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Radio Omniglot

Simon Ager

Podcasts about languages and words

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  • S1 · E258
    Sunday · 2 min

    Omniglot News (20/09/26)

    Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. New language pages: Ahwai (indùn), a Plateau language spoken in Kaduna State in central Nigeria. Gokana (Gòkánà), an East Ogoni language spoken in Rivers State in southern Nigeria. Hasha (Hàshà), an Alumic language spoken in Nasarawa State in the North Central region of Nigeria. New constructed script: Aksara Varadun, an alternative way to write Indonesian created by Zafran Al Fathan. New numbers page: Gokana (Gòkánà), an East Ogoni language spoken in Rivers State in southern Nigeria. New phrases page Nyamwezi, a Bantu language spoken in western Tanzania. New Tower of Babel translations: Mongo (Ngiembɔɔn), a Bamileke language spoken in the West Region in southwestern Cameroon. Hanunoo (Hanunó’o), a South Mangyan language spoken in Mindoro in the Philippines. Loma (Löömàgòòi), a Southwestern Mande language spoken in northern Liberia Maiadomu, a Western Oceanic language spoken in Milne Bay Province in Papua New Guinea. Makhuwa (Emakhuwa), a Bantu language spoken in Mozambique and Tanzania. In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, entitled Gracefully Pleasing, we uncover the gratefully pleasing roots of the word grace. It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok. On the Omniglot blog this week we find out links a New World monkey, a type of cloak, an order of friars and a type of coffee in a post entitled Monks, Monkeys & Coffee, and there’s the usual language quiz. See if you guess what language this is: Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in Canada and the USA. The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Tacana, a Western Tacanan language spoken in La Paz Department in northwestern Bolivia. On the Celtiadur blog this week there’s a new post about words for Service 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/profile.php?id=100046466483286 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.

  • S1 · E257
    September 13 · 2 min

    Omniglot News (13/09/26)

    Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. New language pages: Koyra Chiini (koyra ciini / كࣷيْرَ ٺِينِ), a Songhay language spoken mainly in the Tombouctou Region in southern Mali. Korandje (Kwạṛa n dzyəy), a Northern Songhay language spoken in Béchar Province in the northwest of Algeria. Vagla, a Southern Gur language spoken in the Savannah Region in northern Ghana. New constructed script: Ayneha, an alphabet created by Mahamadou Issiaka Maiga for the Songhay languages of Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Benin. New constructed script: Pogi, an alternative way to write Indonesian, Malay and other languages created by Marcus Tzeng. New numbers page: Mpade, a Chadic language spoken in the northern Cameroon and western Chad. Vagla, a Southern Gur language spoken in the Savannah Region in northern Ghana. New Tower of Babel translations: Ngiemboon (Ngiembɔɔn), a Bamileke language spoken in the West Region in southwestern Cameroon. Bhunjia, an Eastern Indo-Aryan language spoken in Odisha and Chhattisgarh in eastern India. Nyamwezi (Kinyamwezi), a Bantu language spoken in the Kigoma, Rukwa and Tabora regions in western Tanzania. Vagla, a Southern Gur language spoken in the Savannah Region in northern Ghana. In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, entitled Beaming Trees, we discover what links the word beam with words for tree. It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok. On the Omniglot blog this week we find out what links a type of pastry with lightning, flashes and sparkles in a post entitled Lightning Pastries, and there’s the usual language quiz. See if you guess what language this is: Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in Bolivia. The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Tindi (Идараб мицци), a Northeast Caucasian language spoken in Dagestan in the Russian Republic. On the Celtiadur blog this week there’s a new post about words for He, She, It and related pronouns in Celtic languages. For more Omniglot News, see: https://www.omniglot.com/news/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100046466483286 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.

