Omniglot News (23/03/25)

Omniglot News

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

Tai Noi scriptNew writing system: Tai Noi, a script used to write Lao and Isan in Laos and northern Thailand.

Sample text in Tai Noi

New constructed system: Aramikatavah (ארמיכתבה), an alternative way to write Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic created by Mina McVinnie.

Sample text in Tai Noi

New language pages:

  • Degema (Dẹgẹma), an Edoid language spoken in Degema LGA in Rivers states in southern Nigeria.
  • Egene (Ẹgẹnẹ), an Edoid language spoken in Rivers and Bayelsa states in southern Nigeria.
  • Esan (Ẹ̀sán), an Edoid language spoken in Edo State in southern Nigeria.

New numbers page:

  • Esan (Ẹ̀sán), an Edoid language spoken in Edo State in southern Nigeria.
  • Baniwa (Tapuya), an Arawakan language spoken in Brazil and Venezuela.
  • Bantayanon, a Central Bisayan language spoken in Cebu Province in the Philippines.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Breeze-Stoppers about the Spanish word limpiaparabrisas (windscreen / windshield wiper) and other compound words, and there’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Audio Player

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

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Cia-Cia (Bahasa Ciacia / 바하사 찌아찌아), a Celebic language spoken on Buton Island in Southeast Sulawesi Province in Indonesia.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology we find out how wire used to bind hay bales, Haywire, came to be associated with chaos.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog, there are new posts about words for Night

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 – Haywire

Haywire is wire used to bind bales of hay, and can also refer to something that’s roughly-made, erratic or uncontrollable. How are these meanings related? Let’s find out in this Adventure in Etymology.

Baling twine repair

As a noun, haywire [ˈheɪ.waɪ.ə(ɹ) / ˈheɪ.waɪɚ] means wire used for binding bales of hay, straw or grass, and is also known as bale wire, baling wire, farm wire or soft wire.

As an adjective, haywire means roughly-made, unsophisticated, decrepit, or behaviorally erratic or uncontrollable, especially when referring to machines and mechanical processes.

As a verb, to haywire means to attach or fix with haywire, and to go haywire means to become wildly confused, out of control, or mentally unbalanced. [source].

Originally haywire meant likely to become tangled unpredictably or unusably, or fall apart, as if bound by the soft springy wire used to bind hay bales. This usage comes from lumber camps in New England in 1905, when a haywire outfit was a company that patched up machinery temporarily using haywire rather than fixed it properly [source].

The expression to go haywire, which first appeared in writing in the 1920s, represents something held together or repaired with haywire falling apart or behaving unpredicatbly, or something that has gone wrong or is no good. As haywire tends to whip itself into wild and unruly tangles when cut, this meaning makes sense [source].

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

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.

Unlimited Web Hosting - Kualo

Omniglot News (16/03/25)

Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

  • Saxwe (saxwɛgbe), a Gbe language spoken in the Atlantique, Couffo and Mono departments in the southwest of Benin.
  • Ekpeye (Ẹkpeye), an Igboid language spoken in Rivers and Bayelsa states in southern Nigeria.
  • Gun (Gungbe), an Eastern Gbe language spoken in southeastern Benin and southwestern Nigeria.

New numbers page:

  • Romani (romani ćhib), an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Roma people throughtout Europe and the USA.

New adapted script: Aksara Kémara Jawa-Bali-Indhonésia (អក្សរខេមរជវ-ពលិ-ឥណ្ឌោនេស្យ), a way to write Javanese, Balinese, Indonesian, etc with the Khmer script devised by Tom Mai.

Sample text in Aksara Kémara Jawa-Bali-Indhonésia in Javanese

New adapted script: Hrvatsku Glagoljicu (ⱈⱃⰲⰰⱅⱄⰽⱆ ⰳⰾⰰⰳⱁⰾⱐⰻⱌⱆ), a way to write Croatian with the Glagolitic script devised by Aahan Kotian.

