Last night I arrived safely in Glencolmcille in Donegal in the northwest of Ireland. I left Peel at 8am, went by bus to Ronaldsway airport, flew to Dublin, then took buses all the way to Glencolmcille, arriving just before 8pm, so it took nearly 12 hours.
I met people I know from previous visits to Ireland along the way – at Dublin airport, in Donegal town, and in Killybegs – so the journey didn’t seem quite so long as I had people to talk to. As they say in Irish, bíonn siúlach scéalach (travellers have tales to tell), and giorraíonn beirt bóthar (two people shorten a road).
On the road and after I arrived in Glencolmcille I had conversations in English, Irish, German, Welsh, and spoke odd bits of Russian, French, Romanian, Swedish and Manx.
Today the courses start – there are courses in Irish language, translation, flute and whistle player, and harp playing (that’s the one I’m doing), and also a group going hill walking every day.
There are people here from many countries, including Ireland, the UK, the USA, Australia, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Belarus, Brazil and Slovakia. So I will have plenty of opportunities to practise my languages.
This week I’ve had quite a few conversations in Manx. I only speak it when I come to the Isle of Man, and when I meet Manx learners at polyglot events. At the beginning of the week my Manx was decidedly rusty, but it’s starting to flow now. When I don’t know a word or phrase in Manx, I switch to Irish, and often get away with it. It helps that some of the Manx speakers I know here also speak Irish.
As well as Manx, and English, I spoke some Welsh last night, and odd bits of Scottish Gaelic, Cornish and Breton.
The performers here for the festival are from the Isle of Man, Scotland and Ireland. The songs have been in English and Manx, and the evening concerts have been introduced bilingually in Manx and English. There aren’t any performers here from Wales, Cornwall or Brittany this year, but there have been in previous years.
Tomorrow I’m off to Glencolmcille (Gleann Cholm Cille) in Donegal in the northwest of Ireland. I will speak plenty of Irish there, and probably other languages, and learn more traditional Irish songs and tunes.
This week I am in the Isle of Man for the CeltFest, a festival of Manx and Celtic music and culture. There are lunchtime concerts every day at the Noa bakehouse in Douglas, and concerts and other events every night in Peel.
Last night I went to a fascinating talk by Alice Roberts, an anatomist, anthropologist and broadcaster, about the history of the Celtic people and languages.
One popular theory is that the Celtic people originated from the Urnfield culture of central Europe during the Late Bronze Age (about 1,200 BC) and spread to many other parts of Europe after that.
The Romans and Greek talk about Celtic people inhabiting parts of Gaul (France), Iberia (Spain and Portugal), northern Italy, Helvetica (Switzerland), Anatolia (Turkey), and parts of eastern Europe. However, no ancient writers mention Celtic people in the British Isles or Ireland. The Ancient Greek historian Herodotus, for example, tells us that “the Celts live beyond the Pillars of Heracles, being neighbors of the Cynesii, who are the westernmost of all the peoples inhabiting Europe.” [source].
The people who spoke Celtic languages in the British Isles, Ireland and Brittany didn’t refer to themselves as Celts before the 18th century. It was Edward Lhuyd (1660-1709) who first used the word Celt in print in 1707 to refer to people who spoke Celtic languages. Before then they were just Welsh, Irish, Scottish, etc [source].
Professor Roberts told us that there is no evidence for large-scale movement of people in Europe during the Iron Age, the time when the Celts were thought to have spread from central Europe. People did move around, taking goods, ideas and technology with them, but not in large enough numbers to show up in the archaeological record.
There is, however, evidence for significant movements of people associated with the Bell-Beaker culture out of the Pontic-Caspian Steppe of central Asia into Europe from about 2,900 BC.
During the Bronze Age, people migrated into Europe from central Asia, bringing their Proto-Indo-European (PIE) language and culture with them. The people already in Europe, apart from the Basques, adopted the new culture and language. Over time the Indo-European languages developed from PIE. The Celtic languages developed mainly in western Europe. They disappeared from continental Europe, apart from in Brittany, after the 6th century AD, and continue to be spoken in parts of the British Isles and Ireland. At least that is my understanding of last night’s talk.
