Issue #40

SILLY LINGUISTICS THE MAGAZINE FOR LANGUAGE LOVERS
YMOLOGICAL CO
E ET RN
HT
RE
I still have faith in you!
ABBA IS OUT OF
ORDER
BACK What is Adjectival
Hierarchy ?
THE MAGAZINE FOR LANGUAGE LOVERS : ISSUE #40 : SEPTEMBER 2021

b l e
e o
o f
f
Ta
Ta b l
ntte
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Co
Co n
03 How to decipher an ancient language
By Valentin Pradelou
Out of Order: What is Adjectival

06 Hierarchy?By Catherine Muxworthy
10 The Etymological Corner

By Katarzyna Ko źma
14 The quest for understanding

By Joana Atanasova
18 Words of the Inuit: A Review

By Holly Gustafson
21 How do you learn how to write?

By Steve the vagabond
Cover page photo by Harry Grout on Unsplash and content page photo by Mati Mango from Pexels
This week's page numbers are in Greek!
September 2021, Issue #40 Silly Linguistics: The Magazine for Language Lovers
3 \ τρία
How to decipher an
ancient language
BY VALENTIN PRADELOU
Introduction
Deciphering a language is something legendary. Everybody would love
to be the one to decipher an ancient language, helping to understand
history and Linguistic elements.
Unfortunately, deciphering an ancient language isn't that spectacular.

However, it is very useful! We better understand how languages work
and have worked, how it is related to ancient cultures, etc.
Here, we'll base our elements on two main sources: an online article
from France Culture entitled Deux cents ans après la pierre de Rosette:
comment déchiffre-t-on une langue ancienne?, and a YouTube video
from the French channel Kronos, entitled Déchiffrer une langue sans
Pierre de Rosette - Les Grandes Énigmes #03. We'll try to understand
how it works, taking into account both works. And this is very
interesting, as you'll maybe discover that real deciphering techniques
are way different from what you could first think.
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Bilingual data: a front door Class signs and rely on proper nouns
First, bilingual data. It allows researchers to Bilingual data, or even trilingual or more are
have two languages next to each other, with then rather rare. Researchers will have to use
one they know more than the other, opening other techniques to decipher a language.
the door for deciphering. Among these, inventing the signs.
Sometimes, bilingual data is not that useful To do this, researchers must count the
though! Claude Rilly, a French researcher, different signs and eliminate duplications.
tells us that he studied a jar, on which was Once it's done, there'll be a certain number of
written in Demotic (known language) "Wine signs. Around 20 to 80 signs, the language
from Egypt". Under this is written, in uses an alphabetic writing system, with
Meroitic (unkown language), "it comes from phonograms (one sign = one unity of sound).
Egypt". Well said by the researcher: it With more signs, sometimes reaching several
doesn't get us far... hundred, the language uses a logogram
system (one sign is one idea/word).
The big problem with bilingual data is the
following: it's rare. Very rare, because it's Another technique is to rely on proper nouns.
inherited from a special political system. A As explained in the article, François Desset
well-read people is supposed to reign on recently did it so he could decipher the Linear
another well-read people, with another Elamite. Thanks to 8 silver vases ("Gunagis
writing system, like Ptolemaic people under vases"), 4000 years old, with identical signs
Alexander the Great: texts had to be written sequences from one vase to another, the
in Greek for the elites, and also in Egyptian researcher succeeded. He noticed two
for the population. sovereigns' names (Shilhaha and Ebarti II), and
it led him to decipher the rest of the writing
The second problem is the translation system.
between both languages on bilingual data.
It's extremely rare to get a literal translation, Deciphering a sign system is hard, but
explains Claude Rilly, and they're often made deciphering an entire language...
of paraphrases.
All these techniques used to decipher a
Bilingual data is then an important element language involve impediments. It may seem
in deciphering an ancient language, but it pretty smooth in theory, but it remains very
goes with some problems as well. hard.
5 \ πέντε
First, about deciphering the writing system, Conclusion

researchers take into account some Deciphering a language is then very difficult.
elements. Finding whether the language uses Before reading about it, I used to think
a phonogram or logogram system can be deciphering was always somehow possible.
very long. Even if the general question is Unfortunately, data plays a big role, as do
cleared, other elements arise. One example, other elements we've seen earlier.
taken from the video in introduction, is the Understand a writing system is very hard,
following: in French, the words axe and understand a whole language is even harder.
animaux both have a -x. The problem is, It's gripping though, and I think we all wait
they don't have the same function in the after researchers to tell us more about
word, one is in the middle of the word as a ancient history and ancient languages.
regular letter, the other is used to mark a
plural. These tiny elements are real peeves. Thanks for reading, and feel free to write for
comments or anything!
When the writing system is known,
understand the language is something else!
Researchers use genealogy, with languages
looking alike, to help understanding.
Otherwise, we use typology, by studying
languages and understand how they work,
their syntax, grammar, etc. However, there's
no magical way to instantly decipher a
language, and every technique has its
peeves.
And finally, above all that, researchers are

limited by corpora's sizes. The ideal corpus
consists of 10 000 languages, says Claude
Rilly, and it's not always the case. If a
language doesn't have some documents, a
small corpus, no bilingual data, then
translation and deciphering might be
impossible.
6 \ έξι
WHAT IS
ADJECTIVAL
HIERARCHY?
By Catherine Muxworthy
Out
of
Order
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"Adjectives in English absolutely have to be in this order: opinion-size-age-colour-

origin-material-purpose Noun. So you can have a lovely little old rectangular green
French silver whittling knife. But if you mess with that word order in the slightest
you’ll sound like a maniac. It’s an odd thing that every English speaker uses that list, but
none of us could write it out. And as size comes before colour, green great dragons
can’t exist,” wrote Mark Forsyth in The Elements of Eloquence: How to Turn the
Perfect English Phrase.
In many languages, there are rules or general guidelines that dictate the order in which
adjectives – describing something’s various attributes – should come, a hierarchy of
adjectives might be the best way to describe it.
In English, this very specific order is something we follow practically every day of our
lives and yet we may not be aware that we even know it. It is not a grammar rule that
native speakers usually learn in English classes but rather something we pick up from
reading books and listening to other people talk.
The proper order for adjectives in English is known as The Royal Order of Adjectives.
This hierarchy is as follows. First, we have the determiner. Technically speaking, this
isn’t an adjective but what comes before them to modify the adjectives and/or noun.
Determiners include articles, possessives, and demonstratives such as; the, your, our,
these.
Then, we have the quantity (one, a hundred, many, a few). Next is the opinion;
delicious, beautiful, ugly etc. In some cases, opinion is broken into two smaller
categories general opinion e.g. popular (something that can be clearly verified perhaps
in terms of sales) and specific opinion e.g. perfect for readers of… In these cases, the
general opinion comes before the specific one. Therefore you would say “ Joe Doe’s
popular, perfect for thriller lovers novel…”
After opinion comes size (large, tiny, enormous, small), then age (new, old, ancient),
shape (square, circular, rounds, triangular), colour (blue, black, pink, rainbow-coloured,
yellow). Next in the Royal Order of Adjectives we have the origin or material such as;
American, English, wooden, velvet, satin etc. Then we have purpose for example
folding chair.
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Following that, is the qualifier. Examples of qualifiers include; Hound dog, denim jeans,
Vampire bat. Finally, right at the end of that long list of adjectives is where, whatever
we were describing, known as the noun would fall.
Interestingly, adjectives are not the only English linguistic device that follows a Royal
Order. Adverbs used to modify verbs and adjectives also have a specific order that you
will likely follow every time you speak without knowing that there is a hierarchy in
place.
The Royal Order of Adverbs is as follows. Firstly manner; how someone does
something or how something happened. These are usually formed by adding “-ly” to an
adjective e.g. beautifully, slowly, happily, lively. This first category of adverbs is perhaps
so named because if the adjective you’re modifying already ends in “-ly” you can give it
an adverbial function by simply using it in the prepositional phrase “In a __________
manner/ fashion.” For example: “Please enter in an orderly manner”.
Next in the Royal Order is place which tells us about an aspect of the location involved
in the action of a verb such as direction, distance, movement or position. Examples
include: “I’ve looked everywhere for my glasses”, “He ran into the road”, and “We
walked further down the beach.”
Next is frequency, such as how often something happens (daily, every day, yearly,
usually, always, never). Following that is the somewhat similar category of adverbs of
time that tell us when or for how long something happens e.g. tomorrow, next year,
next week.
Finally, in the Royal Order of Adverbs in purpose. These adverbs tell us why something
happens. These are generally made up of conjunctive adverbs, prepositional or infinitive
phrases, or adverbial clauses. For example; “I’m am tired because I didn’t sleep well
last night”, or “The play was very long hence the need for two intervals.”
If we come back to the Royal Order of adjectives though, there are – as there always is
with grammar and linguistics – exceptions to the rule of adjectival hierarchy. For
example, The Big Bad Wolf puts size (big) before opinion (bad). This is because The
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Big Bad Wolf is obeying another rule of grammar that you may never have heard of;
ablaut reduplication.
You may not have heard of it but you certainly use it in your general life in phrases like
‘zig-zag’ or ‘tick-tock’. Reduplication in linguistics refers to when you repeat a word,
sometimes with an altered consonant and sometimes an altered vowel.
In reduplication, if there are three words in the phrase – for example bing-bang-bong –
then the order is I, A, O. If there are only two words – for example chit-chat – then the
first is I and the second is either A or O. Why this is the case is not clear but when you
test it yourself you’ll notice that it would indeed sound wrong to say clop-clip for the
sound of a horse’s hooves rather than clip-clop.
The Big Bad Wolf, therefore, follows this rule because the two descriptors repeat the ‘B’
and alter a consonant and a vowel. Thus, you wouldn’t have a Bad Big Wolf, it simply
doesn’t sound right.
Without trying to sound like I’m quoting that moment in F.R.I.E.N.D.S where the
group finds out Monica and Chandler are dating – “They don’t know, we know, they
know, we know” – these Royal Orders and ablaut reduplication rules are all simply
things that native English speakers know without even knowing that they know.
10 \ δέκα
The Etymological Corner