Ⱄⰲⰰ ⰾⱓⰴⱄⰽⰰ ⰱⰻћⰰ ⱃⰰђⰰⱓ ⱄⰵ ⱄⰾⱁⰱⱁⰴⱀⰰ ⰻ ⱔⰴⱀⰰⰽⰰ ⱆ ⰴⱁⱄⱅⱁⱑⱀⱄⱅⰲⱆ ⰻ ⱂⱃⰰⰲⰻⱞⰰ. Ⱁⱀⰰ ⱄⱆ ⱁⰱⰴⰰⱃⰵⱀⰰ ⱃⰰⰸⱆⱞⱁⱞ ⰻ ⱄⰲⰻⱔⱎћⱆ ⰻ ⱅⱃⰵⰱⰰ ⱔⰴⱀⰻ ⱂⱃⰵⱞⰰ ⰴⱃⱆⰳⰻⱞⰰ ⰴⰰ ⱂⱁⱄⱅⱆⱂⰰⱓ ⱆ ⰴⱆⱈⱆ ⰱⱃⰰⱅⱄⱅⰲⰰ.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Strong Strings in which we find out whether the the words string, strong, strength, strait, stretch and strict related, and there’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Audio Player

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in the Southeast Sulawesi Province in Indonesia.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Arikara (Sáhniš), a Northern Caddoan language spoken in Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota, USA.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, we discover the possible Celtic roots of words for Soot in French and other languages..

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog, there are new posts about words for Soot and Benches and related things in Celtic languages, and I made improvements to the post about Hedgehogs

Improved page: Tulu language 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 – Sooty Soot

In this episode we discover the possible Celtic roots of words for soot in English, French and various other languages.

Anybody else smell smoke??

The Proto-Celtic word *sūdyā means soot and comes from Proto-Indo-European *suh₃d- (soot [?]), or from sed- (to sit) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • súiche [ˈsˠuːçɪ] = soot in Irish
  • sùith [suːj] = soot in Scottish Gaelic
  • sooie = smut, soot in Manx
  • huddygl [ˈhɨ̞ðɨ̞ɡl / ˈhɪðɪɡl] = soot in Welsh
  • hudhygel = soot in Cornish
  • huzil [ˈhyː(z)il] = soot in Breton

For more about words for soot and related things in Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post: Soot.

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root, via Gaulish *sūdiā (soot [?]), include sutge (soot) in Catalan, suie (soot) in French, and maybe soot in English, sot (soot) in Swedish, sadza (soot) in Polish, сажа (saža – soot) in Russian, and saze (soot) in Czech [source].

Incidentally, another Welsh word for soot is fflacs, which refers specifically to soot blown down a chimney on a windy day [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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com

Omniglot News (09/03/25)

Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

  • Mpiemo (Mbimu), a Bantu language spoken in the Central African Republic, Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo.
  • Ebira (èbìrà), a Volta-Niger language spoken mainly in Kogi State in central Nigeria.
  • Gun (Gungbe), an Eastern Gbe language spoken in southeastern Benin and southwestern Nigeria.

New adapted script: Shavian for Esperanto (Ŝava alfabeto), a way to write Esperanto with the Shavian (Shaw) Alphabet.

𐑗𐑦𐑪𐑢 𐑣𐑩𐑫𐑩𐑢 𐑧𐑕𐑑𐑨𐑕 𐑛𐑧𐑵𐑨𐑕𐑒𐑧 𐑤𐑦𐑚𐑧𐑮𐑨𐑢 𐑒𐑨𐑢 𐑧𐑜𐑨𐑤𐑨𐑢 𐑤𐑨𐑘 𐑛𐑦𐑜𐑵𐑩 𐑒𐑨𐑢 𐑮𐑨𐑢𐑑𐑩𐑢. 𐑦𐑤𐑦 𐑐𐑩𐑕𐑧𐑛𐑨𐑕 𐑮𐑨𐑔𐑦𐑩𐑵 𐑒𐑨𐑢 𐑒𐑩𐑵𐑕𐑔𐑦𐑧𐑵𐑔𐑩𐑵, 𐑒𐑨𐑢 𐑛𐑧𐑝𐑪𐑕 𐑒𐑩𐑵𐑛𐑪𐑑𐑦 𐑪𐑵𐑪 𐑨𐑤 𐑨𐑤𐑦𐑨 𐑧𐑵 𐑕𐑐𐑦𐑮𐑦𐑑𐑩 𐑛𐑧 𐑓𐑮𐑨𐑑𐑧𐑔𐑩.

New numbers page:

  • Ebira, a Volta-Niger language spoken in central Nigeria.

