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

New language pages:

• Ambele, a Grassfields language spoken in the North West Region of Cameroon.
• Babanki (Kə̀jóm), a Grassfields language spoken in Mezam Department in the North West Region of Cameroon.
• Sarangani, a Southern Manobo language spoken in the Davao Region in Mindanao in the Philippines.

New numbers pages:

• Chamacoco (Æ—shɨr), a Zamucoan language spoken in the Alto Paraguay department in northern Paraguay.
• Western Fijian (Nadrogaa), an Oceanic language spoken in western Fiji.
• South Slavey (Dene Zhatıé / ᑌᓀ á’�), a Northern Athabaskan language spoken in northern Canadai.

New adapted script: Slovarabik (سلوڤارابيك), a way to write Slovak with the Arabic script devised by Martin Varga.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a new post entitled Outside Aliens about word for foreigner / outsider in Chinese and Japanese. There is also a new language quiz. Can you guess what language this is?

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in Ethiopia and Sudan.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Yaqui (Yoem Noki), an Uto-Aztecan language spoken in Sonora and Sinaloa in Mexico & in Arizona in the USA.

There’s also a new post Celtiadur post this week entitled Smoothly Slippery about words for smooth, slippery and related things in Celtic languages.

In other news, this week I’ve mainly been in Hong Kong. It’s changed a lot since I was last here 1990s, and I’ve visited some familar places and some new ones. There seems to be a lot more of everythings here – people, buildings, traffic etc, and it’s quite a constrast to Zhaoqing, which seemed quieter and more relaxed in comparison.

You can see some photos on Flickr.

For more Omniglot News, see:
https://www.omniglot.com/news/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/
https://www.facebook.com/Omniglot-100430558332117

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn and Podchaser.

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.

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

New language pages:

• Aghem (Aghɨ̀m), a Grassfields language spoken in the North West Region of Cameroon.
• Kogi (Kággaba), a Chibchan language spoken in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains in northern Colombia..
• Daai, a Southern Kuki-Chin-Naga language spoken in Chin State in western Myanmar.

New numbers pages:

• Zigula (Chizigua), a Bantu language spoken mainly in Tanzania, and also Somalia.
• Zenaga (Tuẓẓungiyya), a Berber language spoken Mauritania and Senegal.
• Zaiwa (Zaiwa mying), a Northern Burmish language spoken in southwestern China and northeastern Myanmar.

New constructed script: Velikirillitsa (Великириллица), an alternative way to write English, Russian and Hungarian created by Murray Callahan,

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a new post entitled One Another about the Chinese word 彼此 (b�c�) and related words in Japanese, and there’s a new language quiz. See if you guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in Mexico and the USA.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Mnong (Bu Nong / ឞូន�ង), a Southern Bahnaric language spoken in Vietnam & Cambodia.

There’s a new Adventure in Etymology entitled Perilous Experiences, in which we find out what the word experience has to do with fear, peril and pirates.

There’s a new post on the Celtiadur blog this week entitled Glowing Stars about words for star, coal and other glowing things in Celtic languages.

In other news, I’ll be leaving Zhaoqing tomorrow (12th Janaury) and headed to Hong Kong. I’ll spend a week there, then fly back to UK. It’s been nearly 30 years since I was last in Hong Kong, and I’m looking forward to seeing it again.

Here are a few more photos of Zhaoqing showing parts of the city tourists might not necessarily visit.

Bamboo is widely used as scaffolding, and this is one of the guys who delivers it on his high-tech cart

A building site next to the housing complex where I’m staying. Someone has made part of it into a little garden to grow vegetables – there’s no point in letting a bit of land sit idle after all.

A fairly typical backstreet in Zhaoqing.

A backstreet, still under construction, like many places here

Zhaoqing city wall (肇庆�城墙), which was constructed in 1053 AD/CE during the Northern Song Dynasty. It was originally built of rammed earth, and looks like it’s changed a bit since then.

Me in front of Zhaoqing city wall

Piyun Tower on Zhaoqing city wall / 披云楼肇庆�城墙

A view from the city wall

By the way, this happens to be the 5,000th post I’ve published on my blogs, and the 223rd episode of the Omniglot News. The majority of posts (3,942) are on the Omniglot blog (started in March 2006), and there are 546 on this blog (started in June 2018), and another 512 on the Celtiadur blog (started in September 2018). I think I’m starting to get the hang of this blogging lark.

For more Omniglot News, see:
https://www.omniglot.com/news/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/
https://www.facebook.com/Omniglot-100430558332117

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn and Podchaser.

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 what the word experience has to do with fear, peril and pirates.

Meanings of experience [/ɪkˈspɪə.ɹɪəns] include:

• Event(s) of which one is cognizant.
• An activity which one has performed.
• A collection of events and/or activities from which an individual or group may gather knowledge, opinions, and skills.

