– fossile = fossil = ffosil = karrekaenn
– contractuel = traffic warden = warden traffig
– Viking = Viking = Llychlynnwr / Ficing = Idem
– le drakkar / bateau viking = viking ship = llong/cwch llychlynnwr = drakkar
– la lacune = loophole (in law) = bwlch = toull
– la niche fiscale = tax loophole = bwlch treth
– combler une lacune = to close a loophole = cau bwlch
– l’échappatoire (f) = way out, excuse, loophole = allanfa, esgus, bwlch
– le feu (de jardin) = bonfire = coelcerth = tan
– le passage pour piétons = pedestrian crossing = croesfan gerddwyr = treuzenn kerzhourien
– le passage à niveau = level crossing = croesfan wastad = treuzenn hent-houarn
– le rayon de soleil = sunbeam = pelydryn haul = barr-heol
Category: Welsh (Cymraeg)
Cariad@iaith
I went to an interesting discussion last night entitled cariad@iaith (love4language) which featured two English writers, Simon Thirsk and Mike Parker, who have lived in Wales for many years, learnt Welsh and written books based on their experiences. It was mostly in Welsh and was chaired by the Welsh author, Bethan Gwanas. Simon and Mike talked about how they learned Welsh, about being accepted, or not, in their local communities, and about their books.
The audience was made up of Welsh learners and native Welsh speakers, and one good question that came up was how native Welsh speakers can make things linguistically easier for Welsh learners. After some discussion we concluded that the most helpful thing the native speakers can do is to stick to Welsh and not to switch to English even when learners are struggling. Other helpful things would be for native speakers to speak a bit more slowly and to avoid using too much slang.
Native speakers of languages that many people learn, like French, German and Spanish, might be more accustomed to encountering learners and might be relatively willing and able to modify the way they speak, but for lesser-studied languages, like Welsh, the story can be different. This partly depends on whether or not the native speakers of lesser-studied languages speak another major language like English, French or Spanish.
When you speak in your foreign languages to native speakers of those languages, do the native speakers make any allowances for you as a learner (if you’re not at near-native level)?
Do speakers of some languages do this more than for other languages?
If you are a native speaker of a lesser-studied / minority language, are you happy to speak to learners in your language and to accommodate to them by slowing down and simplifying things? Or do you quickly switch to English or another major language?
Les mot de la semaine
– la voie = lane (on road) = lôn = hent
– le chemin = (country) lane = lôn = hent
– la ruelle = lane (in town) = lôn = hent
– le couloir = lane (in race) = lôn = hent
– aléatoire = random (selection) = hap = ankivil, chañs
– au hasard = at random = ar antur, ar siawns, ar hap = en avantur
– le cantique = hymn = emyn, hymn = kantik
– le bocal = (glass) jar = jar = pod-gwer
– le pot = (jam/honey) jar = jar = pod
– le verre = tumbler, glass = gwydr = gwer
– la chope = tankard = mwg cwrw, tancard = chop bier
– le couvercle = lid = clawr, caead = golo, goulc’her
– la poignée = (door) handle = handlen = brec’h
– l’anse (f) = (cup) handle = dolen, trontol = dourgenn
– le manche (knife, spade, broom) handle = coes, carn = troad
– la queue = (saucepan) handle = coes
Les mots de la semaine
– l’indication (f) = clue = arwydd, cliw = arouez
– l’indice (m) = clue (in investigation) = arwydd, cliw = merk rumm
– la définition = clue (in crosswords) = arwydd, cliw
– être au parfum = to be clued up = bod yn gyfarwydd â
– la nageoire = fin (of fish) = asgell = angell
– l’aileron = fin (of shark, dophin) = asgell = angell
– maître nageur (euse) / surveillant de plage = lifeguard = achubwr bywydau = mestr neuñver saveteer
– la marionnette (à gaine) = (hand/glove) puppet = pyped (llaw/maneg) = margodenn
– le pôle Nord = the North Pole = Pegwn/Pôl y Gogledd = penn-ahel an Norzh
– la rougeur / l’éruption (f) = rash = brech = ruzded / brec’h
– la boussole = compass (for navigation) = cwmpawd = nadoz-vor
– le compas = compass (for drawing circles) = cwmpas = kelc’hier, kompaz
Sentence bank
I’ve decided to learn some more Breton and have found a very useful website – the Breizh-Llydaw Sentence Bank (y Cronfa Frawddegau Breizh-Llydaw / Ar gevredigezh Kembre-Breizh) – a bilingual corpus of sentences in Breton and Welsh from the magazine Breizh-Llydaw. I can understand the Welsh sentences and can more or less work out the meanings of the Breton words from the context. I think I’ll use it to learn Breton vocabulary and grammar in context.
Does anybody know of any similar bilingual corpuses for other languages?
Related tools include Geriaoueg, a Breton, French, Welsh, English, Icelandic, Catalan, Spanish dictionary; and morphological analysers for Breton and Welsh.
