HOOKED ON MATHEMATICS -dissemination

1. Language facts
Did you know that...
 01.There are between 6000 and 7000 languages in the world - spoken by 7 billion people divided into
189 independent states.
 02.There are about 225 indigenous languages in Europe - roughly 3% of the world’s total.
 03.Most of the world’s languages are spoken in Asia and Africa.
 04.At least half of the world’s population are bilingual or plurilingual, i.e. they speak two or more
languages.
 05.In their daily lives, Europeans increasingly come across foreign languages. There is a need to
generate a greater interest in languages among European citizens.
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2.  06.Many languages have 50.000 words or more, but individual speakers normally know and use only a
fraction of the total vocabulary: in everyday conversation people use the same few hundred words.
 07.Languages are constantly in contact with each other and affect each other in many ways: English
borrowed words and expressions from many other languages in the past, European languages are now
borrowing many words from English.
 08.In its first year, a baby utters a wide range of vocal sounds; at around one year, the first
understandable words are uttered; at around three years, complex sentences are formed; at five years, a
child possesses several thousand words.
 09.The mother tongue is usually the language one knows best and uses most. But there can be 'perfect
bilinguals' who speak two languages equally well. Normally, however, bilinguals display no perfect
balance between their two languages.
10.Bilingualism brings with it many benefits: it makes the learning of
additional languages easier, enhances the thinking process and fosters
contacts with other people and their cultures.
11.Bilingualism and plurilingualism entail economic advantages,
too: jobs are more easily available to those who speak several languages,
and multilingual companies have a better competitive edge than
monolingual ones.
12.Languages are related to each other like the members of a family. Most
European languages belong to the large Indo-European family.
13.Most European languages belong to three broad groups:
Germanic, Romance and Slavic.
14.The Germanic family of languages includes Danish, Norwegian,
Swedish, Icelandic, German, Dutch, English and Yiddish, among others.
15.The Romance languages include Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese
and Romanian, among others.
16.The Slavic languages include Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian,
Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Bulgarian
and others.
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3.  17.Most European languages use the Latin alphabet. Some
Slavic languages use the Cyrillic alphabet. Greek, Armenian,
Georgian and Yiddish have their own alphabet.
 18.Most countries in Europe have a number of regional or
minority languages – some of these have obtained official
status.
 19.The non-European languages most widely used on European
territory are Arabic, Chinese and Hindi, each with its own
writing system.
 20.Russia (148 million inhabitants) has by far the highest
number of languages spoken on its territory: from 130 to 200
depending on the criteria.
 21.Due to the influx of migrants and refugees, Europe has
become largely multilingual. In London alone some 300
languages are spoken (Arabic, Turkish, Kurdish, Berber, Hindi,
Punjabi, etc.).
Palindromes – words and sentences that read the same
backwards – have been popular since ancient times. The Germans have
even come up with a palindromic word –Eibohphobie –that means a fear
of palindromes.
Bulgarian
Бял хляб (Bjal hljab)
White bread
English
 Was it Eliot's toilet I saw?
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4.  Able was I ere I saw Elba.
 Never odd or even
 Was it a cat I saw?
 Do geese see God?
 A man, a plan, a canal, Panama
 Go hang a salami, I’m a lasagna hog.
 Murder for a jar of red rum
 Rats live on no evil star.
 Rise to vote, sir.
 Madam, I'm Adam.
 Neil, an alien?
 Dennis sinned.
 Race car
Italian
O mordo tua nuora o aro un autodromo.
Either I bite your daughter-in-law or I plough a racetrack.
I topi non avevano nipoti.
The mice had no grandchildren.
Lithuanian
Sedek užu kedes.
Sit behind the chair.
Romanian
 Elevele
The students (feminine)
 Atașata
The attached (feminine)
 Ele fac cafele
They (feminine) make coffee
 Ene purta patru pene
Ene was wearing four feathers
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5.  Ai rămas acasă, Maria?
Did you stay at home, Maria?
 O ramă maro
A brown frame
 El o să facă fasole
He is going to cook beans
 Aerisirea
Ventilation
Turkish
 Ilaç iç, Ali.
Drink the medicine, Ali.
 Anastas, mum satsana?
Anastas, why don't you sell candles?
 At, sahibi gibi hasta
Horse is ill like its owner
French
 Et la marine va, papa, venir à Malte.
