Omniglot News (02/07/23)

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

New page: Armeno-Turkish (Էրմէնի խարֆլի Թիւրգչէ), a way to write Ottoman Turkish with the Armenian alphabet that was used in the Ottoman Empire until 1928.

Պիւթիւն ինսանլար հիւր, հաեսիեէթ վէ հաքլար պաքըմընտան էշիթ տoղարլար. Աքըլ վէ վիճտանա սահիփթիրլէր վէ պիրպիրլէրինէ քարշը քարտէշլիք զիհնիեէթի իլէ հարէքէթ էթմէլիտիրլէր.

There are new language pages about:

  • Kar (kar / kái yor), a Senufo language spoken in the southwest of Burkina Faso.
  • Cebaara (senã́rì), a Senufo language spoken in northern Ivory Coast
  • Dan, a Southeastern Mande language spoken in Ivory Coast, Libera and Guinea.

New phrases page: I’m learning [your language] – how to tell people that you’re learning their language in their language.

New numbers pages:

  • Waama, a Gur language spoken in Atakora Department in the northwest of Benin.
  • Kabiye (kabɩyɛ), a Gur language spoken in Togo, Benin and Ghana.

New Tower of Babel translation: Cebaara

On the Omniglot blog there’s a post called Oof! What a Hash!, about the origins and names of the # symbol, and there’s the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in the west of the Russian Federation.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Konobo, a Western Kru language spoken in Liberia.

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

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we take a seat to uncover the origins of the the word Chair, and find out how it’s connected to words like cathedral, catastrophe and cataract.

In other news: I was interviewed by Carlos Yerba López for his Hyperpolyglot Activist channel on YouTube:

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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Korean with KoreanClass101

Omniglot News (25/06/23)

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

New writing system: Komering, a traditional script from the province of South Sumatra in Indonesia that was used to write Komering, a Lampungic language spoken along the Komering River.

Sample text in the Komering script

There are new language pages about:

  • Yamdena (Yakw), a Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian spoken mainly on Yamdena and Selaru islands in the Tanimbar archipelago in Maluku Province in eastern Indonesia.
  • Kei (Veveu Evav), a Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian spoken in the Kei Islands in Maluku Province in eastern Indonesia.
  • Fordata (vaidida), a Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian spoken in the Tanimbar archipelago in Maluku Province in eastern Indonesia.

New fictional script: Nunkish, which appears in the Violet Evergarden (ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン) anime TV series, and is used to write Nunkish, an encrypted version of Tamil.

Sample text in Nunkish

New constructed script: Urin Qichwa Simipaq Musuq Qillqa, an alternative way to write Southern Quechua invented by TheDankBoi69.

Sample of Urin Qichwa Simipaq Musuq Qillqa

New numbers page: Yamdena, Lampung and Komering

On the Omniglot blog we find out what links the words Croissant and Cereal, and there’s the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Dolgan (Дулҕан), a northern Turkic language spoken in the Taymyr Peninsula in the far north of the Russian Federation.

There’s a new Celtiadur post about words for Eight and related things, and I made improvements to the posts about words for Pigs and the number four.

The Celtic Pathways podcast this week, Hogging Sockets, uncovers links between words for pigs in Celtic languages with words like hog and socket in English.

I also improved the Somali language page and made separate pages for the Osmanya, Borama / Gadabuursi and Kaddare alphabets.

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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Korean with KoreanClass101

Celtic Pathways – Hogging Sockets

In this episode we find out what links the words hog and socket with words for pig, ploughshare and related things in Celtic languages.

Family of Feral Hogs

The Proto-Celtic word sukkos means a pig (snout) or ploughshare, presumably because ploughshares looked like pig’s snouts. It comes from the Proto-Indo-European *súH-s (pig, hog, swine) [source]

Descendents in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • soc [sˠɔk] = sow in Irish.
  • soc [sɔxg] = beak, snout, socket, ploughshare, or a short, chubby person in Scottish Gaelic
  • sock = bow, nose, snout, ploughshare, jet or nozzle in Manx
  • hwch [huːχ] = sow, pig, swine, or a dirty creature in Welsh
  • hogh = hog, pig or swine in Cornish
  • houc’h = sow in Breton

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root in other languages include socket and possibly hog in English, and soc (ploughshare) in French.

