There are around 14 words that express “love” in the Arabic language. Each word for “love” describes specific stages of falling in love. For example, “Al-Hawa” describes the initial attraction towards someone, “Al-Shaghaf” when love begins to surface within, “Al-Huyum” the insanity that follows falling in love, and “Al-Istikana” a blind desire.
Ireland is the only country in the world to have a musical instrument as its national symbol. As a testament to the country’s history of music, Ireland uses the harp as its national emblem. It is found on the state coat of arms and on the euro coins minted in Ireland.
The Harp was first recorded as the arms of Ireland in medieval times. The model for the current standard representation of the heraldic Harp is the 14th century harp now preserved in the Museum of Trinity College Dublin, popularly known as the Brian Boru or Brian Borumha Harp.
There is a German word for making something worse while trying to fix it – Verschlimmbessern. The term verschlimmbessern is colloquial, and it is a fusion of verschlimmern (“to make something worse”) and verbessern (“to make something better”). Thus, verschlimmbessern means making something worse while intending to make it better.
There is a welsh word ‘Hiraeth’ (pronounced he-reyeth) that describes a nuanced kind of homesickness. It is not limited to only missing a place or a home. Instead it has a multi-layered meaning, in that it translates to a kind of unattainable longing for a place, person or time that is unreachable and perhaps doesn’t even exist. It is not inherently negative, as it also suggests a place of comfort that you can return to. It combines elements of longing, nostalgia and homesickness.
The Basque language, also called Euskera, is spoken in the Western edge of the Pyrenees in Spain and France. The latest figures show that there are around 900,000 speakers today.
It is said to be the only remnant of the languages spoken in southwestern Europe before the region was Romanized in the 2nd through 1st century BCE. Interestingly, there is a high concentration of Palaeolithic sites and cave art within this area of the Pyrenees. This is one of the factors that has been investigated in the identification of Euskera’s linguistic roots.
Despite the efforts of many researchers to shed light on the origins of the Basque language, the linguistic roots remain speculative. Euskera is known as a language isolate, which means that it has no relation to another known language or that its connections with other languages are yet to be discovered.
“Omiyage”’ is the Japanese word for souvenir, although the concept of omiyage has a more nuanced significance than its direct translation. Omiyage is a souvenir that is purchased for others, rather than yourself. Specifically, it is a gift that you buy for your work colleagues, family and friends after returning from a trip. The gift often represents something unique and specific to the place you have visited, and is wrapped in a brightly coloured box. Bringing back omiyage is a sign of respect and appreciation for those you left behind whilst abroad.
“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).