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)…

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) …

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 numb…

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. (othe…

Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. New language pages: Rongmei (Ruanglat / ꯔꯣꯡꯃꯩ), a Kuki-Chin-Naga language spoken in northeastern India. Kupsabiny (Kupsapiiny), a Kalenjin language spoken in the Eastern Region of Uganda. Lango (Laŋgo), an Eastern Nilotic language spoken in the Eastern Equatoria State of South Sudan. Nyangatom (Iny…

In this episode we discover the possible Celtic roots of words such as tan, tannin and Tannenbaum. The Proto-Celtic word *tannos means green oak, and comes from Proto-Indo-European *(s)dʰnwos/*(s)dʰonu (fir). Related words in the Celtic languages include: tinne = the letter t in the Ogham alphabet (ᚈ) in Irish tinne [tʲenə] = the letter t (ᚈ) in Og…

Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. New language pages: Terik (Tɛ́ɛrık), a Southern Nilotic language spoken in western Kenya. Nandi (Naanti), a Southern Nilotic language spoken in the Rift Valley Province in western Kenya. Kipsigis (Kıpsıkııs), a Southern Nilotic language spoken in the Rift Valley Province in the southwest of Kenya. …

In this Adventure in Etymology, we’re finding connections between monitors and monsters. A monitor [ˈmɒn.ɪ.tə/ˈmɔn.ɪ.tɚ] is: Someone who watches over something; a person in charge of something or someone. A device that detects and informs on the presence, quantity, etc., of something. A device used to give a graphical display of the output from a c…

Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. New writing system: Novo Tupi, an alphabet created in the early 19th century as a way to write Old Tupi, a language that was spoken by the Tupi people in Brazil until about the 19th century, and which developed into Nheengatu. New adapted script: Finnish Tengwar (Tengwar suomeksi), a way to write F…

In this episode of the Celtic Pathways podcast, we discover the possible Celtic roots of words for gravel in English and other languages. Gravel [ˈɡɹævəl] is small fragments of rock, used for laying on the beds of roads and railways, and as ballast, and other things (other meanings are available). It comes from Middle English gravel / gravail(le) (…