And the Navy, Dad, will come to Malta.
 Esope reste ici et se repose.
Aesop remains here and rests.
 Tu l'as trop écrasé, César, ce Port Salut!
You mashed it too much, Cesar, this Port Salut (a kind of
french cheese)!
 Eh ca va la vache!
Eh, how are you, the cow!
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6.  Elu par cette crapule
Elected by this villain
German
 Eibohphobie
fear of palindromes
 Trug Tim eine so helle Hose nie
mit Gurt?
Has Tim never worn such light-
coloured pants with a belt?
 Sei fein, nie fies.
Be fine/nice, never be nasty.
 Erika feuert nur untreue Fakire.
Erika only fires unfaithful fakirs.
 O Genie, der Herr ehre dein Ego!
O genius, the Lord shall honour your ego!
The Germans are renowned for their love of long
words, but they are not the only ones who like to
create complex compound words as nouns. The
Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes coined the
183 lettered
lopado-temacho-selacho-galeo-kranio-leipsano-drim-hupotrimmatosilphio-karabo-melito-
katakechumeno-kichl-epikossuphophatto-peristeralektruon-opto-kephallio-kigklo-peleio-lagoio-
siraio-baphe-traganopterugon
meaning a dish compounded of all kinds of dainties, fish, fowl and sauces.
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7. BULGARIAN
neprotivokonstitutsionstvuvatelstvuvayte
(40 letters) something against constitution
DUTCH
kindercarnavalsoptochtvoorbereidingswerkzaamhede
n
(48 letters) preparation activities for a children’s carnival procession
ENGLISH
As for the English language, there are somewhat fanciful claims for extremely long words. However, more
realistically here are the following in descending length:
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
(45 letters) the longest word in a major dictionary, a technical word for a lung disease created by silica dust
inhalation
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
(34 letters) from the Mary Poppins film and musical with a fanciful defintion
hippopotomonstrosesquipedalianism
(33 letters) which means the love of long words
pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism
(30 letters) the longest non-coined word in a major
dictionary for a specific inherited medical disorder
floccinaucinihilipilification
(29 letters coined in 1741) meaning the categorizing
of something that is useless or trivial (the longest
unchallenged non-technical word)
antidisestablishmentarianism
(28 letters) the longest non-coined and non-technical
word
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8. FRENCH
anticonstitutionnellement
(25 letters) unconstitutionally
GERMAN
Grundstücksverkehrsgenehmigungszuständigkeitsübertragungsverordnung
(67 letters) a regulation about competences
ITALIAN
precipitevolissimevolmente
(26 letters) to do something in a hurry
psiconeuroendocrinoimmunologia
(30 letters) a discipline that deals with the relationship between the functioning of the nervous system, the
immune system and the endocrine system
LATIN
honorificabilitudinitatibus
(27 letters) the state of being able to achieve honours (the longest word in Shakespeare from Love’s
Labour’s Lost)
LITHUANIAN
nebeprisikiškiakopusteliaudavome
(30 letters) we didn't pick rabbit cabbage
ROMANIAN
otorinolaringologie
(19 letters) Otorhinolaringology
sternocleidomastoidian
(22 letters) the sternocleidomastoid muscle that is
located in the front of the neck
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9. TURKISH
Afyonkarahisarlilardanlarmis
(28 letters) They are said to belong to the family that came from Afyonkarahisar
Muvaffakiyetsizlestiricilestiriveremeyebileceklerimizdenmissinizcesine
(70 letters) As if you would be from those we can not easily/quickly make a maker of unsuccessful ones
çekostravakyalılardanmısınızsiz?
(31 letters) Are you from çekostravakyalı?
Word Language 1 Meaning Language 2 Meaning
aloud
Dutch ancient English aloud
angel Dutch sting English angel
angel German fishing rod English angel
any English any Catalan year
arm Dutch poor English arm
bad
Dutch bath English bad
bank
Dutch cough English bank
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10. barn
Swedish children English barn
bat Polish whip English bat
beer Dutch bear English beer
berros Spanish watercress Portuguese scream
big
Dutch baby pig English big
blubber
Dutch mud English blubber
bra
Swedish good English bra
brand
Dutch fire English brand
brat
Slovak brother English brat
burro
Italian butter Spanish donkey
but Polish shoe English but
cap
Romanian head English cap
car
French because English car
chariot French trolley English chariot
chips French Crisps English chips / french
fries
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11. dobro Croation good Portuguese double; twice
door Dutch through English door
elf English elf German eleven
fart Swedish speed English fart
fast German almost English quick
Fisch - fiche German fish French sheet of paper
flint Swedish bald head English flint
four
French oven English four
gap Swedish mouth English gap
gift English gift German poison
gift English gift Swedish married
gland
French acorn English gland
glass Swedish ice-cream English glass
grad
German degree Bosnian city
gris Spanish grey Swedish pig
helmet Finnish pearls English helmet
home
Finnish mould English home
Catalan man English home
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12. home
iki
Lithuanian until Turkish two
kaka
Icelandic cake Bulgarian an older sister
kind
Icelandic sheep German child
kiss
English kiss Swedish pee
list Slovak a leaf English list
maize Latvian bread English corn
mås Swedish seagull Danish buttocks
matka Czech mother Finnish journey
matto Finnish carpet Italian crazy
otrok
Slovene child Slovak slave
pain French bread English pain
panna Polish a single woman Italian cream
panna Finnish put Italian cream
pasta Italian noodles Polish toothpaste
penner Norwegian pens German tramp
plot Czech fence English plot
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13. prego Italian you're welcome Portuguese nail
rana
Spanish frog Bulgarian wound
ana Romanian wound Spanish frog
rock Swedish coat German skirt
roof
Dutch robbery English roof
rooster Dutch schedule English rooster
rum
Swedish room English rum
sale Italian salt English sale
sau
German sow Norwegian (Nynorsk) sheep
seis Finnish stop! Spanish six
sky Swedish gravy English sky
slim Dutch smart English slim
sugar Basque flame English sugar
tak
Danish Thank you Polish Yes
tie
Finnish way; road English tie
tuna
Spanish cactus English tuna
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14. tuna
Czech ton (a unit of weight) English tuna
vela Spanish candle Italian sail
worst
Dutch sausage English worst
In most languages you will find words that are unique to that language and/or culture.
Dutch
 gezellig: depending on context, can be translated as convivial, cosy, fun, quaint, or nice atmosphere,
but can also connote belonging, time spent with loved ones, the fact of seeing a friend
after a long absence, or general togetherness. The word is considered to be an example of
untranslatability, and is one of the hardest words to translate to English.
 broodje-aap: an awful, often invented story that is told as being true, thus becoming a myth.
Literally: a monkey-meat sandwich
 regelneef: a person who loves organizing even without being asked to
English
 higgledy-piggledy: disordered, jumbled, not neat and tidy. According to Oxford Dictionary,
probably used initially with reference to the disordered herding together of pigs
 dilly-dally: to move or act too slowly
Italian
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15.  mammismo: maternal control and interference that continues into adulthood
 abiocco: deriva dal verbo abioccare, abiocarsi, nella maggioranza dei casi definisce lo stato di
sonnolenza, di affaticamento
Lithuanian
 žlugtas: laundry which is watered before washing
 brekšti: a verb which is used to describe a moment between the night and the dawn
 rymoti: to lean on something (arms, fence, etc.) for some time
 brukti: to suggest something in a very annoying and irksome way
 davatka: a person who is too pious and likes to gossip
Romanian
dor: a feeling of melancholy as a result of the desire to see someone or something you love
German
 Zechpreller: someone who leaves without paying the bill
 Ohrwurm: a catchy tune that gets stuck in the brain or a tune that rapidly obsesses an entire
population (literally, an ear worm)
 Torschlusspanik: the fear of diminishing opportunities as one gets older, especially the fear of not
having a relationship or becoming too old for a baby
 Gemütlichkeit: feeling comfortable, like in one's home
 Schadenfreude: pleasure derived by someone from another person’s misfortune
Questioner:
1. Question: How many languages are estimated to be indigenous to Europe?
a. less than 100
b. 100-200
c. 300-400
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16. 2. Question: How many living languages are there estimated in the world?
a. around 500
b. around 2000
c. around 4000
d. around 6000
3. Question: Which is the most widely spoken language in the world?
a. Chinese
b. English
c. Spanish
d. Hindi
4. Question: What proportion of all languages in the world are African languages?
a. approx. one third of all languages
b. approx. half of all languages
c. approx. one fifth of all languages
5. Question: Which of the following languages are written from right to left?
a. Hebrew
b. Maltese
c. Japanese
d. Arabic
6. Question: Which of the following languages spoken in Europe today is considered to be the
oldest?
a. Galician
b. Basque
c. Icelandic
d. Greek
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17. 7. Question: What is generally considered to be the first form of written language?
a. Cuneiform script
b. Egyptian hieroglyphs
c. Cyrillic alphabet
d. Phoenician script
8. Question: Where does the word 'alphabet' come from?
a. From Sanskrit
b. From the first two letters of the Greek Alphabet
c. From the name of the Greek god Alphaeus
d. From the Egyptian word for 'writing'
9. Question: Which of the following languages are written in the Cyrillic alphabet?
a. Russian
b. Finnish
c. Georgian
d. Bulgarian
10. Question: What is the origin of the latin alphabet, used by the Romans?
a. borrowed from the Etruscan language
b. based upon the Greek language?
c. created by the Romans themselves?
d. derived from Hebrew script?
11. Question: Which stone helped in the deciphering of the hieroglyphs by European
researchers?
a. Napoleon's stone
b. Babel stone
c. Rosetta Stone
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18. d. Hieroglyphius
12. Question: In which of the following countries is German an official language?
a. Liechtenstein .
b. Switzerland
c. Austria
d. Belgium
e. Luxembourg
13. Question: Which are the two varieties of standard modern Norwegian?
a. Nynorsk
b. Norse
c. Faroese
d. Bokmål
14. Question: Where is Aleut spoken?
a. Alaska
b. Siberia
c. Norway
d. Greenland
15. Question: In which country is the language Cymraeg spoken?
a. Ireland
b. Scotland
c. Wales
d. Faroe Islands
16. Question: What is the Albanian language called in Albanian?
a. Albanski
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19. b. Albani
c. Shqip
17. Question: Which European language is Afrikaans derived from?
a. German
b. English
c. Dutch
d. French
18. Question: The Maltese language has is roots in:
a. Hebrew?
b. French?
c. Arabic?
d. Italian?
19. Question: Who was the founder of Esperanto?
a. Ferdinand de Saussure
b. J. R. R. Tolkien
c. Naom Chomsky
d. Ludwig Lazarus Zamenhof
20. Question: Which book is considered to be the world's oldest?
a. The Koran
b. Adam Bede's Historia
c. The Epic of Gilgamesh
d. Chanson de Roland
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20. Answers:
1. It is estimated that there are between 200 and 300 indigenous languages in Europe, probably
between 220 and 230.
2. It is estimated, that there are around 6000 living languages in the world.
3. English
4. approx. one third of all languages
5. Hebrew and Arabic are written from right to left. Japanese, traditionally, is written from top to bottom
(and then right to left). Maltese is written from left to right
6. Galician
7. Cuneiform was used for over 3000 years throughout the Near East by such cultures as the Sumerians,
Babylonians, Assyrians, and Hittites.
8. From the first two letters of the Greek Alphabet
9. Russian and Bulgarian
10. borrowed from the Etruscan language
11. The Rosetta Stone from 196 B.C. contains the same text in three languages which made it possible for
researchers to understand the text written in hieroglyphs.
12. German is the official language (or one of the official languages) of all of them
13. Nynorsk and Bokmål are the two varieties of standard modern Norwegian.
14. Aleut is spoken in parts of Alaska and Siberia. It is now spoken by only 500 or fewer people. In the 19th
century, when Alaska was still Russian territory and Aleut speakers were much more numerous, some
were literate. Aleut was written in the Cyrillic alphabet with extra characters. This tradition is dead, and
the language itself dying.
15. Cymraeg is a Celtic language spoken in Wales.
16. The Albanian language is called 'Shqip' and the country 'Shqipëria' in Albanian. The name Albania is
derived from the Latin Albani – the name of a tribe that lived in that area.
17. German
18. Arabic
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21. 19. The artificial language (AL) Esperanto was founded by the Polish oculist Ludwig Lazarus Zamenhof. It
was first published in Russian in 1887 under the title ‘An International Language’ using the pseudonym
‘Doktoro Esperanto’ (‘Doctor Hopeful’).
20. The Epic of Gilgamesh is believed to be the first ever written book.
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This project was funded with support from the European Union through the Erasmus + Program.
This communication only reflects the author's point of view, and the European Commission cannot be held
responsible for using the information it contains.