The earliest known inscriptions in a Celtic language date from the 6th century BC and were found in southern Portugal. They are written in an alphabet known as the Southwestern Script, and the language is referred to as Tartessian or South Lusitanian. Professor Roberts suggested that this script developed from the Phoenician script, independently of alphabets elsewhere in Europe, and the Tartessians, or whatever they called themselves, came up with the idea of adding vowels.
One thing Chinese learners often ask about is how many characters they need to know in order to read Chinese.
In a new article I was sent today, there’s some discussion about how many Chinese characters and words you need to know. I decided to check to details provided by the writer, and re-wrote this section based on what I found.
According to the PRC language curriculum standards, by grade 9 Chinese pupils are expected to be able to recognise 3,500 commonly-used characters, and to be able to write 3,000 of them.
According to the BBC languages site, the average educated Chinese person knows about 8,000 characters, but you only need to know 2-3,000 to read a newspaper.
According to this post on Ninchanese, Chinese students who graduate from high school know about 4,500 characters. If you want to be able to read Chinese newspapers you need to know around 2,500 characters, and for other texts maybe 3-4,000 characters. It also mentions that there are 370,000 words listed in the 汉语大词典, a comprehensive Chinese dictionary.
In China urban residents are officially considered literate if they know 2,000 characters, and rural residents if they know 1,500 characters. Based on these definitions, 99% of the population was literate in 2014 [source]. However, if the Ninchanese statistics are true, many people who are defined as literate might struggle to read a newspaper.
Chinese characters are often equated with words. However, each character represents a syllable. Some Chinese words are monosyllabic, and are written with one character, but many have two or more syllables, and are written with two or more characters. So knowing a Chinese character doesn’t necessarily mean that you will understand all the words it appears in.
For example, you may know the character 马 [馬] (mǎ) – horse, but would you know these words?
马兵 [馬兵] (mǎbīng) – cavalry (“horse soldiers”)
马力 [馬力] (mǎlì) – horse power
马上 [馬上] (mǎshàng) – immediately (“on a horse”)
马戏团 [馬戲團] (mǎxì tuán) – circus (“horse play group”)
If you are a native Chinese speaker, or a learner of Chinese, do you know roughly how many characters you can recognise and write?
I studied Mandarin for five years at universities in England and Taiwan, and spent over five years in Taipei. I can read and write traditional and simplified characters, and pinyin and bopomofo. I can read Chinese texts, and even some Classical Chinese, but there are usually quite a few characters and words I don’t know. I’ve only read Chinese literature as part of my studies, and not for pleasure. I would guess that I know maybe 2-3,000 charactes, or at least I used to – I rarely read or write Chinese these days and have forgotten quite a few of them.
If not, you are missing out on one of the best kept secrets in Latin America. It is a country filled with life, lots of culture, and great food to eat!
It’s the place that I have called home for the past 4 months and the country that my wife Andrea grew up in. She has given me some inside information and provided me with some fun Colombian slang words to show you.
We based this article off a YouTube video that we produced featuring actual Colombians speaking the 10 Colombian Slang Expressions. If you want to hear these phrases spoken by actual Colombians than check out the video.
10 Popular Colombian Slang Expressions
1) Quiubo
It’s like saying, “What’s up” in English. Or another way of saying it is, “How’s it going?”
It’s a very common phrase used among family, friends, and co-workers. Basically, it’s great in any informal setting. So don’t try this one on your serious Colombian boss.
Here’s an example in a normal Colombian dialogue:
A: Quiubo, ¿Que mas?
B: Bien, gracias a Dios.
Translation:
A: Hows is going, what’s going on? B: Everything is good, thank the Lord.
2. ¡Que bacano! or ¡Tan bacano!
Both these phrases are extremely popular in Colombia.
It’s the equivalent of saying, “That’s awesome” or “that’s great.” If you think something is really awesome make sure to say, “¡Que bacano!”
Here are a couple examples in daily conversation:
A: Compre un nuevo celular——–B: ¡Que bacano!
A: Si, mi mama me dio la plata—–B: ¿Enserio? ¡Tan bacano!
Translation:
A: I just bought a new cell phone. B: That’s awesome!
