khapela (Tsonga, South Africa) to drive animals into another’s land so that they may do damage there
bohnaskinyan (Dakota, USA) to make an animal crazy or furious by shooting
phitsisitse (Setswana, Botswana) to kill an insect by crushing it between the finger and thumb
Down on the farm
But then came the thought of using certain breeds to their advantage:
nanagi (Rapanui, Easter Island) to mark a chicken as one’s property by biting one of its toes
piya (Kalanga, Botswana) to hold a goat’s leg under one’s knee while milking it
verotouaire (Gallo, France) a woman who helps a boar (vero) to copulate with the sow (tree)
féaunu-mar (Old Icelandic) a man lucky with his sheep
Commanding
With this came a new range of calls and cries:
ouk (British Columbian dialect, Canada) a command to a sledge-dog to turn right
koosi (Buli, Ghana) to call chickens by smacking one’s tongue
cethreinwr (Welsh) someone who walks backwards, in front of an ox, prompting it with a combination of a song and a sharp stick
To the hand
The Scots, in particular, have a fine collection of animal instructions:
irrnowt a shepherd’s call to his dog to pursue cattle
who-yauds a call to dogs to pursue horses
iss a call to a dog to attack
hut a call to a careless horse
re a call to a horse to turn to the right
shug a call to a horse to come to the hand
Animals online
In these days of intense email use, it seems amazing that there is still no official name for @. It is generally called the ‘at’ symbol. Other languages have come up with all kinds of mostly animal nicknames. Polish calls it malpa, monkey; in Afrikaans it is aapstert, monkey’s tail; in German it is Klammeraffe, clinging monkey; and in Dutch it is apeklootje, little monkey’s
Aw, aw !
As does the Pashto language of Afghanistan and Pakistan:
drhey
when addressing sheep
eekh eekh
when addressing camels
asha asha
when addressing donkeys
aw aw
when addressing oxen
tsh tsh
when addressing horses
kutsh kutsh
when addressing dogs
testicle. The Finns and Swedes see it as a cat curled up with its tail. Swedish has kattsvans, and Finnish has at least three names for this idea: kissanhäntä, cat tail, miaumerkki, meow sign, and miukumauku, which means something like meow-meow. In French, Korean, Indonesian, Hebrew and Italian it’s a snail. In Turkish (kulak) and Arabic (uthun) it’s an ear, in Spanish it’s an elephant’s ear (elefantora), in Danish it’s an elephant’s trunk (snabel), and elsewhere:
zavinac (Czech) pickled herring
xiao lao-shu (Taiwanese) little mouse
kukac (Hungarian) worm or maggot
sobachka (Russian) little dog
papaki (Greek) duckling
grisehale (Norwegian) curly pig’s tail
kanelbulle (Swedish) cinnamon roll
gul (Turkish) rose
How to count on your chickens
In the Gallo dialect in France there is some very specific vocabulary about ensuring that there are always enough eggs:
un anijouet an egg left in a hen’s nest to encourage it to lay ore in the same place
chaponner to stick a finger up a chicken’s bottom to see if it is laying an egg
Man’s best friend
It’s hardly surprising that that species thought of as closest to humans is described in the most loving detail:
agkew (Manobo, Philippines) to try to snatch food which is hung up out of each (said of a dog)
manàntsona (Malagasy, Madagascar) to smell or sniff before entering a house, as a dog does
ihdaśna (Dakota, USA) to miss in biting oneself, as a dog trying to bite its own tail
kwiiua-iella (Yamana, Chile) to bite and leave, as a dog does with a strong animal it cannot kill
amulaw (Bikol, Philippines) the barking of dogs in pursuit of game
Roof-gutter rabbit
Our second favourite animal is less loyal and more selfish, but brings us luck if it crosses our path:
lapin de gouttière (French) a cat (literally, roof-gutter rabbit)
echafoureré (Gallo, France) a tickled cat hiding under a table or chair
bilāra-nissakkana (Pali, India) large enough for a cat to creep through
amotόm (Cheyenne, USA) to carry something in the mouth (said especially of a mother cat)
bvoko (Tsonga, South Africa) to spring unsuccessfully at or after, as a cat springs at a mouse which just saves itself
Gee gee
Next up has to be the one that has always helped us get around, and has also let us experience speed, excitement and other less welcome sensations:
asvatthāma (Sanskrit) having the strength of a horse
lekgetla (Setswana, Botswana) the droop of the ears of a tired horse
dzádintsu (Telugu, India) to flap about as a horse does his tail, to reprove by speech
cagailt (Gaelic) a roll of chewed grass in a horse’s mouth
ibiihokcho (Alabama, USA) to pass gas in someone’s face (as a horse will)
Moo
Fourth on our list is free to roam in India, enjoying its sacred status, while elsewhere it offers sustenance of more than one kind:
kárámpasu (Tamil) a cow whose udder is black, held in great esteem by the Hindus
nyakula (Lozi, Niger-Congo) to try to untie itself by kicking (as a cow tied up by its legs)
silehile (Lozi, Niger-Congo) to besmirch with dung the teats of a cow which refuses to be milked, in order to keep its calf away
deothas (Gaelic) the longing or eagerness of a calf for its mother
clardingo (Welsh) to flee in panic from a warble-fly (said of a herd of cows)
gokuradiya (Sinhala, Sri Lanka) the water in a hole made by a cow’s hoof
Drinking twice
We rarely see our fifth and last away from a zoo or safari park, but in the wild this creature certainly lives up to the poet’s description as ‘Nature’s great masterpiece’:
dvi-pa (Sanskrit) an elephant (literally, drinking twice – with his trunk and his mouth)
gagau (Malay) an elephant picking up with its trunk
polak (Hindi) straw tied to the end of a bamboo stick which is used to frighten and restrain a furious elephant
isīkā (Sanskrit) an elephant’s eyeball
tun-mada (Sinhala, Sri Lanka) an elephant in rut, alluding to the three liquids which exude from him in the rutting season, namely from his temples, his eyes and his penis
Flying low
And then there are those others that we admire, but generally only from a distance:
arspag (Gaelic) the largest seagull
tihunyi (Tsonga, South Africa) a crested cuckoo which sings before the rains and reminds people to collect firewood
jimbi (Luvale, Zambia) a bird which does not yet sing
sarad (Manobo, Philippines) to fly low, at about the height of a coconut palm
IDIOMS OF THE WORLD
Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched
Swahili advises us not to curse the crocodile before we’ve crossed the river and there are all kinds of similar warnings from around the world about not being too hasty:
mithl ilh yibi’ samak fi al bahar (Arabic) it’s like selling fish still in the sea
man skal ikke sælge skindet, før bjørnen er skudt (Danish) one should not sell the fur before the bear has been shot
älä nuolaise ennen kuin pöydällä tipahtaa (Finnish) don’t start licking it up before it drops onto the table
guthimba ti kuura (Kikuyu, Kenya) having rain clouds is not the same as having rain
na neroden Petko kapa mu skroile (Macedonian) they sewed a hat to Pe
ter who is not born yet
tsiplyat po oseni schitayut (Russian) one should count chicks in autumn
ne govori gop, poka ne pereskochish (Russian) don’t say hop until you jumped over
ino manga ondjupa ongombe inaayi vala (Ndonga, Namibia) don’t hang the churning calabash before the cow has calved
non dire gatto se non l’hai nel sacco (Italian) never say ‘cat’ if you have not got it in your sack
dereyi görmeden paçalan sivama (Turkish) do not roll up your trouser legs before you see the stream
19.
Climate Change
carve your good words in stone, the bad in snow
Tiwilight
The world goes round, and at innumerable different times, the day begins. Down in the Antipodes, the Tiwi people of northern Australia describe the sequence before the sun finally appears:
arawunga early morning before dawn
tokwampari early morning when birds sing
yartijumurTa darkness before daylight
wujakari first light before sunrise
The dawn chorus
The Hungarians have a specific word – hajnalpir – for the first blush of dawn; the Japanese distinguish ariake, dawn when the moon is still showing; while the German word Morgengrauen (literally, morning greying) describes both the horror of the morning and its grey and sunless colour.
Sun’s up
In the Dakota language of the USA, the moon is hangyetuwi, the night-sun. Come dawn it can no longer compete with anpetuwi, the day-sun:
glukocharazo (Greek) to glow in the dawn light
tavanam (Tamil) the heat of the sun
amaśtenaptapta (Dakota, USA) the glimmering of vapour in the sun’s heat
greigh (Gaelic) the uncommon heat of the sun after bursting out from behind a cloud
Weather report
Ah, that famous topic, food for hundreds of thousands of conversations every day. And we are not alone in observing and describing its many moods:
pestpokkenweer (Dutch) dirty rotten weather
dul’avā (Virdainas, Baltics) fog with drizzle
cilala (Bemba, Zambia) the dry spell in a rainy season
boule (Scots) a gap, break; an opening in the clouds betokening fine weather
Postkartenwetter (German) the kind of weather that is too wonderful to be real (literally, postcard weather)
Heat haze
The secondary meanings of weather terms are often very evocative of the climate they describe. For instance, the Scots description of heat haze – summer-flaws – is also used for a swarm of gnats dancing in the air; while the Yamana of Chile unda-tu also describes the wavy appearance of the air seen over a fire.