I still have faith in you!: A BA is back
By Katarzyna Koźma
Photo by Andrew Ebrahim on Unsplash
11 \ έντεκα
A BBA is back! As their great fan, I was jumping with excitement when I listened to their
two new songs for the first time. It was amazing to have a similar experience to the one my
parents had in the 70s and 80s when they were listening to such hits “Mamma Mia”,
“Dancing Queen”, or “Thank you for the music” for the first time. Moments like this make
me feel that time travel is possible. Maybe we don’t have to use some fancy time machines,
blue boxes, or upgraded futuristic cars to go back in time. Maybe music is enough.
However, it wasn’t until I’ve read Judy Roger’s “Abba’s new songs reviewed” in The
Guardian1 that I thought about how important the little word still in the title of ABBA’s new
song, “I still have faith in you”, is. Roger writes: “The word “still” feels dropped into the title
phrase almost casually, but it contains oceans of meaning, the hint of a past experience still
colouring the present: another classic Abba move.” Ha, I thought. If this seemingly
insignificant word can be so charged with meaning why not explore what can we discover
by looking at it from the etymological point of view. And thus our new adventure begins.
Let’s start with the original phrase and the English language. Still
derives from the Old English word stille, meaning calm, without
motion, stable, fixed. This is obviously another meaning of the
word still in contemporary English, for example in phrases such
as keep still or famous be still my heart. The cognates of this
term include Icelandic stilltur (meaning calm), German still (quiet,
silent), and ABBA’s native Swedish stilla (still, calm). If you think
about it for a while, the word still carries more meaning than we
usually notice. I still have faith in you, I’m calm, stable and I’m
not going anywhere. ABBA know how to play with words, don’t
they?
Now, I would like to have a little bit of fun with the words and
see what images are hidden in translations of still in various,
other languages. The Italian version of “I still have faith” in you
could be something like Ho ancora fiducia in te, whereas French
would probably be j'ai encore foi en toi. In both these languages,
words for still, ancora end encore, derive most probably from
the Latin expression in hanc hōram, meaning “until this hour”.
Although the exact connection between this Latin phrase and
the contemporary Italian and French words escapes me
(anyone?), it definitely makes me think about passing time.
Encore can be also linked to the world of performance, although
not in French but in English where it’s used after concerts and
1
You can find the whole article here.
12 \ δώδεκα
performances to express our appreciation and to ask for one more song from our
favourite singer or actor. Interestingly, even though the word has an obviously French
etymology, a French person in the same situation would request rappel or bis. The word
of lexical borrowings sometimes confuses me beyond measure…But, if I were to be
honest, that’s exactly what makes it so fascinating in the first place.
In Polish, still can be translated as nadal in Polish, a word which can be etymologically
split into na and dal, with the latter word meaning distance, afar. Therefore, while using
this word, might briefly think of space, a long way ahead. We find a similar linguistic image
in another European language: Spanish. The word used by the inhabitants of the Iberian
Peninsula is todavía. It derives from toda (all, every) and vía (way, road). Interesting, isn’t it?
I don’t know about you but I find it fascinating that even though we can translate the
words into different languages, it is much harder to translate associations,
preconceptions, feelings intrinsically linked to words. And thus, while trying to convey the
meaning of still an English person might think of stillness, quietness, whereas a speaker of
Polish can have a brief image of a long road in front of them. These small nuances can
show us how diversified and rich is our linguistic heritage.
It also can be another argument to learn a new language – after
all, while learning these new words and phrases you unlock
new mental images, arrays of connotations and associations
which allow you to understand the same, old concepts in a
new, fresh way. And last but most not definitely not least, I
would argue that paying attention to these small details in
various languages and cultures allows us to understand each
other better and ultimately to communicate our thoughts,
experiences, and emotions more efficiently.
This month’s Etymological Corner may seem to you a little bit
unusual, and it indeed is intended as such. After all, to quote
one of my favourite TV series “I would hate to be predictable”
(Downton Abbey, Lady Mary for those curious souls out there).
In all seriousness, however, I hope that this text might
encourage you to pay a little more attention to unexpected
connections between languages and our perception of the
word. Let us know how to say “I still have faith in you” in your
language and listen to some ABBA (no kidding, you won’t regret
