Radio Omniglot

Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. There are new language pages about: Bahing (बायुङ्), a Western Kiranti language spoken in the west of Koshi Province in eastern Nepal. Jirel (ཇི་རེ་ལ་ / जिरेल), a Southern Tibetic language spoken mainly in Bagmati Province in eastern Nepal. Kahua (Anganiwai), a Southeast Solomonic language spoken on […]

In this Adventure in Etymology we’re stirring up the origins of the word storm, as it’s been quite stormful (abounding in storms, stormy) here in the UK recently. A storm [stɔːm/stɔɹm] is: an extreme weather condition with very strong wind, heavy rain, and often thunder and lightning A heavy expulsion or fall of things A […]

Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. There are new language pages about: Kagate / Syuba (स्युबा), a Tibetic language spoken in Bagmati Province in eastern Nepal. Chaná (Lanték Yañá), a Charruan language spoken in Argentina. Chocha Ngacha (ཁྱོད་ཅ་ང་ཅ་ཁ་), a Tibetic language spoken in eastern Bhutan. New constructed script: Sonos, an alternative phonetically-based […]

In this episode we discover the soft and tender Celtic roots of the word bog. A bog is an area of decayed vegetation which forms a wet spongy ground too soft for walking on, and comes from Middle English bog (swamp, morass), from Irish / Scottish Gaelic bog (soft, tender, marshy, boggy), from Old Irish […]

Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. There are new language pages about: Darmiya (Dar’ma), a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in the state of Uttarakhand in northern India. Sengele (kɛsɛ́ngɛlɛ), a Bantu language spoken in southwest of the Democratic Repubic of the Congo. Mongo (Lɔmɔ́ngɔ), a Bantu language spoken in northwest of the Democratic […]

In this Adventure in Etymology we’re looking into the origins of the word procrastination, unless I start procrastinating, as often happens. Procrastination [pɹəʊˌkɹæs.tɪˈneɪ.ʃən] is: The act of postponing, delaying or putting off, especially habitually or intentionally. It comes from Middle French procrastination, from Latin prōcrāstinātiō (procrastination), from prōcrāstinō (to procrastinate), from prō (for, before) and […]

Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. New adapated script: Penobscot Syllabics (ᑆᕋᕚᓂᐤᑄᐤᓯᐤᔨᕕ), which a way, devised by Connor Flood, to use Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics to write Penobscot, an Eastern Abenaki language that was spoken in Maine in the USA until the 1990s and which is being revived. There are new language pages […]

In this episode we discover the Celtic roots of words like barnacle. The Proto-Celtic word *barinākos means barnacle or limpet It comes from the Proto-Celtic *barinā (rocky ground), and *-ākos (involved with, belonging to) [source]. Related words in the modern Celtic languages include: bairneach [ˈbˠɑːɾˠn̠ʲəx] = limpet in Irish bàirneach [baːr̪ˠn̪ʲəx] = barnacle or limpet […]

Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. There are new language pages about: Choni (ཅོ་ནེ་), a Tibetic language spoken Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the southeast of Gansu Province in western China. Kenswei Nsei (Kənswey Nsey), a South Ring Grassfields language spoken in the North West Region of Cameroon. Vendo (gháŋ vəŋóo), a […]

In this adventure, we’re looking into the origins of the word lagniappe. A lagniappe [lænˈjæp] is: An extra or unexpected gift or benefit, such as that given to customers when they purchase something (mainly used in Louisiana & Mississippi, USA, and in Trinidad and Tobago) By the way, lagniappe is also written lagnappe, lanyap or […]