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

New language pages:

• Sambas Malay (Base Melayu Sambas), a Malayic language spoken mainly in the Sambas Regency in West Kalimantan Province of Indonesia.
• Brunei Malay (Bahasa Melayu Brunei), a Malayic language spoken mainly in Brunei Darussalam, and nearby parts of East Malaysia.
• Enggano, a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken on Enggano Island in Bengkulu Province in western Indonesia.

New numbers pages:

• Sambas Malay (Base Melayu Sambas), a Malayic language spoken mainly in the Sambas Regency in West Kalimantan Province of Indonesia.

New constructed script: Pujangga, an alternative way to write Indonesian, Malay and related languages such as Balinese, Javanese and Sundanese, created by Pangus Ho.

New adapated script: Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics for Cherokee, a way to write Cherokee with Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics (mainly for Carrier) devised by Aahan Kotian.

On the Omniglot blog we find out whether the Italian words pasto and pasta are related in a post called Pasting Meals, 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 Nepal.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Halkomelem (Halq̓eméylem), a Central Salishan language spoken in British Colombia in Canada, and in Washington State in the USA.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, entitled Follow That Hound!, we find connections between words for to follow, pursue and related things in Celtic languages, and words for hound and sleuth in Romance languages.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog, there are new posts entitled Larches and Pursuing Followers.

I also made improvements to the Akkala Sami language page.

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, 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 discover the possible Celtic roots of some words for hound and sleuth in Romance languages.

The Proto-Celtic word sekʷetor means to follow, and comes from Proto-Indo-European *sékʷetor (to be following), from *sekʷ- (to follow) [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include: seicheamh (following, taking after, imitating, sequence, progression) and fosheicheamh (subsequence) in Irish [source], and sewya (to follow, result) in Cornish [source].

For more about words for (to) follow and related things in Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post: Pursuing Followers

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root, via Gaulish (?) and Latin segusius (a hunting dog) include: sabuxo (hound) in Galician, segugio (hound, bloodhound, private eye, sleuth) in Spanish, and sabujo (hound, submissive person) in Portuguese [source].

Words from the same PIE roots include: associate, sector, sequence, society, (to) sue, suit, suite and subsequent in English, suivre (to follow) in French, segno (sign, mark, indication, target) in Italian, and seguir (to follow, continue, keep (on)) in Spanish [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.

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

New language pages:

• Ghulfan (Wuncu), an Eastern Sudanic language spoken mainly in the Nuba Mountains in the south of Sudan.
• Kadaru (Kodhin), a Northern Luo language spoken in the state of South Kordofan in the south of Sudan.
• Ponosakan, a Greater Central Philippine language spoken in North Sulawesi in the Philippines.

New numbers pages:

• Polci (Pəlci), a West Chadic language spoken in Bauchi State in northeastern Nigeria.
• Piapoco (Wenewika), an Arwakan language spoken in eastern Colombia and southwestern Venezuela.
• Powhatan (Kikitowämank), an Eastern Algonquian language that was spoken in Virgina and Maryland in the USA until the 1790s, and which is being revived.
• Munsee (Hulunìixsuwáakan), an Eastern Algonquian language spoken on the Moraviantown Reserve in Ontario, Canada.

On the Omniglot blog we discover what links the word satorial with words for tailor in various languages in a post called Satorial Tailoring, and there’s the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what language there is:

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

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was: Ge’ez, (ግዕዝ), the classical language of Ethiopia which is still used as a liturgical language by Ethiopian Christians and the Beta Israel Jewish community of Ethiopia.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, entitled Windy Wings, we find connections between the words wing, wind and feather.

It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok.

On the Celtiadur blog, there’s a new post entitled Dutiful Laws about words for duty, debt, law, rule and related things in Celtic languages.#

I also made improvements to the Munsee language page.

A Multilingual Happy New Year!

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, 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 connections between the words wing, wind and feather.

A wing [wɪŋ] is:

• An appendage of an animal’s (bird, bat, insect) body that enables it to fly.
• A fin at the side of a ray or similar fish.
• Part of an aircraft that produces the lift for rising into the air. (other meanings are available)

It comes from Middle English winge / wenge [ˈwinɡ(ə) / ˈwɛnɡ(ə)] (wing, flank of an army, shelter, refuge), from Old Norse vængr [ˈwɛ̃ːŋɡr̩] (wing), possibly from Proto-Germanic *wēingijaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- (to blow) [source].

Words from the same Old Norse root include vinge (wing) in Danish, vængur (wing) in Icelandic, and vinge (wing) in Swedish [source].

Words from the same PIE root possibly include aeroplane, athlete, fan, vent, and weather in English, waaien (to blow, be windy, wave) in Dutch, vento (wind) Italian, and vent (wind, flatulence, empty words) in French [source].

The English word wind [wɪnd] also comes from the same roots, via Middle English wynd / wind [wi(ː)nd] (wind), from Old English wind [wind] (wind, flatulence), from Proto-West-Germanic *wind (wind from Proto-Germanic *windaz [ˈwin.dɑz] (wind) from Proto-Indo-European h₂wéh₁n̥ts (blowing, that which blows, air, wind), from *h₂weh₁- (to blow) [source].

Incidentally, ityn Old Englsh, a word for wing was fiþre [ˈfiθ.re], which was displaced by the Old Norse vængr (wing). It comes from Proto-Germanic *fiþriją [ɸi.θri.jɑ̃] (feathers, plummage, wing) from Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ / pth₂én- (wing, feather), from *peth₂- (to fly). It became em>feþer / fether (feather) in Middle English, and feather in modern English. [source].

By the way, Happy New Year! Blwyddyn newydd dda! Bonne année ! ¡Feliz Año Nuevo! 新年快樂！ 新年快乐！ Felice anno nuovo! 新年おめでとうございます! Bliain úr faoi shéan is faoi mhaise duit! Bliadhna mhath ùr! Blein Vie Noa! Ein gutes neues Jahr! Feliĉan novan jaron! Поздравляю с Новым Годом! Šťastný nový rok! Godt nytår! Gott nytt år! La Mulți Ani! Onnellista uutta vuotta!

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:

• Yele, possibly a language isolate spoken on Rossel Island in the Louisiade Archipelago in east of Papua New Guinea.
• Hamtai, a Southeast Angan language spoken in Morobe and Gulf provinces in Papua New Guinea.

New constructed script: Pakis (Fern) Alphabet, which was created by Reza Sumanda for fun and as an alternative way to write Indonesian.

New constructed script: Melronian, which was invented by Murray Callahan for his conlang of the same name.

New adapted script: Tengwar for Lingala (Tengwala), a way to write Lingala with Tolkien’s Tengwar alphabet devised by Paul Mbongo.

On the Omniglot blog there’s the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what languages there are:

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

The mystery languages in last week’s language quiz were: Isnag, a member of the Northern Luzon branch of the Philippine language family spoken in the north of Luzon in the Philippines.

And Blaan (B’laan), a member of the South Mindanao branch of the Philippine language family spoken in the south of Mindanao in the Philippines.

They are related, as they both belong to the Philippine branch of the Malayo-Polynesian language family.

I forgot to mention in the recoding, but I also made improvements to the Marma language page.

If you celebrate Christmas or anything else at this time of year, I hope you had a good one, and I wish you a Happy New Year for 2025.

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, 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.

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

New language pages:

• Yaaku, a Lowland East Cushitic language spoken in western Kenya.
• Afitti (Dinik), an Eastern Sudanic language spoken in North Kordofan province in central Sudan.
• Daju Mongo (Dɑjiŋɡe), an Eastern Sudanic language spoken in the Gúera region in central Chad.
• Dilling (Warki), an Eastern Sudanic language spoken in the Nuba Mountains in Kordofan province in southern Sudan.
• Bube (Böbë), a Bantu language spoken mainly on Bioko Island in Equatorial Guinea, and also in Gabon and Cameroon.
• Kogo (Ɓakógo), a Bantu language spoken in the Littoral and Southern Regions in southern Cameroon.
• Gaam (Gaahmg), an Eastern Sudanic language spoken in Blue Nile Province in the southeast of Sudan.

New constructed script: Hosalipi, an alternative abugida for Kannada devised by Atharva Sreekar.

New constructed script: Tehreek-istani, an alternative script for Urdu devised by Willem and based mainly on the Korean script.

New numbers pages:

• Dilling (Warki), an Eastern Sudanic language spoken in Kordofan State in southern Sudan.
• Mandailing Batak (Saro Mandailing), a Northern Batak language spoken mainly in North Sumatra Province in Indonesia.
• Batak Simalungun (Sahap Simalungun), a Southern Batak language spoken in the province of North Sumatra in Indonesia.
• Kogo (Ɓakógo), a Bantu language spoken in the Littoral and Southern Regions in southern Cameroon.

On the Omniglot blog, we discover what guillemets are, and what links chevrons to goats in a post entitled Guillemets & Goats, we find out what links the word epee/épée with the word spade in a post entitled Swords & Spades, and there’s the usual Language Quiz. See if you can guess what languages there are:

Here’s a clue: these languages are spoken in the Philippines.

On the Celtiadur blog there are new posts entitled Gorse & Furze and Swords & Spikes.

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, 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.

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

New language pages:

• Kuku (Kʊ́tʊ́k nà kùkù), an Eastern Nilotic language spoken in South Sudan and Uganda.
• Nyepu (Kútúk nà ŋyɛ́pʊ̀), an Eastern Nilotic language spoken in South Sudan.
• Ecuadorian Siona (Ba̠icoca), a Western Tucanoan language spoken mainly in northeastern Ecuador.
• Siona (Gantëya coca), a Western Tucanoan language spoken in southwestern Colombia.

