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Unveiling the origins of the word “tango”

Published on May 10, 2013 in Did you know?, The origin of..., Tips for Translators and Translation Buyers. 0 Comments

There is no doubt at all that Argentina, and especially the city of Buenos Aires, are immediately identified with the tango. Since the 1920’s, the tango has been considered one of the most popular and sensual dances in the world and, as years go by, passion for it has grown not only in the River Plate area but all over the world as well. But, what about the etymological origins of the word “tango”? Which cultural and sociological aspects have influenced the origin of this word? Can the roots of “tango” be found and determined or is it a world with a vastly rich origin? Throughout the following paragraphs we will try to unveil the origins of the word “tango”.

Historical Perspective

It is generally agreed by language experts that the etymological origin of the word “tango” cannot be detached from a historic phenomenon: the cultural relationship between Spain and America and the trade of slaves that started coming from Africa around the 1600´s.

According to some historians such as José Gobello and Ricardo Rodríguez Molla, “tango” comes from an African term some slaves used to refer to the place where they were reunited to be sent to America. The Portuguese adopted the Africanism “tangomao” to refer to the man that trafficked slaves. Thus, in America the word “tango” was embraced to name the places where the African slaves got together to dance and sing. Buenos Aires was a very important slave market in the 1600’s, 1700’s and 1800’s and, therefore, the African population definitely had a significant influence in the birth of the term “tango”.

The Beating of the Drum

Other language theory relates the etymological origin of the word “tango” to the onomatopoeic sound of the beating of the drums as, apparently, the drum was one of the musical instruments used in the beginnings of this dance.

However, this theory is widely rejected by experts as it has been proved that the drum was never used to play tango music. In fact, the first musical instruments for this dance were: the flute, the viola, the violin and, later on, the bandoneon.

Latin Origin

Another language theory supports the idea that the word “tango” derives from the Latin term “tanguere”, which stands for “to touch”. Language experts that agree with this idea base their findings on the fact that tango as a dance is characterized by the sensuality and closeness with which the couple move across the dance floor.

Yet, from an etymological point of view this idea cannot be accepted since, in its beginnings, tango dancers did not dance so close to each other.

Final Words

We have discussed the three most important theories regarding the etymological birth of the word “tango”. Only the first one can be considered valid as the other two are more far-fetched and cannot be traced back to actual facts to support them.

Anyway, whether “tango” derives from the place where the African population in the River Plate met to dance, talk and sing or from the onomatopoeic beating of the drums or a Latin word, it cannot be denied that tango is one of the most enjoyable dances in the word.

Modern innovation revitalizes endangered language

Published on May 1, 2013 in Did you know?, Languages, Tips for Translators and Translation Buyers. 0 Comments

Recent technology has proven useful to language acquisition in many ways. Whether it’s practicing speaking with target language natives via Skype or reviewing vocabulary with one of the myriad smartphone language apps, the various innovations have diversified and streamlined the learning process. For some, though, such technologies have even deeper potential.

Screenshots of The Ma! Iwaidja app, an initiative of the Minjilang Endangered Languages Publication project.

Many Native American tribes, in response to the potential extinction of their native language/s, have begun to embrace apps, iPads, and other related tools in efforts to above all generate interest in younger generations. Currently, there are over 200 Native American languages spoken in the U.S. and Canada, although in many cases they are only spoken by a handful of people. There are an additional 100 Native languages that are already extinct.

The majority of tribes have historically made efforts to pass native languages down to younger generations, but the success of these efforts has waned with time. One of the main reasons for this, of course, is the ever-rising influence of external influence, including both language and technology. Until recently, tribes’ general response to such influence was commonly (and understandably) marked by resistance and resentment.

Many cite the Native American Languages Act of 1990 as being a crucial turning point in the language struggle, for it provided resources and funding to tribes working to revitalize their native tongues. As a result, technology has been increasingly integrated in the process, a trend that may be seen as a sort of “reclaiming” of an early source of oppression. Furthermore, the new learning methods have changed the very nature of the languages themselves.