  • September 12 · 2 min

    Adventures in Etymology – Beaming Trees

    In this Adventure in Etymology we discover what links the word beam with words for tree. Meanings of beam [ˈbiːm] include any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use; one of the transverse members of a ship’s frame on which the decks are laid; a ray or collection of approximately parallel rays emitted from the sun or other luminous body. It comes from Middle English be(e)m [bɛ̝ːm] (beam, pole, antler, tree), from Old English bēam [bæɑːm] (tree, beam, gallows), from Proto-West Germanic *baum (tree, beam), from Proto-Germanic *bagmaz (tree, beam), possibly from PIE *bʰuH- (to become, grow, appear) [source]. Words from the same Proto-Germanic roots include Baum (tree, boom) and beamen (to beam, teleport, project) in German (borrowed from English, popularised by Star Trek), bom (bar, barrier, beam) in Danish, boom (tree, beam, mast) in Dutch, puomi (boom, barrier, pole) in Finnish, boom in English [source]. Incidentally, in Middle English there were several words for tree, including tre (tree, plants, wood), bem (beam, a set of scales, antler, tree) and arbre (tree). The first two come from Old English and Proto-Germanic, while arbre comes from Old French arbre (tree). Related words in English include arboretum (a place where many varieties of tree are grown for research, educational, and ornamental purposes), arboreal (tree-like, relating to trees) [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.

  • S1 · E256
    September 6 · 2 min

    Omniglot News (06/09/26)

    Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. New language pages: Firan (Fɨràn), a West-Central Plateau language spoken in Plateau State in central Nigeria. Buli, a Gur language spoken in the Upper East Region in northern Ghana. Mpade (Mpadɨ), a Chadic language spoken in northern Cameroon and southwest Chad. New numbers page: Baoulé, a Kwa language spoken in Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). Buli, a Gur language spoken in the Upper East Region in northern Ghana. Songe (Kisonge), a Bantu language spoken in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. New phrases page: Buli, a Gur language spoken in the Upper East Region in northern Ghana. New Tower of Babel translations: Baoulé, a Kwa language spoken in Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). Bilaspuri, a Western Pahari language spoken in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab in northern India. Ambai, a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken mainly on the Ambai Islands in Papua province in Indonesia. Anuak, a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken mainly on the Ambai Islands in Papua province in Indonesia. Apali, a Trans-New Guinea language spoken in Madang Province in Papua New Guinea. Buli, a Gur language spoken in the Upper East Region in northern Ghana. Gourmanchéma (gùlmàncéma), a Gur language spoken in Burkina Faso, Togo, Niger and Benin. Vidunda (Chividunda), a Bantu language spoken in southern Tanzania. Medumba (Mə̀dʉ̂mbɑ̀), a Bamileke language spoken in the West Region in southwestern Cameroon. In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, entitled Feeble Foibles, we discover what links the words feeble and foible with bleating and bells. It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok. On the Omniglot blog this week we investigate various words for Rice in Swahili, Chinese and Japanese, and there’s the usual language quiz. See if you guess what language this is: Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in Dagestan in Russia. The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Lenakel (Netvaar), a Southern Oceanic language spoken on Tanna Island in southern Vanuatu. On the Celtiadur blog this week there’s a new post about words for we, us and related pronouns entitled We Ourselves. For more Omniglot News, see: https://www.omniglot.com/news/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100046466483286 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.

  • S1 · E201
    September 5 · 2 min

    Adventures in Etymology – Feeble Foibles

    In this Adventure in Etymology we discover what links the words feeble and foible with bleating and bells. Feeble [ˈfiːbəl] means deficient in physical strength; lacking force, vigour or effectiveness in action or expression, or faint. It comes from Middle English feble [ˈfeːbəl / ˈfeːblə] (feeble, weak, insidious), from Anglo-Norman feble (weak, feeble), from Latin flēbilis (lamentable, doleful), from fleō (to weep, cry, lament), ultimately from PIE *bʰleh₁- (to bleat, cry), from *bʰel- (to sound, speak, roar, bark) [source]. Words from the same PIE roots include блеять (blejat’ – to bleat) in Russian, blaten (to bleat, to speak pointlessly) in Dutch, bjalla (bell, to be noisy, to call) in Icelandic, and bell, bleat and blatant in English [source]. Foible [ˈfɔɪbəl] means a quirk, idiosyncrasy, frailty or mannerism; an unusual habit that is slightly strange or silly, or a weakness or failing of character. It comes from Early Modern French foible (feeble, weak), from Old French feble / foible (weak, feeble), from Latin flēbilis (lamentable, doleful), and so on – the same root as feeble [source]. Words from the same Latin roots include feble (weak, feeble) in Catalan, flébil (tearful, fragile) in Portuguese, fäbless (penchant, fondness) in Swedish, and Faible (soft spot, weakness, craze) in German [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.

