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Runk encourages men to go on the pull?
Swedish fashion label H&M have appointed an American size 12 model, Jenny Runk, to be the face and body of their new swimwear collection.
H&M have proudly been informing the world’s media that she has a “normal sized body”.
However, they may get some unexpected comments back home in Sweden, because in Swedish “runk” or “runka” translates as jerk-off or masturbate.
As the most widely spoken language in the world, English plays an influential role when it comes to the evolution and development of modern foreign languages. However, it is interesting to learn that many words that play an important role in this language are actually derived from other languages. The English Effect is a new exhibition run by the British Council which explores the origins of the English language whilst also highlighting its international economic importance. John Worne, director of strategy at the British Council discusses the importance of the etymology of English words as follows, “Many of our most popular and evocative English words- words we couldn’t live without- came from other countries and cultures. When we look at their roots, we get a fascinating insight into how the language has been influenced throughout its history.”
Whilst the influence that English has on other modern foreign languages is often immediately evident thanks to direct borrowing (le parking (FR), el aftersun (ES)), the impact of other languages on English is not so well documented. Those words which have been “borrowed” from other languages are usually quite obvious foreign imports (Zeitgeist, déjà vu etc.), however, the English Effect has unearthed some terms which have less obvious roots.
Here are just a few examples of English words which we have other languages to thank for:
TREK- South Africa
Afrikaan’s trek comes originally from Dutch trekken “to draw, pull, march, travel“. The specific use of trek in English results from the Afrikaans expression Groot Trek, the “Great Trek” of the 1830s and 1840s, when thousands of Boers, dissatisfied with British colonial rule, trekked north-east from the original Cape Colony to found new settlements. 
ROBOT- Czech Republic
The word robot comes from the Czech word robota, meaning “forced labour, drudgery”. The word first appeared in 1920 in Karel ?apek’s play Rossum’s Universal Robots. In this play it is the name of a type of mass-produced worker made from artificially synthesized material.
DODO- Portugal
The name of the extinct dodo comes from Portuguese doudo, literally meaning “simpleton”, reflecting the fact that the bird showed no fear of man when it was encountered by European sailors. Hence it was easily killed and eaten, and was probably extinct by 1700.
English has gained lingua franca status in many global domains and now plays an important role in international communication, Worne describes this international role: “English is not just our language- it truly belongs to the whole world and brings real benefits to anyone who can speak it. Even a few words can bring work, a job or new opportunities.” The English Effect is being held at the British Council’s headquarters in Charing Cross, London, until June 29 and entry is free. To find out more about the exhibition visit: http://englisheffect.britishcouncil.org/
Thy mama’s so fat…
As most people know, Shakespeare was a prolific writer who invented many words and phrases which are now fixed as part of the English language.
In fact he invented well over 1,700 words or phrases, a colossal number when one thinks about it.
You may not even be aware of the words we use everyday that were coined by the great bard.
The following English words were all invented by Shakespeare, or at least his works contain the first known recorded usage of these words:
Obscene: Love’s Labours Lost, Act I, Scene i, Ferdinand to Costard.
“Then for the place where; where, I mean, I did encounter
that obscene and preposterous event, that draweth
from my snow-white pen the ebon-coloured ink, which
here thou viewest, beholdest, surveyest, or seest;”
Skim Milk: Henry IV, Part I, Act II, Scene iii, Hotspur Soliloquy.
“O, I could divide myself
and go to buffets, for moving such a dish of
skim milk with so honourable an action!”
Eyeball: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Scene ii, Oberon to Puck.
“Then crush this herb into Lysander’s eye;
Whose liquor hath this virtuous property,
To take from thence all error with his might,
And make his eyeballs roll with wonted sight.”
Puking: As You Like It, Act II, Scene vii, Jaques to Duke Senior.
“They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.”
Hot-blooded: King Lear, Act II, Scene iv, King Lear to Regan.
“Necessity’s sharp pinch! Return with her?
Why, the hot-blooded France, that dowerless took
Our youngest born, I could as well be brought
To knee his throne, and, squire-like;”
The Game is afoot: Henry IV, Part I, Act I, Scene iii, Northumberland to Hotspur.