that). I will hopefully see you in the next installment of the
Etymological Corner. Until then – stay safe and keep exploring!
13 \ δεκατρία
If you want to know more…
…about ABBA – ABBA. The Movie (1977) – filmed during the prime of the Swedish
group, ABBA. The Movie is a drama-documentary telling the story of a journalist
trying to get an interview with the group. The task proves to be (almost)
impossible, as he keeps chasing them across the globe. In the meantime, we get
clips of Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid touring and performing. The film is a
perfect mixture of music and information about the band. Definitely
recommended!
…about ABBA and their adventures with Spanish – “In focus: ABBA en Español”
on abbasite.com This short article explores connections between ABBA and
Spanish. According to the text, they’ve recorded more songs in the language of
the Iberian Peninsula than in their native Swedish!
…about how our language influences our perception of the world - Language,
Mind, and Culture: A Practical Introduction by Zoltán Kövecses. The book takes
you on an amazing journey through the world of cognitive linguistics – a field of
study that researches connections between our linguistic and mental reality.
Language, Mind, and Culture is a very readable publication that can be easily
enjoyed by professionals and amateurs alike.
If you’d like to read about the etymology of a word or phrase that intrigues you
send it to [email protected] or our twitter (@EtymologicalThe) or
Instagram (the_etymological_corner) accounts! Although we can’t promise that
we’ll be able to answer all questions we can certainly promise that we can give it
a go!
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THE QUEST FOR
UNDERSTANDING
By Joana Atanasova
Photo by CALIN STAN on Unsplash
15 \ δεκαπέντε
I have a particular love for ancient Egypt — the centuries-old kingdom, a way of life that was
in harmony with nature. Their lifestyle shifted according to the waters of the Nile — when the
waters came in, the ships and boats would travel through, fish, exchange goods, sometimes
there would be flooding that completely destroyed the nearby huts made out of mud, once the
water levels would go down, they would be rebuilt again.
The river would leave behind extremely nourishing residue on top of which the crops thrived,
guaranteeing food for the upcoming seasons. Did I mention the extremely complex medicine
that people still can’t figure out how it worked exactly? Ancient Egyptians performed actual
brain surgery and the people actually lived a normal life afterward, not to mention the
extremely complex rituals of mummification — the embalming of the body, the separation of
the internal organs — each having their own purpose in the afterlife, that left the bodies so well
preserved that we can actually determine facial structure, birth defects and DNA analysis
based on them. Ancient Egypt thrived for so long, that time-wise Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of
the ancient Egyptian kingdom, is closer to us, than to the birth of the kingdom, so you can
imagine how long the kingdom lasted.
My fascination naturally led me to exploring the depths of the ancient Egyptian alphabet
system. Now, I say “alphabet” to simplify the system for the reader and what I’m talking about
in particular, because it’s not exactly an alphabet, it’s a writing system of pictograms, also
called hieroglyphs (from Greek meaning “sacred writing”), which are basically drawings that
verbally correspond into letters, syllables, and even entire words. The Egyptian hieroglyphs are
more than a thousand, usually as depictions they are things that are part of the life of the
Egyptian — the sun, wheat, waves, the ankh, an eye with the specific make up typical for the
peoples, etc. If it would make it easier to grasp — it’s similar to Chinese in the matter.
Where did this knowledge go then? Surely Ancient Egypt, a kingdom that’s existed since 3150
BC couldn’t have just been lost in history, right? Well, yes and no. Some believe the larger part
of Egypt’s language, history, agricultural habits, medical knowledge, archives, lineage was lost
in the fire of the Library of Alexandria, and we are basically left with external historical sources
from the Roman Empire and Ancient Greece.
Which leads me to the big question of the article — how do we know how to read the Ancient
Egyptian hieroglyphs? How can we even be sure this symbol means what it means? We have,
for the most part, deciphered the Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, hence how we have all
available written information, you can even find it available for free on the internet, as well as
whole courses on how to read them, and even make your own sentences. How?!
And it’s not just Egyptian hieroglyphs, how is it that we have figured out any lost and dead
language?
It all starts with Napoleon invading Egypt. In 1799 the French troops reach Egypt, and one of
his men found a big stone engraved with the stone presented a hieroglyphic and a demotic
16 \ δεκαέξι
version (Demotic language is the type of informal language used

by ordinary people) of the same text in parallel with a Greek
translation, plenty of material for falsifiable studies in
translation was suddenly available. In the early 19th century,
scholars such as Silvestre de Sacy, Johan David Åkerblad, and
Thomas Young studied the inscriptions on the stone, and were
able to make some headway. Finally, Jean-François Champollion
made the complete decipherment by the 1820s. In his Lettre à M.
Dacier (1822), he wrote: “It is a complex system, writing
figurative, symbolic, and phonetic all at once, in the same text,
the same phrase, I would almost say in the same word.”
The stone was named “The Rosetta Stone”, because, well, that’s
where it was found — the city of Rosetta on the Nile, and gave
way to deciphering. Some may wonder why the stone was
inscribed with three languages. The answer is the hieroglyphs
were used because the priests at that time still used it, while most
of the public used the demotic language, therefore, writing on
the stone was done in three languages so that the king and the
common people could read it.
Great! So what about other dead languages? Well, people weren’t

God knows how creative, and really language shifted slightly in
each direction, much like it does now with modern languages,
plus their aim was to understand each other, not confuse the hell
out of each other as how can you trade with someone you don’t
understand? Linguists used data processing to bring dead
languages back to life, archaeologists found clay tablets dating to
around 1300 BC, but nobody really knew what they meant.
“The language is known as “linear B” and it predates the Greek