Les mots de la semaine
– la côte = rib = asen = kostenn
– la cage thoracique = rib cage = cawell asennau = kest ar brusk
– le couple = rib (of boat) = asen = koubl
– la coque = hull = corff llong = korf ar vag
– l’armature (f) = frame(work), bone, underwiring = ffrâm, fframwaith = frammadur
– prouver, avérer = prove = profi = prou(v)iñ, donet
– le sous-bock, le rond à bière = beermat = mat cwrw
– le bock = beer glass, glass of beer = gwydr cwrw = bok
– dénonciateur, corbeau = whistle-blower = chwythwr chwiban = disklêrier
– ringard, old school = cheesy, naff = sathredig, ystrydebol, ffuantus = kaoc’h kazh
– le pied = leg (table, chair) = coes
– le dossier = back (chair) = cefn – kein
– le siège = seat (chair) = sêt = sez
– le réduction, la rabais = discount = disgownt = rabat, diskar
De cette semaine le mots de la semaine seront en français, anglais, gallois et breton.
From this week the words of the week will be in French, English, Welsh and Breton.
O’r wythnos ‘ma byddan eiriau yr wythnos yn Ffrangeg, Saesneg, Cymraeg a Llydaweg.
Yezhoù, kanaouennoù ha sonerezh
The Breton couchsurfers arrived yesterday, with an Austrian friend, and we’re having a great time. They’ve taught me a bit of Breton, we’ve also talked in French, English, Welsh, Irish and German – I love having opportunities to use my languages like this. I’ve learnt more about Brittany and Breton and have shown them round Bangor – they particularly like the older parts of the university.
Last night we did some silly singing at the crazy choir – a small group of us who get together every other week to improvise songs and harmonies and generally be silly. After that we went to a folk music session at a nearby pub. Tonight we’re going to a cèilidh, which will the first time they’ve been to one, though they do have something similar in Brittany – fest-noz.
Les mots de la semaine
– le moine / le religieux = monk = mynach
– le monastère = monastery = mynachlog
– la (bonne) sœur / la religieuse = nun = lleian
– le couvent = nunnery / convent = lleiandy / cwfaint
– se vanter = to boast = brolio / ymffrostio
– la vantardise = (a) boast = brol / ymffrost
– épais = thick = trwchus / tew
– mince / fin / maigre = thin = tenau / main / cul
– une brebis galeuse = black sheep (“mangy ewe”) = dafad ddu
– à chaque troupeau sa brebis galeuse = there’s a black sheep in every flock = y mae dafad ddu ym mhob praidd
– le champ des courses = racecourse = cae rhedeg
– s’éndormir = to fall asleep = syrthio / cwympo i gysgu
– endormi = asleep = yn cysgu / ynghwsg
– à moitié endormi = half asleep = yn hanner cysgu
– la roche = rock (substance) = craig
– le roc = rock (hard, solid) = craig (galed)
– le rocher = boulder / rock = clogfaen / craig
Les mots de la semaine
– filtre = filter = ffilter, hidl
– chargeur (de piles) = (battery) charger = gwefrwr (batri)
– le public = audience (cinema, theatre) = cynulleidfa
– l’audience, les auditeurs = (radio) audience, listeners = gwrandawyr
– les téléspectateurs = (TV) audience = cynulleidfa (teledu)
– le spectateur = member of the audience, spectator, onlooker
– l’icône (f) = icon = eicon
– l’éditeur (m) = publisher (company) = cyhoeddwr
– la maison d’édition = publishing house = cwmni cyhoeddi
– le nombril = navel = botwm bol, bogail
– le nombrilisme = navel-gazing, omphaloskepsis = bogailsyllu
– il pense qu’il est le nombril du monde = he thinks the world revolves around him – (dw i ddim yn siŵr sut i ddweud hyn yn Gymraeg)
Omphaloskepsis
Omphaloskepsis /ˈɒmfələʊˈskɛpsɪs/ is an interesting word I came across today that refers to the practice of contemplating one’s navel as an aid to meditation. It comes from the Ancient Greek ὀμϕαλός (omphalos – navel) and σκέψις (skepsis -inquiry).
Apparently omphaloskepsis is used in yoga and sometimes in the Eastern Orthodox Church and it helps in the contemplation of the basic principles of the cosmos and of human nature, and naval is consider by some to be a ‘powerful chakra’.
Omphaloskepsis is also another word for contemplating one’s navel or navel-gazing, i.e. being self-absorbed.
The French equivalent of omphaloskepsis is nombrilisme, from nombril (navel) plus -isme (-ism), and the Welsh equivalent is bogailsyllu, from bogail (navel) and syllu (to gaze, look). A French idiom the revolves around the navel is penser qu’on est le nombril du monde (‘to think that one is the navel of the world’) or to think the world revolves around you. Are there similar phrases in other languages?
On another topic, have you ever heard or used the phrase “who’s she, the cat’s mother?”.
It is, or was, used to point out that referring to a woman in the third person in her presence is/was considered rude by some. It apparently was first noted in the OED in the late 19th century.