Tongue - language

[apmoy70]

Yes, they both come from Vulgar Latin caballus, itself borrowed from Gaulish kaballos, which may be a Celtic loan from Asian (see Ancient Greek καβάλλης = old horse).

The formal Latin equus, and Ancient Greek ἵππος (which are cognate) only remain in derived technical terms like equitation, hippodrome, etc.

Per Beekes, «καβάλλης» /kɐˈbɐl.lɛːs/ (masc.) --> workhorse, old horse:

...an Asiatic loan or a Wanderwort, perhaps originally an ethnicon like Wallach et al. It has been compared with Turk. käväl epithet of at 'horse', MoP کول (kaval) 'second class horse of mixed blood', and further with Rus. кобыла (kabyla) 'mare'

In Byzantine Greek, «καβαλλαρία» /kɐβɐl.lɐˈriɐ/ (fem.) --> cavalry, «καβαλλάρης» /kɐβɐl.ˈlɐris/ (masc.) --> horseman, cavalryman, «καβάλλα» /kɐˈβɐl.lɐ/ (adverb) --> astride.

 

[Drakonica]

In Polish, the same word for both: јęzyk.

 

[Rainbowlight]

Yes, they both come from Vulgar Latin caballus, itself borrowed from Gaulish kaballos, which may be a Celtic loan from Asian (see Ancient Greek καβάλλης = old horse).

The formal Latin equus, and Ancient Greek ἵππος (which are cognate) only remain in derived technical terms like equitation, hippodrome, etc.

Thank you very much for your answer.

I have always wondered about the letters that form those two words, meaning "equus" and "ἵππος". Rather curiously, "equus" changes to the previous letter before "p", which is "q". Or you could explain it by reversing the phenomenon: "ἵππος" formed by changing the doubled "ππ" to the next letter, which is a doubled "ππ" or Latin "p".

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you think it's sheer coincidence or that there a linguistic pattern behind it?

Thanks again for your answer.

 

[Rainbowlight]

In Polish, the same word for both: јęzyk.

Thank you very much for your answer.

 

[Linnets]

I'm also interested in the languages in which the word "language" does not derive from the part of the body known as "the tongue". Spanish (lengua and lenguaje), French (langue and langage, Italian (lingua and linguaggio) have words that clearly derive from one of the terms.

In Italian the common word for a language like English, Italian or French is only lingua, which is also the organ inside the mouth. Linguaggio is a more technical one and refer to other aspects of the language itself: e.g. linguaggi settoriali, studio del linguaggio umano... Sometimes it is also used for sometimes it doesn't belong to the language in its proper sense: e.g. la matematica può considerarsi un linguaggio.

 

[kimko_379]

In Japanese:

1. The formal or academic term is 言語 gengo, the reverse of the Chinese counterpart words/morphemes permutation.
(A) foreign language(s) are 外国語 gai-koku-go= outer-/foreign-country-language(s).
(言語学 gengo-gaku = languages-ology/-science = linguistics.
語学 go-gaku = language learning.
英語学 ei-go-gaku = English linguistics/Anglistik.
ドイツ語学 doitsu-go-gaku = German linguistics/Germanistik.)

2. A wrong translation of "tongue(s)" in the Paulean epistles has been passing as the correct one that no ordinary Japanese can see/get: 異言 igen = strange-/alien-/other-language. But only the above 外国語 or 天使の言葉・言語 ten-shi no koto-ba/gengo (= angels' language) should be the proper, understandable translation.

3. As an everyday/colloquial classical-Japanese/non-Sino-Japanese word, we have 言葉 = ことば = コトバ (these easier non-Chinese, classical-Japanese letters are for children or for special nuances-expressing effects as in manga/cartoons) koto-ba = words-/events-leaves/-foliage/-blades/-tips/-edges/-terminals/-fragments/-components, meaning both (a) language(s) and words/phrases/language-expressions.
Ancient Japanese did not discern koto = words/language(s) from koto = events. Words were believed to have their own spirits koto-dama (< koto + tama = spirits/souls) and magical self-fulfilling effects/powers.
Koto came from kotsu < kot-u = say (a presumed ancient verb).
It is also cognate with kuchi < kuti = mouth, opening, and entrance/exit.

(I did not draw all these lines through my own words. Somebody else often does this on me.)

 

[kimko_379]

3. (cont.)
Hito-ri-gotsu (a literary/formal, rather-outdated word)
= one-person-say = say to yourself/himself/etc..
Hito-ri-goto (a regular/non-formal word) = one-person-words/-speech(s) =
self-talk(s)/monologue(s)/soliloquy(s).

Maybe kutsu < kutu = shoe(s) is another cognate word, because shoes were slip-on shoes with openings.
Kutsu-shita = shoes-under/-beneath = undershoes = socks and stockings.

Senior citizens in the south-Japanese Oki-nawa-Prefecture call their dialect
Uchi-naa(< Oki-nawa)-gutsu (< -goto < -koto).

PS
koto-war-i (an ancient word) = words-/events-dividing(s)/division(s)/-analysis(/-analyses)
= reason(s)/reasonableness/naturalness/normalcy/providence(s)/law(s)/principle(s).

koto-war-u (the modern usage) = refuse/reject.
koto-war-i (ditto) = refusal/rejection.

 

[PersoLatin]

Is the Persian language by any chance also called zabân?

Yes, as we only have one word for both, so “zabân-e Fârsi” is “the Persian language” in Persian.

 

[Rainbowlight]

In Italian the common word for a language like English, Italian or French is only lingua, which is also the organ inside the mouth. Linguaggio is a more technical one and refer to other aspects of the language itself: e.g. linguaggi settoriali, studio del linguaggio umano... Sometimes it is also used for sometimes it doesn't belong to the language in its proper sense: e.g. la matematica può considerarsi un linguaggio.

Thank you so much for your answer.

 

[Rainbowlight]

Yes, as we only have one word for both, so “zabân-e Fârsi” is “the Persian language” in Persian.

Thanks for your answer.

 

[Rainbowlight]

3. (cont.)
Hito-ri-gotsu (a literary/formal, rather-outdated word)
= one-person-say = say to yourself/himself/etc..
Hito-ri-goto (a regular/non-formal word) = one-person-words/-speech(s) =
self-talk(s)/monologue(s)/soliloquy(s).

Maybe kutsu < kutu = shoe(s) is another cognate word, because shoes were slip-on shoes with openings.
Kutsu-shita = shoes-under/-beneath = undershoes = socks and stockings.

Senior citizens in the south-Japanese Oki-nawa-Prefecture call their dialect
Uchi-naa(< Oki-nawa)-gutsu (< -goto < -koto).

PS
koto-war-i (an ancient word) = words-/events-dividing(s)/division(s)/-analysis(/-analyses)
= reason(s)/reasonableness/naturalness/normalcy/providence(s)/law(s)/principle(s).

koto-war-u (the modern usage) = refuse/reject.
koto-war-i (ditto) = refusal/rejection.

Thank you so much for the wealth of information. I thought it was extremely interesting how the idea of "word" can be conceptualised. I myself would never think of a word as an "event", but I find it very stimulating.

Once again, thank you very much for your answer.