Issue #44

SILLY LINGUISTICS THE MAGAZINE FOR LANGUAGE LOVERS
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THE MAGAZINE FOR LANGUAGE LOVERS : ISSUE #44 : JANUARY 2021

OF CONTE
LE N
AB T
03
T
S
A Good Sign: Visual Languages in Australia
Part 2: Bimodal Bilingualism
By Rebekah Bradshaw
10
Some linguist jokes
By Valentin Pradelou
13
NARICHANE: The traditional Bulgarian magic of words
By Joana Atanasova
18
An overview of “g”
By Steve the vagabond
22
English, German and cognates
27
Do you speak Scottish?
By C. S. Sharpe
Cover photo by cottonbro from Pexels
This week's page numbers are in Bulgarian!
January 2022, Issue #44 Silly Linguistics: The Magazine for Language Lovers
3 \ три (tri)
A GOOD SIGN:
VISUAL
LANGUAGES
IN AUSTRALIA
Part 2: Bimodal Bilingualism
BY REBEKAH BRADSHAW
4 \ четири
In my last article I introduced you to

Auslan, the language of the Deaf
community in Australia. Whilst Auslan
traces its origins to the 19th Century,
signing has been a part of many
Aboriginal cultures across the continent
for millennia – and not just amongst the
Deaf or hard-of-hearing members of
society. In this second part, we will look at
some Aboriginal sign languages and their
impressive scope for communication.
Primary vs alternate sign languages
Aboriginal sign languages in Australia are

what’s known as “alternate” sign
languages. Whilst a primary sign
language develops within a Deaf
population as their main means of
communication, an alternate sign
language develops amongst a hearing
population for use where speaking is
either not practical or not allowed. It is
not a signed version of the spoken
language, rather its own language with
the same expressive capabilities for all Figure 1: Artist and Deaf Yolŋu signer, Michael Ganambarr demonstrates the sign for
‘fruit bat’. (Photographed by Therese Ritchie for ‘The Illustrated Handbook of Yo lŋu
circumstances where the spoken language Sign Language of North East Arnhem Land’)
would also be used.
The ability to communicate in both spoken and signed languages is known as “bimodal bilingualism”. A
child of Deaf parents would be bimodal bilingual, as would a Deaf person with a cochlear implant who
can communicate in both English and Auslan. But bimodal bilingualism existing across an entire,
mostly hearing society is a relatively rare phenomenon. Australia seems to be one of the few places on
Earth where bimodal bilingualism is common. Linguist and anthropologist Dr Bentley James suggests
that it is Aboriginal communities’ strong connections to both their country and kin that traditionally
made the practice of bimodal bilingualism so widespread – but, he says, this is also what makes it so
vulnerable today.
5 \ пет
The significance of alternate sign languages in community
Silent communication through signing has many different uses in Aboriginal communities, both
practical and ritual. In a society with such complex law and social structures, an alternate sign
language is a useful alternative when speaking out loud is considered taboo. This can include during
periods of mourning, visiting a sacred site, or respecting kin avoidance rules. On Yolŋu country in
the Northern Territory, no loud noises are permitted around fish traps to prevent the Ancestors
from hearing and emptying them. The people use Yolŋu Sign Language (YSL) whenever they are
going fishing or even speaking about their intention to fish. Signing can also be used in a variety of
everyday situations where it is preferable to speaking, such as communicating discreetly or at a
distance, hunting without startling the animals, and even having a conversation in a noisy truck
travelling over a bumpy road.
Aboriginal alternate sign languages can also be readily adopted as the primary language of Deaf
people in the community, allowing Deaf and hearing members to seamlessly communicate with
each other in a way that the Deaf community across wider Australian society does not generally
experience. The commonality of signing in these communities means that there is no stigma
attached to communicating in this way. As Aboriginal people are ten times more likely to be affected
by ear diseases than the rest of the Australian population, many people living in Aboriginal
communities today have some form of hearing loss. Alternate sign languages allow these people to
participate fully in their society, strengthening their connections to culture and country. Hearing,
partially hearing and Deaf Yolŋu people all use YSL in their daily communication.
Expression and meaning in Aboriginal sign languages
As alternate languages, Aboriginal sign languages may exhibit a relationship with the local spoken
language, although this connection does vary across communities. Linguist Adam Kendon studying
the Warlpiri Sign Language, or Rdaka-rdaka (‘hand signs’), of the Central Desert, reports a tendency
in the language for manual representations of spoken Warlpiri morphemes. For example, the
Warlpiri word for ‘sun’ is wanta, and the word for a type of red ant is wantawanta. In Rdaka-rdaka,
the sign for ‘red ant’ uses a similar hand-shape and movement as the sign for ‘sun’, but repeated in
the same way that wanta is repeated to make wantawanta. Yolŋu Sign Language, however, does not
seem to exhibit any convergence with a spoken language, being linguistically independent from the
language group Yolŋu Matha as well as the many other local languages belonging to the region. This
may be because communities on Yolŋu country are highly multilingual – YSL is just another
language of many, not particularly linked to any of the others.
6 \ шест
We learned that Auslan makes use of

many non-manual modes such as facial
expression and mouth shape to create
meaning, and YSL is similar. Form in YSL
consists of four manual components
(hand-shape, location, movement and
orientation), and one non-manual
component (such as facial expression and
mouthing). This can be an important way
to distinguish between minimal pairs, of
which YSL has quite a few – for example,
the manual signs for ‘who’ and ‘what’ are
the same, only with different mouthing.
In Warlpiri Sign Language, however,
signs appear to be manual only with no
mouthing.
Unlike in a primary sign language like

Auslan, “iconic” signs representing visual
characteristics of a referent are not
common in Aboriginal alternate sign
languages. This may be because of how
ancient these languages are, or it may also
be a result of their cultural connections – a
sign may have deep roots in an element of
Figure 2: One of the hand-shapes used in YSL. (Photographed by Therese Ritchie for Dreaming lore, rather than be based on
‘The Illustrated Handbook of Yolŋu Sign Language of North East Arnhem Land’)
what something looks like.
In terms of grammar, Dr James says the grammar of YSL is similar to that of Yolŋu Matha due to the fact
that it covers similar communication needs, although he found it to be simpler and easier to learn. In
YSL, the verb usually appears first in a phrase or sentence, but word order generally doesn’t matter.
Amongst the Warlpriri people, Kendon found that sentences were constructed in more or less the same
way whether a storyteller was signing or speaking their narrative.
7 \ седем
Preserving a language
Sadly, as the changes brought by

colonisation have threatened important
connections to country, the wonderful
phenomenon of bimodal bilingualism is
increasingly vulnerable, and in some
places has been lost altogether.
When I first learned about Warlpiri

Sign Language, I was intrigued to find
out that Deaf Warlpiri people today
were usually more likely to develop their
own “home sign” systems to
communicate with close family. They
might also learn Auslan, particularly if
they attended school away from their
community, or they might use Ailan –
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Sign Language, a mixture of Auslan,
Signed English, and some local
Indigenous signs. Was there a reason
that Deaf Warlpiri people picked up
other signed languages instead of their
own? According to Dr Bentley James,
this was not always the case. When he
lived on Warlpiri country in the 1980s,
Figure 3: A participant in the project demonstrates the first part of the sign for ‘back there’.
the alternate sign language of Rdaka- (Photographed by Ther ese Ritchie for ‘The Illustrated Handbook of Yolŋu Sign Language
rdaka was automatically adopted by of North East Arnhem Land’)
Deaf people as well as being used

widely in the community. Unfortunately since then, modern life and new technologies have brought
changes to the community way of life and led to more people living and working away from their
country, which has in turn led to a decline in the intergenerational transmission of Rdaka-rdaka. Up in
Arnhem Land, the Yolŋu people are currently working hard with Dr James to make sure the same thing
does not happen to their alternate language.
8 \ осем
An estimated 7,000 people use YSL today,

although its continuing use is threatened.
‘The Illustrated Handbook of Yolŋu Sign
Language of North East Arnhem Land’ is a
project almost 30 years in the making,
spearheaded by Crocodile Islands local and
2012 Senior Australian of the Year
Baymarrwaŋa. The book contains photos of
around 500 Yolŋu signs and the hand-shapes
required to produce them – not nearly all of
them, but enough to allow learners to
develop conversational ability in the
language. These selected signs include a
number of rare idioms, preserved by the
older generations since before colonisation.
The signs are also accompanied by a learner’s
guide to the language, some example
sentences and an index in both English and
Yolŋu Matha. Although Baymarrwaŋa passed
away before she could see the handbook
completed, her work has created a valuable
Figure 4: Part of the sign for ‘turtle eggs’. Most YSL signs involve movement legacy for future generations, with copies of
and required multiple photos to document them. (Photographed by
Therese Ritchie for ‘The Illustrated Handbook of Yolŋu Sign Language of
the handbook donated to schools across the
North East Arnhem Land’) region.
Because YSL has such a strong connection to country and culture, Baymarrwaŋa and her team also
established a number of other projects alongside the YSL handbook in order to ensure its survival for the
next generation. This includes the publication of an atlas and illustrated dictionary of the Crocodile
Islands and their local spoken language Yan-nhaŋu, and a junior ranger program, the Crocodile Islands
Rangers. In carrying out certain tasks on country as rangers, young people are required to know and use
signs – for example, when working with fish traps as discussed earlier. Community-led initiatives such
as these ensure that YSL remains a living language in every sense of the word.
9 \ девет
To make Yolŋu Sign Language even more accessible, Dr James and the community are now working
on an online version of the handbook. You can visit https://www.yolngusignlanguage.com.au if you
want to learn more about these important projects and how you can support them. You can even buy
a copy of the handbook and teach yourself how to sign – the Yolŋu people want to share their
incredible language with everyone!
There is so much more to say about the wonderful world of bimodal bilingualism (and sign
languages in general), but not enough space in this magazine! Hopefully through this two- part
series, I have been able to broaden your linguistic horizons with an appreciation for not only the
validity but also the remarkable expressiveness of both primary and alternate signed languages.
Further Reading:
The Illustrated Handbook of Yolŋu Sign Language of North East Arnhem Land (2020)
• At 25cm, 328-pages, the Handbook is the authoritative, practical and sumptuous guide to
learning YSL in English and Yolŋu Matha, stunningly photographed by Therese Ritchie and David
Hancock.
The Yan-nhaŋu Atlas and Illustrated Dictionary of the Crocodile Islands (2012)
• At 31 cm and 573 pages the trilingual Atlas is utterly unique, magnificent, and the work of this
wonderful lady Baymarrwaŋa.
Kendon, A. (2015). Some characteristics of Australian Aboriginal sign languages with hints for
further questions for exploration. Learning Communities: International Journal of Learning in
Social Contexts [Special Issue: Indigenous Sign Languages], 16, 6-13.
Power, D. (2013). Australian aboriginal deaf people and Aboriginal sign language. Sign Language
Studies, 13(2), 264-277.
https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/speaking-my-language-indigenous-deaf-sign
https://drbentleyjames.wordpress.com/2019/02/24/yolnu-sign-language-ysl/
10 \ десет
SOME LINGUIST
J KES
By Valentin Pradelou
Photo by Marcela Rogante on Unsplash
11 \ единадесет
Everybody loves jokes. Basically, anybody likes to laugh a little bit. Let’s not fade away
from the main theme of the magazine, let's try to laugh a little bit in the frame of
Linguistics. I like to think, in any science and in any field in general, the more you know
about it, the more you can tweak its codes, and the funnier it becomes. You've already
made a joke for a friend of yours interested in a particular field, that another person
wouldn't have understood, right? That's what I'm going to try here. Based on my
experience in my degree in Linguistics, I've told and heard such jokes. It's been really
funny, and I hope it'll be for you as well. Before we start, let's discuss the notion of
"joke".
First, what's a joke?

Before we try to do some, let's better understand what it actually means. According
to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it's "something said or done to cause laughter", a
brief story with a funny ending, or even "the humorous or ridiculous element in
something". This last one is interesting, because it helps to get one important element:
the more you know about a field, the more you can see (or imagine) what would be
humorous or ridiculous in it. You first have the reality of the facts (Phonology tell us
we use stress and accentuation on certain syllables or words to talk, for example) and
then, you can imagine something ridiculous (somebody talking without stressing any
syllable, in an unvarying pitch). This would be ridiculous, thus humorous. This is how it's
supposed to work. Now, let's imagine some funny situations based on the field of
Linguistics.
Some examples
A first example is taken from Phonology/Phonetics. This is something I have
experienced, and I found it very entertaining. Every phoneme (unity of sound) is
supposed to be realized in one way (plosive, nasal, etc) and in one place (bilabial,
labiodental, etc). let's take a look on the IPA tab, taken on the UCLA Pinterest account:
12 \ дванадесет
This is the reality of the facts. Now we know it, let's imagine some ridiculous things (the
chart helps us with the sentence under it: "articulations judged impossible"). What
about a glottal tap? A tap is supposed to be done with your tongue, could you imagine
using your own tongue to make a sound on your glottis?
We even see a labiodental way of making sounds (when you make a sound using your
lips on your teeth), what about a labiopharyngeal? Isn't it funny to imagine somebody
warping his face to realize this sound? And we can go on for hours. But who knows?
Maybe one day we'll be able to make all these impossible sounds.
Now, I'd like to talk about Grice and Pragmatics. In 1975 or 1989, this author has
written important articles and books in which he explains our conversations are
monitored by different rules. These are supposed to make your contribution "such as
it is required" (do you see the joke coming?). There's a rule of quantity, you're supposed
to give enough information when you talk, not too much. Rule of quality: you're
supposed to tell the truth. Relation: you're supposed to be relevant in what you say,
and Manner: avoid obscurity, ambiguity, etc.
This is the reality of what is described by Grice. And now this is a goldmine for jokes.
Let's imagine two people, meeting in the streets: "Hi, how are you? - Given my current
state of mind due to a situation that I don't utterly control, I wouldn't claim that I'm the
happiest man on Earth, however it's not fair to pretend I don't lead a rather good life,
as I have enough to eat and live". This breaks the maxim of quantity, relation and
manner. And we can imagine the other guy's face given the answer. And there are
tons of possible jokes like that.
Conclusion
These were only two examples of possible jokes in Linguistics. However, I've only talked
about Phonology and Pragmatics, and only specific notions into these fields. In order
to find every possible joke about Linguistics, a whole book wouldn't be enough. I just
hope you've laughed a little bit, and maybe you know some other good jokes that I'd be
very happy to hear!
Thanks for reading!
13 \ тринадесет
Narichane
The traditional Bulgarian
magic of words
By Joana Atanasova
Photo by Árpád Czapp on Unsplash
14 \ четиринадесет
N arichane (наричане) is one of those

so-called linguistic “stumbling stones”
that is incredibly enriching to know for
a certain language, but also incredibly
difficult to explain to someone who is
not familiar with Bulgaria. Since our
language is very, very old, our words To understand the ritual of Narichane,
are also very, very old, that thankfully you first have to understand the deeply
we managed to preserve for the most rooted connection of Bulgarians with
part, however for languages that have their words. Our ancestors treated
developed later, it creates a certain words and language as a sentient
difficulty when having to explain. being, as something that can heal, help,
Narichane, while being just a word, in bring devastation or fruition, as
its context and usage contains something to be treated with respect,
thousands of years of traditions, and never taken lightly. While a
history, and ritualistic magic. In fact, christian nation, Bulgarians’ close
it’s such an interesting word, that I connection to traditions and language
believe it deserves its very own article. that have pagan roots has helped not
Let’s start by breaking it down — just enrich our folklore and
narichane — meaning to call, to name, ethnography, but also helped to
to title something, to bless, to give preserve our world in difficult times
name to, to Christen. It comes from during history such as the Ottoman
“rech” which means speech, language yoke, when christianity, while not
“na” is a prefix meaning an action prohibited, wasn’t seen with a good
towards something (this is loosely eye. We had to get creative, you see,
explained, of course). The word is a and mix our traditions, tales, religion —
whole ritual of blessing that is used on all into one in order to help preserve it
holidays, on special occasions, at as it’s easier to remember something
rituals like Lazaruvane, and being repeated throughout time, and
Koleduvane, at Christmas or even when also makes it much more accessible
you are baking a special kind of bread. through words and language.
15 \ петнадесет
The action of Narichane brings into itself a

very important blessing. Narichane isn’t a
prayer to God, it isn’t just a well-wish either
— it’s using the individual who is speaking’s
energy, being, and life force to put forth the
words that they are saying and make them
so, bring them into reality. It’s more than a
chant, it’s a ritual of blessing, of using your
own life force to gift the subject with
whatever you are saying — be it health, love,
prosperity. The subject can be anything — it
can be a person, or a field that’s about to be
harvested, or livestock, or even a child that is
sick. Narichane isn’t just about saying the
words, that is why it is done mostly on big
holidays like Christmas and events like
Harvest, because the collective energy of
people brought together by a common cause
is said to amplify the blessings, to help them
become reality. At the first day when it’s said
that spring is making its way to us, people
gather and let the horses out for their first
graze of the year. It’s called Horses’ Easter,
and it’s a day dedicated just to the horses —
their owners would braid their mane, put
ribbons and beads on their tails and saddles,
the women would bake and give each other
bread and would “narichat” the upcoming
year to be full of health for the horses, for
them to be lively and well. You see when I
meant it’s not a prayer exactly? It’s a
materialization of a hope in the form of
language. The words are the vessels for the
energy within the person, it has nothing to
do with a higher power, or a prayer, it has to
do with the inner power setting forth the
actions that you are intending, using words.
Photo by Stanislav Filipov on Unsplash
16 \ шестнадесет
You can find people that are narichat in some

sort of form in every holiday in the Bulgarian
calendar — at Lazarovden (or Palm Sunday),
the narichane comes in the form of a song or
a chant, that is sung by girls in traditional
Bulgarian garments that come to your door to
bless you with health, prosperity, and
celebrate the coming of Easter, and the
triumph of life over death. They come
carrying flowers, beautiful songs, and all they
ask in exchange are dyed eggs! This ritual
exists in many forms throughout the Balkans
and orthodox countries, and it’s always
interesting and wonderful to see. At New
Years, at the now traditional festival Surva
that is held in Pernik, Bulgaria, men in giant,
furry, scary looking costumes, girded with
chanove (big, bronze bells with a very specific
sound, traditional for Bulgaria), come forth on
the first day of the new year, fill the streets
and dance to the sounds of drums! This is
said to be a very ancient tradition, whose sole
purpose is to rid the world of the living of the
bad spirits that are said to have escaped into
our world during the longest night of the
year. It’s quite a sight to see, and it’s filled
with songs and chants that are meant to
scare the bad spirits back into their world,
and bless the living, as well as call for a
fruitful and healthy upcoming year. It’s quite
a sight to see!
I’ve talked about narichane here and there in

some of my previous articles, but I feel like
this is something that needs its own time of
day to be read about, to be understood
properly, because it is such an important part
of Bulgarian culture, and traditions that it still
exists and find a way to seep its way into new,
Photo by Ash Ashley on Unsplash
17 \ седемнадесет
contemporary traditions. In every language and nation there are bits and pieces of
traditional magic that finds its way into the culture, and it’s extremely interesting as
well as difficult when you have to explain it to someone that is not familiar with it. Take
traditional tribal African dances. They are more than dances, they are performance
arts, deeply woven into the religion, culture, sanctity of its people. They treat it with so
much carefulness and awareness, because it means so much to them, not to mention
they have dances incorporated into every part of their life and holidays, that only
someone who is born and raised in that culture can truly understand it, albeit some
have the difficult task of translating it and making it accessible to others.
Narichane, the chants, the songs, and everything linguistically connected to our
folklore has helped preserve words that would otherwise disappear, and some are now
considered jargon, they don’t exist in the official dictionary, but surprisingly enough are
still used. It’s also helped understand our ancestors, how they lived, why they did the
things they did, and I’m not talking about old wives’ tales like “take this water out in the
full moon and speak to it”, I mean hearing and understanding what our ancestors hoped
for, what and how they wanted to bless, why they wanted that particular animal, like
the horse, to prosper, why bake bread and give it away to other people. People would
weave cloths, and knit garments, they would knit baskets and garlands while they
narichat, in hopes that the item they are making would seep and “remember” the words
that they “hear”, that it would give blessings to the wearer and help them. All of these
traditions and culture has helped preserve a language that would otherwise be lost to
modernity, or just rewritten without us even noticing.
It’s extremely interesting to see the perception of words and language in every
individual culture and nation — how different people understand and use it, what
meaning it has to them, how does it serve its user. It’s difficult to translate, and explain
it to someone outside, yes, but it’s also very fulfilling to see the results — to see the non
native person that is sitting across from you, understand and discuss this linguistic and
cultural phenomenon with you. This is why cultural and linguistic diversity is so
important — it allows you to open your world up to more, to learn and see how
colourful the palette of our world is.
18 \ осемнадесет
EW OF
VI
R
E
"G"
V
O
NA
The "g" sound has had an interesting journey in English. It used to be in many
words of Germanic origin in English, but the sound changed over time. It is found
in the word "bridge", where the "g" is part of a "j" sound (like in "judge"). It was
originally a "g" sound (like in "goat") but it changed to a "j" sound about the time
of Old English.
It changed differently (or didn't change at all) in other languages. In Modern

Frisian (English's closest linguistic relative) it is "brêge" where the "g" is
pronounced like in English "goat". In Dutch, it is "brug" where "g" sound is like
the "ch" sound in "loch". And in German it is "Brücke" where the "g" sound from
the ancestor Germanic language evolved into a "k" sound in Modern German.
The "g" sound changed differently in different words in English. "say" was
"secgan" in Old English. "cg" was pronounced like "j" in "judge". This had become
"seien" (amongst many other forms) in Middle English which eventually led to
Modern English "say".
So here the "g" sound just disappeared over time. "say" is related to German "sagen"
where to "g" is alive and well, and it is a "hard" g like in "goat". A similar thing
happened in the word "may" which is related to German "mögen". The similarity is
even closer in one conjugation of the word which is "mag".
"Ich mag keinen Käse"

"I don't like cheese".
Words where this also happened are "day" (compare with German "Tag"), "flay"
(compare Middle High German "ervlougen"), "lay" (compare with German
"legen") and "way" (compare with German "Weg").
19 \ деветнадесет
Language families by
number of native speakers
1. Indo European - 3.4 billion speakers
Prominent members:
Spanish - 470 million speakers
Hindustani (Hindi and Urdu) - 329

million speakers
English - 360 million speakers
Bengali - 210 million speakers Portuguese - 215 million speakers
20 \ двадесет
2. Sino Tibetan - 1.3 billion speakers
Prominent members:
Mandarin - 960 million speakers
Cantonese - 60 million speakers
Wu - 80 million speakers
Picture credits to China Connect University
Xiang - 38 million speakers
Min - 70 million speakers
21 \ двадесет и едно
3. Niger Congo - 400 million speakers
Prominent members:
Yoruba - 28 million speakers
Shona - 15 million speakers
Fula - 25 million speakers
Zulu - 12 million speakers
Igbo - 24 million speakers
All pictures taken from WALS Online
22 \ двадесет и две
English,
German and
cognates
BY STEVE THE VAGABOND
Cognates are words of common origin. German "Hand"

and English "hand", for instance. These are obviously the
same word. But sometimes cognates are not so obvious.
Languages change over time. "humbug" used to be very
offensive, the same way "bullshit" is now, but now
"humbug" just sounds quaint and silly. The English word
"land" in German is "Land". German capitilises nouns. If
you have taken even 5 minutes to look at German you
would know that English speakers can't understand
German without training. If English and German have so
many words in common, then why can't English speakers
understand German if they haven't specifically learned
it?
Because languages change over time. Let's go back in

time 2000 years to Scandanavia. There live there a
people we now call the Germanic people. Over the
following centuries they migrated south into central
Europe. As people move around they take their language
with them. As people speak the language changes as
people pronounce things differently, interpret things
differently, use words differently and create new words.
The migration started around the start of the first
century AD. Two centuries into the migration speakers of
the language of the Germanic tribes would probably still
understand people from other parts of the Germanic
realm.
23 \ двадесет и три
The divergence of the original Germanic language first

into dialects and then eventually into separate languages
took centuries. But it was a gradual process with no hard
lines. If you look at a colour spectrum, when does blue
turn into green? Eventually it's clear that the colour is no
longer blue, but at what point? People probably wouldn't
even agree. Same with languages. At what point would
Germanic tribes people say that the people in another
area of the Germanic speaking realm spoke another
language. People probably remarked that the people
"over there" spoke weirdly and eventually they would
have just said "Saxon" or "Norse" or some other name
associated with the people.
So about five centuries after the migration the Germanic

languages were largely separate. If you spoke one of the
languages you probably wouldn't understand the others
without practice or training. And they diverged more
over time. But not change is absolute or binary. It's a slow
shift. Eventually those languages that we now call Old
Norse and Old Saxon spawned their own languages. All
modern Germanic languages like English, German, Dutch,
Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic (among a few
others) are descended from these older languages which
are themselves descended from the original language of
the Germanic tribes.
All these languages are either more similar or less similar

to other Germanic languages depending on where they
developed. Swedish, Norwegian and Danish are close to
each other. Dutch and German are close to each other,
and English and Frisian used to be very close to each
other (but then William the Conqueror took over England
and English borrowed a lot of French words, but that's a
story for another time). Like orange being close to red
and purple being close to blue while still being
recognised as different colours, same with languages.
It's all a matter of degree.
24 \ двадесет и четири
Let's go back to the beginning where I talked about

modern English and modern German. Despite being
separated by 2000 years, there are some words that are
still remarkably similar, such as "fish" / "Fisch", "hound" /
"Hund", "winter" / "Winter", "summer" / "Sommer". So to
recap, all modern Germanic languages are descended
from the language spoken by the Germanic tribes that
was spoken in Scandanavia. It started to diverge during
the Germanic migrations and were effectively separate
languages by 500 AD. Words like "fish" / "Fisch" are called
cognate because they are descended from the same
original word.
The words for fish are still recognisable, but cognates are
not always recognisable. Consider for instance the
words "sad" and the German word "satt". The German
word means "full" (the opposite of hungry). This is
because the original meaning was "satisfied" and came to
mean "satisfied because you have eaten food until you
are food". But in English it came to mean "full" as in "the
cart is full". Once it meant "full" (in the sense of loaded up,
like a cart) it started to gain the sense of "heavy" because
a full cart is heavy. And then the meaning took another
shift when it became associated with emotions.
We still talk about a "heavy heart" to this day. Once the

word "sad" had come to mean "heavy" then it was obvious
to just say "sad heart". This phrase became so popular
that people eventually stopped saying "sad heart" and
started just saying "sad". And that is how the word "sad" is
related to a word in German meaning you have eaten
enough food. Linguists call this "semantic shift".
Semantics deal with the meanings of words. "Semantic
shift" means a meaning changes over time.
So sometimes cognates can mean the same thing as

with "land" and "Land" and sometimes cognates can mean
something very different like "sad" and "satt". And some-
25 \ двадесет и пет
times cognates can mean something similar but not

exactly the same as with English "lust" and German "Lust".
It can be used in a sexual sense in German but it has
more a sense of energy or desire than purely a sexual
desire. Now that I have explained all this you can
appreciate this silly thing I wrote a while ago where I
took a Wikipedia article about German written in German
and replaced all the German words with their English
cognates.
You see, I decided it was a very funny thing to do and I

knew my linguistic nerd friends would understand the
concept. But now I am a writer and I wanted to give
proper context for this very nerdy thing that I wrote. I
hope you enjoy.
Here follows the original thing I wrote:
An article about the German language in German

replaced with English cognates. If a cognate doesn't
exist, I tried to create one that is as close to what the real
one would be if it existed.
Dutch Speech
The dutch speech beteewise dutch offcurted Dt., Dtsch.,

is a West Germanic Speech. Ye speechroom umfetch
Dutchland, Eastern Empire, the German Swiss, Lightstone,
Littlecastle, East Belgium, South Tirol, that Else Sazo and
Lutheringen sowhy North Sleswich. Outerthem is she a
minihoodspeech in any european and outer-european
lands to byspell in Romania and South Africa, sowhy
national speech in african Namibia.
The standard speech, that standard dutch, set sik out

standard variants the roof speech tosame. The dutch
speechroom bestand orspringlike alone out an fulltale fan
high dutch and nether dutch mouth arts, the innerhalf the
26 \ двадесет и шест
continental west germanic dialect continuums mid-one-

other bind sind.
The Germanistics is the academic discipline of

ghostwitship the the dutch speech and dutch speechish
literature and your historical and againstwart forms
erforced, documented and middled.
The article translated into English:
The German Language or German shortened to Dt.,

Dtsch., is a West Germanic language.
Its usage area includes Germany, Austria, German

Switzerland, Liechenstenstein, Luxembourg, East
Belgium, Southern Tirol, Alsace and Lorraine as well as
North Schleswig. Besides this, it is a minority language in
a few european and outside european countries, such as
Romanian and South Africa, as well as a national language
in african Namibia.
The standard language, Standard German, consists of

standard varities of the common German lingua francas
brought together. The german usage area consisted
originally of only a multitude of High German and Low
German dialects, which are themselves connected by
being part of the continental west germanic dialect
continuum.
Germanistics is the academic discipline in the Humanities

where the german language and german language
literature in its current and historical forms is researched,
documented and disseminated.
27 \ двадесет и седем
peak
u s
yo
Do
Scottish? By C. S. Sharpe
Photo by Melody Ayres-Griffiths on Unsplash
28 \ двадесет и осем
As a Scotsman who is active online, I am Scots is another Germanic language

frequently asked by people who are foreign if historically spoken anywhere but the
I speak Scottish. The answer is sadly no, well Highlands and the Western Isles, that is very
yes, well kind of. We’ll get into that! similar to Middle English and was inspired
This begs the question, well, what is the greatly by Scandinavian-influenced speakers
Scottish language? from the North and the Midlands of England.
Most of your reading this will most likely be It also has a lot of influence from French, the
thinking, “Oh, they mean Gaelic!” The Low Countries and Middle Low German due
Goidelic language very similar to Irish. This is, to the Auld Alliance (A historical alliance
however, a gross simplification. between France and Scotland) and trade and
Scotland has 4 Recognised Languages; immigration from what is now the
English, Gaelic (pronounce Gah-lic as Netherlands and North-Western Germany.
opposed to Gay-lic for the Irish language),
Scots, and British Sign Language. This article The language is rarely spoken in its pure
will focus on the first three of the medieval form but there are many who speak
aforementioned. dialects such as the Aberdonian Doric that
aren’t far off! I will say if you were born in
I am sure most of you are familiar with Scotland and were handed something
English, the West Germanic language that is written in Scots you might be able to make
omnipresent in our daily lives regardless of something of it. This is because since the 17th
where in the world you are. Perpetuated in century a lot of Scots has shifted in with
the 21st century by media from Hollywood to English to create Scottish English. A lot of
the internet, English is spoken either as a first slang that people use in Scotland actually
or secondary language by hundreds of comes from the old Scots language.
millions around the globe.
For example, “What a dreich day!”, means
In Scotland, 98.6% of people speak it as a first what a dull or wet day, dreich being a Scots
language and almost 100% speak it if you word derived from the Old Norse, drjúgr.
include second-language speakers. Scottish
English is a rather unique form of English as it In Scotland, you might say, “Och, I ken!”,
has fused greatly with a second language, meaning Oh, I know. In German, if you said,
Scots. “Ich kenne.” You would be saying I know.
29 \ двадесет и девет
As you work your way through examples you now got Scottish Gaelic and there is a
may start to notice a lot of words in Scots and clothing brand from Edinburgh that started a
Scottish English are of German, or subreddit (r/PieuteGaelicChallenge) to try
Scandinavian, or Dutch origin that is not too and encourage people to embrace this
dissimilar to the way so many English words beautiful language and learn more about
are French. Scotland’s history.
I would highly recommend reading the blurb I would implore everyone to get on Duolingo
on the back of the Scots version of Harry and have some fun and try and help bring
Potter and comparing it with the English about a revival of this lovely yet endangered
version. To most, it might be gibberish but if language. Similar schemes have done
you speak Scottish English there is a high wonders for Welsh and Irish so why don’t we
chance a lot of it will still make some sense! try and do the same for Gaelic.
Our final language is Gaelic (Gah-lic), Gaelic is To answer the question, I speak Scottish
based on Middle Irish and is widely spoken in English, English, Scots (eh, kind of) but I don’t
the Outer Hebrides, and also in parts of the (yet) speak the Scottish you think I do!
Inner Hebrides and Scottish Highlands. Whilst
it has speakers including quite a few as a first
language, it is sadly dying. The prevalence of
English and the ability for Scots and English
with their Germanic origins to blend so
seamlessly has relegated Gaelic to a language
that most Scottish people cannot understand
apart from the odd word. In fact, an Irish
speaker would have a better time conversing
than the average Scotsman.
It is ironic that the language the most Scots

people understand the least is the one that
the most foreigners think we speak! It does
not need to be this way though, Duolingo has
thanks
FOR READING SILLY LINGISTICS
ISSUE #44
We hope you enjoyed it!

Send any questions or comments you might have to
magazine@sillylinguistics.com,
Or see our twitter: @magazine_silly.

Do also get in touch if you fancy writing for us!
Check out Steve the Vagabond on Facebook at:

facebook.com/stevethevagabond, and also check out Silly Linguistics online
at: Sillylinguistics.com
Silly Linguistics Magazine was brought to you by, Silly Linguistics Pty Ltd.
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SILLY LINGUISTICS THE MAGAZINE FOR LANGUAGE LOVERS

THE MAGAZINE FOR LANGUAGE LOVERS : ISSUE #44 : JANUARY 2021

In my last article I introduced you to

Primary vs alternate sign languages

Aboriginal sign languages in Australia are

The significance of alternate sign languages in community

Expression and meaning in Aboriginal sign languages

We learned that Auslan makes use of

Unlike in a primary sign language like

Sadly, as the changes brought by

When I first learned about Warlpiri

Deaf people as well as being used

An estimated 7,000 people use YSL today,

Photo by Marcela Rogante on Unsplash

First, what's a joke?

Thanks for reading!

Photo by Árpád Czapp on Unsplash

N arichane (наричане) is one of those

The action of Narichane brings into itself a

Photo by Stanislav Filipov on Unsplash

You can find people that are narichat in some

I’ve talked about narichane here and there in

Photo by Ash Ashley on Unsplash

By Steve the vagabond

It changed differently (or didn't change at all) in other languages. In Modern

"Ich mag keinen Käse"

Spanish - 470 million speakers

Hindustani (Hindi and Urdu) - 329

Bengali - 210 million speakers Portuguese - 215 million speakers

2. Sino Tibetan - 1.3 billion speakers

Mandarin - 960 million speakers

Cantonese - 60 million speakers

Picture credits to China Connect University

Xiang - 38 million speakers

Min - 70 million speakers

3. Niger Congo - 400 million speakers

Yoruba - 28 million speakers

Shona - 15 million speakers

Fula - 25 million speakers

Zulu - 12 million speakers

Igbo - 24 million speakers

All pictures taken from WALS Online

Cognates are words of common origin. German "Hand"

Because languages change over time. Let's go back in

The divergence of the original Germanic language first

So about five centuries after the migration the Germanic

All these languages are either more similar or less similar

Let's go back to the beginning where I talked about

We still talk about a "heavy heart" to this day. Once the

So sometimes cognates can mean the same thing as

times cognates can mean something similar but not

You see, I decided it was a very funny thing to do and I

Here follows the original thing I wrote:

An article about the German language in German

The dutch speech beteewise dutch offcurted Dt., Dtsch.,

The standard speech, that standard dutch, set sik out

continental west germanic dialect continuums mid-one-

The Germanistics is the academic discipline of

The article translated into English:

The German Language or German shortened to Dt.,

Its usage area includes Germany, Austria, German

The standard language, Standard German, consists of

Germanistics is the academic discipline in the Humanities

Photo by Melody Ayres-Griffiths on Unsplash