  • S1 · E255
    August 30 · 2 min

    Omniglot News (30/08/26)

    Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. New language pages: Leonese (Llionés), a Ibero-Romance language spoken mainly in the northwest of Spain. Angaataha (Angaatɨha), a Trans-New Guinea language spoken in Morobe Province in Papua New Guinea. Northwest Gbaya (Làì / Kàrà), an Atlantic-Congo language spoken in Cameroon and the Central African Republic. New numbers page: Angaataha (Angaatɨha), a Trans-New Guinea language spoken in Morobe Province in Papua New Guinea. Nizaa (Nízɑɑ̀), a Mambiloid language spoken in the Adamawa Region in northern Cameroon. New adapted script: Turkish Shavian (·𐑖𐑨𐑝𐑰 𐑑𐑳𐑮𐑒𐑗𐑧 / Şavi Türkçe), a way to write Turkish with the Shavian alphabet devised by Ethan Ikediashi. New Tower of Babel translation: Abaza (абаза бызшва), a North West Caucasian language spoken in the Republics of Karachay-Cherkessia and Adygea in the southwest of Russia. If someone is described as having come-hither eyes, it means their eyes are seducitve or alluring. If you tell a horse to come hither though, what would you expect it to do? Find out in this blog post Hither & Thither, and there’s the usual language quiz. See if you guess what language this is: Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in southern Vanuatu. The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Umbundu (Úmbúndú), a Bantu language spoken in western Angola. On the Celtiadur blog this week there’s a new post about words for I, me and related pronouns entitled Me, Myself & I. For more Omniglot News, see: https://www.omniglot.com/news/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100046466483286 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.

  • S1 · E254
    August 23 · 2 min

    Omniglot News (23/08/26)

    Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. New language pages: Upper Necaxa Totonac, a Central Totonac language spoken in Puebla in southeastern Mexico. Ngwo (Engwo), a Southern Bantoid language spoken in the North West Region of Cameroon. Nizaa (Nízɑɑ̀), a Mambiloid language spoken in the Adamawa Region in northern Cameroon. New numbers page: Upper Necaxa Totonac, a Central Totonac language spoken in Puebla in southeastern Mexico. Nizaa (Nízɑɑ̀), a Mambiloid language spoken in the Adamawa Region in northern Cameroon. Improved phrases page: Kichwa – now with translations and recordings of all the phrases. New Tower of Babel translations: Orokolo, a Western Eleman language spoken in Gulf Province in Papua New Guinea. Khakas (Хакас тілі), a Turkic language spoken in the Republic of Khakassia in southern Russia. In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, Yawning Hiatus, we discover what links the word hiatus with yawning. It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok. On the Omniglot blog we find out when a number is not a number in a post entitled Numbering Houses, and there’s the usual language quiz. See if you guess what language this is: Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in western Angola. The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Yidgha (یدغہ), an Eastern Iranian language spoken in northern Pakistan. On the Celtiadur blog this week there’s a new post about words for you and related things entitled You Yourself. For more Omniglot News, see: https://www.omniglot.com/news/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100046466483286 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.