It comes from Middle English expērience (observation; an event which has affected one; to test, try, learn), from Old French esperience (experiment, proof, experience), from Latin experientia (a trial, proof, experiment, experience), from experīrī (to try, put to the test, undertake, undergo), from ex- (out) and perīrī (to go through), from PIE *per- (to attempt, try, risk) [source].

Words from the same roots include expert, experiment, peril and fear in English, Gefahr (danger, risk, threat) in German, pericolo (peril, danger) in Italian, perygl (danger, peril, risk) in Welsh, experimentar (to experience, feel, experiment) in Spanish [source].

The English word pirate also comes from the same roots, via Old French pirate, Latin pÄ«rÄ�ta (sailor, sea robber), and Ancient Greek πειÏ�ατής (peiratÄ“s – pirate, “one who attacks (ships)”), from πεῖÏ�α (peira – trial, attempt, plot) [source].

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:

• Minica Huitoto (Mɨnɨka), a Bora-Witoto language spoken mainly in southern Colombia, and also in northern Peru (the 2,300th language page!)
• Mfumte, an Eastern Grassfields language spoken mainly in the Northwest Region of Cameroon.
• Abon (AbÉ”n), a Southern Bantoid language spoken in Taraba State in Nigeria.
• Vaiphei, a Northern Zo-Mizo language spoken mainly in Manipur in the northeast of India.
• Mara (Mara Reih), a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in the northwest of Guizhou Province in southern China
• Caijia (Menni), a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in the northwest of Guizhou Province in southern China.

New numbers pages:

• Minica Huitoto (Mɨnɨka), a Bora-Witoto language spoken mainly in southern Colombia
• Avestan (ð�¬›ð�¬�ð�¬¥ ð�¬›ð�¬€ð�¬ ð�¬Œð�¬«ð�¬­ð�¬µ), an extinct Eastern Iranian language and the sacred language of Zoroastrianism.
• Sidama (Sidaamu Afoo), a Cushitic language spoken in the Sidama Region in southern Ethiopia.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a new post entitled Quick Brown Foxes about pangrams, sentences that contain all the letters of a particular language, and there’s a new language quiz. See if you guess what language this is:

Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in Vietnam and Cambodia.

Usually I find recordings for language quizzes on YouTube, but since coming to China at the end of November last year, I haven’t been able to access YouTube due to the Great Firewall of China, and haven’t found any good alternative sources of recordings. So, I haven’t been posting any quizzes. However, during the past week or so, YouTube has been accessible some of the time, and I managed to find a suitable recording for this week’s quiz.

There’s a new Adventure in Etymology entitled Code Trees, in which we find out what the word code has to do with books and trees.

There’s a new post on the Celtiadur blog this week entitled Pressing Squeezes about words for press, squeeze 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

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn and Podchaser.

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 what the word code has to do with books and trees.

Meanings of code [kəʊd / koʊd] include:

• A short textual designation, often with little relation to the item it represents.
• A body of law, sanctioned by legislation.
• Any system of principles, rules or regulations relating to one subject.
• A message represented by rules intended to conceal its meaning.
• Instructions for a computer.

It comes from Middle English code (a system of law), from Old French code (a system of law), from Latin c�dex (tree trunk; book, notebook), from caudex (tree trunk, block of woord, book), possibly from cūd� (I beat, strike), from PIE *kewh₂- (to hit, strike, forge) [source].

Words from the same roots include codex, codicil (an addition or supplement modifying any official document) in English, código (code) in Spanish, code (code) in French, kodex (code [of laws]) in Czech, and kütük (log [tree/computer], official register) in Turkish [source].

In Latin, caudex originally meant a tree trunk or block of wood. Later it came to refer to the wax tablets Romans used for writing on. From about the 1st Century AD/CE, scrolls were gradually replaced by codices, books made of stacks of paper bound together along one edge. The word c�dex was used to refer to such books [source].

In English, the word codex refers to an early manuscript book, that is, one bound by joining pages, as opposed to a rolled scroll. Specifically, it refers to hand-writing books made using parchment, vellum or papyrus rather than paper. It can also mean an official list of medicines and medicinal ingredients. [source].

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:

• Yonggom (Yongkom), a Lowland Ok language spoken in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
• Enlhet, a Mascoian language spoken in the Presidente Hayes Department of Paraguay.
• Indi (Mag-Indi), a Sambalic language spoken in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines.

New adapted script: Diné Arabíłígíí (دینهْٓ ارابیَڷیٓگیّٓ), a way to write Navajo with the Perso-Arabic script devised by Yusuf Abdullah al-Qasri.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a new post entitled Beware your shoes! about some signs I spotted recently that have been translated in interesting ways.

There’s a new Adventure in Etymology entitled Absurdity, which investigates the nonsensical origins of the word absurd.

There’s a new post entitled Splitting Up on the Celtiadur blog about words for split, slit, cleft 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

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

New language pages:

• Yambeta (YambÉ›ta), a West Mbam language spoken in the Centre Region in southwestern Cameroon.
• Bunu (Buod Nuox), a West Hmongic language spoken mainly in Guangxi Province in southern China.
• Kim Mun, a Mienic language spoken in southern China, and northern Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.
• Phuthi (Síphùthì), a Bantu language spoken in southern Lesotho and in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.
• Ngwe (ÅŠwÉ›h), a Bamileke language spoken in Labialem Department in the Southwest Region of Cameroon.

