Valentine's Day Abroad

After the deluge of emails regarding the last post (the dictionary does not specify quantity required to be a deluge, so one could well be a deluge) I decided to look at similar terms of endearment in other languages. Rarely do these colloquialisms and phrases translate as they are originally intended.

Tio (Spain) translates as 'uncle' but is also used in the same way as 'mate, buddy'.

Tia (Spain) translates as 'aunt' and, as with the previous term, also used to mean 'mate, buddy'.

ito (Spain) is used as a diminutive, so adding it is tantamount to using '-kins' on the end of a word.

ita (Spain) again used as a diminutive, the above is masculine and this feminine.

Carino (Spain) simply transaltes as 'darling'.

Bebe (Spain) means 'baby', not hard to see, but I've never understood why 'baby' is used as a term of endearment (began in the USA) when as an Englishman I always thought it was used as an insult.

Cielo (Spain) means 'sky', and why anyone would think referring to another by such is a term of endearment is beyond me. But then I never got the "My moon and stars" reference in Game of Thrones either, albeit Jason Momoa did seem a little out of it at times.

Dulzura (Spain) translates as 'sweetness', although more likely to be used to mean 'sweetheart'.

Corazon (Spain) means 'heart', never used to refer to the organ, only as a term of endearment.

Vato (Mexico) is a slang term used to mean 'guy' which, so I understand, is used rather more in fitting with the theme in Mexcio than it is in English-speaking nations. In Britain, of course, we burn our guys on November 5th.

Mijo (Central and South America) might mean 'my son' but is used more lovingly in the Americas - unless used as a noun when it describes 'millet'

Mija (Spain) is 'my daughter' and used as the above.

Mon coeur (France) is 'my heart', and not used to refer to the organ.

Mon bebe (France) as with the Spanish 'my baby' I have never understood this as a term of endearment, more likely to see it as being referred to as 'immature'.

-et (France) is used as a diminutive at the end of a word to suggest a term of endearment.

-ette (France) another diminutive, this the feminine version.

Mon chou (French) means 'my cabbage' which, apparently, the French do not see as calling someone a 'vegetable'.

Ma moitie (France) or 'my half' is seen as the same as 'my other half' in English, albeit it doesn't quite sound the same as seeing another as part of a pair.

Fragolina (Italy) is to call someone 'little strawberry', not what I'd call a plus but it takes all sorts, so the saying goes.

Stella (Italy) is the word for 'star' and if you see your lover as akin to trillions of exploding hydrogen nuclei, go for it.

Microbino mio (Italy) shows the Italians are really answering the call when it comes to non-translatable terms, for this means 'my little microbe'.

Schatz (Germany) doesn't come across well when vocalised by English-speakers. Neither does the story that Star Trek's William Shatner secretly married Stevie Nicks from Fleetwood Mac, and when the news broke Stevie announced she would henceforth be known as Stevie Shatner-Nicks (unless you say it aloud). For Germans Schatz simply means 'treasure'.

-chen or -lein (Germany) is the German diminutive turning the name or noun into a term of endearment.

Liebling (Germany) literally translates as 'favourite' but is used in the context of 'dear' or maybe 'darling'.

Susse (Germany) means 'sweet' and no explanation required.

Perle (Germany) or 'pearl' seems odd as it's a name in English, but is only like saying someone is a diamond.

Hase (Germany) means 'bunny', not exactly what I'd call a term of endearment, but each to their own.

Knuddlebarchen (Germany) is indeed a compound term and means 'cuddle bear'. And having said we won't have many there is also:

Mausebar (Germany) 'mouse bear', Also:

Mousezahnchen (Germany) 'little mouse tooth' and undoubtedly my favourite:

Honigkuchenpferd (Germany) 'honey-cake horse'.

Mo chuisle (Ireland) 'my pulse' hardly seems like a nice way to describe someone, but perhaps I'm not looking at it from the right angle.

Wee (Ireland) is not really Irish but a dialect word. However, considering it's also used as a synonym for 'urine', I do wonder if it began with someone taking the proverbial.

U-ri gang-a-ji (Korea) is 'my puppy', and one I wouldn't think would work in English.

Amigao (Portugal) means 'big friend' and even I would never have the nerve to woo someone by calling her my 'big friend'.

I'm not going to attempt to use the Chinese characters, but in China 'heart and liver' is considered fitting for this theme. And for the same reason I shall continue with simply quoting the country when different alphabets are used, or sometimes the language, and how they translate to English.

Russia uses 'baby sun', 'little fish', 'little paw', as compliments.

Po-po (Hungary) 'little bumlet', usually accompanied with a friendly pat on that area.

Einayim sheli (Hebrew) 'my eyes' and apparently suggesting the one addressed is precious.

Ya amar (Arabic) doesn't sound too complimentary to me for it translates as 'my moon'.

One Cantonese term suggests 'silly pig' is an acceptable compliment.

Puttemus (Denmark) translates as 'cuddlebug'.

Snoepje (Netherlands) and the meaning is 'little candy'.

Pudingeto is a word from Esperanto and, if we accept this as an official language (I can't see why not) then calling someone 'pudding' is a loving term.

Shagua is a Mandarin term meaning 'fool'. I don't think I'd ever attempt using this.

Taku kairangi is Maori for 'my finest greenstone', and I can't help thinking of copper piping.

Mahal is a Tagalog word and, when used as a term of endearment, still doesn't change the meaning of 'expensive'.

Nefesim (Turkey) is another translation which makes the idea of referring to someone as 'my breath' rather odd - especially if they haven't brushed their teeth.

Minh em (Vietnam) and it translates as 'myself' which surely speaks more of the speaker than anyone.

Nha em (Vietnam) and although this translates as 'my home' is said to be a reference to the spouse.

Anh em (Vietnam) and is used by a wife to her husband, to describe him as older - even if he isn't.

Anata (Japan) and this has to be my favourite of the lot, for this simply means 'you'.

Doubtless I shall get complaints regarding some of my spellings, and doubtless I shall ignore them.

Selection of National Mottos

Whilst researching a section of a book last year, I came across a motto for a certain nation. It made me wonder what other nations claimed their nation stood for. Most proclaimed strength, unity, liberty, piety, and other apparently desirable attributes. There were also those which did not have a motto, at least not an official one. What remained follows and, as will quickly become apparent, added because I found them humorous to some extent.
Albania: You, Albania, give me the honour, give me the name Albanian.
Aruba: Always progressing

Australia does not have an official motto, but unofficially: She'll be right mate.
Belize: Under the shade I flourish.
Botswana: Rain
Lebanon: We are all for the country, the sublime, and the flag.
Luxembourg: We wish to remain what we are.
Moldova: Our language is a treasure.

Netherlands: I will maintain.
Puerto Rico: John is his name.
Seychelles: The end crowns the work.
Spain: Further beyond.
Swaziland: We are the fortress.

Solomon Islands Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at some of the largest settlements of the Solomon Islands.

Honiara is the capital of the Solomon Islands and has a name derived from nagho ni ara which transaltes as 'place of the east wind' or 'facing the southeast wind' depending on which Guadalcanal language it comes from.

Malaita is the largest of the Solomon islands, an island known to the locals as simply Mala while Malaita first appears in the logs of Spanish explorers arriving her in the 16th century. The suffix is said to be either 'there' or 'east' depending on the source consulted.

Orona is an island which has also been known as Hull Island, this to honour Commondore Isaac Hull, of the United States Navy (d1843).

Guadalcanal takes its name from the Spanish village, it discovered by the Spanish in 1568. While the name of the original means 'river of the stalls', it was due to the Spanish explorer and navigator Alvaro de Mendana de Neira being born in Guadalcanal, Spain that it was chosen by his captain Pedro de Ortega.

Nendo was known as Santa Cruz by Spanish explorers.

Santa Isabel was also first recorded and named by the Spanish explorer Alvaro de Mendana, although when he charted the island in February 1568, he named it Santa Isabel de la Estrella 'St Elizabeth of the Star of Bethlehem'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Thirty

A little change this time and, to mark this the 30th birthday of my Jonathan, some facts about the number 30.

A polygon with thirty sides is a triacontagon. Adding all the internal angles, each of 168 degrees, totals 5040 degrees.

There are thirty major and minor keys in music.

It is a Harshad number, or a number divisible by the sum of its digits. Also known as a Niven number, the term Harshad was coined by D. R. Kaprekar and comes from the Sanskrit harsa 'joy' and give 'give and thus 'to give joy', while the alternative Niven Number remembers a paper delivered by Canadian-born mathematician Ivan M. Niven in 1977.

There are thirty upright stones forming the Sarsen Circle at Stonehenge.

Cats have just 30 teeth, 16 in the upper jaw and 14 in the lower.

In binary code 11110 is thirty, in French trente, Basque Hogeita hamar, Bosnian trideset, Catalan trenta, Croatian trideset, Danish tredive, Dutch dertig, Hungarian harminc, Irish triocha, Italian trenta, Norwegian tretti, Portuguese trinta, Romanian treizeci, Slovenian trideset, Spanish treinta, Swedish trettio, and Welsh deg ar hugain.

The 30th wedding anniversary is the Pearl Anniversary. Originally only silver and gold were marked, a tradition coming from Roman times, but over the years all manner of oddities have been added.

The atomic number of zinc is 30. It is the fourth most commonly used metal - after iron, aluminium and copper - over 50% of which is used as a rust-proof coating. It has been said to help prevent the common cold, although the side effects of bad breath and nausea may be worse than the cold itself.

The 30th November is Computer Security Day. Beginning in 1988 it is when computer vulnerabilities are highlighted.

The 30th president of the United States of America was Calvin Coolidge, the 30th UK prime minister was William Lamb serving his second term from 1835 to 1841.

A recent list of the world's richest people listed Elon Musk at number 30 with a net worth of $22.8 billion.

In area the 30th largest country in the world in Egypt, but by population that ranking goes to Spain.

The 30th person in space was Richard Gordon on Gemini 11, launched 12th September 1966. Like Michael Collins before him, he was the one left in orbit around the moon when the other two went for a walk on the Apollo 12 mission.

The 30th football club to win the English title were Liverpool, the 30th FA Cup Final Nottingham Forest, and the 30th League Cup Final Nottingham Forest.

Origins of Place Names: Spain

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. This time we continue the tour of Western Europe and a look at the largest Spanish cities.

Madrid is associated with Magerit, the name of the Moorish fort which once stood here. This name is said to refer to 'the place of water', it standing on the Manzanares River. This would then be related to Celtic roots such as ritu, Old Welsh rit, Welsh rhyd, Old Breton rit, and Old French roy all meaning 'ford', together with the Celtic root magos, and Old Irish mag, meaning 'field, plain'. There is also the possibility of Breton ma meaning 'bear', which would fit with the legendary explanation for this name as 'the place of bears' and the Latin name of Ursalia. We should also consider the Roman Empire's record of the name as Matrice and subsequesnt control by the Vandals, then the Visigoths, and thereafter the eighth-century Islamic influence. Thus the name would mean 'tree' or perhaps better seen as 'giver of life' and evolved to the present name from Matrit, the earlier Mozarabic form. Mozarabic being the Romance dialect spoken in the areas of the Iberian Peninsula dominated by Arab cultures.

Barcelona is seen as Barkeno on a coin found here. Greek sources speak of Barkinon, in Latin Barcilonum, and later Barcenona. Note the latter form, which explains the abbreviated form of the name as 'Barna', only the famous football club should ever be referred to as 'Barca'. The name is gnerally held to be derived from the Carthaginian founder of this place in 230 BC, Hamilcar Barca, although this has yet to be proven conclusively.

Valencia was founded by the Romans in 137 BC as Valentia Edetanorum. The latter element refers to the Edenti, the peoples who were here before the Romans arrived. The Latin walentia means 'strength, valour', either used to refer to this 'stronghold' or, if this is used more as 'valour' refers to the Roman soldiers who fought the battles here.

Seville is first recorded by the Phoenicians as Spal where it is thought to mean 'lowland'. Later this was Latinicised as Hispalis, then Arabic Ishbiliyya, and Greek Sebille. These changes are purely down to phonetic spelling and pronunciation, thus the original meaning of 'lowland' remains.

Zaragoza has a name evolving, as with that of Seville, purely through phonetic spellings and pronunciations. To the Romans it was Caesaraugusta, clearly named after the emperor Caesar Augustus.

Malaga another Spanish city with a likely Phoenician base. Here it is from malahah or 'salt', understood as where the catch of fish was salted prior to transportation. Later the Roman influence as Malaca brought about the evolution to the present form.

Murcia is certainly Roman in origin, although whether this represents Murtia and a personal name ot Myrtea meaning the plant 'myrtle' is uncertain. It would make more sense to be the plant as it had culinary, medicinal, and ritualistic uses.

Palma is still easily seen as meaning 'palm trees' and was named as such by the Romans, although this was their translation of the earlier Phoenician name of Tamar .

Bilbao's origins are disputed, with almost as many explanations as there are historical listings. Perhaps this is Basque bil-ibaia-bao giving the location of 'river and cove'; or Spanish bello vado 'beautiful ford'; or the two settlements of billa meaning 'stacking' and what is now Bilbao La Vieja from vaho 'mist' or 'stream'. However all of these have one thing in common - water.

Alicante is of Phocaean origin, this a Greek city on the western shores of Anatolia. In 325 BC they knew this place as Acra-Leuca 'the white summit'. The Romans knew the place for the same feature but called it Lucentum 'shining', this later becoming al-Akant by the Arabs and giving the present name.

Cordoba was known as Kartuba when the Carthaginians were here, this meaning 'the City of Juba', thus honouring the Numidian commander killed in a nearby battle. Under Islamic rule it became Qurtubah, itself possibly a misunderstanding of the previous name as from the Arabic karta-tuba 'big town'. Early as these records are, the place must have had earlier names as it was settled before 3,000 years ago when the district was known as Tartessos by the Greeks who were exploiting the mineral resources here. Yet even this pales into insignificance when compared to the dominance by Homo neanderthalensis from around 42,000 years ago. Neanderthal Man had a spoken language, we can only wonder what they knew their home as.

Valladolid has a number of explanations, all agreeing the first element refers to its position in a valley. Perhaps this originated as a Celtic 'valley of waters'; or Arabic Ballad Al-Walid where the named individual was Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik, an Umayyad caliph; or even Vallisoletano 'one of the sunny valley'.

Vigo is almost certainly from Latin vicus 'a small village'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.