  • S1 · E202
    August 22 · 2 min

    Adventures in Etymology – Yawning Hiatus

    In this Adventure in Etymology we discover what links the word hiatus with yawning. A hiatus [haɪˈeɪtəs / hɐˈjaː.t̪ʊs] is a gap in a series, making it incomplete; an interruption, break, pause or absence; a temporary break from work, especially one which is unexpected, and various other things. It comes from Latin hiātus (a hiatus, opening, gap, aperture, cleft, longing, desire), from hiō (to yawn, gape, pause, be amazed), from Proto-Italic *hiāō, from PIE *ǵʰeh₂- (to yawn, gape) [source]. Words from the same roots include zijati (to stare, gape, yawn) in Slovenian, ganar (to gain, earn, win) in Spanish, a căsca (to yawn, gape) in Romanian, gína (to gape) in Icelandic, and gain, gap, gape, gum and yawn in English [source]. The word chaos possibly also comes from the same PIE root. It was borrowed from Ancient Greek χάος (khắos – chaos, the primordial state of existence, space, air, abyss, chasm, infinite darkness), and is probably related to words like *χάϝος (kháwos – hole, empty space, yawning opening) and χάσκω (kháskō – to gape, yawn) [source]. The word gas also shares the same roots. It was coined by Dutch Chemist Jan Baptist van Helmont in 1648, and was derived from Ancient Greek χάος (khắos – chaos, etc). It was possibly also inspired by the Dutch word geest (ghost, spirit, mind), which is related to the English word ghost [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.

  • S1 · E253
    August 16 · 2 min

    Omniglot News (16/08/26)

    Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. New language pages: Neo, an international auxiliary language created by Arturo Alfandari in the 1930s. Eloyi (Ɛ̀llɔ́ì / Ẹ̀llọ́ì), a Plataeau language spoken in central and southeast Nigeria. Gapapaiwa, a Western Oceanic language spoken in Milne Bay Province in Papua New Guinea. New numbers page: Neo, an international auxiliary language created by Arturo Alfandari in the 1930s. Gurung (तमु क्यी), a Tamangic language spoken in south and central Nepal and northeast India. New adapated script: Maltilliku (Малтиллику), a way to write Maltese with the Cyrillic alphabet devised by Michael Lai. New constructed script: Lafnyan, which was created by Igor W. T. Beccaro Damini to use in an epic fantasy book series he is writing. In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, Woven Waves, we unravel the woven origins of the word wave. It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok. On the Omniglot blog we find out whether the words ford, fjord and port are related in a post entitled Fording Fjord Ports, and there’s the usual language quiz. See if you guess what language this is: Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in Pakistan. The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Serrano (Maarrênga’twich), an Uto-Aztecan language spoken in southern California in the USA. For more Omniglot News, see: https://www.omniglot.com/news/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100046466483286 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.

  • S1 · E201
    August 15 · 2 min

    Adventures in Etymology – Woven Waves

    In this Adventure in Etymology we unravel the woven origins of the word wave. As verb, to wave [wɛjv / weɪv] can mean to move back and forth repeatedly and somewhat loosely; to move one’s hand back and forth in greeting or departure; to call attention to by a waving motion, or to have an undulating or wavy form. It comes from Middle English waven [ˈwaːvən] (to shake, swing, go away, waver, wave), from Old English wafian [ˈwɑ.vi.ɑn] (to wave), from Proto-West Germanic *wabbjan (to cause to weave, wrap, entangle), from Proto-Germanic *wabjaną (to cause to weave, wrap, entangle), from *webaną (to weave), from PIE *webʰ- (to weave, braid) [source]. Words from the same roots include wasp, waver, weave, web and weft (the horizontal threads that are interlaced through the warp in a woven fabric) in English, weben (to weave, intertwine) in German, väv (weave, fabric, web) in Swedish, guêpe (wasp) in French, and vespa (wasp) in Italian [source]. A wave is a moving disturbance in the level of a body of liquid; an undulation, a moving disturbance in the energy level of a field, and so on. It comes from partially from the same roots as the verb to wave, and also from Middle English wawe [wau̯] (a wave), from Old English wǣġ [wæːj] (wave, water), from Proto-West Germanic *wāg (wave), from Proto-Germanic *wēgaz (wave, sea), from PIE *weǵʰ- (to bring, transport) [source]. Words from the same roots include vector, vehicle, wagon, way, wedge and weight in English, weg (way, road, manner) in Dutch, veslo (oar) in Czech, gwaith (work, labour, act) in Welsh, and féan (wagon, cart) in Irish [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.

