Radio Omniglot

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

New language pages:

New numbers pages: in Ternate (bhsua ternente), a West Papuan language spoken mainly on Ternate island in North Maluku Province of Indonesia.

New Numbers and Phrases pages in Mirandese (mirandés), a Western Ibero-Romance language spoken mainly in northern Portugal.

On the Omniglot blog this we investigate the Italian word rumore in a post entitled What’s that noise?. There’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this is an Australian aboriginal language.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Mangareva (Te Reo Magareva), a Polynesian language spoken on the islands of Gambier and Mangareva in French Polynesia.

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

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Leathery Hide about words for leather, hide and related things, and I made improvements to the Surfaces and Calling Words posts.

Improved page: Mirandese language page.

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The Irish word leathar and the Welsh word lledr both mean leather, and various other things. You might think that they were borrowed from English, but in fact the English word leather might ultimately come from a Proto-Celtic word, via Middle and Old English and Proto-Germanic [source].

The Proto-Celtic word for leather or hide was *(ɸ)letros, which comes from Proto-Indo-European *péltrom, from *pel- (to cover, to wrap, skin, hide, cloth) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

The Proto-Germanic word *leþrą [ˈle.θrɑ̃] (leather), which was possibly was borrowed from Proto-Celtic, and from these roots we get words such as leather in English, leer (leather) in Dutch, Leder (leather, suede, hide) in German, læder (leather) in Danish, and läder (leather, suede) in Swedish [source].

Words from the same PIE root include pall, pelt, camouflage and film in English; plena (membrane) in Czech; piel (skin, fur) in Spanish, plah (to cover, veil) in Albanian, and pall (cloak, curtain, covering, tent) in Welsh [source].

See the Celtiadur post Leathery Hide for more details of words for leather and related things in Celtic languages.

You can find more connections between Celtic languages 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.

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

New language pages:

New numbers pages:

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Doorgetting about the doorway effect (forgetting why you entered a room as you walk through the door), and related things. There’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this is a Polynesian language.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Bhili (भीली / ભીલી), a Western Indo-Aryan language spoken in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh in central India.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, Sadly Satisfied, we find out whether the words sad and satisfied are related.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Tented Pavilions about words for tents, pavilions and related things in Celtic languages

Improved page: Interglossa language page

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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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In this Adventure in Etymology we find out whether the words sad and satisfied are connected.

Sad [sæd] means various things, including:

It can mean unfashionable, socially inadequate or undesirable (in slang), and in the past it meant:

It comes from Middle English sad [sa(ː)d] (sated, weary; firm, solid, hard, thoughtful, serious, sad (sorrowful), authentic, true, genuine; dark, deep [colours]), from Old English sǣd [sæːd] (full, sated, weary), from Proto-West-Germanic *sad (sated, full) from Proto-Germanic *sadaz [ˈsɑ.ðɑz] (sated, full), Proto-Indo-European *seh₂- (to satiate, satisfy) [source].

Words from the same roots include satt [zat] (not hungry, satiated, full, fed up) in German, sāts (moderation, satiation, fill) in Latvian, sáith [sˠaːç] (sufficiency, enough, fill) in Irish, and satiate, satisfied and insatiate in English [source].

The Welsh word sad was borrowed from Middle English, and means firm, stable, steady, solid, certain, sure, wise, discreet, sober, grave, melancholy, and various other things. Related words include sadiwr (stabilizer) and sadeiddio (to make or become firm or stable) [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.

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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.

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

New writing system: Nag Chiki, which was created by Dinesh Mudi from West Bengal in India to write Koda, a North Munda language spoken in India and Bangladesh.

New language pages:

New numbers pages:

New article: Multiple Ways to Say “To Visit” in French

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Stanzas, Cameras and Salons about the Italian word stanza (room), and related words in other languages. There’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in central India.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Maay Maay (Af-Mai-Mai), a Lowland East Cushitic language spoken in southern Somlia.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, Groovy Furrows, we’re looking at Celtic words for furrow, trench, ditch and related things, and words in other languages that come from the same roots.

On the Celtiadur blog there are new posts entitled Yoked Bonds and Furrowed Trenches, and improved the post about Ditches and Trenches.

Improved page: Nüshu script page

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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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In this episode we’re looking at Celtic words for furrow, trench, ditch and related things, and words in other languages that come from the same roots.