The phenomenon is also representative of a larger concern—that is, how languages should adapt to or be adapted to seemingly distinct, non-linguistic innovation. Although many take a conservative view, believing that speakers and writers should try to maintain the specific lexis and grammar of languages—and either reject or are highly selective about linguistic innovation—, the majority see language as an inherently malleable thing, always in a state of flux, including the methods used in teaching and learning.

What do you think? Is there any limits when it comes to linguistic innovation and means of acquisition, or does more variety simply and always make a language more rich?

Singing is the best way to learn a new language

Published on March 23, 2013 in Did you know?, Languages, Tips for Translators and Translation Buyers. 1 Comment

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If you want to learn a language, music is the answer. According to a study, carried out a few years ago by French investigator Daniel Schön and his team, singing and listening to songs helps people to learn new languages.

The study went a long way to proving that foreign language students are more likely to learn a new language much faster and much more effectively if they are taught through music and song. It appears that those students who are only encouraged to practice their language skills through general conversation and ordinary speech won’t reach the same levels of success as quickly as their singing counterparts.

Schön and his team conducted an experiment which focused on the use of the following made-up words, Gimysy, Mimosi, Pogysi, Pymiso, Sipygy y Sysipi. The words, which have no meaning, were repeatedly spoken over and over again for the duration of seven minutes into a recording device. The recording was then played back to a group of 26 native French speakers who were asked, at the end of the recording, to identify the words that they had heard and could remember from the recording.

The activity proved to be a complete flop, as predicted, with the entire group of 26 racking their brains, trying to remember the words they had heard as if they were actually trying to guess them from scratch.

Schön then played a second recording of these made-up words to a second set of 26 French speakers under the same conditions. The only difference was that the words were sung, using a clear intonation throughout, in the second recording. At the end of the second period of seven minutes, 64% of the second group of 26 French speakers were able to remember, identify and repeat the words that they had heard.

Schön and his team believe that humans use the same part of the brain when listening to music that we use to learn a language. There’s something about the characteristics of musical intonation and rhythms which help us to learn languages much faster and more effectively.

So, next time you think about studying a foreign language, make your first language study activity a musical one.

History of the letter eñe

Published on February 20, 2013 in Did you know?, Languages, Spanish Language and The origin of.... 0 Comments

Most people associate the letter eñe with the Spanish language. Yet it is actually present in no less than nine different alphabets spanning the globe, including the modern Latin alphabet, Galician alphabet, Asturian alphabet, Filipino alphabet and Guarani alphabet, among others. Additionally, it is currently used to represent the [ŋ] in the Tartar and Crimean languages, along with the Chamorro, Mandinka, Mapudungun and Tocharian languages. Considering the usage of eñe, it quickly becomes clear that the letter is present in a variety of geographical locations, and is used in languages stemming from different language families.

The tilde that sits atop the n to form what is now a separate letter in its own right, originally began as shorthand. It represented a double letter, in this case nn, which was used more frequently in Old Spanish. The word año, for example, was formerly anno and derived from the Latin word annvs. While this usage spread to many languages at the time, most of them eventually dropped the tilde. Meanwhile, Spanish retained its usage as shorthand for a double letter.

As far back as Medieval Latin usage, that tilde came to represent a nasal sound following a vowel (then also used on the letter m). The presence of eñe in Spanish has since expanded to all instances in which the palatal nasal sound is present, even when it does not represent a former double letter, such as with señor.

More recently, there has been cross-linguistic usage in native languages located in or near predominantly Spanish-speaking areas. These languages include Aymara, Quechua, Basque, Leonese, Yavapai, and Tetum. The orthographies of these native languages and others with cross-linguistic usage of eñe all have some basis in Spanish. It is also present in English words borrowed from Spanish, such as jalapeño, piñata, and piña colada.

Spanish Keyboard Layout – Latin America. The letter eñe is on the right of the L.

Tip!
Alt key code for the letter eñe: ALT + 0241.

The Origin of the Word “Carnival”

Published on February 12, 2013 in Did you know?, Languages and The origin of.... 1 Comment

The term Carnival (or Carnaval, in Spanish), has an etymology that can find little accord among those who explain its origins. Perhaps beginning with the question of whether the roots of the word date back to latin, and which terms they seem to derive from, several theories about the origin of Carnival persist, each with its own explanation.

Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The timing of Carnival celebrations around the world also plays an important role in these theories, in particular as it relates to Christianity. Taking place in February, Carnival occurs just before Lent, a time in which Christians all over the world choose to fast, involving the avoidance of eating meat as dictated by the Church. In this context, one theory claims that the term is derived from the latin carne and vale, literally, saying goodbye to meat. Others who support this theory link it to the Italian expression, carne levare, with the same meaning.

In this explanation — often referred to as “folklore” by proponents of other theories — Carnival represents the final blowout before saying goodbye to eating meat. More broadly, a similar theory also states that it could represent a farewell to matters of the flesh, or carne, in general. The essence of the celebrations of Carnival, in their displays of excess and letting go, contrast with the mood of Lent in which the matters of the spirit outweigh the importance of worldly things.

An alternate origin involves the Roman festival Navigium Isidis (ship of Isis). In this traditional festival, the image of Isis was carried in a procession to the shore in order to bless the beginning of the sailing season. The procession involved elaborate masks and a wooden boat that was also carried. These characteristics could be the precursors of modern Carnival tradition involving floats and masks.

The etymological connection with this last theory rests in the term carrus, meaning car, as opposed to carne. The festival mentioned above was known by the latin term carrus navalis. It should be noted, however, that this festival was associated with both agricultural seasons (taking place just before the beginning of spring) and sexuality. As a result, it is also possible that when the festival became Christianized some time later, these two aspects were simply replaced by carne vale, a more appropriate beginning to Lent.

The Origin of Hashtag

Published on February 7, 2013 in Did you know?, The origin of..., Tips for Translators and Translation Buyers. 0 Comments

This week we’re starting a new blog series called “The Origin of …” In it, we’ll be discussing the origin of a new word each week, including it’s translations or adaptations in other languages. We begin the series with a word that has become widely recognized among Internet parlance in a short amount of time: hashtag.

Going Viral

Most people recognize the hashtag (#) as a symbol used on Twitter to introduce a topic or conversation so that other Twitter users may search for, follow and contribute to the conversation. Of course now it is so popular that it’s not uncommon to see the symbol pop up on other social networks as well, but without the corresponding search function. Yet the hashtag was not an original creation from Twitter’s founders. The concept was originally thought up and given its ubiquitous symbol by a user experience designer working on Google+. That designer, Chris Messina, pitched the idea to Twitter’s guys in August of 2007 as a way to organize groups on the social network, giving him the nickname “hash godfather.”

Some reports indicate that the first time the hashtag was actually used was in relation to the miraculous landing of Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in early 2009. Among the many tweets flying around in relation to the event which had temporarily taken over the country’s news cycles, one user included #flight1549 at the end of their tweet. After that it was picked up by others tweeting about the incident, and quickly went viral.

Hashtag in Other Languages

There is always the question of whether new technology terms will be translated into other languages, or simply adopted as they are. As is to be expected, the French government has chosen to introduce their own word meaning hashtag in French. That word, mot-dièse, is not a literal translation, but rather means word and sharp – as in the designation of pitch in music, represented by a symbol similar to the pound (or hash) sign but without its inclination to the right.

It should also be noted, however, that not all French-speaking countries follow the lead of France when it comes to language developments. In francophone Quebec, Canada, for example, they prefer the term mot-clic.

But just as the French have done what they usually do — declare a new word to avoid adopting the English term — Spanish speakers have also done what they usually do in these situations. That is, they adopt the word with slight variations in spelling and pronunciation, effectively making it their own. Other words related to Twitter stand as examples of this: tuit (tweet), tuitear (verb of “tweet”), tuitero (a person who tweets), etc. In the case of hashtag, the literal translation would be etiqueta de almohadilla. And while this Spanish phrase is used in some areas, others choose to simply go with the original English term, adapting it to their own accent. As with French, it just depends on the region or the individual.

Archive for the 'Did you know?' Category

Unveiling the origins of the word “tango”

Modern innovation revitalizes endangered language