  • S1 · E252
    August 9 · 1 min

    Omniglot News (09/08/26)

    Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. New language pages: Ngambay, a Central Sudanic language spoken in Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria. Ineseño (Sʰamala), a Chumashan language that was spoken in southern California in the USA and that is being revived. Tungag (Lavongai), a Western Oceanic language spoken in New Ireland Province in Papua New Guinea. New numbers page: Tungag (Lavongai), a Western Oceanic language spoken in New Ireland Province in Papua New Guinea. New phrases page: Valencian (valencià), a Western Catalan language spoken mainly in Valencia in eastern Spain. In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, we discover the origins of the word Influence. This is episode 200 of Adventures in Etymology, by the way. It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok. On the Omniglot blog we find out whether near is nearer than nigh in a post entitled Nearly Nigh, and there’s the usual language quiz. See if you guess what language this is: Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in southern California in the USA. The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Djabugay, a Pama-Nyungan spoken in Far North Queensland in the northeast of Australia. On the Celtiadur blog this week there’s a new post entitled Shining Bright about words for clear, bright, shining 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/profile.php?id=100046466483286 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.

  • S1 · E200
    August 8 · 2 min

    Adventures in Etymology – Influence

    In this Adventure in Etymology we discover the origins of the word influence. Influence [ˈɪn.flu.əns] can refer to the power to affect, control or manipulate something or someone; an action exerted by a person or thing on another to cause change, or a person or thing exerting such power or action. In astrology, influence is apparently an element believed to determine someone’s character or individual tendencies, caused by the position of the stars and planets at the time of one’s birth, and it used to mean the action of flowing in or an influx. As a verb to influence can mean to have an effect on by using gentle or subtle action; to modify, bias or sway; to persuade or induce; to exert or make use of one’s influence, and it used to mean to cause to flow in, to infuse or to instill. It comes from Middle English influence / influens (control, power, influence, flowing, influx), from Old French influence (inundation, flooding, influence, especially viewed as a mystical force affecting one’s fate), from Medieval Latin īnfluentia (influence), from Latin īnfluēns (flowing into), from īnfluō (to flow into, stream, rush, throng), from in (in, within) and fluō (to flow, stream, pour) [source]. Words from the same Latin roots include influx and influenza in English, influencia (influence, clout, leverage) and influjo (influx, sway, influence) in Spanish, influenza (influence, influenza) in Italian, influer (to influence) in French [source]. Other words with similarly fluid roots (fluō in Latin) include fluid, flume, flux, affluent, effluent, confluent, superfluous in English, confluir (to converge) in Catalan, and fiume (river) in Italian [source]. Incidentally, this is the 200th episode of the Adventures in Etymology podcast. You can find links to all previous episodes on the Adventures in Etymology page of this blog. 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.

  • S1 · E251
    August 2 · 2 min

    Omniglot News (02/08/26)

    Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. New language pages: Koyrasboro Senni (كࣷيْرَبࣷرࣷ سٜنِّ), a Southern Songhay language spoken in southern Mali. Tuwali, a Philippine language spoken the Province of Ifugao in northern Luzon in the Philippines. Nga La (Matu), a Southern Kuki-Chin language spoken western Myanmar and northeastern India. New numbers page: Tuwali, a Philippine language spoken the Province of Ifugao northern Luzon in the Philippines. Nga La, a Southern Kuki-Chin language spoken western Myanmar and northeastern India. New phrases page: Nga La, a Southern Kuki-Chin language spoken western Myanmar and northeastern India. New Tower of Babel translations pages: Udi (удин муз / udin muz), a Northeast Caucasian language spoken in Azerbaijan, Russia, Georgia and Armenia. Wandala, a Chadic language spoken in northern Cameroon and northwestern Nigeria. Talinga, a Bantu language spoken in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Tamahaq, a Northern Berber language spoken in Algeria, Libya and Niger. Tandroy, a Southern Kuki-Chin language spoken in Chin State in western Myanmar. Tsakhur, a northeast Caucasian language spoken in Azerbaijan and Russia Ut Main, a Northwest Kainji language spoken in northern Nigeria. New constructed script: Simgeul, a way to write Korean with a “simplified” version of the Korean Hangeul script created by Ajn. In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, we point out the origins of the word Index. It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok. On the Omniglot blog we discover what griffons have to do with messy writing in a post entitled Griffonage, and there’s the usual language quiz. See if you guess what language this is: Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in northeastern Australia. The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Chakhar (ᠴᠠᠬᠠᠷ), a variety of Mongolian spoken in the Inner Mongolia Region in northern China. On the Celtiadur blog this week there’s a new post entitled Confluent Ravines about words for ravine, confluence 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/profile.php?id=100046466483286 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.