New adapated script: Tengwar for Russian, a way to write Russian with Tolkein’s Tengwar script devised by Murray Callahan.

New numbers pages:

• Obolo, a Lower Cross River language spoken in southern Nigeria.
• Nuxalk (ItNuxalkmc), a Salishan language spoken in Bella Coola in British Columbia in Canada.

On the Omniglot blog this week, we discover what guillemets are, and what links chevrons to goats in a post entitled Guillemets & Goats 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 parts of Iran and Azerbaijan.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Yaaku (Mogogodo), a Lowland East Cushitic language spoken in western Kenya.

In this week’s Celtic Pathways podcast, Country Gardens, we uncover links between words for country and land in Celtic languages, and words for garden, wood and related things in other languages. It’s also available on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Cards in which we look into words for card 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, 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 uncover links between words for country and land in Celtic languages, and words for garden, wood and related things in other languages.

Bodnant Garden / Gardd Bodnant

The Proto-Celtic word *mrogis means border(land), march, mark, region, country, territory or province, and comes from Proto-Indo-European *mórǵs (frontier, border) [source]

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

• brugh = dwelling, mansion in Irish
• brugh [bruh] = broch (a type of Iron Age stone tower with hollow double-layered walls – see below), fortified tower, large house, mansion, fairy mound in Scottish Gaelic
• brogh = broch in Manx
• bro [broː] = region, country, land, neighbourhood, border, limit, boundary in Welsh
• bro = country, land in Cornish
• bro [broː] = counry(-side) in Breton

For more about words for border, land, country and related things in Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post: Region and Country

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root, via Gaulish *brogis and Latin brogi-/broges, include brolo (vegetable garden, orchard, grove) in Italian, and breuil (wood, copse, coppice) in French, bröol (a lawn or vegetable garden surrounding house) in Cimbrian, and Brühl (enclosed land, (wet/swampy) meadow) in German (found mainly in place names).

Words from the same PIE root include margin, and march (a border region; formal, rhythmic way of walking) in English, and marge (margin, markup) in French, marca (brand, make, trademark) in Italian [source], Mark (a fortified border area, marches) in German, and mark (field) in Danish, as in Denmark [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.

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

New language pages:

• Yamba, a West Bamileke language spoken in southern Cameroon and eastern Nigeria.
• Tugen, a Kalenjin language spoken mainly in Baringo County in western Kenya.
• Rendille (Afi Renꞌdille), a Lowland East Cushitic language spoken in the north of the Eastern Province of Kenya.

New numbers pages:

• Wolaytta (Wolayttatto Doonaa), a North Omotic language spoken in southern Ethiopia.
• Äiwoo, an Oceanic language spoken in Temotu Province of the Solomon Islands.

New phrases page: Tugen, a Kalenjin language spoken in western Kenya.

On the Omniglot blog, there’s a new post entitled Paper Cards about the word carta which means paper in Italian and card in Spanish, and has various other meanings, another post entitled Mermaid Sirens, about differences between mermaids and sirens, 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 western Kenya.

The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Shawiya (Tacawit / ⵜⴰⵛⴰⵡⵉⵜ), a Northern Berber language spoken in Algeria and Tunisia, specifically the variety of Shawiya spoken in western Tunisia.

In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, entitled Office Opus, we find connections between the word office and words like copy, manure, opera, opulence and opus. It’s also available on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok

On the Celtiadur blog there’s a new post entitled Disease about words for sickness, disease, grief and related things in Celtic languages, and I made improvements to the post about words for Death.

I also made improvements to the Wolaytta language page.

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, 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 connections between the word office and words like copy, manure, opera, opulence and opus.

My garden office / studio

An office [ˈɒfɪs/ˈɔfɪs] is:

• A room, set of rooms, or building used for non-manual work.
• A position of responsibility.
• An official position, particularly high employment within government.
  (other meanings are available)

It comes from Middle English office [ɔˈfiːs(ə)] (employment, occupation, obligation), from Old French office (office, job, service), from Latin officium (duty, service, office, obligation) from opificium (work), from opifex (someone who does [creative / constructive] work) from opus (work), from PIE *h₃ep- (to work, toil, make, ability) [source].

Words from the same roots include copy, manure, opera, operate, opulence and opus (a work of music or art) in English; usine (factory) in French; ofício (craft, trade, profession) in Portuguese; oficina (office, workshop, laboratory) in Spanish, and ufficio (office) and officina (workshop, laboratory) in Italian [source].

Hang on, manure? It comes from Middle English maynouren (to supervise, reign, exercise one’s authority), from Anglo-Norman meinourer, from Old French manouvrer (to work, make, create), from Vulgar Latin *manuoperare (to work by hand), from Latin manū (by hand) and operārī (to work). The word manoeuvre comes from the same roots [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.

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.