic languages.

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

JapanesePod101.com

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.

Unlimited Web Hosting - Kualo

Celtic Pathways – Cheesy Hills

By Simon

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In this episode, we uncover the possible Celtic roots of words for hillsides and rough scrub land in Romance languages.

Cwm Idwal

The Proto-Celtic words *brigā (hill, fortress) and *brixs (hill), both come from Proto-Indo-European *bʰérǵʰ-s (something high up, fortified) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • brí [bʲɾʲiː] = brae, hill in Irish
  • bre [bre] = hill, headland in Scottish Gaelic
  • bre [bre] = hill, hillock, mountain, hill-country, upland, peak in Welsh
  • bre [brɛ: / bre:] = hill in Cornish – appears as Bray or Brae in placenames
  • bre [breː] = hill, mountain in Breton

For more details of related words in the Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post Hills.

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root, via Gaulish *brigā (hill, fortress) and Latin *brigna (rocky terrain), possibly include bricco (hill, crag, ridgeside) in Italian, breña (scrub, brush, rough ground) in Spanish and Galician, and brenha (scrub, complication, confusion) in Portuguese [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include burrow and borough, (and place names ending in burg(h), boro(ugh), bury, etc.) in English, Burg (castle) in German, burcht (citadel, castle, borough, burrow) in Dutch, and bourg (market town, village) in French – also found in place names, such as Strasbourg and Luxembourg [source].

My take

Incidentally, the French cheese brie comes from and is named after the historic region of Brie in northern France, which gets its name from Gaulish *brigā (hill, fortress), from Proto-Celtic *brigā (hill, fortress) [source].

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 (18/05/25)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

  • Nawdm (nawdm), a Gur language spoken in northern Togo and southern and eastern Ghana.
  • Yom (Pila), a Gur language spoken in the Atacora, Borgou and Donga departments in the northwest of Benin.
  • Akuapem, a variety of Akan spoken mainly in southern Ghana, and in the southeast of the Ivory Coast.
  • Likpe (Sεkpεlé), a Kwa language spoken in the Hoehoe District of the Volta Region in southeastern Ghana.

New numbers pages:

  • Nawdm (nawdm), a Gur language spoken in Togo and Ghana.
  • Loma (Löömàgòòi), a Southwestern Mande language spoken in northern Liberia.
  • Mandari (Kútúk nà mùndárì), an Eastern Nilotic language spoken in Central Equatoria state in South Sudan.

New phrases pages:

  • Nawdm (nawdm), a Gur language spoken in Togo and Ghana.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Rustling Frou-frous – a frou-frou little post I rustled up about ways to say rustle in French, 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 Guyana and Brazil.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Batak Mandailing (Saro Mandailing), a Southern Batak language spoken mainly in North Sumatra Province in Indonesia.

This week’s Adventure in Etymology is an assembly of words about the word thing, or something like that.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Buckets & Pails about words for bucket, pail and related things in Celtic languages.

In other news, I finally finished the Spanish course on Duolingo this week, or all the lessons I hadn’t got to yet disappeared. This has happened before for other languages, including Japanese, Irish and Scottish Gaelic. Sometimes lessons mysteriously disappear, and other times new ones appear. I’d previously finished all the Spanish lessons, for example, then a whole load more showed up.

I’m currently concentrating on Italian and Mandarin Chinese, and keeping my Japanese ticking over. I’m thinking about either trying a completely new language to me, or brushing up one of the ones I’ve already studied. My streak is currently at 2,857 days – that’s over 8 years (and 14 languages), and I don’t want to lose it. I’ve got into the habit of studying every day and would miss it, even if some days I’m mainly doing it to maintain my streak and my position in the diamond league.

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

JapanesePod101.com

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.

Unlimited Web Hosting - Kualo

Adventures in Etymology – An Assembly of Things

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This Adventure in Etymology is an assembly of words about the word thing, or something like that.

Pointless things?

Meanings of thing [θɪŋ] include:

  • That which is considered to exist as a separate entity, object, quality or concept.
  • A word, symbol, sign, or other referent that can be used to refer to any entity.
  • An individual object or distinct entity.