New numbers page:

• Ngwe (ÅŠwÉ›h), a Bamileke language spoken in Labialem Department in the Southwest Region of Cameroon.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a new post entitled Godfathering about trying to explain the concept of a godfather in Chinese.

There’s a new Adventure in Etymology entitled Absurdity, which investigates the nonsensical origins of the word absurd.

There’s a new post entitled Shields on the Celtiadur blog about words for shield 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

In this Adventure in Etymology we investigate the origins of the word absurd.

Absurd [əbˈsɜ�d / æbˈsɚd] can mean:

• Contrary to reason or propriety; obviously and flatly opposed to manifest truth; inconsistent with the plain dictates of common sense; logically contradictory; nonsensical; ridiculous; silly.
• Having no rational or orderly relationship to people’s lives; meaningless; lacking order or value.

In the past in meant inharmonious or dissonant.

It comes from Middle French absurde, from Latin absurdus (incongruous, dissonant, harsh, silly, stupid), from ab- (away from, out), and surdus (deaf, inattentive, silent, indistinct), from PIE *swer- (to resound, speak loudly, ringing, whistling) [source].

Words from the same roots include chwerw (bitter) in Welsh, searbh (bitter, sour, acid) in Irish, sword in English, zwaard (sword) in Dutch, assurdità (absurdity, rubbish) in Italian, and sordo (deaf, dull, muted) in Spanish [source].

The English word surd also comes from the same roots, and refers to an irrational number, a voicelss consonant, unvoiced or voiceless, and used to mean deaf or unheard [source].

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:

• Neo-Brittonic (Brettica), a reconstructed version of Common Brittonic, a Celtic language once spoken in southern England.
• Ngomba (cú mbÉ”Ì�ndaa), a Bamileke language spoken mainly in the Bamboutos Department in the West Region of Cameroon.
• Ngombale (Ngeombale), a Bamileke language spoken in the Bamboutos Department in the West Region of Cameroon.
• HachijÅ� (島言葉 / shima-kotoba), a Japonic language spoken mainly in the Izu Islands, part of Tokyo Prefecture in Japan.
• Tày (Tiểng Tày), a Central Tai language spoken mainly in northeastern Vietnam, and also in northern Laos.

New constructed script: Hedhgadē, a script for Proto-Indo-Euopean created by Hebrejinia.

New phrases page: Föhr North Frisian, a West Germanic language spoken in North Frisia in northern Germany.

New numbers page: Jamaican (Jimiekn / Patwah), an English-based creole spoken mainly in Jamaica.

On the Omniglot blog this week there’s a new post entitled Oceanic Lutes about some words for Chinese and Western instruments, and related things.

There’s a new post entitled Shady Shadows on the Celtiadur blog about words for shadow, shade and related things in Celtic languages.

The gateway to the road up Jiangjun Mountain

In other news, this week I explored part of Jiangjun Mountain (将军山 – jiÄ�ngjÅ«nshÄ�n) and got some great views of Zhaoqing from up high. There is a temple on the mountain that is lit up at night, and since coming here, we’ve been planning to visit it. We found a way up yesterday. The electric scooters had a hard time climbing up the steeper parts of the road, but we got there eventually, and it was well worth the effort. The temple itself is impressive, and the views from it are spectacular. Unfortunately, it was rather wet, cold and windy up there, so we didn’t stay long.

The temple on Jiangjun Mountain

A view of Zhaoqing from Jiangjun Mountain

For more Omniglot News, see:
https://www.omniglot.com/news/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/
https://www.facebook.com/Omniglot-100430558332117

You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn and Podchaser.

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.

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

New language pages:

• Ngaʼka (Mungaʼka), a Grassfields language spoken in Bali Nyonga, a town in the Nortwest Region of Cameroon.
• Ngiemboon (Ngiembɔɔn), a Grassfields language spoken in Bali Nyonga, a town in the Nortwest Region of Cameroon.

This week there’s a new blog post entitled No Fierce Action about some questionably translated text I’ve spotted here.

There’s a new post entitled Telling Tales on the Celtiadur blog about words for story, tale, news etc in Celtic languages.

Improved page: Mandarin phrases

This week my adventures in Zhaoqing (肇庆) took me to the big lake in the centre of the city, known as Star Lake in English, or 星湖 (xīnghú) in Chinese. You can take boat trips around it, and there are quite a few islands to visit, some of which have temples on them. If you go to one of the cafés or restaurants overlooking the lake, be prepared for much higher prices than elsewhere.

I also went to the Guangdong Business and Technology University (广东工商�业技术大学), a private university not far from here with some rather elaborate architecture.

For more Omniglot News, see:
https://www.omniglot.com/news/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/
https://www.facebook.com/Omniglot-100430558332117