alphabet and so most historians agreed it was probably a separate
language altogether. However, decoders who had worked on
cracking the German Enigma code during World War II were
able to decipher linear B by assuming that it was in fact an
ancestor of Greek,” says prof. Roland Enmach. “They looked at
patterns of variation within the script to see if that could offer
clues. Certain sequences of symbols only appeared on tablets that
were found on the island of Crete, but not on those discovered on
the Greek mainland. This led the decoders to suppose that the
sequences were therefore place names on the island, which
turned out to be true. From this deduction, they were able to
work backwards to translate the whole text,” he continues.
Photo by Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash
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Mind you, these processes of language and text translations take a lot longer than you think,
with a lot of hits and misses. I graduated from the Ancient Languages and Cultures lyceum
in Bulgaria, back when were still students I remember in the still early days of learning
Greek, we were given a text in Ancient Greek that was unfamiliar to us. We knew a dozen
words from the text at the time, and the rest were completely new and unknown ones.
The teacher then urged us to read and try and make sense of what the text was about
without using dictionaries. Some hilarious results ensured, but the point of the whole
exercise was to demonstrate how linguists decipher texts. The Rosetta Stone or the Greek
tablets didn’t come with a dictionary, nobody faxed you the translation or hints, you just
need to figure it out until it made sense, hence why finding more and more material helps
with the development of said dead language, because maybe you thought one word meant
one thing, but in another text in the same translation makes no sense at all. Luckily we have
a good starting point with Latin and Ancient Greek because of their constant usage
throughout the ages, which helps us a lot in these regards.
The same can be applied to Mesopotamian Cuneiform, Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian (one
derived from the other, really), only in their cases a large part of the information about them
wasn’t lost in the Middle Ages, as the areas of discovery were in the Middle East, and were
preserved by the local population, later shared with European travellers, theologists,
linguists that brought the knowledge back to Europe along with themselves.
Thanks to the hard work of millions of people across hundreds of years — archaeologists,
linguists, historians, workers, we can now enjoy the luxury of accessing all of this
information with a mere click of a button, or rather — tap on the screen. We can enjoy and
learn languages that just a few hundred years ago were dead, and lost, but now being alive as
ever, how amazing is that? To bring back a lost language, to me, is absolutely astounding,
because ultimately you aren’t just bringing back words, you are resurrecting an entire
culture, history, stories, folklore, and I’m sure somewhere out there, everyone that spoke it
would be cheering.
18 \ δεκαοχτώ
WORDS OF
THE INUIT
A Review
By Holly Gustafson
19 \ δεκαεννέα
It’s been spouted so often it’s almost contemporary world, and how does this
become a cliché: the Inuit speakers of the millennia-old language make room for the
Canadian Arctic apparently have over a future? The book also includes an in-depth
hundred words for ‘snow.’ The hypothesis glossary, and a chapter with more detailed
of linguistic relativity would posit that this grammatical description for the reader
abundance of snow-related vocabulary in seeking more specialized linguistic
the Inuit language determines, or at least explanations.
influences, the thought of its speakers, and
shapes how they perceive the world around So, how many words for ‘snow’ does the
them. Inuit language really have? According to
