Mother love
As the Nigerian saying goes, nwanyi umu iri o dighi ihe mere nabali o naghi ama, when a woman has ten children there is nothing that happens in the night that she does not know about:
wahdećapi (Dakota, USA) the sympathy that is said to exist between a mother and her absent children, producing peculiar sensations in the breast
songkom (Malay) to bury the face in a mother’s lap (as a child)
xilandzalandza (Tsonga, South Africa) a child constantly staying close to its mother
Cuckoo
With all this vulnerability at stake, one can only pray for decent parents …
kukushka (Russian) a mother who gives up her child to be raised by others (literally, a cuckoo)
kaelling (Danish) a woman yelling obscenities at her kids
Kinderfeindlichkeit (German) an intense dislike or disregard of children
False friends
taxi (Greek) classroom
Gymnasium (German) grammar school, high school
son (Vietnamese) to be still childless
Daughter in a box
… but not to the point where they overdo it:
onba-higasa (Japanese) a wealthy family’s pampered child (literally, wet nurse and parasol)
curlingforeldre (Danish) parents who do anything to sweep the road of life ahead of their children to ensure that it is free of obstacles (literally, curling parents)
hakoiri-musume (Japanese) a young woman who has always been protected from the harsh realities of life by doting parents (literally, daughter in a box)
ser flor de estufa (Spanish) overprotected, not allowed to become independent (literally, to be a hothouse flower)
Impossible child
‘The child who is one night old,’ say the Arabs, ‘has already learned to annoy its parents.’ It doesn’t stop there:
lundaezi (Lozi, Niger-Congo) to walk in the manner of a disrespectful angry child
riu’ (Iban, Sarawak and Brunei) rushing about and getting in the way (especially of children)
upuk’anaana (Yamana, Chile) to throw away anything cooked, as a naughty child might throw away a fish its mother gave it to eat
bunget (Manobo, Philippines) as a child, to want something one can’t have, get angry and then refuse it when it is finally offered
Dolls’ house
Distractions must be found; and the Yamana speakers of Chile have several delightfully specific words to describe the making of toys for children and how they play with them:
tukau-iyana to put a foot or feet on a doll or a picture of one
utellana to make or put eyes in the head of a figure one carves or draws
tumusgaia to put down with the face upwards, as with some dolls on a table
kaiyena-na to play quietly, as a little child with a toy
manax-soatekana to play with someone else’s toys
Junken a munken
But who needs toys when kids are so delightfully inventive anyway?
goagoana (Setswana, Botswana) to shout at each other in play
chottu (Tamil) a slap on the head with both hands in play
ha-lo-po (Car, Nicobar Islands) to have practical jokes played on one
junken a munken, a sucka sucka po, wailuku wailuku, bum bum show (Hawaiian Pidgin) a kids’ way of deciding who goes first: eeny meeny miney mo
Cheese head
The years race by; things seem to change so fast:
propanach (Gaelic) a well-built boy, beginning to run about
botshegangangatswane (Setswana, Botswana) little boys when still at a stage when they are unabashed by their nakedness
kaaskop (Dutch) a very blond, rosy-cheeked child (literally, cheese head)
timtum (Yiddish) a beardless youth with a high-pitched voice
On reflection
My sister’s toenails look like my grandfather’s
From ‘Around the rugged rock, the ragged rascal ran’ to ‘red leather, yellow leather’, a key part of learning a language is being able to master its tongue-twisters. They are always decidedly odd sentences. One French example featuring the s sound focuses on food:
Combien de sous sont ces saucissons-ci? Ces saucis-sons-ci sont six sous (How much are these sausages here? These sausages here are six cents.)
While a German tongue-twister that offers a lot of practice in the pronunciation of sch portrays a rather dangerous situation:
Zwei schwartze schleimige Schlangen sitzen zwischen zwei spitzigen Steinen und zischen (Two black slimy snakes sit between two pointed stones and hiss.)
Other favourites include:
Kuku kaki kakak kakak ku kayak kuku kaki kakek kakek ku (Indonesian) My sister’s toenails look like my grandfather’s.
Méla babka v kapse brabce, brabec babce v kapse píp. Zmáčkla babka brabce v kapse, brabec babce v kapse chcíp (Czech) Grandma had a sparrow in her pocket and the sparrow made a sound. Grandma pressed the sparrow and it died.
Als vliegen achter vliegen vliegen, vliegen vliegen vliegensvlug (Dutch) If flies fly behind flies, flies will fly like lightning.
Król Karol kupil Królowej Karolinie korale koloru koralowego (Polish) King Karl bought Queen Caroline a coral-coloured bead.
Saya sebal sama situ sebab situ suka senyum-senyum sama suami saya saya sehingga sekarang suami saya suka senyum-senyum sendiri sembari sama (Indonesian) I hate you because you used to smile at my husband; now he likes to smile for no obvious reason when he is with me.
Far, får får får? Nej, inte får får får, får får lamm (Swedish) Father, do sheep have sheep? No, sheep don’t have sheep, sheep have lambs.
Kan-jang-kong-jang kong-jang-jang-eun kang kong-jang-jang-ee-go, dwen-jang-kong-jang kong-jang-jang-eun kong kong-jang-jang-ee-da (Korean) The president of the soy-sauce factory is president Kang and the president of the bean-paste factory is president Kong.
Learning curve
Soon enough it’s time to start getting to grips with the ways and means of the adult world …
kinder-vraag (Dutch) a childish question
ABC-Schuetze (German) a pupil in the first year of school (literally, ABC shooter)
skolplikt (Swedish) compulsory school attendance
managòana (Malagasy, Madagascar) to go over a list of names to see if all are there
ageographetos (Greek) useless at geography
katapádama (Sinhala, Sri Lanka) a lesson committed to memory
chongak (Malay) to raise the head and the chin or to do mental arithmetic in class
daoshu (Chinese) to count backwards
sonkkopta (Korean) to count on one’s fingers
mushtiya (Sinhala, Sri Lanka) a fist, a closed hand (also applied to the behaviour of a teacher who withholds some knowledge from his pupils through fear that they may surpass him)
Target practice
… with all the unpleasant ordeals that that entails:
quemarse las pestanas (cejas) (Spanish) to study hard (literally, to burn one’s eyelashes (eyebrows)
nochnoe (Russian) late-night studying, as before exams
acordeón (Mexican Spanish) a crib sheet used to cheat in a test or exam (literally, an accordion)
ponchar (Cuban Spanish) to fail an exam (literally, to get a flat tyre)
vo chuoi (Vietnamese) to fail an exam (literally, to slip on a banana skin)
kvarsittare (Swedish) a pupil who has not been moved up
suberidome (Japanese) a school one applies to in case one isn’t accepted elsewhere (literally, skid stopper)
Hanging out
What every parent fears is slynaldern (Swedish), the awkward age, when their once innocent and biddable child starts rebelling against their authority:
kutu embun (Malay) on the streets constantly; young people who roam the streets at night
hangjongeren* (Dutch) groups of teenagers with nothing to do but hang around in groups, making strange grunting noises at passers-by (literally, hanging youth)
katoro buaka (Gilber
tese, Oceania) neglectful of one’s parents or grandparents
Filial
The good parent can only hope that all their love and hard work is reciprocated:
matteyyatā (Pali, India) filial love towards one’s mother
tindi (Tsonga, South Africa) to express joy at seeing one’s parents (of children)
chengqi (Chinese) to grow up to be a useful person
IDIOMS OF THE WORLD
Like father like son
kakov pop takov i prikhod (Russian) like priest like church
æblet falder ikke langt fra stamen (Danish) the apple doesn’t fall far from the trunk
ibn al bat ’awwam (Arabic) the son of a duck is a floater
filho de peixe sabe nadar (Portuguese) a fish’s child knows how to swim
de tal palo tal astilla (Spanish) from such stick comes such splinter
hijo de tigre sale rayado (Central American Spanish) the son of the tiger turns out striped
barewa tayi gudu danta ya yi rarrafe? (Hausa, Nigeria) how can the offspring of a gazelle crawl when its mother is a fast runner?
9.
Body Beautiful
kozla boysya speredi, konya – szadi, a likhogo cheloveka – so vsekh storon (Russian)
beware of the goat from its front side, of the horse – from its back side, and the evil man – from any side
Mugshot
Our face is our fortune, they say, but some are undeniably more fortunate than others:
chimmurui no kao (Japanese) a face that would stop a clock
kwabbig (Dutch) flabby pendulous cheeks
oriiti (Anywa, Nilo-Saharan) wrinkles on the forehead
papada (Spanish) a double chin
boirg (Gaelic) a small screwed-up mouth
busachd (Gaelic) the deformity of blubber-lips
bemandromba (Malagasy, Madagascar) having a large and ill-looking head
avoir un oeil qui joue au billard et l’autre qui compte les points (French) said of someone who is cross-eyed (literally, to have one eye that’s playing billiards while the other is off counting the points)
False friends
ache (Bashgali, India) eye
flint (Swedish) bald head
glad (Dutch) smooth, sleek
groin (French) snout
honk (Armenian) eyebrow
mute (Latvian) mouth
pea (Estonian) head
pong (Khowar, Pakistan) foot
Gobstruck
Of course it’s all too easy to spoil the appearance of what we’ve been given …
vaaye-nokke (Malayalam) to stare at somebody with your mouth open (literally, mouth-see)
gaillseach (Gaelic) a large mouthful which makes the cheeks bulge out
… especially if we’re putting it to good use:
kecomak-kecamik (Indonesian) to move the mouth around when eating something or saying a prayer
fújtat (Hungarian) to pant, puff and blow
menggonggong (Malay) to carry something in your mouth
ayapsun (Dakota, USA) to pull something out by the roots using the mouth
raspakhivat’ varezhky (Russian) to drop one’s jaw in surprise or amazement (literally, to open someone’s mitten)
Lippy
With the fleshiest part of that useful opening, emotion can easily get the better of appearance:
maiskuttaa (Finnish) to smack one’s lips
bibidia (Swahili) to thrust out and turn down the lower lip as a sign of derision or contempt
Tsk tsk
In many parts of the world, the tongue is not used just for speaking or eating:
tam-tac (Vietnamese) to smack the tongue as a sign of admiration
mitimiti (Rapa Nui, Easter Island) to click one’s tongue as a sign of disagreement or of annoyance (tsk, tsk)
auau (Bugotu, Solomon Islands) to stick the tongue out
lamz (Persian) rolling the tongue about the mouth to pick the teeth
imel-es (Ik, Nilo-Saharan) to move the tongue in and out like a snake
Trouble gum
Americans talk disparagingly of ‘English teeth’, but England is not the only country in the world where dental radiance could be improved:
kasyápa (Sanskrit) having black teeth
kadadat (Sinhala, Sri Lanka) possessing only half of your original teeth
wahdatepa (Dakota, USA) to wear one’s own teeth short
si gwa pau (Cantonese) someone with buck teeth (literally, watermelon shoveller)
Smiling, squirting, stripping
The Italians say, ‘Teeth placed before the tongue give good advice’; and whatever your gnashers look like, you can always put them to good use:
gigil (Tagalog, Philippines) the gritting of the teeth when controlling emotion
n’wayin’wayi (Tsonga, South Africa) to smile showing the teeth
ntseka (Tsonga, South Africa) to squirt forcibly through the teeth
ki’it (Manobo, Philippines) to bite off something with the front teeth (as when eating corn on the cob)
yigul-a (Yamana, Chile) to pull out stitches with the teeth
eeti (Rapanui, Easter Island) to strip off bark or hard skin with the teeth
dona (Yamana, Chile) to take out lice from a person’s head and squash them between one’s teeth
dentilegus (Latin) one who picks up his teeth after they have been knocked out
Long teeth
When the French talk of aiming for the impossible, they say they are trying to prendre la lune avec les dents, literally, to seize the moon with one’s teeth; to be very ambitious, likewise, is avoir les dents qui rayent le parquet, to have teeth that scratch the floor. For the Finns, to do something unwillingly is pitkin hampain, with long teeth; while for the Spanish, andar con el diente largo, walking around with long teeth, means to be very hungry.
Copping an eyeful
‘The eyes are the mirror of the soul,’ say the Japanese, echoing an English saying. But often it’s the more mundane aspects of these organs that people worry about:
xitsavatsava (Tsonga, South Africa) the involuntary twitching of an eyelid or eyebrow
bitlisisa (Setswana, Botswana) a sore eye that has been rubbed
kuseng (Manobo, Philippines) to rub one’s eyes with the back of the hand
rabun ayam (Malay) poor eyesight, especially during sunset
Bewitching
As with the teeth, our peepers are at their best when they’re put to use:
gwilgat (Breton, France) to watch from the corner of one’s eye
langut (Malay) to look upwards longingly
pangangalumbabà (Tagalog, Philippines) a pensive look (with the head supported by the palm)
ingikaranawá (Sinhala, Sri Lanka) to wink significantly
vekaveka (Luvale, Zambia) the shiftiness of eyes, looking here and there with madness or evil intent
temuna (Luvale, Zambia) to pull down an eyelid in mockery
embila (Maguindanaon, Philippines) to pretend to be cross-eyed
Cyrano
The French say that ‘a big nose never spoiled a handsome face’, a charitable judgement, perhaps influenced by the many fine probosci to be found in that country. But others have more serious problems than mere size:
khuranásá (Sinhala, Sri Lanka) one having a nose like a horse’s hoof
tapíl (Tagalog, Philippines) flat-nosed
bapp-nose (Scots) a nose threatening to meet the chin
ngongò (Tagalog, Philippines) one who talks with a twang due to a nasal disorder
patināsikā (Pali, India) a false nose
Lughole
Big or small, flat or sticky-out, our final external organs on the head are also closely observed by our worldwide languages:
anak telinga (Malay) the external gristly portion of the ear
budálu (Telugu, India) the place where the top of the ear meets the head
ukkanna (Pali, India) having the ears erect
n’wii (Tsonga, South Africa) to have buzzing in
the ears, as when under water
parece Volkswagen con las puertas abiertas (Latin American Spanish) big-eared (literally, he looks like a Volkswagen with the doors open)
Grass belong head
In the Tok Pisin language of Papua New Guinea, they call hair gras bilong het. Such grass may take different forms, quite apart from appearing in all the wrong places:
kesuir (Malay) hairy nostrils
gejigeji-mayuge (Japanese) bushy eyebrows (literally, centipede eyebrows)
giri-giri (Hawaiian Pidgin) the place where two or three hairs stick up no matter what
mas (Hindi) soft hair appearing above a lad’s upper lip, heralding the imminent advent of youth
kapúcchala (Sanskrit) a tuft of hair on the hind part of the head (hanging down like a tail)
pédevádu (Telugu, India) a man upon whose face hair does not grow
Octopus monk
For many men age brings a related and inescapable problem:
katok (Russian) a bald patch (literally, a skating rink)
baakoodo hage (Japanese) said of a man with receding hair who combs what remains at the sides over the top of his head (literally, barcode bald, due to how it looks viewed from above)
I Never Knew There Was a Word For It Page 17