The word socket comes from the Middle English soket, from the Anglo-Norman soket (spearhead), from the Old French soc (ploughshare), from the Vulgar Latin *soccus, from the Proto-Celtic *sokkos, probably via Gaulish [source].

The word hog comes from the Middle English hog(ge) (pig, swine, pig meat, hogget [young sheep]), from the Old English hogg (hog), either the Old Norse hǫggva (to hew), or from the Proto-Brythonic *hux (pig) [source].

The English word hoggan (a pork pasty), which is used mainly in Cornwall, probably comes from the Old Cornish hoggan/hogen) (pork pasty, pie), from hoch (pig), from the Proto-Brythonic *hux (pig). The word oggy/oggie (pasty), which is used in Devon and Cornwall, and also in Wales, comes from the same roots [source].

Welsh oggies are larger than Cornish pasties and contain lamb, potatoes and leeks. Here’s a recipe.

Oggie

Incidentally, the Welsh words hogyn (boy) and hogen (girl), which are used mainly in North Wales, come from hòg (young/little boy, youth, lad, fellow), from the English hogg (young sheep or hogget), from the Middle English hogget (a boar/sheep of the second year), from Anglo-Norman hog(g)et (young boar) and an Anglo-Latin hogettus [source].

You can find more details of words for pig and related beasts 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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com

Omniglot News (18/06/23)

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Fordata (vaidida), a Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian spoken in the Tanimbar archipelago in the province of Maluku in eastern Indonesia.
  • Lamaholot, a Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian spoken on Flores, Solor and nearby islands in the province of East Nusa Tengara in eastern Indonesia.
  • Alorese, a Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian spoken in the Alor Regency in East Nusa Tenggara Province in eastern Indonesia.

New constructed script: Lofrati, a script invented by Sahin Ozmen that is modelled on Arabic and Hebrew scripts, and is used to write a constructed language by the same name.

Sample text in Lofrati

New constructed script: Our Secret Garden, a script based on flowers created by Rodrigo Witzel.

Sample text in Our Secret Garden

New constructed script: Plutonian, an alternative alphabet for English devised by Aiden Neuding.

Sample text in Plutonian

New numbers page: Fordata, Lamaholot, Alorese, Bunun, Tsou and Kerinci.

There’s a new Omniglot blog post about called Roses (薔薇), about kanji (characters) that Japanese people struggle to write, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in the far north of the Russian Federation.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Butuanon, a Southern Bisayan language spoken in Agusan del Norte and Agusan de Sul provinces in Mindanao in the Philippines.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we uncover the fiery origins of the word Bureau.

There are new Celtiadur posts about words for Booths and Seven and related things in Celtic languages.

I also created separate pages the Lota Ende and Incung scripts, and for the Lio and Ende languages, and improved the Kerinci language page.

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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Korean with KoreanClass101

Omniglot News (11/06/23)

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Ngadha (Nââ kwényï), a Sumba-Flores language spoken on the island of Flores in eastern Indonesia.
  • Kéo (sara kita / sara ndai), a Sumba-Flores language spoken on the island of Flores in eastern Indonesia.
  • Palu’e (sara Lu’a), a Sumba-Flores language spoken on the island of Palu’e in eastern Indonesia.

New numbers page: Lushootseed, Klallam, Halkomelem, Comox and Okanagan, which are all Salishan languages spoken in British Colombia in Canada, and Washington State in the USA.

There’s a new Omniglot blog post about the word Tarn and related words, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in Mindanao in the Philippines.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Nivaclé (Guisnai), a Matacoan language spoken in the Gran Chaco region of northwestern Paraguay and northern Argentina.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast we uncover the Celtic origins of the word Truant.

There are new Celtiadur posts entitled Merciful and Parts and Pieces, and I also improved the post about words for Sorrow & sadness.

I made improvements to the Yi script page, and made a separate page for the Nuosu language.