  • S1 · E199
    August 1 · 1 min

    Adventures in Etymology – Index

    In this Adventure in Etymology we point out the origins of the word index. An index [ˈɪndɛks] is an alphabetical listing of items and their location; the index finger; a movable finger on a gauge, scale, etc (other meanings are available). As a verb to index can mean to arrange an index for something; to inventory; to measure by an associated value, and other things. It comes from Latin index (a pointer, index finger, index, list, sign, informer, spy), from in (in, at, on) and dicō (to say, talk, speak, declare, tell) [source]. Dicō comes from Proto-Italic *deikō (to show, indicate, say, tell), from Proto-Indo-European *déyḱeti (to be pointing out), from *deyḱ-. (to point out, to show) [source]. English words from the same roots include dictate, diction, dictionary, digit, edict, indicate, judge, preach, predict, teach, toe, token, verdict and vindicate [source]. Words in other languages from the same roots include decir (to say, tell) in Spanish, vingar (to avenge, revenge, thrive) in Portuguese, দিক (dik – direction, side, end) in Bengali, Zeh (toe) in German, teikn (omen, sign, icon) in Icelandic, and mallacht (curse) in Irish [source]. Incidentally, if there is more than one index, do you talk about indexes or indices? I prefer indexes, but think you could use indexen (similar to ox / oxen, child / children, and aurochs / aurochsen) instead. The -en plural ending used to be a more common and used for words such as cheesen (cheeses), kneen (knees), eyen (eyes), foxen (foxes) and shoon (shoes) [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.

  • S1 · E250
    July 26 · 2 min

    Omniglot News (26/07/26)

    Here’s the latest news from the world of Omniglot. New language pages: Shi (Mashi), a Northeast Bantu language spoken in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ikwo, an Igboid language spoken in Ebonyi and Cross River states in southern Nigeria. Ngaing, a Finisterre language spoken in the south of Madang Province of Papua New Guinea. New numbers page: Ngaing, a Finisterre language spoken in the south of Madang Province of Papua New Guinea. New Tower of Babel translations pages: Shi (Mashi), a Northeast Bantu language spoken in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nga La (Matu), a Southern Kuki-Chin language spoken in western Myanmar. Gofa (Goofatho / የጎፋ-ቋንቋ), a North Omotic language spoken in southwest of Ethiopia. Safen (Saafi-Saafi), a Senegambian language spoken in western Senegal. Koyraboro Senni, a Songhay language spoken in southern Mali. Thaiphum, a Southern Kuki-Chin language spoken in Chin State in western Myanmar. New adapted script: Sitelen kana (写太 / してれん かな / シテレン カナ), a way to write Toki Pona with Japanese scripts. In this week’s Adventure in Etymology, entitled Awkwardly Odd, we discover the odd roots of the word awkward. It’s also available on Instagram and TikTok. On the Omniglot blog we fribble about some fribblish words in a post entitled Fribblish Fribblers, and there’s the usual language quiz. See if you guess what language this is: Here’s a clue: this language is spoken in northern China. The mystery language in last week’s language quiz was Malaweg, a Northern Luzon language spoken in Luzon in the Philippines. On the Celtiadur blog this week there’s a new post entitled Awkwardly Clumsy, about words for clumsy, awkward and related things in Celtic languages. Incidentally, this is episode 250 of the Omniglot news. For more Omniglot News, see: https://www.omniglot.com/news/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/omniglot/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100046466483286 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.

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