It comes from Middle English thing (thing, substance, object), from Old English þing (thing, matter, concern, event, meeting, court, case, reason, means), from Proto-West Germanic *þing (court, session, lawsuit, affair, matter, thing, object) from Proto-Germanic *þingą (time, date, meeting, assembly, council, case, matter, issue), from Proto-Indo-European *tenk-ó-, from *tenk- (to be suitable) [source].

So, its meaning changed from being suitable, to a suitable or scheduled time, to an assembly, to a specific issue discussed at an assembly, to issues, objects or things in general. Which is quite something.

There are related words in other Germanic languages that also mean thing, and other things. For example, ding (matter, thing) in Dutch [source] (and Afrikaans), Ding (thing, girl, boy) in German [source], and Déngen (thing, object) in Luxembourgish [source].

The Alþingi
The Alþingi

However, in Norwegian, ting can mean thing, court or assembly [source], ting means thing, assembly or parliament in Danish [source], and þing means assembly, meeting, council or parliament in Icelandic, and the parliament of Iceland is called the Alþingi – see above [source].

Other words from the same roots include tinka (quarrel, disagreement, shortage, lack, tight situation) in Finnish, tinge (to bargin, haggle) in Danish, þinga (to hold a meeting) in Icelandic, dungi (to employ) in Esperanto, and gedeihen (to thrive, flourish, prosper) in German [source].

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

The theme tune for this podcast is The Unexpected Badger / Y Mochyn Daear Annisgwyl, a piece I wrote and recorded in 2017.

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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com

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 (11/05/25)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

  • Bujeba (Bisio), a Bantu language spoken in the Litoral Province in the west of Equatorial Guinea.
  • Gyele (gyɛ̀lì), a Bantu language spoken in the Océan Department in the South Province of Cameroon.
  • Kwasio, a Bantu language spoken along the coast of south western Cameroon and north western Equatorial Guinea.
  • Mbosi (Embɔ́si), a Bantu language spoken in the Cuvette and Plateaux departments in the Republic of the Congo.

New numbers pages:

  • Hadza (Hadzane), a language isolate spoken near Lake Eyasi in northern Tanzania.
  • Gascon (Gascoun), a variety of Occitan spoken mainly in southwestern France and northeastern Spain.
  • Bearnese (biarnés / bearnés), a variety of Gascon spoken in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France.

On the Omniglot blog we find out what the words knot and knit have to do with King Canute, and how they connect to Bluetooth in a post entitled Knotted Knitting, 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 Sumatra in Indonesia.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Sar(a) (Madjingay), a Central Sudanic language spoken in southern Chad.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, Bearing Cradles, we discover the Celtic roots of words for cradle, crib and related things in Portuguese and other languages.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Saponaceous Soap about words for soap and related things in Celtic languages.

I also made improvements to the Celtiadur post entitled Ceilidh Companions, and improved the Daggers Alphabet page.

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

JapanesePod101.com

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.

Unlimited Web Hosting - Kualo

Celtic Pathways – Bearing Cradles

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode we discover the Celtic roots of words for cradle, crib and related things in Portuguese and other languages.

berço

The Proto-Celtic word *bereti means to carry or bear, and comes from Proto-Indo-European bʰéreti (to be carrying), from *bʰer- (to bear, carry) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • beir [bʲɛɾʲ] = to bear, give birth to; lay (eggs) in Irish
  • beir [berʲ] = to take hold; bring forth, bear, produce, carry in Scottish Gaelic
  • behr = to bear (give birth to) in Manx
  • beru = to flow, drip, drizzle in Welsh
  • perthi = to bear, endure, put up with, stand, suffer, tolerate in Cornish (not entirely sure about this one)
  • berañ [ˈbeːrã] = to drip, flow in Breton

For more details of related words in the Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post Birth.

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root via Proto-Celtic *bertā (bundle, burden ?), Gaulish *berta and Latin berciolum (cradle), include berço (cradle, crib, birthplace) in Portuguese, bressol (cradle) in Catalan, berceau (cradle, crib, birthplace, arch, vault) in French, and berså (arbour, bower) in Swedish (borrowed from French) [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include barn, barrow, bear, berth, birth and burden and ferret in English, baren (to bear, give birth to, cause) in Dutch, brouette (wheelbarrow) in French, and Bürde (burden) in German [source].

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.