Please identify the language

This is our main forum. Here, anything related to languages and linguistics can be discussed.

Moderator:Forum Administrators

księżycowy
Re: Can anybody tell what language this is?

Postby księżycowy » 2018-02-07, 22:16

It looks like two different alphabet's. I can't identify the first, but the second is Hebrew script (whether Hebrew, Yiddish, or something else).

User avatar
Vlürch
Posts:943
Joined:2014-05-06, 8:42
Gender:male
Location:Roihuvuori, Helsinki
Country:FIFinland (Suomi)

Re: Can anybody tell what language this is?

Postby Vlürch » 2018-02-08, 15:10

księżycowy wrote:I can't identify the first

Neither can I, but the ʒ-looking letter with a squiggle at the bottom, the letter that looks like 4 with a rounded bottom line and an extra line at the top extending left, the letter that's shaped kinda like a hand drill, the jagged 3-looking letter and the one that looks kinda like サ at the end of the last line (if it's written left-to-right, that is), the one that's like ㄎ with a circular thingy at the bottom and an extra line at the top left extending down, etc. all look familiar, but... :para:

księżycowy

Re: Please identify the language

Postby księżycowy » 2018-02-08, 15:14

I strongly suspect that it's just graffiti on the wall, whatever the case.

User avatar
linguoboy
Posts:25540
Joined:2009-08-25, 15:11
Real Name:Da
Location:Chicago
Country:USUnited States (United States)

Re: Please identify the language

Postby linguoboy » 2018-02-08, 15:46

Kind of reminds me of Enochian.
"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons

IpseDixit

Re: Can anybody tell what language this is?

Postby IpseDixit » 2018-02-08, 15:57

KomischerKauz wrote:There is an old ruin near my hometown (Black Forest - Germany). After my last trip to the ruin, i found this texts written on the walls.

Can someone identify this or even translate?

https://imgur.com/a/G6ETu


Some letters in the second pic are quite clearly Hebrew.

The first letter (from the right) I have no idea what that is (it kinda looks like a poorly written kaf sofit ך with a dagesh, that is the dot inside it), then there is this sequence:

עכרושם

Then the next three or four symbols are unrecognizable then we have:

שתתצקא

Or maybe שתתצחא

And the final symbol is again unrecognizable to me.
Last edited by IpseDixit on 2018-02-08, 16:16, edited 3 times in total.

User avatar
linguoboy
Posts:25540
Joined:2009-08-25, 15:11
Real Name:Da
Location:Chicago
Country:USUnited States (United States)

Re: Can anybody tell what language this is?

Postby linguoboy » 2018-02-08, 16:04

KomischerKauz wrote:There is an old ruin near my hometown (Black Forest - Germany). After my last trip to the ruin, i found this texts written on the walls.

Darf ich mal fragen, wo? (Friäjer han i z Friburg gwohnt.)
"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons

Lama
Posts:1
Joined:2018-03-19, 7:22
Gender:female

Weird symbol or combo of letters

Postby Lama » 2018-03-19, 7:31

Screenshot_2018-03-19-09-28-31.png
Hey everyone :) Can someone identify this symbol or it might be a combination of letters, I have no idea :shock: :shock:
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

vijayjohn
Language Forum Moderator
Posts:27056
Joined:2013-01-10, 8:49
Real Name:Vijay John
Gender:male
Location:Austin, Texas, USA
Country:USUnited States (United States)
Contact:

Re: Please identify the language

Postby vijayjohn » 2018-03-19, 14:14

Maybe it's just a bad drawing of eyeglasses?

księżycowy

Re: Please identify the language

Postby księżycowy » 2018-03-19, 14:19

On their side?

vijayjohn
Language Forum Moderator
Posts:27056
Joined:2013-01-10, 8:49
Real Name:Vijay John
Gender:male
Location:Austin, Texas, USA
Country:USUnited States (United States)
Contact:

Re: Please identify the language

Postby vijayjohn » 2018-03-19, 14:23

Oh. Yeah. :P I had to think about what you meant at first. :lol:

IpseDixit

Re: Weird symbol or combo of letters

Postby IpseDixit » 2018-03-19, 14:27

Lama wrote:Hey everyone :) Can someone identify this symbol or it might be a combination of letters, I have no idea :shock: :shock:


Do you have any reason to believe this is not just a random doodle?

