I Never Knew There Was a Word For It
Page 24
na neroden Petko kapa mu skroile (Macedonian) they sewed a hat to Peter 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 paçalari sivama (Turkish) do not roll up your trouser legs before you see the stream
19.
Climate Change
gode ord skal du hogge i berg, de dårligere i snø (Norwegian)
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
yartijumurra 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
calalalala (Tsonga, South Africa) to come down, as a river in a flood; a glitter (of a large expanse of water or an army with polished weapons)
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)
On reflection
You fish on your side…
Several places in Norway and Sweden are simply called Å. 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
Chargoggagoggmanchauggauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
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
pukapihimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuaakitanarahu
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; the source 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 fa
lls, and the night-sun reappears, bringing with it mystery and magic:
jyótsnā (Sanskrit) a moonlight night
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 shoemakers’ 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 kareklopódara (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:
mas limpio que sobaco de rana (Venezuelan Spanish) broke (literally, cleaner than a frog’s armpit)
auf den Hund kommen (German) to be broke (literally, to get to the dog; in medieval times, a dog was painted on the bottom of money chests – if you could see the dog, you had run out of money)
n’avoir plus un radis (French) to be stone broke (literally, to be without a single radish)
kukla (Russian) a roll of bills in which the inner bills have been replaced by worthless paper (literally, a doll)
Cutting gold
Most of us would be more than happy with an easy escape from such an unfortunate predicament:
gaji buta (Malay) getting paid without having to work
att skära guld med täljkniv (Swedish) to make money with very little effort (literally, to cut gold with a pocket knife)
dawo (Yoruba, Nigeria, Benin and Togo) to produce money by magic
Gifted
While others find different ways to stay afloat:
pakimkím (Tagalog, Philippines) money given by a godparent
hustrulon (Swedish) a wife’s salary
namidakin (Japanese) a small amount of consolation money (literally, tear money)
pujo (Korean) a congratulatory gift or condolence money
Up against it
It’s certainly true that the folding stuff can be elusive; and the occasion when you really need it may be the one time you are unable to find it:
ipatapata (Lozi, Niger-Congo) to try hard to find money with which to make an urgent purchase
lukupu (Mambwe, Zambia) to miss gaining riches by a narrow margin
On the floor
When you do finally get some, for heaven’s sake be careful with it:
pagar el piso (Chilean Spanish) to take out all your friends and pay with the first pay packet from your new job (literally, to pay for the floor)
madyelakhwirhini (Tsonga, South Africa) a man who immediately spends all he earns and sends nothing home; a spendthrift
peaglatata (Dakota, USA) to exhaust one’s own supply by giving to others
It’s the thought that counts
To demonstrate their wealth, the Kwakiutl Indians of Vancouver Island destroyed it. Their chiefs publicly burned food, blankets, canoes and ornaments in the ceremony of potlatch, a word that means ‘giving’. A potlatch might be held for a variety of reasons, which varied from group to group, but included puberty rites and death commemorations. It involved a great feast at which the host lavishly distributed valuable property to all the assembled guests. The hitch was that the guests had to reciprocate at some future date – with interest of up to 100 per cent.
An umbrella at midnight
Two proverbs from the Kannada language of Southern India speak eloquently of the paradoxes of getting rich. HalliddAga kaDle illa; kaDle iddAga hallilla – there are no nuts when one has teeth and there are no teeth when there are nuts; in other words, when you are young you have no money, and when you have money the chance of enjoying it is often gone. But perhaps this is all as it should be. For the second proverb points up the absurdity of some people’s behaviour when they are in a fit state to enjoy their money: Aishwarya bandre ardha rAthrili koDe hiDkonDa – when a poor fellow gets rich, he has an umbrella over his head at midnight; which is to say that a newly wealthy man will flaunt the symbol of the well-off, a parasol to shield him from the sun, even in the dark.
False friends
Reformhaus (German) health food store
top (Dutch) done! agreed! it’s a bargain!
stershit (Albanian) to sell everything that one has
Detail (German) retail
hamstring (Swedish) hoarding (derives from hamster)
male (Italian) bad, wicked
Cowherd’s cake
Sometimes the destitute may just have to make do with a payment in kind:
legopelo (Setswana, Botswana) a piece of meat that is given to someone who has helped skin a cow
angauriyā (Hindi) a ploughman making use of a farmer’s plough instead of receiving wages in money or kind
bonnach-iomanach (Gaelic) a cowherd’s cake (a special reward for good herding at calving time)
matao ni bwe (Gilbertese, Oceania) the price paid in fish for the loan of a canoe or fishing net
On reflection
To see thirty-six candles
The French refer to many things in terms of the number thirty-six:
j’ai trente-six choses à faire I have many things to do
tous les trente-six du mois once in a blue moon (literally, each thirty-sixth of the month)
faire les trente-six volontés de quelqu’un to be at someone’s beck and call (literally, to do the thirty-six wills of someone)
voir trente-six chandelles to see stars after getting hit on the head (literally, to see thirty-six candles)
Stall
‘Gol’ na vydumku khitra,’ say the Russians – poverty is crafty; and it’s surely true that having no money can become the spur for entrepreneurial activity, even of the most basic kind:
bahu (Bugotu, Solomon Islands) to barter food for money
ditan (Chinese) a street vendor’s stand (with the goods spread out on the ground)
higgler (Jamaican creole) a person selling fruit and vegetables by the roadside
gujrī (Hindi) a roadside market set up in the late afternoons
sitoa (Gilbertese, Oceania) a small trading ship whose decks are set up as stores
chelnoki (Russian) shuttle traders (who buy goods from the back of lorries)
limpiaparabrisas (Mexican Spanish) street kids who gather at intersections with traffic lights and rush to wash the windscreen of cars waiting for the lights to change and then demand to be paid
Red shells out, white shells back
The Kiriwina of the Trobriand Islands in the Pacific have an elaborate gift exchange system called the kula. The islanders set off round the islands in large, ocean-going canoes and trade red shell necklaces (veigun) in a clockwise direction, and white shell bracelets (mwali) in an anti-clockwise direction. The round trip is several hundred miles.
The art of selling
There’s a lot of skill (even magic) in encouraging people to part with their hard-earned dosh:
spruik (Australian slang) to talk to attract customers; to hold forth like a showman
verlierlen (Yiddish) to lose a custome
r to a fellow salesman
vparivat’ (Russian) to palm off defective goods
fare orecchie da mercante (Italian) pretending not to understand (literally, to have a merchant’s ears)
palulud (Maguindanaon, Philippines) a charm that is supposed to have the power to attract customers
Smoke and mirrors
Although the further up the scale you go, the less need you have for actual goods:
muhaqala (Arabic) the sale of grain while still in growth, dealing in grain futures
dymoprodukt (Russian) an advertised product that is not yet being produced (literally, smoke product)
wheeler (Scots) one who bids at an auction simply to raise the price
One-armed bandit
There are, of course, other ways of making money, if you’re prepared to take a chance:
agi (Maranao, Philippines) to win continually in gambling
airi (Maranao, Philippines) to bet again on a card which has just won
an non (Vietnamese) to quit gambling as soon as one has won
balato (Tagalog, Philippines) money given away by a winning gambler as a sign of goodwill