A: My mom just gave me money. B: Really? That’s great!
3. Que Pereza
Here’s another one that I hear all the time in Colombia. It essentially means, “What a pain.”
You can also use it if something is really boring. So next time you have a boring project at work or one you really don’t want to do, take a look over at your co-worker and say, “¡Que pereza!”
A: I have to study calculus. ———-B: Really? That’s so boring!
4. Hacer Una Vaca
Are you about to watch a sports game with friends and you need people to chip in for pizza?
It’s time to “hacer una vaca.” This one is only used in the plural form though.
For instance: “Hagamos una vaca” or “Por qué no hacemos una vaca” means “Let’s all put money together for…”
Let’s take a look at this phrase in action:
A: ¡Tengo mucha sed!——B: Hagamos una vaca para la gaseosa.
Translation:
I’m so thirsty. Let’s chip in to buy a soda.
5. Que Boleta
This phrase means, “That’s not fair!” or “That’s not nice!”
Basically, you can use this phrase when you are in a bad situation or something bad happened when someone treated you poorly.
My Colombian wife uses this one a lot whenever I do something she doesn’t like or is upset about.
Here’s an example:
A: Juan no tiene trabajo, su jefe lo despidió.
B: ¿Enserio? ¡Que boleta!, Él es un muy buen trabajador.
Translation:
A: Juan doesn’t have a job because his boss fired him. B: Really? That’s terrible, he is a great worker.
6. Por Si Las Moscas
This is one I am trying to use more and more. It means, “Just in case.”
It’s very common in Colombia where I live. If you think it is going to rain, you could make sure to bring an umbrella, “Por si las moscas.”
Here’s an example from a dialogue:
A: Piensas que debo traer repelente?
B: Si, tráelo por si las moscas, quizás hay muchos mosquitos.
Translation:
A: Do you think I should bring insect repellant?
B: Yes, bring it just in case as there might be lots of mosquitos.
7. Parar Bolas
You can use this one to signify, “Pay attention!” A common conjugation for most Colombians here is “¡Páreme bolas!”
This signifies someone telling them to pay attention already. My wife uses this one a lot when she tells me to pay attention to what she has to say.
Here’s an example in conversation:
A: ¿Usted hizo la tarea?—–B:(no contesta nada)—–A: Oiga, páreme bolas!
Translation:
A: Did you do your homework? (no response) B: Hey, pay attention to me!
8. Dar Papaya
“Dar papaya” means to make yourself an easy target. You can say, “No de papaya” o “no hay que dar papaya” when you are telling someone to be careful around others.
Parents can use this one to tell their kids to be careful and not make themselves an easy target.Here’s an example in conversation:
Here’s a conversational example:
A: ¿Por qué utiliza el celular aquí? ¡Estamos en el centro, no de papaya!
Translation:
A: Why are you using your phone here. We are downtown, don’t make yourself an easy target [to get robbed]!
9. Que Embarrada o Embarrarla
Here’s another very common Colombian slang expression. I hear this one said all the time.
“Que embarrada” can be used when something bad happens and to express that you are sorry about it.
You can also say, “La embarre” (embarrarla) when you make an error.
Here’s and example in conversation:
A: la abuela de Alex murió——-B: ¿Si? ¡Qué embarrada!
A: La embarré en el examen, tuve 7 errores.
Translation:
A: Alex’s grandma passed away. B: Really? I’m so sorry to hear that!
A: I really screwed up on the test, I had 7 mistakes.
10. Mamar Gallo
We have now reached our 10th and final popular Colombian slang expression.
“Mamar gallo” means to “mess around” or to “joke around.” You can use this phrase to tell someone to stop messing around. I like this phrase a lot as I like to “Mamar gallo” at times.
Example in conversation:
A: ¡Deje de mamar gallo y limpie la habitación!
Translation:
Stop messing around and clean your room!
Other Colombian Slang Words to Learn (and sound like a native)
Here’s a few more Colombian phrases or words you can learn.
They are all quite common and will be universally understood by just about any Colombian and probably by most Latinos.
Try a few out on a Colombian friend or language partner.
Que oso = How embarrassing!