New Tower of Babel translation: Ebira, a Volta-Niger language spoken in central Nigeria.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Swallowing Camels about some interesting Danish idioms, and there’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Audio Player

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in North Dakota in the USA.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Kurukh (कुड़ुख़), a northern Dravidian language spoken mainly in northern India, and also in Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, we’re grasping the Cash box as we look into the origins of the word cash.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

A bonus Adventure in Etymology is avalable on my Patreon page.

On the Celtiadur blog, there’s a new post entitled Satisfying Pleasure about words for satisfaction, pleasure, gratitude 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

Adventures in Etymology – Cash

In this Adventure in Etymology, we are grasping the cash box as we look into the origins of the word cash.

Cash - part of my collection of coins and banknotes

Cash [kæʃ] is:

  • Money in the form of notes or bills and coins
  • Liquid assets, money that can be traded quickly, as distinct from assets that are invested and cannot be easily exchanged.
  • Money.
  • A place where money is kept, or where it is deposited and paid out; a money box. (archaic)

It comes from Middle French caisse (money box, chest), from Occitan caissa from Latin capsa (box, case, holder, repository, bookcase), from capiō (to take, capture, seize), from Old Latin kapio, from Proto-Italic *kapjō (to take, seize), from Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti (to be grasping), from *kap- (to seize, grab, hold) [source].

Words from the same roots include case, chase, have, haven, heave, heft and disciple in English, caja (box, case, bank) in Spanish, caisse (box, crate, cash register) in French, hebben (to have, possess, own, hold) in Dutch, and cuach (bowl, goblet) in Irish [source].

Hang on, how is disciple related to cash? Well, it comes from Middle English disciple (disciple), from Old English discipul (disciple, scholar), from Latin discipulus (student, pupil, disciple, scholar), from dis- (asunder, apart) and Proto-Italic *kapelos (one who takes), from *kapiō (to take), from Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti, etc. So a disciple or scholar could be one said to be who ‘takes apart’ ideas, knowledge, etc. [source].

There are many other words for cash and money in English, including brass, bread, dosh, dough, funds, moolah, readies, spondoolicks and wonga – do you know any others? [source].

By the way, this week there is a bonus Adventure in Etymology on my Patreon page.

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

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.

Unlimited Web Hosting - Kualo

Omniglot News (23/02/25)

Omniglot News

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

New language pages:

  • Maʼanyan, an East Barito language spoken in the provinces of Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan in Indonesia.
  • Nuaulu, an East Central Maluku language spoken on Seram Island in eastern Indonesia.
  • Uma, a Celebic language spoken mainly in Central Sulawesi Province in central Indonesia.

New constructed script: Tendrilis, an alternative way to write English (and other languages) designed by Anomalis to look like drawings of vines, leaves and tendrils.

Sample text in Tendrilis

New constructed script: Esoteric Circle Script, an alternative way to write English with symbols that resemble pie charts (or clocks) devised by Aiden Neuding.

Sample text in Esoteric Circle Script

Sample text in Székelycédé

New adapted script: Székelycédé, a way to write English with the Old Hungarian script devised by NPC30.

New numbers pages:

  • Uma, a Celebic language spoken mainly in Central Sulawesi Province in central Indonesia.
  • Wolio, a Celebic language spoken on Buton Island in Southeast Sulawesi in Indonesia.
  • Moronene, a Celebic language spoken in Southeast Sulawesi in Indonesia.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled The House of Jeroboam, we discover who Jeroboam was, why his house is associated with chaos, at least in Welsh, and what a Jeroboam is. There’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Audio Player

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in southern Nigeria.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Tausūg (Bahasa Sūg / بَهَسَ سُوگ), a Bisayan language spoken in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, we find out what Accents have to do with singing.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog, there’s a new post about words for Bottles 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

Adventures in Etymology – Accents

In this Adventure in Etymology, we find what the word accent has to do with singing.

Adventures in Etymology - Accents

An accent [ˈak.sənt / ˈæk.sɛnt] is:

  • The way in which people in a particular area, country, or social group pronounce words.
  • A mark written or printed over a letter to show how to pronounce it.
  • A special emphasis given to a particular syllable in a word, word in a sentence, or note in a set of musical notes. [sourceother meanings are available]

It comes from Middle English accent (accent, modulation), from Latin accentus (a blast, signal, accent, tone), from accinō / accanō (to sing to), from ad (to[wards]), and canō (to sing, recite, sound), a calque of Ancient Greek προσῳδία (prosōidía – song sung to music; pronunciation of syllable), from πρός (prós – to) and ᾠδή (ōidḗ – song) [source].