The Proto-Celtic word *ɸrikā means furrow and comes from Proto-Indo-European *pr̥keh₂ (furrow), from *perḱ- (to open, rip up, dig) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

Words from the same Proto-Celtic roots, via Gaulish *rikā (furrow) and Latin riga (line, stripe), include raie (stripe, parting, line) in French, porca (ridge between furrows) in Italian, alporquia (layering) in Portuguese, porcoi (haystack, heap, pile, bunch) in Romanian, and erreka (river, stream, ravine) in Basque [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include furrow, farrow and pig in English, Furche (furrow) in German, fåra (furrow, groove) in Swedish, porsas (piglet, pork) in Finnish, and arc [aɾˠk] (piglet) in Irish [source].

Incidentally, the Orkney Islands get their name from Old Norse Orkneyjar (“seal islands”), from Old Norse ørkn (seal) and ey (island). The ørkn part is thought to be a misinterpretation of the Pictish name orc (piglet), which ultimately comes from the PIE root *perḱ- (to dig, etc) [source].

More about words for Furrowed Trenches and related tools in Celtic languages.

You can find more connections between Celtic languages 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.

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

New fictional script and language: High Valyrian (Valyrio), a fictional language developed for the television series Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, and based on the few words of High Valyrian used in George R. R. Martin’s series of fantasy novels, A Song of Ice and Fire.

New constructed script: Vjøbhaž, which was created by David Kos to write his conlang, Vneghlav, and is based on the Cyrillic script.

New language pages:

New numbers pages:

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Foolish Consistency about foolishly consistent hobgoblins, insanity and misquotation. There’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

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

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Tundra Yukaghir (Вадул аруу), a Yukaghir language spoken in the Far East region of the Russian Federation, particularly in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, we find out whether the word Grass is connected to words like green, graze, grow and herb.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Grinding Mills, which is about words for grind, mill and related things in Celtic languages.

For more Omniglot News, see:

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.

In this Adventure in Etymology we find out whether the words grass, graze and green are connected.

Grass [ɡɹɑːs/ɡɹas/ɡɹ̠æs] is:

It comes from Middle English gras [ɡras] (grass, herb, pasture, meadow, fodder), from Old English græs [ɡræs] (grass), from Proto-Germanic *grasą [ˈɣrɑ.sɑ̃] (grass) from Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- (to grow, become green) [source].

Words from the same roots include grow, green, gray/grey, graze and herb in English, groen (green) in Dutch, grasen (to graze) in German, and rohi (grass, medicine) in Estonian [source].

Incidentally, in British slang, a grass is an informer, police informer, or one who betrays a group (of criminals, etc) to the authorities. This is probably an abbreviation of grasshopper (police officer, informant), which is rhyming slang for copper (police officer) or shopper (informant).

So we’d better not let the grass grow under our feet and kick this into the long grass, because the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence and if we listen carefully, we can hear the grass grow.

Other grass-related idioms and expressions are available, and I wrote a song about the grass appearing greener called The Other Side. It goes something like this:

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.

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.

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

New language pages:

New numbers pages:

New constructed script: Rountounge (Valkh’raash Dub Namtarak), which was invented by Kitsune Sobo as the script and language of various beings in the fictional Rhodinoverse.

On the Omniglot blog there’s a new post entitled Superfluously Redundant, .in which we dive into some redundant and superfluous words. There’s also the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in northern Siberia in the Far East Region of the Russian Federation.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Wichita (Kirikir’iis), a Northern Caddoan language that was spoken in western Oklahoma in the USA and which is being revived.

In this week’s episode of Celtic Pathways podcast, we look into the Celtic roots of words for Tin in some Romance languages.

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled A Meeting of Assemblies and I improved the posts about Wolves & Sea Monsters and Roundness

For more Omniglot News, see:

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.

In this episode, we’re looking into the Celtic roots of some Romance tins.

The Proto-Celtic word *stagnos means tin and probably comes from the Proto-Indo-European *sth₂gʰ-nó-s (standing, firm), from *steh₂- (to stand) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

Words from the same Celtic roots, via Gaulish *stagnom (tin) and Latin stannum (tin, silver-lead alloy), include estany (tin) in Catalan, étain (tin) in French, stagno (tin) in Italian, and estanho (tin) in Portuguese [source].

I forgot to mention in the recording that the symbol for the element tin is Sn, which comes from Latin stannum, and the English words such as stannary (of or pertaining to tin mining, especially in Cornwall), and stanniferous (containing or producing the metal tin) come from the same roots [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include cost, distant, estate, instant, obstinate, stand, stem and stool in English [source], and words from heel in Celtic languages, such as sawdl in Welsh and sáil in Irish [source].

Incidentally, the word tin comes from Middle English tyn(ne) (tin), from Old English tin (tin), from Proto-Germanic *tiną (tin), probably from a pre-Indo-European language [source].

More about words for Tin and related tools in Celtic languages.

You can find more connections between Celtic languages 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.