Month: February 2023

“Abbiocco”’ is the Italian word used to express the content sleepiness you feel after eating a big meal. The word originates from the dialects of the central regions of Italy, namely Lazio and Le Marche. It derives from the verbs abbioccare / abbioccarsi, which mean to feel physically exhausted. The word is often paired with the verb “avere” to create the expression “avere l’abbiocco” – literally “to have the drowsiness.” It implies having a need to lie down and fully relax. It could be compared to the colloquial English phrase ‘food coma’.

Australia is home to the world’s largest Greek population outside Greece. Melbourne has a large Greek Precinct, as well as a Hellenic Museum and a Foundation for Hellenic Culture.

As a result of the historical and cultural ties between the Greek community of Melbourne and their Greek homeland, Melbourne is a sister city to Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city.

Papua New Guinea is the most linguistically diverse country in the world. With a population of over 9 million, the country is home to about 850 indigenous languages. The first human colonists introduced “Papuan” languages into the region about 40,000 years ago. 

With the arrival of European colonists in the 19th century, English became widely spoken as well as two other official languages, Tok Pisin (creole) and Hiri Motu (simplified form of the Austronesian language, Motu). English remains a major threat to the other indigenous languages, as higher educational and professional opportunities in the country require fluency in English.

The word ‘huh’ is regarded as the most universally understood word in the world, according to a study by Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The researchers found that the term is used in 31 different languages. 

They questioned the legitimacy of the word “huh”, which some considered an interjection, if not a grunt, rather than a word. The study concluded that it is actually a word, as it must be spelled and in accordance with the general principles of each language. While it does not sound exactly the same everywhere, each language has a “huh,” and it is almost always used for clarifying (or “repairing,” as it is called in linguistic circles).

Hindi, the language spoken by 342 Million Native Speakers is spelled phonetically, that is, there is a 1-1 correspondence between “glyphs” (what we think of as “letters”) and sounds. 

Hindi is one of India’s official languages but it is also spoken in Mauritius, Fiji, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Nepal. The language is a standardised form of Hindustani, as is Urdu. The Hindi language was standardised in the 19th century.

There are many English words which originate in the Hindi language. Examples of this include bungalow, guru, jungle, karma, mantra, nirvana, punch, pyjamas, shampoo and, of course, yoga!

Art was once an Olympic event! During the 1912 through the 1952 Olympics, achievements through painting, literature, architecture, sculpture, and music, received medals. The only condition was that each work must be somewhat inspired by the concept of sport.

In 1924, Irish writer Oliver St. John Gogarty entered the Paris Olympics for the first time and won Ireland’s first Olympic bronze medal as an independent nation. The poem made a connection between the former Tailteann Games in Ireland and the Olympics.