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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Korean with KoreanClass101

Celtic Pathways – Truant

In this episode we find out what links the word truant with words for beggar, wretch and related things in Celtic and other languages.

Begging

Truant [ˈtɹʊənt/ˈtɹuː.ənt] means:

  • Absent without permission, especially from school.
  • Wandering from business or duty; straying; loitering; idle, and shirking duty
  • One who is absent without permission, especially from school.

It comes from Middle English truant/truand (one who receives alms, a begger, vagabond, vagrant, scoundrel, rogue, shiftless or good-for-nothing fellow) from Old French truand (vagabond, beggar, rogue), either from Gaulish *trugan (wretch), or from Breton truant (beggar), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (to rub, turn, drill, pierce) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • trua [t̪ˠɾˠuə] = pity, sympathy, compassion, miserable person or wretch in Irish.
  • truaghan [truəɣan] = poor soul, poor thing or wretch in Scottish Gaelic
  • truanagh = miserable, mournful or sorrowful person in Manx
  • truan = wretch, miserable person; wretched, miserable, pathetic, poor or weak in Welsh
  • truan = sad, miserable, unfortunate or wretched in Cornish
  • truant = beggar in Breton

Other words from the same Proto-Celtic root include truand [tʁy.ɑ̃] (crook, gangster, beggar) in French [source], truhan [tɾuˈan] (scoundrel, scammer, swindler, rogue, crook, [historically] jester, buffoon) in Spanish, truão (jester) in Portuguese, and trogo (jester) in Galician [source].

Incidentally, words for truant in Celtic languages include: fánach in Irish, air falach in Scottish Gaelic, truggan in Manx, and triwant in Welsh.

What do you call the action of playing truant?

For me its skiving (off) and when you do it, you’re a skiver.

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly [afflilate link].

You can find more details of these words 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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com

Omniglot News (04/06/23)

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Numèè (Nââ kwényï), a New Caledonian language spoken in the South Province of New Caledonia.
  • Safaliba (Safale̱ba), a Northern Gur language spoken in northwestern Ghana.
  • Western Sisaala (Isaalo), a Southern Gur language spoken in the Upper West Region of northern Ghana.

New adapted script: N’Ko Français (ߣߴߞߏ ߝߙߊߣߛߊߌߛ), which is a way to write French with the N’Ko alphabet that was invented by Elija Vesna.

Sample text in N'Ko Français

New time page in Tamil (தமிழ்), a Dravidian language spoken in southern India, Sri Lanka and Singapore.

New numbers page: Frafra, Western Sisaala and Numèè.

New Tower of Babel text: Durustal, an alternative way to write Uyghur.

There’s a new Omniglot blog post about Semesters and related words, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in Paraguay and Argentina.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Brahui (براوی), a Dravidian language spoken mainly in the Balochistan region of Pakistan.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we look into the origins of the word Friend, and find to connections to words like afraid, free and Friday.

There’s a new Celtiadur post called Hexagonal about words for six and related things in Celtic languages.

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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Korean with KoreanClass101

Omniglot News (28/05/23)

There are new language pages about:

  • ꞌAreꞌare, a Southeast Solomonic language spoken in Malaita Province in the Solomon Islands.
  • Bena (Kibena), a Northeast Bantu language spoken in southern Tanzania.
  • Kunda (Chikunda), a Bantu language spoken in mainly in Zimbabwe, and also in Zambia and Mozambique.

New adapted script: Skript Amażigħ (ⵙⴽⵉⵒⵜ ⴰⵎⴰⵥⵉⵖ), which is a way to write Maltese with the Neo-Tifinagh alphabet devised by Grunky Scripples.

Sample text in Skript Amażigħ

New phrases page in Oʼodham (O’odham Ñeoki), an Uto-Aztecan language spoken mainly in Arizona in the USA, and also northern Mexico.

New numbers page: Old Breton, Middle Breton, Bena, Kunda and Middle Irish.

There’s a new Omniglot blog post entitled Joyful Delight about the Finnish word iloinen (happy, cheerful, glad, merry) and related words in Finnish and other languages, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken mainly in Pakistan.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Sena, a Bantu language spoken in Mozamique and Malawi.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast we uncover the Celtic origins of the word Beret.

There’s a new Celtiadur post called Quintuple about words for five and related things, and one called Short Cuts about words for short, cut and related things in Celtic languages.

In other news, I had an interesting discussion this week about writing systems with Tim Brookes, the man behind the Endangered Alphabets project, who was inspired by Omniglot.

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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Korean with KoreanClass101

Celtic Pathways – Berets

In this episode we’re uncovering the Celtic origins of the word beret.

Fête du Boeuf Gras à Bazas

A beret [ˈbɛɹ.eɪ/bəˈɹeɪ] is:

  • A type of round, brimless cap with a soft top and a headband to secure it to the head; usually culturally associated with France.

It comes from the French béret (beret), from the Occitan (Gascon) berret (cap), from the Medieval Latin birretum (a kind of hat), from the Late Latin birrus (a large hooded cloak, a cloak to keep off rain, made of silk or wool), from the Gaulish birrus (a coarse kind of thick woollen cloth; a woollen cap or hood worn over the shoulders or head), from the Proto-Celtic *birros (short), the origins of which are not known [source]

Descendents in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • bearr [bˠɑːɾˠ] = to clip, cut, trim, shave, skim (milk), crop or pare (photos) in Irish.
  • beàrr [baːr̪ˠ] = to shave, cut (hair), clip, shear or prune in Scottish Gaelic
  • baarey = to bare, clip, cut, dress, poll, prune, shave or trimmed in Manx
  • byr [bɨ̞r/bɪr] = short, brief or concise in Welsh
  • berr [bɛɹ] = short or brief in Cornish
  • berr = short in Breton

Other words from the Proto-Celtic root *birros, via Latin and Gaulish, include biretta (a square cap worn by some Roman Catholic priests) and berretto (beanie, cap) in Italian, barrete (biretta, cap) in Portuguese, birrete (biretta) in French, and βίρρος [ˈβir.ros] (a type of cloak or mantle) in Ancient Greek [source].

Biretta

Incidentally, words from beret in Celtic languages include: bairéad (beret, biretta, cap, hat, bonnet) in Irish, beeray or bayrn Frangagh (“French cap/hat”) in Manx, bere(t)/bered in Welsh, and béret/bered/boned in Breton.

You can find more details of these words on the Celtiadur blog. I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog.

Here’s a video I made of this information:

Video made with Doodly [afflilate link].

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

Omniglot News (21/05/23)

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

There are new language pages about:

  • Caac (Caaàc), a New Caledonian language spoken on the northeast coast of Grande Terre island in the North Province of New Caledonia.
  • Cèmuhî, a New Caledonian language spoken in the centre of the North Province of New Caledonia.
  • Chuwabu (kaáfîri), a Southern Bantu language spoken in Zambezia province in Mozambique.

New constructed script: Mawar Liarguwi, which was created by Eko Wahyu Darmansyah to write his constructed language, Darman.

Sample text in the Mawar Liarguwi

New adapated script: Musraiu, a way to write Akkadian with the Coptic alphabet devised by Grunky Scripples.

Sample text in the Musraiu

New numbers page: Middle Cornish, Kabyle and Sardinian: Limba Sarda Comuna, Campidanese, Gallurese, Logudorese, Nuorese and Sassarese

New dates page in Korean

There’s a new Omniglot blog post about Desks, Discs and Discos and related words, and the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in Mozambique and Malawi.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Mortlockese (kapsen Mwoshulók), a Micronesian language spoken in the Mortlock Islands in Chuuk State, of the Federated States of Micronesia.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we unbottle the origins of the word Butler.

There are new Celtiadur posts entitled Threesome and Fourfold, which look at the numbers three and four, and related words, in Celtic languages.

I also made improvements to the phrases pages for Livvi-Karelian and Logudorese Sardinian, and there is now a separate page for Campidanese Sardinian phrases.

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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Korean with KoreanClass101