Tengo un filo = I am super hungry
Me estoy asando = It’s boiling hot in here
Tiene huevo = What nerves!
Que chevere = That’s great/ Cool
Que jartera = What a pain (as well)
Mentiras = I am joking!
Arruncharse = to cuddle
Camellar = trabajar
Wrapping It Up
As a quick reminder if you want to check out these Colombian Slang Expressions spoken by Colombian natives check out this short dramatic video.
Better yet, download Andrea’s cheat sheet and get the 1 page PDF with the important phrases and how to use them. It’s in both English and Spanish to help you learn something new.
I hope you have learned something new or a new phrase you can try out with a Colombian friend.
My recommendation is to travel to Colombia and use a couple of these phrases on locals. They would be happy to play along with your slang words and you will be sure to sound like a native.
Colombia is a fantastic place to visit with crystal clear beaches, tropical beaches, and happy people to meet. It’s nothing like the dangerous, drug-infested reports that are often portrayed in the government or media (although it does have dangerous parts).
Finally, whatever your reason is for learning Colombian expressions, my one hope is that you actually use them!
About the writer
Nate and his wife Podcast and teach Spanish to Intermediate and Advanced language learners over at SpanishlandSchool.com. He loves to travel (particularly in South America) and writes on his hikes at LiveOutdoorsy.com. If you have any Colombian questions please feel free to reach out!
I came across a new word on Instagram today – shelfie, a portmanteau of shelf and selfie meaning, according to Wiktionary, “a photograph of a bookshelf/bookcase taken by its owner and shared on social media.”
The context I saw the word was even more specific – language shelfies, i.e. a photo of a bookshelf containing language courses, dictionaries, and other language-related books.
So here are a few of my language shelfies:
This is a non-language shelfie. Can you guess who my favourite author is?
You can see larger versions of these shelfies on Flickr.
Are there equivalents of selfie or shelfie in other languages?
One thing I’ve learnt from it, is that there are quite a few words in Scottish Gaelic related to hills and mountains:
Beinn [beiɲ / beɲə] = mountain, mount; high hill, pinnacle; head, top, high place. It comes from the Old Irish benn (peak, point, pinnacle), from the Proto-Celtic *benno- (peak, top).
Sgurr [sguːrˠ / sgurˠə] = high pointed hill, peak; cliff, craig.
Stob [sdɔb] = point, pinnacle; stake; pointed iron stick; prickle, thorn; stump; sharp-pointed stick; to prick, prod.
Meall [mjaul̪ˠ / mjal̪ˠəɣ] = mound, round hill; pile, heap; lump, clot, mass; (rain) shower; bout. It comes from the Old Irish mell (a ball, sphere, round mass; a round protuberance, swelling).
Stùc [stuːxg] = little hill jutting out from a greater, steep on one side and rounded on the other; cliff; pinnacle of a roof; horn; scowl; rock; lump; conical steep rock; precipice.
Stòr [sdɔːr] = steep, high cliff; broken or decayed tooth.
Cnoc /krɔ̃xg/ = hill: small hill, hillock, knoll; chilblain. It comes from the the Old Irish cnocc (hill, lump, stump), from Proto-Celtic *knokkos (hill).
Cruachan [kruəxan] = conical hill; hip.
Mam [maum] = rounded hill/mountain; mountain gap/pass; boil; bulge.
Cnap [krãhb] = small lumpy hill; knob, lump, protrusion; block; boss, node; swelling; button; potato; gust of wind; thump, thud. It is a borrowing from the Old Norse knappr (knob, stud, button), or the Old English cnæp (top of a hill, button, brooch).
Binnean [biɲan] = high conical hill; apex, high point; pinnacle.
Cruachag [kruəxag] small round hill; small pile/stack; small clamp (stack).
Dùnan [duːnan] = small hill; small fortress; dunghill; midden.
Torr [tɔːrˠ] = hill, mountain of an abrupt or conical form, lofty hill; Eminence; mound, large heap.
Monadh [mɔnəɣ] = mountain (covered with moors); high-lying moorland; expanse of heather.
Sliabh [ʃʎiəv] = hillside, slope; mountain. It comes from the Old Irish slíab (mountain, mountain range, moor), from the Proto-Celtic *slēbos (mountain).
Note: not all these words feature in Uncommon Ground.
Some of these words appear mainly in place names, and may be used in songs and poems, but are not used in everyday Gaelic.
A jiffy is very short, unspecified length of time. For example, “I’ll be back in a jiffy”.
It can refer to more precise units of time, and was first defined by Gilbert Newton Lewis (1875–1946) as the time it takes light to travel one centimeter in a vacuum (about 33.3564 picoseconds). Other definitions are available.
Jiffy [ˈd͡ʒɪ.fi] was first recorded in English in 1785 and its origin is uncertain. One possibity is that it was Thieves’ Cant for lightning. It used to be written giffy, and may be related to gliff (a transient glance; an unexpected view of something that startles one; a sudden fear) [source].
Jiffy is also a brand of padded envelope and other packaging, so you could, if you were so inclined, send someone something in a jiffy (bag/envelope) in a jiffy.
Other expressions that indicate that something will happen very soon include:
– at once
– now
– right now
– straight away
– immediately
– in an instant
– instantly
– in a minute
– in a moment
– in a second
– in a trice
– in a mo
– in a sec
– in a tic
– in a heartbeat
– as quick as a flash
– in a second / in a sec
– in two shakes of a lamb’s tail
– in the blink of an eye
– before you know it
Welsh equivalents include:
– ar unwaith (at once)
– yn syth (immediately)
– ar y gair (on the word)
– yn y fan (in the place)
– yn ddi-oed (without delay)
– mewn chwinciad (in a wink)
The length of time indicated by these expressions can vary considerably. When some people say they will do something staight away, they really mean it. Others might mean that they will do it at some time in the future, maybe, if they can be bothered, but don’t hold your breath.
When I’m asked to do something I don’t really want to do, I might say that I’ll do it when I have a spare moment (or two), or if I can find the time. This might mean that I will actually do it, or that I won’t.
Do you know/use other expressions, in English or other languages, for short lengths of time?
When asked to do something you would rather not do, how would you politely decline?
This post was inspired by a reference to Jiffy Pop, a brand of popcorn, in a novel I’m reading at the moment, The Art of Disappearing, by Ivy Pochoda. I had to look it up.
Today is the longest day of the year and the summer solstice. After several hot, sunny days in Bangor, today it’s cloudy, warm and muggy.
The word solstice comes from the Old French solstice, from Latin sōlstitium (solstice; summer), from sol (sun) and sto (stand), from sistō (I stand still).
Sol comes from the Proto-Italic *swōl, from the pre-Italic *sh₂wōl, from the Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ (sun), which is the root of words for sun in many Indo-European languages. In the Gaelic languages though, it is the root of words for eye: Irish: súil, Manx: sooill, and Scottish Gaelic: sùil.
The word muggy, meaning humid, or hot and humid, comes from an English dialect word, mugen (to drizzle), from the Old Norse mugga (drizzle, mist), which possibly comes from the Proto-Indo-European *meug- (slimy, slippery), which is also the root of the English word mucus.
It has been brought to my attention that in Swedish the most common way to say ‘speak’, at least in Stockholm, is pratar, and that few people use talar anymore.
Är detta sant? Is this true?
The Duolingo course I’m studying Swedish with uses talar, – pratar has not come up yet.
According to Witionary, Pratar is the present tense form of the verb prata (to talk, speak), and comes from the Low German praten (to talk), from the Proto-Germanic *prattuz (idle or boastful talk, deceit), from the Proto-Indo-European *brodno- (to wander, rove). The English word prattle (to speak incessantly and in a childish manner; to babble) comes from the same root.
Talar is the present tense form of the verb tala (to speak; to utter words; to tell; to talk; to make a speech) from the Old Norse tala, from the Proto-Germanic *talō (calculation, number), from the Proto-Indo-European *del- (to reckon, count).
Other Swedish words related to speech and language include:
– tal = speech
– språk = language
– språka = to speak
– snacka = to talk, speak (coll.); to boast emptily (slang); to reveal secrets
– säga = to say, to tell; to utter words
– pladdra = to prattle
– skrika = to scream, to yell, to shout
– viska = to whisper
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