The wind of change
Beautifully still conditions never last for long, certainly not in this country:
pew (Scots) the least breath of wind or smoke; the least ripple on the sea
sivisivivi (Mailu, Papua New Guinea) marks on water of a coming wind
kacee (Tsonga, South Africa) to feel a breeze or smell coming towards one
fuaradh-froik (Gaelic) the breeze preceding a shower
False friends
dim (Bosnian) smoke
estate (Italian) summer
lung (Sherpa, Nepal) air
santa (Bosnian) iceberg
tall (Arabic) hill, elevation
Storm warning
We can always sense that moment when things are on the turn:
oi (Vietnamese) to be sultry, muggy, hot and sticky
tvankas (Virdainas, Baltics) stuffy air
bingo (Chewa, South East Africa) the distant roll of thunder
gwangalakwahla (Tsonga, South Africa) a thunderclap is very near
kixansiksuya (Dakota, USA) to know by one’s feelings that unpleasant weather is due
Sunshine shower
After the storm, the rain is lighter, subtler; indeed, it may not be clear quite what’s going on:
tmoq yungay (Aboriginal Tayal, Taiwan) a light rain (literally, monkey piss)
fa-fa-fa (Tsonga, South Africa) to fall in a shower of drops
mvula-tshikole (Venda, South Africa) rain with sunshine
ördög veri a feleségét (Hungarian) the devil is hitting his wife (usually said when the sun is shining but rain is falling at the same time)
bijregenboog (Dutch) a secondary rainbow
In a flood
Down on the ground, everything changes:
douh (Somali) a dry watercourse which turns into a fast-moving stream after every downpour
túvánam (Tamil) rain driven by the wind through the doors or windows
zolilinga (Luvale, Zambia) the watermark made by rain (as on a wooden door)
Soaking up the weather
And all kinds of fun can be had:
edtimbulan (Maguindanaon, Philippines) to walk in the rain
wadlopen (Dutch) to walk sloshing through seamud
chokok (Malay) to splash water in fun
dynke (Norwegian) the act of dunking somebody’s face in snow
kram snø (Norwegian) snow which is sticky (excellent for making snowballs and snowmen)
You fish on your side…
Several places in Norway and Sweden are simply called ä. It means river in various Scandanavian languages, but that’s all the name tells us about them. But if you go for something rather longer, an awful lot of information can be contained in a name. For instance, Webster Lake in Massachussetts, USA, is also known as
Chargoggagoggmanchauggauggagoggchaubunagunga-maugg
which was a native word for a neutral fishing place near a boundary, a meeting and fishing spot shared by several tribes. A popular interpretation is: ‘You fish on your side, I fish on my side, nobody fishes in the middle.’ The longest placename still in regular use is for a hill in New Zealand. The ninety-letter Maori name
Taumatawhakatangihangakoauaotamateaurehaeaturi-pukapihimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuaakitana-rahu
means ‘The brow of the hill where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, who slid, climbed and ate mountains, the great traveller, sat and played on the flute to his beloved.’
Compass comparisons
The sun features strongly in how other cultures have described the compass points. The Mingo of the USA describe north as te’kææhkwææhkö, the sun isn’t there; and west as hekææhkwë’s, the sun habitually drops down over there. The Bambara people of Mali have more complicated associations:
EAST is the colour white; the land of the dead and of wild and domestic animals.
WEST is the land of the ‘sunset people’ and of birds; thesource of custom and of all goodness and loveliness.
NORTH is identified with the seventh heaven, a far distant country, the dwelling of the great god Faro, who created the world in all its present form; the north is the home of all water creatures – fish, crocodiles and frogs.
SOUTH is peopled by plants and the evil beings whom Faro was forced to destroy at the beginning of time, because they had stolen speech from him; the home of pollution.
Coucher de soleil
Rain or shine, windy or still, the sun sinks down towards the horizon, and the day winds towards its close:
tainunu (Gilbertese, Oceania) the time when shadows lengthen in the late afternoon
pakupaku (Rapanui, Easter Island) to come down in a straight line like the rays of the sun
sig (Sumerian, Mesopotamia) the colour of the low setting sun (reddish-yellow or gold)
iltarusko (Finnish) sunset glow
ahiahi-ata (Rapanui, Easter Island) the last moments of light before nightfall
Silver goddess
Darkness falls, and the night-sun reappears, bringing with it mystery and magic:
jyόtsnā (Sanskrit) a moonlight night
&
nbsp; yakmoez (Turkish) the effect of moonlight sparkling on water
kuunsilta (Finnish) the long reflection of the moon when it is low in the sky and shining on the calm surface of a lake (literally, moon bridge)
hasi istitta-ammi (Alabama, USA) to bathe one’s face in the moon, wash the face four times in moonlight
IDIOMS OF THE WORLD
It’s raining cats and dogs
ou vrouens met knopkieries reen (Afrikaans) it’s raining old women with clubs
padají trakaře (Czech) it’s raining wheelbarrows
det regner skomagerdrenge (Danish) it’s raining shoemak- ers’ apprentices
het regent pijpenstelen (Dutch) it’s raining pipestems baron mesleh dobeh asb mirized (Persian) it’s raining like the tail of the horse
brékhei kareklopόdara (Greek) it’s raining chair legs
il pleut comme vache qui pisse (French) it’s raining like a pissing cow
es regnet Schusterbuben (German) it’s raining young cobblers
estan lloviendo hasta maridos (Spanish) it’s even raining husbands
20.
The Root of All Evil
ahjar habib fis-suq minn mitt skud fis-senduq (Maltese)
a friend in the market is better than one hundred gold coins in the chest
A frog’s armpit
‘Don’t offer me advice, give me money,’ say the Spanish – and who would disagree, certainly if they’re in a tight spot financially: