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VOTE FOR ROBWORDS!

I'm a finalist for 'Best Creator' at this year's Lovie Awards (basically, the European Webbies).

Part of the judging is a public vote, so if you fancy helping a guy out, you can vote for me here: https://vote.lovieawards.com/PublicVo...

Þanks!
Rob

I'm off to the Isle of Man!

I shall be popping over to learn more about the resurgent Manx language.

If you happen to be on the island, I'll be chairing a chat about what Manx can say that English can't, as part of the Cooish Vooar language festival.

Monday 28th September, 7pm
Erin Arts Centre, Port Erin
Tickets & more information:
www.erinartscentre.com/

Lesh yeearreeyn share,
(Best wishes)
Rob

It's been an excellent few days.

First, we hit the million subscriber mark.

Then, the German Association for the Study of English (Deutscher Anglistikverband) flattered me with its Journalism & Media Prize. 

It gives it out every three years to someone who tries to bring English linguistics to a wider audience. It's the first time they've given it to someone working in online video.

And lastly, my podcast with the brilliant Jess Zafarris marked its 100th episode. To celebrate, we shared our top 100 word facts: https://youtu.be/1PM_iwxAyb8?si=3BAdj...

Thank you so much for the part you play in keeping RobWords going. I'm feeling enormously grateful.

Have a great weekend.

Rob

I've found you a new word to use.

INSPIRADO: Someone who believes they're a genius.

(This from my free weekly newsletter. Sign up here: https://substack.com/@robwords)

What's going on with your name?

I'm working on a video about naming conventions around the world. 

If your name doesn't follow the formula [FIRST NAME] [OPTIONAL MIDDLE NAME] [HEREDITARY SURNAME] I'd love to hear from you.

If you're up for it, drop a comment below explaining how your name came about and which culture it harks from.

Rob
p.s. Check out how close we are to a million subscribers! If you're not subscribed, now would be a great time to join the club.

"Sad" used to mean "satisfied" and "happy" just meant "lucky".

If you haven't signed up to my wordy nerdy newsletter yet, why not? It's completely FREE here: https://substack.com/home/post/p-2118...

The reviews are in for my Edinburgh Fringe show! 

"Rob Watts has found a way to make etymology entertaining, education hilarious and the English language even more eccentric than it already is."
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 
– Fringe Radio

"Slick visuals, fascinating facts and a gloriously silly singalong finale... A kind of Professor Brian Cox of the derivation universe."
– The List

Thanks to everyone who has already come to see my show. I'm here every night until the 16th of August. 

Tickets available here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/what...

SCANDINAVIAN LANGUAGE-SPEAKERS!

Help me out. I'm working on a video about Norn, the language spoken in Shetland and Orkney until about the 18th century.

Below is The Lord's Prayer in Norn. I would be interested to know how much, if any of it, speakers of modern Scandinavian languages can understand:

Favor i ir i chimrie, 
Helleur ir i nam thite, 
gilla cosdum thite cumma, 
veya thine mota vara gort o yurn sinna gort i chimrie, 
ga vus da on da dalight brow vora; 
Firgive vus sinna vora sin vee Firgive sindara mutha vus, 
lyv vus ye i tumtation, 
min delivera vus fro olt ilt, 
Amen.

Norn was most closely related to Faroese and Icelandic, but is clearly nevertheless very different.

What do you reckon? All insights welcome.

Help me out with "untranslatable" words...

I'm researching words in other languages that don't have a single-word equivalent in English. It turns out, a lot of the sources on the subject are really unreliable.

So let's see if we can do better together. If you speak a foreign language, I'd love to know...

1) are there any words in that language that you can't translate into English with a single word?

2) are there any English words that you struggle to find an equivalent to?

3) if you speak any of the relevant languages, can you give me any guidance on whether and how these are used?

MBUKI-MVUKI – Apparently used in a Bantu language (which one?) to mean “shuck off your clothes in order to dance”. But is it really? Does it actually have anything to do with clothes?

PLIMPPLAMPPLETTERE – Used in Dutch to mean “skimming stones”. Is this legit?

ATTACCABOTTONI – Italian "button-attacher" or "someone who traps people in conversations they don’t want to have". Do you actually use it?

MAMIHLAPINATAPAI – From a Fuegian language (Yaghan?) for “looking at each other hoping that either will offer to do something which both parties desire but are unwilling to do”. Any intel on this one?

UTEPILS – Does this Norwegian word really mean “to sit outside on a sunny day enjoying a beer” or does it just mean “outside beer” (a Pilsener, presumably!)?

Thanks, friends.

Rob

🚨 MORE LIVE SHOWS 🚨

I'm doing the Edinburgh Fringe!

Join me for an hour of pulling the English language apart and putting it back together again (complete with a new alphabet).

I'll be performing every night from the 6th to 16th of August and would love to see you there. 

Tickets have just gone on on sale here:
https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on...