“Before the game is afoot, thou still let’st slip.”
Epileptic: King Lear, Act II, Scene ii, Kent to Cornwall.
“A plague upon your epileptic visage!
Smile you my speeches, as I were a fool?
Goose, if I had you upon Sarum plain,
I’ld drive ye cackling home to Camelot.”
Wormhole: The Rape of Lucrece.
“To fill with worm-holes stately monuments,
To feed oblivion with decay of things,
To blot old books and alter their contents,
To pluck the quills from ancient ravens’ wings.”
Alligator: Romeo and Juliet (First Folio), Act V, Scene I, Romeo Soliloquy.
“And in his needie shop a Tortoyrs hung,
An Allegater stuft, and other skins
Of ill shap’d fishes, and about his shelues,
A beggerly account of emptie boxes.”
An aspect of Shakespeare’s genius I enjoy is his penchant for sharp insults.
The list below was not created by us and is of unknown origin – rather than the usual stayed and boring four letter words, the next time you feel the need to comment on the cut of someone’s jib, try a Shakespearian insult.
Start with a Thy or Thou and then select one word from each column:
Thou pribbling toad-spotted strumpet
An on-line Shakespearian insulter based on the insult kit above is available here: http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/Shaker/
When Jaber George Jabbour, a Syrian banker, arrived in the UK he encountered difficulties getting to grips with the local language. He became frustrated by the complexities of English spelling, particularly when it came to place names such as “Leicester”, the spelling of which gives no clue as to how it should be pronounced. His innovative idea for overcoming this obstacle was to create a simplified universal alphabet that could be used by speakers of all languages as a guide to pronunciation. This idea has led to the creation of SaypU (Spell As You Pronounce Universally), a phonetic alphabet intended to aid pronunciation and break down language barriers.
Jabbour believes that the meaning of words is no longer the biggest barrier to effective communication, but that pronunciation is far more likely to lead to misunderstandings. An example of this could be the sentence “Don’t desert me here in the desert”, where the spelling of these two heteronyms gives no clue to the difference in pronunciation of the verb and the noun. In theory the use of this new alphabet will allow the reader to pronounce any given word at first sight, Jabbour believes that this will not only reduce misunderstandings but will also make language learning a much quicker process.
The SaypU website currently has 10,000 words that can be translated into the new alphabet, with the possibility for users to suggest tweaks and add new words. Click on the link below to try out the new alphabet for yourself: http://www.saypu.com/aboutus.php
British English as the EU’s official language?
Today, Germany’s President Joachim Gauck braved French wrath and that of many others, by bravely suggesting that English should become the common language of the European Union.
Gauck appealed for all EU nations to put more effort into teaching English so that everyone in Europe could better understand each other. The head of the German state, said that better communication in English would lead to greater integration and the united Europe of his dreams: “one of the main problems we have in building a more integrated European community is the inadequate communication within Europe. It is true to say that young people are growing up with English as the lingua franca. However, I feel that we should not simply let things take their course when it comes to linguistic integration. More Europe means multilingualism not only for the elites but also for everyone. I am convinced that feeling at home in one’s native language and its magic and being able to speak enough English to get by in all situations and at all ages can exist alongside each other in Europe.”
As professional translators (this is the team blog for UPS Translations) and the longest running company in the language services industry, we’re in two minds about this suggestion.
Certainly, we have some of the world’s greatest expertise in translating into English from any language. Equally, we translate from English into any language. So, theoretically such a development could be excellent for business. But, how can we be sure that Eurocrats without a completely fluent command of English, will fully understand the documents before them?
Moreover, shouldn’t we wait and see the result of the promised in-out British referendum on Europe?
After all, it would be somewhat awkward if the EU adopted English the official language, only for Britain to step back from the Union.
Britain and Europe, but what about the English?
graphic showing the structure of the spread of protolanguages
Findings published recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, offer compelling support for a hypothesis about the relationship between the function of a sound and its probability of changing, that was first proposed in 1955.
One of the oldest problems in linguistics is reconstructing the words that appeared in the protolanguages from which modern languages evolved.
Thousands of years ago, the romance languages–Spanish, French, Italian and others–all descended from one common root language. Now researchers are able to reconstruct ancient, long-dead languages using a computer program. Scientists have created software to rebuild protolanguages.
As Science World Reports reported, “these findings have huge implications for the study of languages. Before, linguists had to use time consuming methods in order to puzzle out ancient words-comparing several different languages and examining each sound. Now, this computer program can help linguists work a little faster.”
According to Dan Klein, one of the researchers involved in creating the software, and an associate professor at the University of California: “Our system still has shortcomings. For example, it can’t handle morphological changes or re-duplications-how a word like ‘cat’ becomes ‘kitty-cat.’”
The question remains as to whether scientists can ever reconstruct the first language – the one from which all others derived, but this is certainly another useful tool in their arsenal.
I love you
Just in time for Hallmark Valentine’s Day and courtesy of a joint effort by our EULOGIA consortium partners: lists like this have been circulating around the internet for years and we’re attempting to use crowd-sourcing to make this the most accurate list ever.
The observant reader will notice that Elvish is included but not Klingon or Dalek – that’s because it’s extremely discourteous to say ” I love you” to a Dalek or a Klingon, and we prefer to err on the side of caution when it comes to reader safety.
All EU languages have been confirmed but if you think any of these translations can be improved, do contact us.
Afrikaans – Ek het jou lief Albanian – Te dua Arabic – Ana behibak (to male)Arabic – Ana behibek (to female) Armenian – Yes kez sirumem Bambara – M’bi fe Bengali – Ami tomake bhalobashi Belarusian – Ya tabe kahayu Bisaya– Nahigugma ako kanimo Bulgarian — ?????? ?? Cambodian – Soro lahn nhee ah Catalan – T’estimo Cherokee – Tsi ge yu i Cheyenne – Ne mohotatseChichewa – Ndimakukonda Chinese Cantonese – Ngo oiy ney a Mandarin – Wo ai ni Comanche – U kamakutu nu Corsican – Ti tengu caru (to male) Cree – Kisakihitin Creole – Mi aime jou Croatian – Volim te Czech — Miluji t? Danish— Jeg elsker dig Dutch — Ik hou van jou Elvish – Amin mela lle (from The Lord of The Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien) English - I love you Esperanto – Mi amas vinEstonian — Ma armastan sind Ethiopian – Afgreki’ Faroese – Eg elski teg Farsi– Doset daram Filipino – Mahal kita Finnish – Mina rakastan sinua French – Je t’aime, Je t’adore Frisian – Ik hald fan dy Gaelic – Ta gra agam ort Georgian – Mikvarhar German – Ich liebe dich Greek – S’agapo Gujarati – Hoo thunay prem karoo choo Hiligaynon – Palangga ko ikaw Hawaiian – Aloha Au Ia`oeHebrew To female – “ani ohev otach” (said by male) “ohevet Otach” (said by female) To male - “ani ohev otcha” (said by male) “Ohevet ot’cha” (said by female) Hiligaynon - Guina higugma ko ikaw Hindi – Hum Tumhe Pyar Karte hae Hmong – Kuv hlub koj Hopi – Nu’ umi unangwa’ta Hungarian – SzeretlekIcelandic – Eg elska tig Ilonggo – Palangga ko ikaw Indonesian – Saya cinta padamu Inuit – Negligevapse Irish – Taim i’ ngra leat Italian – Ti amoJapanese – Aishiteru or Anata ga daisuki desu Kannada – Naanu ninna preetisuttene Kapampangan – Kaluguran daka Kiswahili - NakupendaKonkani - Tu magel moga cho Korean – Sarang Heyo or Nanun tangshinul sarang hamnida Latin – Te amo Latvian — Es m?lu tevi Lebanese – BahibakLithuanian — Aš tave myliu Luxembourgeois – Ech hun dech gaerMacedonian – Te Sakam Malay – Saya cintakan mu / Aku cinta padamuMalayalam – Njan Ninne Premikunnu Maltese – Inhobbok Marathi – Me tula prem karto Mohawk - Kanbhik Moroccan – Ana moajaba bik Nahuatl – Ni mits neki Navaho – Ayor anosh’ni Ndebele – Niyakutanda NorwegianBokmaal – Jeg elsker deg Nyonrsk – Eg elskar deg Pandacan – Syota na kita!!Pangasinan – Inaru Taka Papiamento – Mi ta stimabo Persian – Doo-set daaram Pig Latin – Iay ovlay ouyay Polish — Kocham Ci? Portuguese – Eu te amo Romanian – Te iubesc Russian — ? ???? ????? Scot Gaelic – Tha gra\dh agam ort Serbian – Volim te Setswana – Ke a go rata Sign Language – „,/ (represents position of fingers when signing ‘I Love You’) Sindhi – Maa tokhe pyar kendo ahyan Sioux – Techihhila Slovak — ?úbim ?a Slovenian — Ljubim te Spanish — Te amo Swahili – Ninapenda wewe Swedish — Jag älskar digSwiss-German – Ich lieb Di Surinam – Mi lobi joe Tagalog – Mahal kitaTaiwanese – Wa ga ei li Tahitian – Ua Here Vau Ia Oe Tamil – Nan unnai kathalikaraen Telugu – Nenu ninnu premistunnanu Thai – Phom rak khunTunisian – Ha eh bak Turkish – Seni Seviyorum Ukrainian – Ya tebe kahayuUrdu – mai aap say pyaar karta hoo Vietnamese – To female – Anh ye^u emWelsh – ‘Rwy’n dy garu di Yiddish – Ikh hob dikh Yoruba – Mo ni fe Zazi - Ezhele hezdege Zuni - Tom ho’ ichema
Try as it might, the Académie française appears to be losing its battle to keep the use of anglicisms in the French language at bay. With the purpose of enriching the French language and stopping it from becoming contaminated by the ever-increasing number of English neologisms, the long-standing institution is no stranger to defeat. Previous attempts to quell the use of popular English words such as “e-mail” and “marketing” have been largely unsuccessful. The Académie has now been mocked by many French twitter devotees due to its belated efforts to stop the English word “hashtag” from being incorporated into the French language. The new word proposed by the institution in place of “hashtag” is “mot-dièse”, which must now be used in any official documents, the use of “hashtag” in the media also being discouraged. Protecting the French language is certainly an important issue, particularly given the current prevalence of English as the online lingua franca, but many think this particular term has arrived rather too late. Another problem with this new term that has left the Académie open to ridicule is the fact that the term “dièse” actually refers to the symbol that denotes a sharp in musical notation. Many have been left wondering why the term “croisillon”, denoting a hashtag -and therefore a direct equivalent of the English term- hasn’t been used.
To find out more about this story (in French), see the article below:
According to the 2011 census data released by the Office of National Statistics Polish has become second most spoken language in England. 546,000 people now speak Polish in England and Wales. The number of Welsh speakers in 
Wales is slightly higher with 562,000.
Other big main languages are Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Arabic, French, Chinese and Portuguese. The figures also unveil that almost 140,000 people who live in England and Wales can’t speak English.
For more information see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jan/30/polish-becomes-englands-second-language and http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21259401
Tags: 2011 census data, language facts
For many English speakers, conversing with Anglophone natives from another country can be an enlightening experience linguistically speaking. Take the difference between US English and British English for example, where confusion over the meaning of the word “fanny” could be somewhat embarassing; likewise, an Australian native saying “grab your thongs (BrE “Flipflops”) girls, we’re heading to the beach!” to a group of British English speakers could lead to a rather more risqué outing than intended.Thanks to popular culture these variations of the English language are often exchanged through music, films, books and so on. It is therefore not difficult for an Anglophone to “translate” these words, regardless of which country they come from. For example, most Brits will know that the US English “sidewalk” is the equivalent of “pavement” and the “trunk” of the car is the “boot”. It will come as no surprise then to learn that Spanish speakers encounter exactly the same problem when it comes to the difference between European Spanish and Latin American Spanish, and also the linguistic differences that exist from country to country in Latin America. The video below is the perfect (and rather humorous) illustration of the complexity of the Spanish language and the problems that can be encountered as a non-native speaker trying to learn it:
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