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I've been working on translating a short Manding song. It talks about an attractive woman whom the singer is in love with. But he keeps interjecting "Apolo.” Now what exactly is a Greco-Roman god or the space programme doing in a West African song?
As far as I've been able to find out, it's used as a poetic metaphor. To him, she seems completely out of reach, like going to the moon, but perhaps it can still happen somehow. Apolo!
I think that's really awesome! #Ethnomusicology #Language
KISS MINE ARSE. An offer, as Fielding observes, very frequently made, but never, as he could learn, literally accepted. A kiss mine arse fellow; a sycophant.
A selection from Francis Grose’s “Dictionary Of The Vulgar Tongue” (1785)
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#books #literature #dictionaries #history #society #language #slang @histodons@a.gup.pe
📚️ Yiddish: Biography of a Language
"He addresses key aspects of Yiddish as the language of a diasporic population, whose speakers have always used more than one language. As the vernacular of a marginalized minority, Yiddish has often been held in low regard compared to other languages, and its legitimacy as a language has been questioned."
🔗 https://global.oup.com/academic/product/yiddish-9780190651961
#Yiddish #Language #Biography #Linguistics #Reading #UniversityPress #Academia #Nonfiction #Book #Books #Bookstodon
📚️ 🇸🇾 A Primer on Ugaritic: Language, Culture and Literature
"A Primer on Ugaritic is an introduction to the language of the ancient city of Ugarit, a city that flourished in the second millennium BCE on the Lebanese coast, placed in the context of the culture, literature, and religion of this ancient Semitic culture."
🔗 https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511996962
#AncientNearEast #Syria #Religion #Language #Linguistics #Literature #Culture #Reading #UniversityPress #Academia #Nonfiction #Book #Books #Bookstodon
RE: https://infosec.exchange/@david_chisnall/117325070805383038
Inspired by David, I'd like to know about a word you'd like to upgrade with a better loanword from another language because you like it better.
I vote for Japanese "gomi" to replace English "garbage", because gomi is such a bouncy, joyful word.
#Language #Loanwords
What about you?
Quoting
Butterfly is much less fun to say than papillon so I am using the standard process in the English language: deprecating a common-usage word and replacing it with a foreign word that I like better. From now on, all uses of the word ‘butterfly’ shall be deemed archaic.
Thank you for your patience during the transition.
Open quoted postBURNER. He is no burner of navigable rivers; i.e. he is no conjuror, or man of extraordinary abilities; or rather, he is, but a simple fellow. See THAMES.
A selection from Francis Grose’s “Dictionary Of The Vulgar Tongue” (1785)
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#books #literature #dictionaries #history #society #language #slang @histodons@a.gup.pe
“Middle English edition”? Do you really mean that, Amazon?
Ich doute nat that Chaucer wolde be wel plesed.
#Language #Ukulele #MiddleEnglish
I just published another essay on my blog, 'Metaphor Matters.' It talks about the ways metaphors go beyond helping us visualize a topic to influencing how we think about that topic.
https://netsettlement.blogspot.com/2026/09/metaphor-matters.html
#language #metaphor #philosophy
Hiberno-English word/phrase of the day:
Equal
When used in the phrase 'I'm equal' it means 'I don't care' (coming from the Irish 'is cuma liom': 'I don't care', 'I don't mind', literally 'it is equal to me').
E.g. "It's equal to me where ye go."
Griffin, "The Collegians": "It's equal to me any day, winter or summer, whether I go ten miles or twenty."
Boucicault, "Shaugraun": "Claire: D'ye think I'm not equal to making the butter come?"
#ireland #slang #language
5 Things Writers Should Know About the Language of Demons, Evil, and ‘The Enemy’ in Politics
Author and professor Michael E. Heyes shares five things writers should know about the language of demons, evil, and "the enemy" in politics.
The post 5 Things Writers Should Know About the Language of Demons, Evil, and ‘The Enemy’ in Politics appeared first on Writer's Digest.
https://www.writersdigest.com/5-things-writers-should-know-about-the-language-of-demons-evil-and-the-enemy-in-politics
#BeInspired #TheWritersLife #GoodVsEvil #Language #politicalnonfiction
Just discovered "A Guide to Scots Bird Names" edited by Robin Jackson. Now very out of print, but the PDF edition is available to download from his ResearchGate account. An absolutely delightful book for lovers of birds and the Scots language. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364262419_A_Guide_to_Scots_Bird_Names #Birds #Scotland #Birding #Language
Bilingualism may be one of the most effective tools for maintaining cognitive health as we age
https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/09/learning-another-language-may-be-one-of-the-best-ways-to-keep-your-brain-healthy/
#science #neuroscience #language
Somewhere in a Spanish-speaking rainforest, the mischievous fauna spends the day messing around with personal pronouns.🌴
Share your favorite language puns! 🤗
Discover more language and culture comics on the blog - link in bio! ✨
#Spanish#Language#ThrowbackThursday
Replying to
@linguistgoneforeign@mastodon.social I've remembered this one! It only works in #Swedish, not Norwegian or Danish. It means "the underground" if -an is an ending, or "tunnel banana" if it's the last two letters of "banan".
(In Norwegian or Danish the ending would be -en and break the pun.)
#language #puns #Swedish
Hiberno-English word/phrase of the day:
Éirí in airde
This phrase has to meanings:
- Exuberant behaviour, elation, high spirits, enthusiasm.
- Putting on airs; acting above one's station in life. E.g. "Appeal to his éirí in airde and the meas (regard/esteem) he always had in himself!"
Merriam-Webster Dictionary Is Wordsmaxxing With 1,400 New Definitions
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/us/merriam-webster-new-words-looksmaxxing-yacht-rock.html
#Language #Words #News
How To Talk To A Machine Without Anthropomorphising It
LLMs remain a divisive topic in these times. Perhaps we all know someone who’s become over-infatuated with their new robotic friend, or who believes it has made them a genius. …read more
Firelight, storytelling and the rise of spoken language: a new theory links campfires to linguistic evolution
https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/did-the-evolution-of-language-take-a-huge-leap-around-the-fireplace/
A new theory links storytelling, firelight and the rise of spoken language.
#science #evolution #language
Hiberno-English word/phrase of the day:
Dander
'Dander' is a general Irish term for a short stroll: "It's a grand evening for a wee dander." In Cork it's meaning was closer to 'a sudden notion to take a walk'. And around Donegal it could have the meaning 'to saunter': "There she was, dandering down the road".
The word is also a more general English-language colloquialism for 'anger', as in: "He really got his dander up."
#ireland #slang #language