Dorais, the Nunavik Inuktitut have only
But is it true? seven dedicated words to describe
particular forms of snow, including qanik
In his book Words of the Inuit: A Semantic (‘falling snow’), masak (‘wet falling snow’),
Stroll through a Northern Culture, author aputi(k) (‘snow on the ground’), aniu (‘snow
Louis-Jacques Dorais explores this and for making water’), mannguq (‘melting
many other nuances of the Inuit language of snow’), and sirmiq (‘melting snow used as
the Inuktitut, to which he has dedicated cement for the snow house’). It’s not quite
over 50 years as a researcher, inuuqati the hundred or more words for snow that
(‘companion’), and tiguag (‘adopted many have claimed to have recorded, but it’s
relative’). And as an anthropologist and still six more than most languages.
ethnolinguist, much of Dorais’ work has
been to study the connection between the However, the Inuit are able to distinguish
Inuit language, and the culture that has between a minimum of 25 distinct snow
formed it, and is continually informed by it. conditions (and probably many more), like
For Dorais, analyzing the language provides piirsituq (‘it carries things away’; ‘there is a
an important perspective on the Inuktitut blizzard of snow’), illusaq (‘material for a
world view, one that revolves around on a house, i.e., snow fit for making a snow
strong connectedness to the land, to each house’), and maujaq (‘soft ground, i.e., soft
other, and to the world. snow on the ground’).
Dorais’ book explores this world view Interestingly enough, the language of the
through seven thematically organized Inuit allows them to make more than 100
chapters on separate but interrelated distinctions for different types of ice, a
topics, like the environment and the land; substance as important as snow to the
animals and subsistence activities; humans people’s culture and subsistence. For
and spirits; family and kindship; and the example, ice created by sea water is referred
human body. The last two chapters to as siku, while ice made by freshwater is
introduce the trickier concepts that the nilak. Other words dedicated uniquely to ice
Inuktitut face in today’s reality – how does are tuvaq (‘ice floe’), piqalujaq (‘iceberg’), and
the Inuit language socialize the qainnguq (‘ice that adheres to the shore’).
20 \ είκοσι
All of these words fall within the Inuit concept culture and world view and, ideally, endow
of sila, which may be translated into English, them with an enriched knowledge of who they
completely inadequately, as ‘weather.’ One are,” suggests Dorais. “Learning about the
might say silarqitug (‘sila is beautiful’) when the morphosemantics of Inuktitut should give
weather is good, or conversely, silaluttuq (‘sila Qallunaat, non-Inuit, an opportunity to delve
is bad’) when it’s raining. deeper into the intellect of a North American
Aboriginal people that greatly deserves to be
But the concept of sila means much more than better understood.”
the condition of the weather on a particular
day – it encompasses an overall concept that Dorais, Louis-Jacques. (2020) Words of the
Dorais calls “regulated externality.” Sila forms Inuit: A Semantic Stroll through a Northern
the basis of how the Inuit think about and Culture. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba
relate to their environment, which, more than Press.
simply land and sea and air, is a natural and
supernatural force, sometimes tangible,
sometimes invisible, that regulates the
seasons, and the movements of the stars and
moon and sun, and even those of animals and
humans themselves. For the Inuit, who
consider themselves an integral part of the
environment, sila – the external forces of the
world – are internalized in every individual.
Someone who is full of wisdom is described as
silatujuq – ‘one who has a big world’ – and is
someone who fully comprehends the
interconnectedness of all beings to each other
and to the universe.
It’s this type of in-depth understanding – an

