Author: Simon

I am a linguist, web developer and musician. I live in Bangor in Wales and run Omniglot - the online encyclopedia of writing systems and languages, as well as making the Radio Omniglot Podcast.

Omniglot News (06/03/22)

By Simon

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Here are details of the latest developments on Omniglot websites and blogs.

This week the new language and numbers pages on Omniglot are all in Zapotecan languages, which belong to the Oto-Manguean language family and are spoken mainly in the state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. The new language pages are:

  • San Dionisio Ocotepec Zapotec (Diza), which is spoken in the town of San Dionisio Ocotepec in Oaxaca.
  • Güilá Zapotec (Diza), which is spoken in the town of San Pablo Güilá in Oaxaca.
  • Choápam Zapotec (Diꞌidzaꞌ xidzaꞌ), which is spoken in Comaltepec in Oaxaxa, and in Arena and Playa Vincente in the state of Verzcruz.
  • Rincón Zapotec (Didza Xidza), which is spoken in the Villa Alta District of the Sierra Norte Region of Oaxaca.
  • Miahuatlán Zapotec (Diiste), which is spoken in the town of Santa Catarina Cuixtla in the Miahuatlán District in the south of the Sierra Sur Region of Oaxaca.
  • Zoogocho Zapotec (Diža’xon), which is spoken in the Villa Alta District of the Sierra Norte Region of Oaxaca, and also in Oaxaca City.

There are a new numbers pages in: Choápam Zapotec, Rincón Zapotec and Isthmus Zapotec, which is spoken in the southeast of Oaxaca.

There a new constructed script called Rahmat, which is a way to write English, Indonesian and other languages devised by Zackye Rahmat.

It looks something like this:

Sample text in the Rahmat alphabet

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a post called Fiery Lakes about the French idiom Il n’y a pas le feu au lac (“There’s no fire on the lake”), and the usual Language Quiz – see if you can guess what language this is.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Otomi (Hñähñu), an Oto-Manguean language spoken in central Mexico.

There’s a Celtiadur post about words for keys and related things in Celtic languages.

In the Adventure in Etymology we explore the origins of the word deck.

I also made improvements to the Yiddish language and Yiddish phrases pages.

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.

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Adventures in Etymology – Deck

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Today we’re exploring the origins of the word deck.

Sunset over Bangor pier

deck [dɛk] means:

  • Any raised flat surface that can be walked on: a balcony; a porch; a raised patio; a flat rooftop.
  • The floorlike covering of the horizontal sections, or compartments, of a ship.
  • A main aeroplane surface.

It comes from the Middle English dekke (the roof over any part of a boat or ship), from Middle Dutch dec (roof, covering), from decken (to roof, cover, protect), from Old Dutch thecken (to cover, roof), from Proto-West-Germanic *þakkjan (to cover), from Proto-Germanic *þakjaną [ˈθɑk.jɑ.nɑ̃] (to cover), *þaką (roof, cover), from PIE *(s)teg- (cover) [source].

Words from the same Proto-Germanic root (*þaką) include: thatch in English, dak (roof) and dekken [ˈdɛkə(n)] (to cover, set) in Dutch, Dach (roof) and decken (to cover, set) in German, tak (roof, ceiling) and täcka [tɛka] (to cover) in Swedish, and tag (roof) and tække (to thatch) in Danish [source].

Words from the same PIE root (*(s)teg-) include: detect, protect, tile and toga in English, tŷ (house) in Welsh, and teach (house) in Irish [source].

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly [afflilate link].

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.

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.

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Omniglot News (27/02/22)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Here are details of the latest developments on Omniglot websites and blogs.

This week there are new language pages in:

  • Nso (Lamnsɔ’), a Southern Bantoid language spoken in Western Cameroon.
  • Sirenik (Сиӷы́ных), an Eskimo-Aleut language that was spoken in and around Sireniki (Сиреники), a village in the Providensky District of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in the Russian Far East region.
  • Molbog, a Philippine language spoken in the south of Palawan province in the Mimaropa region of the Philippines.

There are a new numbers pages in:

  • Central Siberian Yupik (Юпик), an Eskimo-Aleut language spoken along the coast of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in the Russian Far East region, and on St Lawrence Island in Alasaka.
  • Central Alaskan Yup’ik (Yugtun), an Eskimo-Aleut language spoken in southwestern Alaska in the USA.
  • Yao (chiYao), a Bantu language spoken mainly in Malawai, Tanzania and Mozambique.