Words for accent in many other languages come from the same roots, as do the words chant, descant, enchant, incant and hen in English, canu (to sing, intone, chant) in Welsh, can (to say) in Scottish Gaelic, cicogna (stork) in Spanish, káně (buzzard) in Czech, and خوانْدَن (xândan – to read, recite, sing, study) in Persian [source].

Incidentally, the Ancient Greek word προσῳδία (prosōidía – song sung to music; pronunciation of syllable) is the root (via Middle French and Latin) of the English word prosody, which is study of rhythm, intonation, stress, and related attributes in speech, or the study of the patterns of sounds and rhythms in poetry [source].

You might believe that you don’t have an accent, but you do. We all do. You might think that because you sound similar to most people around you, you don’t have an accent, while people from elsewhere do. From their perspective, it’s you that has an accent. I have a bit of a wandering accent that changes depending on who I’ve been listening and/or talking to.

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

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.

Unlimited Web Hosting - Kualo

Omniglot News (16/02/25)

Omniglot News

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

New writing system: Kodava Lipi, or Muthanna Script, was created in 1970 by Dr. I M Muthanna to write Kodava, a Dravidian language spoken in Karnataka in the southwest of India. It was chosen as the official script for Kodava in 2022.

Sample text in Kodava Lipi

New language pages:

  • Mbama (Lembáámá), a Bantu language spoken in the Republic of Congo and in Gabon.
  • Mbere (Limbere), a Bantu language spoken in the Republic of Congo and in Gabon.
  • Tooro (Orutooro), a Northeast Bantu language spoken in the Tooro Kingdom in southwestern Uganda.
  • Nyoro (Orunyoro), a Northeast Bantu language spoken in the Bunyoro Kingdom in western Uganda.

New numbers pages:

  • Adzera, a Western Oceanic language spoken in Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea.
  • Aneityum (Anejom̃), a Southern Oceanic language spoken on Aneityum Island in Tafea Province in the south of Vanuatu.
  • Are (Mukawa), a Western Oceanic language spoken in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea.

New Tower of Babel translation: Nyoro (Orunyoro), a Northeast Bantu language spoken in the Bunyoro Kingdom in western Uganda.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Villainous Sharks about the Danish word skurk (villain, baddie) and related words in other languages, and there’s the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Audio Player

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Yapese (Thin nu Waqab), an Oceanic language spoken on the island of Yap, in the Federated States of Micronesia.

On the Celtic Pathways podcast, we investigate the Celtic roots of words for Gulls in English and French.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog, there’s a new post about words Abbots and related things in Celtic languages, and I made improvements to the post about words for To Burn.

Improved pages: Kodava, Are and Adzera language pages.

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 – Gulls

In this episode we discover the possible Celtic roots of English and French words for seagull.

Gulls

The Proto-Celtic word *wailannā means seagull, and possibly comes from the Proto-Indo-European *wáy (oh! ah! woe! alas!), and maybe related to *waylos (howler, wolf) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

  • faoileán = gull, seagull in Irish
  • faoileann [fɯːlən̪ˠ] = gull, seagull, common gull in Scottish Gaelic
  • foillan = gull, seagull in Manx
  • gwylan [ˈɡʊɨ̯lan / ˈɡʊi̯lan] = sea-gull, fair maiden, glutton in Welsh
  • golan [ˈɡoːlan / ˈɡʊlɐn] = gull, seagull in Cornish
  • gouelan [ˈɡweːlãn] = seagull in Breton

For more about words for gulls and related things in Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post: Gulls

The English word gull comes from Middle English gulle (gull, water bird), which was probably borrowed from a Brythonic language (Welsh or Cornish) [source].

The French word goéland [ɡɔ.e.lɑ̃] (gull, herring gull) was borrowed from Middle Breton goelan (gull, seagull) in the 15th century [source].

A more common French word for (sea)gull is mouette [mwɛt], which comes from Middle French mouette (seagull) from Old French moette (seagull), from maoe (seagull), from Old English mǣw (seagull) [source].

The Old Englsh word mǣw, comes from Proto-Germanic *maiwiz (seagull), from a non-Indo-European substrate, or is of imitative origin. It’s also found in Middle English as mewe (gull, seagull), in the archaic / dialectal English word mew (gull, seagull), in Dutch as meeuw (seagull), and in German as Möwe (seagull) [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.

The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com