analysis of language that goes far beyond the
sounds and syntax and even semantics – that
Dorais encourages in Words of the Inuit, for
both speakers of the language and non-
speakers alike. “Inquiring about the
underlying significations embedded in Inuit
words can provide modern Indigenous
residents of the Arctic with semantic tools
useful for envisioning the full wealth of their
21 \ είκοσι ένα
HOW DO YOU LEARN

HOW TO WRITE?
NAME: STEVE THE VAGABOND DATE: 29/09/2021
How do I write? How am I doing what I am doing right now?

Honestly, I don't know. It seemed to just happen one day.
I started this page and then just started posting stuff on it.
I would get an idea and then I would just start writing about it.
Maybe that's the secret. Just start exploring it.
That's what I am doing right now. When you read this it will be a
full article and there will be lines below this one full of words. But
right here, right now, there is nothing ahead of me. I have to bring
it into existence.
Is that the secret of writing? To just pull something out of your mind
and make it real?
Well, seems to work for me. I look inside. I look at the whirly swirling
bubbling cauldron of ideas and write about what I see.
Humans go out into the world and see people walking around.
They see dogs barking. They see cats bathing in the sun. They wave
to a friend. And all those experiences go into their mind. It
becomes background fodder for the subconscious. Then some of
those ideas bubble up and get noticed by the conscious mind.
In writing about writing there seems to be a magic. How do we use
a thing to talk about itself? You can't bite or clap with one hand.
Yet we can use language to talk about language and use writing
to talk about writing.
22 \ είκοσι δύο
Maybe the secret to writing is to venture out into the unknown, just as I am
doing now. I don't know what it going to come next but I am following it
because it seems to be going somewhere interesting.
That's how I started the page. I thought "I wonder what will happen if I start
a page on Facebook". And look at me now. Who could have predicted I
would get here.
I think what stops a lot of people is fear. Fear that you won't live up to your
own expectations. As someone who used to be crippled by expectations, we
just don't know what is going to happen, but we are still capable of walking
forward. And now I can look back and say "Wow, this article is coming
along". But it started with a blank page.
That fear can be crippling sometime. What if it's not good? What if I don't
communicate the idea I wanted to?
What helped me is realising that whatever I put out there, it wouldn't have
been put out there if I hadn't done it. Whatever it is, whatever you think
about it, whatever quality you think it has, the world will be a more
interesting creative place because you put something into it that never
existed before.
Language has a finite amount of words in it, but they can go together into
arrangements that have never been seen before.
That's the amazing power of the human mind. To make connections. To show
people things they have never seen before.
Writing is like laying down a path that wasn't there before. As I write these
words I am taking you on a journey through my mind's eye at the things I am
seeing in there.
I don't know what effect it will have on those around me. But it makes me
feel more connected to myself and hopefully it can give you a bit of hope
that you too will be able to look inside your mind and tell us about what is
happening in there.
No one ever in the history of the world has ever had a life like yours. That
isn't an exageration. Your parents, life events, hobbies and environments all
contribute to produce a mixture that is wholly new and never before seen in
human history. Tell us about it. I am sure everyone would love to hear all
about it.
23 \ είκοσι τρία
Never think that people don't care. Humans conquered the world not
because we are the strongest, or the tallest or the biggest, or even the best
at seeing or tasting or running. Who don't do anything the best. But we work
together and share our experiences. We care for one another. We all work
together and produce something that is more than the some of its parts.
The world is messy, and the human world seems especially messy. But all
humans are lucky in that they can form their own thoughts, experience their
own lives and care and feel about those around us and that is not something
I would give up for the world.
Keep learning, keep reaching out and keep living. The world needs people
like you in it.
THANKS FOR READING
SILLY LINGUISTICS
ISSUE #40
u e n j oy e d i t !
We ho pe y o
Send any questions or comments you might have to
[email protected],
Or see our twitter: @magazine_silly.

Do also get in touch if you fancy writing for us!
Check out Steve the Vagabond on Facebook at:

facebook.com/stevethevagabond,
also check out Silly Linguistics online at: Sillylinguistics.com
Silly Linguistics Magazine was brought to you by,

Silly Linguistics Pty Ltd.
Editor: Ed Bedford
Graphic Designer: Kristel Ho
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SILLY LINGUISTICS THE MAGAZINE FOR LANGUAGE LOVERS

I still have faith in you!

THE MAGAZINE FOR LANGUAGE LOVERS : ISSUE #40 : SEPTEMBER 2021

Out of Order: What is Adjectival

10 The Etymological Corner

14 The quest for understanding

18 Words of the Inuit: A Review

21 How do you learn how to write?

Unfortunately, deciphering an ancient language isn't that spectacular.

First, about deciphering the writing system, Conclusion

And finally, above all that, researchers are

"Adjectives in English absolutely have to be in this order: opinion-size-age-colour-

The Etymological Corner

Photo by Andrew Ebrahim on Unsplash

If you want to know more…

THE QUEST FOR

Photo by CALIN STAN on Unsplash

version (Demotic language is the type of informal language used

Great! So what about other dead languages? Well, people weren’t

“The language is known as “linear B” and it predates the Greek

Photo by Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash

It’s this type of in-depth understanding – an

HOW DO YOU LEARN

How do I write? How am I doing what I am doing right now?

Do also get in touch if you fancy writing for us!

Check out Steve the Vagabond on Facebook at:

Silly Linguistics Magazine was brought to you by,

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