I created a separate page for the Hanifi Rohingya script, and made improvements to the Rohingya and Chittagonian language pages.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a post called Stellar Stars about some differences between Romance languages, and the usual Language Quiz – see if you can guess what language this is.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Western Cham (Chăm), a Chamic language spoken mainly in Cambodia, and also in Vietnam, Thailand and Laos.

There are Celtiadur posts about words for arrows and druids and related things in Celtic languages.

In the Adventure in Etymology we explore the origins of the word timber.

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.

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Adventures in Etymology – Timber

By Simon

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In this week’s Adventures in Etymology we’re exploring the origins of the word timber.

Studio / Stwdio

Timber [ˈtɪmbə/ˈtɪmbɚ] means:

  • Trees in a forest regarded as a source of wood.
  • Wood that has been pre-cut and is ready for use in construction.
  • A heavy wooden beam, generally a whole log that has been squared off and used to provide heavy support for something such as a roof.

It comes from the Middle English tymber/timber (timber), from the Old English timber [ˈtim.ber] (timber, a building, the act of building), from the Proto-Germanic *timrą [ˈtim.rɑ̃] (building, timber), from the PIE *dem- (to build) [source].

Words from the same Proto-Germanic root include timmeren (to build, put together) in Dutch, Zimmer [ˈt͡sɪmɐ] (room) in German, timmer (timber) in Swedish, and timbur (wood, timber) in Icelandic [source].

Words from the same PIE root include domus (house, home) in Latin, duomo [ˈdwɔ.mo] (cathedral) in Italian, дом [dom] (house, building, home) in Russian and most other Slavic languages, and dome, domestic and despot in English [source].

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly [afflilate link].

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.

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.

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Omniglot News (20/02/22)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Here are the latest developments on the Omniglot websites.

This week there are new language pages about:

  • Tawbuid (Batangan / Bangon), a South Mangyan language spoken in the centre of Mindoro Island in the Mimaropa region of the Philippines.
  • Ambala (Ayta Ambala), a Sambalic language spoken in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines.
  • Hatang Kayi, a Central Philippine language spoken in the provinces of Quezon and Rizal on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.

There’s a new adapated script: Greek Arabic (Αλ-γ̲αραπυιιατȣ λ-ιωνάνυιιαχ̌), a way to write Arabic with the Greek alphabet devised by Mohammad Shakeb Baig.

There are new numbers pages in:

  • Andi (къIaваннаб мицци), a Northeast Caucasian language spoken in Dagestan in the Russian Federation.
  • Kodava, (ಕೊಡವ ತಕ್ಕು), a Dravidian language spoken in Karnataka state in southern India.
  • Aheri Gondi, a South-Central Dravidian language spoken in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Telangan.

There’s a new article about Ancient language and extra-Indo-European language in Britain.

I wrote a new song – a lullaby called Lillilu, which is a Scots word for lullaby, inspired by this video by misspunnypennie on TikTok.

On the Omniglot blog we have a post about words for lullabys, a post about the Norfolk dialect word gadwaddick, which means to go on a pleasure trip or jaunt, or to gad about, and a new Language Quiz

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Dovahzul, or the Dragon Language, a constructed language that appears in some of the Elder Scrolls series of video games. The recording was from an original song called Vokul Fen Mah (Evil Will Fall) by Malukah, a wonderful singer-songwriter from Mexico.

Another version of this song with Malukah and Peter Hollens:

There are Celtiadur posts about words for smiths and walls and related things in Celtic languages.

The Adventure in Etymology this week tries to see the wood for the trees by looking into the origins of the word wood.

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.

Blubrry podcast hosting

Adventures in Etymology – Wood

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Today we’re trying to see the wood for the trees by looking at the origins of the word wood.

Here be trees!

Wood [wʊd] is:

  • The substance making up the central part of the trunk and branches of a tree. Used as a material for construction, to manufacture various items, etc. or as fuel.
  • A forested or wooded area.

It comes from the Middle English wode [ˈwoːd(ə)] (wood), from the Old English wudu [ˈwu.du] (wood, forest, woods, tree), from the Proto-West-Germanic *widu (forest, tree, wood), from the Proto-Germanic *widuz [ˈwi.ðuz] (wood), from the PIE *h₁weydʰh₁ (wood, wilderness) [source].

Words from the same PIE root include ved (wood, firewood) in Swedish, Danish and Norwegian, gwŷdd [ɡwɨːð] (trees) in Welsh, fiodh [fʲɪ] (wood, timber) in Irish, and vidus (middle, centre) in Latvian [source].

How did a word meaning wood come to mean middle or centre in Latvian? Well, apparently the areas between villages were mainly forested in the past, and the meaning shifted from forest to area (between villages) to middle [source].

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly [afflilate link].

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.

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.

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Omniglot News (13/02/22)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The new language pages on Omniglot this week are:

  • Khorchin (ᠬᠣᠷᠴᠢᠨ), a variety of of Mongolian spoken in the Hinggan League in the east of Inner Mongolia in the north of China.
  • Bugan (Pakan), a Pakanic language spoken in the southeast of Yunnan province in the southwest China.
  • Khamnigan Mongol (ᠬᠠᠮᠨᠢᠭᠠᠨ), a Mongolic language spoken mainly in the Chen Baehru Banner of the Hulunbuir League in the northeast of Inner Mongolia in northern China.

There are two new adapated scripts:

There are new numbers pages in: Wa (Va), Nyah Kur (ญัฮกุ้ร) and Mon (ဘာသာ မန်), which are Austroasiatic languages spoken in Myanmar, Thailand and China.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a post about Language Politics, which discusses some criticisms that are often made of minority and endangered languages, and the usual Language Quiz.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Selkup (шӧльӄумыт әты), a Samoyedic language spoken along the River Taz in Siberia in northern Russia.

The Celtiadur post this week is about words for material and related things in Celtic languages.

In the Adventure in Etymology this week we look into the origins of the word paint.

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.


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Adventures in Etymology – Paint

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Today we’re looking into the origins of the word paint.

Paint

Paint [peɪnt] is:

  • A substance that is applied as a liquid or paste, and dries into a solid coating that protects or adds colour to an object or surface to which it has been applied.

It comes from the Middle English peinten (to paint, portray, decorate), from the Old French peintier (to paint), from peindre (to paint), from the Latin pingere (to decorate, embellish, paint, tint, colour), from pingō (I decorate, embellish, etc) from PIE *peyḱ- (to hew, cut out, stitch, embroider, mark, paint, color) [source].

English words from the same Latin root include picture, depict, pigment and pint [source].

In Old English the word for paint was tēafor [ˈtæ͜ɑː.vor], which became tiver (a kind of ochre used for marking sheep in some parts of England). It comes from the Proto-Germanic *taubrą (magic, sorcery), which is the root of the German word Zauber (magic, spell) [source].

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly – an easy-to-use animated video creator [affiliate link].

I chose this word as my new studio is currently being painted.

Studio / Stwdio

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.

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.

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Omniglot News (06/02/22)

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Here are details of the latest developments on Omniglot websites and blogs.

This week we have three new language pages on Omniglot, which are:

  • Western Subanon (Sinubanon), a Philippine language spoken in the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay on the Zamboanga Peninsula in the Mindanao region in the south of the Philippines.
  • Mamanwa (Minamanwa), a Philippine language spoken on the island of Mindanao in provinces of Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Norte in the Caraga region of the southern Philippines
  • Bugkalot, a Philippine language spoken in the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Quirion in the north of Luzon in the Philippines.

There’s a new constructed script: Nkoma, an alternative way to write Lingala and other languages spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) devised by Paoli Mbongo from Kinshasa.

Sample text in the Nkoma alphabet

There are a new numbers pages in: Muong (thiểng Mường) and Kri (meengq Kri), which are Vietic languages spoken in Vietnam and Laos, and Santali (ᱥᱟᱱᱛᱟᱲᱤ), a Munda language spoken in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a post about Chinese New Year – Year of the Tiger, a post about the word deuce – What the Deuce‽, and the usual Language Quiz.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Talian (taliàn), a variety of Venetian spoken in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil.

This week’s Celtiadur post is about words for Corners. and related things in Celtic languages.

In the Adventure in Etymology we looking into the various origins of the word veranda.

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.


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Adventures in Etymology – Veranda

By Simon

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Today we’re looking at the various origins of the word veranda.

Veranda

A veranda [vəˈɹæn.də] is:

  • A porch or balcony, usually roofed and often partly enclosed, extending along the outside of a building.

It comes from Hindi बरामदा [bə.ɾɑːm.d̪ɑː] (barāmdā – porch, veranda, gallery, balcony), from Portuguese varanda [vɐˈɾɐ̃.dɐ] (balcony, veranda, terrace, porch), possibly from Latin vāra (fork, tripod, easel), from vārus (bent outwards, bandy) from PIE *h₁weh₂- (separate) [source].

Alternatively veranda might be related to the Sanskrit word वरण्ड (varaṇḍa – barrier, partition) [source], and/or the Spanish word baranda (railing, banister, handrail, balustrade) [source].

English words that probably come from the same Latin root (vārus), include various, vary and variety [source].

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly – an easy-to-use animated video creator [affiliate link].

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.

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.

Learn Portuguese Free at Portuguesepod101.com