User avatar
Saim
Posts:5740
Joined:2011-01-22, 5:44
Location:Brisbane
Country:DEGermany (Deutschland)

Re: Please identify the language

Postby Saim » 2018-03-27, 22:06

Image

What language is this? My first guess was Amharic but I have no idea what the shape in the middle is, doesn't look like it's Ethiopia or any of its regions.

księżycowy

Re: Please identify the language

Postby księżycowy » 2018-03-27, 22:56

Whereas I'm equally puzzled as to what the middle shape is suppose to represent, that is definitely Ethiopic script. As to what specific language, I unfortunately don't have an answer.

vijayjohn
Language Forum Moderator
Posts:27056
Joined:2013-01-10, 8:49
Real Name:Vijay John
Gender:male
Location:Austin, Texas, USA
Country:USUnited States (United States)
Contact:

Re: Please identify the language

Postby vijayjohn » 2018-03-27, 23:31

It is Ethiopia. It's just rotated 300 degrees or something.

księżycowy

Re: Please identify the language

Postby księżycowy » 2018-03-27, 23:38

Oh, right. It's upside down or something. I was confused as to why it seemed so familiar and yet I couldn't place it. :P

vijayjohn
Language Forum Moderator
Posts:27056
Joined:2013-01-10, 8:49
Real Name:Vijay John
Gender:male
Location:Austin, Texas, USA
Country:USUnited States (United States)
Contact:

Re: Please identify the language

Postby vijayjohn » 2018-03-28, 0:01

I'm almost positive it's Amharic, too. I might even be able to figure out what it says with a bit more time.

vijayjohn
Language Forum Moderator
Posts:27056
Joined:2013-01-10, 8:49
Real Name:Vijay John
Gender:male
Location:Austin, Texas, USA
Country:USUnited States (United States)
Contact:

Re: Please identify the language

Postby vijayjohn » 2018-03-28, 4:14

Lol I never got how to calculate how many degrees something is rotated. Anyway, my best guess at what it says is:

(top) ከብዮታዌት፡እናተ፡ስገር፡
(bottom) ወደም፡ሞት

Pronounced something like:
(top) [kəbjoˈtawet ˈɨnnatə sɨˈgər]
(bottom) [wəˈdəmm mot]

ከ- [kə]- is a prefix meaning 'to' or 'for' (though I'm not 100% sure whether it has this meaning in this particular context). እናተ [ˈʔɨnnatə] means 'mother'. ወደም፡ሞት [wəˈdəmm mot] means something like 'all the way until death'. I can't really figure out what the rest means. This seems to be saying that ስገር [sɨˈgər] means 'you be able to'.

Linguaphile
Posts:5374
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Please identify the language

Postby Linguaphile » 2018-03-28, 4:48

vijayjohn wrote:Lol I never got how to calculate how many degrees something is rotated. Anyway, my best guess at what it says is:

(top) ከብዮታዌት፡እናተ፡ስገር፡
(bottom) ወደም፡ሞት

Pronounced something like:
(top) [kəbjoˈtawet ˈɨnnatə sɨˈgər]
(bottom) [wəˈdəmm mot]

ከ- [kə]- is a prefix meaning 'to' or 'for' (though I'm not 100% sure whether it has this meaning in this particular context). እናተ [ˈʔɨnnatə] means 'mother'. ወደም፡ሞት [wəˈdəmm mot] means something like 'all the way until death'. I can't really figure out what the rest means. This seems to be saying that ስገር [sɨˈgər] means 'you be able to'.

Using Vijay's text as a starting point, I played around with it on Google, changed a few letters, and ended up with this:
አብዮታዊት፡እናት፡ሀገር፡ወይንም፡ሞት
which seems likely to be what this badge says. It shows up on several Google search hits and Google translate says it means "revolutionary mother country or death." Looks like a communist-era slogan maybe (which makes sense with the red badge). Apparently there is a song with the same name on Youtube and it is spelled Abyotawet Enat Hager Woynim Mot in the Latin alphabet. Also, besides being rotated, the map isn't exactly the same shape that Ethiopia usually has on current maps, because it includes Eritrea.

vijayjohn
Language Forum Moderator
Posts:27056
Joined:2013-01-10, 8:49
Real Name:Vijay John
Gender:male
Location:Austin, Texas, USA
Country:USUnited States (United States)
Contact:

Re: Please identify the language

Postby vijayjohn » 2018-03-28, 5:05

That makes so much more sense. Thanks, Linguaphile! :D
አመሰግናልሁ!

Linguaphile
Posts:5374
Joined:2016-09-17, 5:06

Re: Please identify the language

Postby Linguaphile » 2018-03-28, 5:10

vijayjohn wrote:That makes so much more sense. Thanks, Linguaphile! :D
አመሰግናልሁ!

:D
Actually, after posting my response I realized it's actually አብዮታዊት፡እናት፡ሃገር፡ወይም፡ሞት, which has the same meaning (just a couple of letters are different and they more clearly match what is on the badge).


Return to “General Language Forum”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests