every mother likes her own beetle
When it comes to the prospect of having children, the Japanese have brought the vocabulary firmly into the twenty-first century:
kondoumukeikaku the way in which some women over thirty-five have unprotected sex with strangers to have children
nakayoshi ninpu (buddy pregnancy) describes the act of two women deliberately getting pregnant at the same time so that they can experience childbirth together (literally, pregnancy-now plan)
shoshika a future society without children
From the moment a woman conceives, a new life has begun – for the one in the womb, obviously, but also for the mother. French metaphors take particular notice of her difference in appearance: she has tombée sur un clou rouillé, fallen on a rusty nail, and thus swollen; or, to put it another way, she has begun gondoler sur la devanture, to warp from the display window:
ubháya-siras (Sanskrit) two-headed, a pregnant female
ajamonarse (Spanish) used to describe a pregnant woman’s increase in size (literally, to be like a ham)
proglotit’ arbouz (Russian) to become pregnant (literally, to swallow a watermelon)
She starts to feel differently too:
dohada (Sanskrit) the longing of a pregnant woman for particular objects
afa-dratsiaina (Malagasy, Madagascar) the condition of a pregnant woman who has eaten what she had a great longing for
When a Maltese pregnant woman has a wish, one should try to satisfy her, or else the baby will be born with a large mole on its face; this is known as it-tebgha tax-xewqa, the wish mark.
In some African tribes the men will take to their beds for the entire duration of their wife’s pregnancy, while the women continue to work as usual until a few hours before giving birth. This is called couvade (from the French word meaning, literally, brooding or hatching). The men believe that they are cleverer and stronger than women and so are better able to defend unborn children against evil spirits. Prone in his bed, the husband simulates the pains that the wife actually undergoes. Following the birth of the child, he keeps to his bed and receives all the attentions which in other societies are bestowed upon the mother. Variations of this behaviour have been seen in such diverse places as Papua New Guinea, Bolivia and the Basque districts of Northern Spain and South-West France.
The Fon people of Benin are particularly enthusiastic about twins. All twins are regarded as separate parts of a single being so their birth signals the arrival of mabassa, those who comes divided. They also believe that some babies may refuse to be born. Just before birth, the elder of a set of twins is said to peek out of the womb to survey the outside world. If it determines that the world is unsafe, it returns to the womb to report to its sibling. The twins may then refuse their delivery. If one twin dies, a small wooden image of the deceased must be carried by the mother and cared for at all times. All gifts to the survivor must be duplicated: one for the living twin and one for the dead.
kœmœ (Chewa, South East Africa) the firstborn twin
embangurane (Kiga Nkore, Niger-Congo) twins of different sex
Caring for a helpless baby has inspired some charming words around the world:
komvya (Mambwe, Zambia) to feed a child with one’s finger
namaonga (Gilbertese, Oceania) to taste a little portion and chew it for a baby
ukkun (Sinhala, Sri Lanka) an expression of fondness used to infants when breastfeeding
anoka (Malagasy, Madagascar) the perfect contentment in sucking or drinking (used primarily of children or the young of animals at the breast)
ngibá (Tagalog, Philippines) a baby’s tendency to cry when held by a stranger
In Southern Africa they certainly have ways and means of keeping a baby quiet:
kolopeka (Mambwe, Zambia) to appease a child, stop him from crying by amusing him
vundzata (Tsonga, South Africa) to turn a child’s head sideways when on its mother’s back or when put to sleep
pakatika (Mambwe, Zambia) to place one’s own child on the lap of a companion
khan’wetela (Tsonga, South Africa) to rock a child to sleep on one’s back by nudging with the elbows
halalata (Tsonga, South Africa) to throw a baby up into the air, at a ceremony of the first new moon after its birth
wo-mba (Bakweri, Cameroon) the smiling in sleep by children
All too soon the little creature wants to go its own way:
abula (Setswana, Botswana) the attempt of a baby to move when lying on its belly
toto-toto (Setswana, Botswana) a term of endearment to encourage a baby to stand or walk
a’matiti (Rotuman, South Pacific) to accustom a baby to cooler temperatures by taking it on a walk in the early morning
dede (Swahili) to stand uncertainly, as a child just beginning to walk stands when not held
sparkedragt (Danish) a pair of rompers (literally, kicking suit)
kopisata (Yamana, Chile) to get thin, like a fat baby when it gets older
Despite its best intentions, it’s still a long way from being independent:
ma-ma (Car, Nicobar Islands) ‘father’, ‘daddy’, the child’s cry for its father
po-po (Car, Nicobar Islands) ‘mother’, ‘mummy’, the child’s cry for its mother
upuss-eata (Yamana, Chile) to draggle after one, as a child, a long line or anything tied to a string
pobi (Buli, Ghana) to wrap or to tie a child on one’s back
n-velekula (Kerewe, Tanzania) to swing a child round from the back to hip, preparatory to putting it down or feeding it
In Malta, the baby’s first year is regarded as dangerous, so the first birthday – Il-Quccija – is a happy event. On this day the child’s future is suggested when a tray of small objects is carried in and placed on the floor. The baby is then put down and allowed to crawl in any direction it wants. What it picks up from the tray signifies its future. The traditional objects include an egg (bajda) for an abundance of happiness, a pen (pinna) for a desk job, some coins (muniti) for wealth, a ball (ballun) for sport, rosary beads (kuruna) for the church, scissors (mqass) for tailoring, a book (ktieb) for a lawyer, a hammer (martell) for a carpenter, and these days other items such as a stethoscope (for a doctor) or a CD (for a disc jockey).
As the Nigerian saying goes, nwanyi umu iri o dighi ihe mere nabali o naghi ama, when a woman has ten children there is nothing that happens in the night that she does not know about:
wahdećapi (Dakota, USA) the sympathy that is said to exist between a mother and her absent children, producing peculiar sensations in the breast
songkom (Malay) to bury the face in a mother’s lap (as a child)
xilandzalandza (Tsonga, South Africa) a child constantly staying close to its mother
With all this vulnerability at stake, one can only pray for decent parents…
kukushka (Russian) a mother who gives up her child to be raised by others (literally, a cuckoo)
kaelling (Danish) a woman who stands on the steps of her house yelling obscenities at her kids
Kinderfeindlichkeit (German) an intense dislike or disregard of children
taxi (Greek) classroom
Gymnasium (German) grammar school, high school
son (Vietnamese) to be still childless
… but not to the point where they overdo it:
onba-higasa (Japanese) a wealthy family’s pampered child (literally, wet nurse and parasol)
curlingforeldre (Danish) parents who do anything to sweep the road of life ahead of their children to ensure that it is free of obstacles (literally, curling parents)
hakoiri-musume (Japanese) a young woman who has always been protected from the harsh realities of life by doting parents (literally, daughter in a box)
ser flor de estufa (Spanish) overprotected, not allowed to become independent (literally, to be a hothouse flower)
‘The child who is one night old,’ say the Arabs, ‘has already learned to annoy its parents.’ It doesn’t stop there:
lundaezi (Lozi, Niger-Congo) to walk in the manner of a disrespectful angry child
riu’ (Iban, Sarawak and Brunei) rushing about and getting in the way (especially of children)
upuk’anaana (Yamana, Chile) to throw away anything cooked, as a naughty child might throw away a fish its mother gave it to eat
bunget (Manobo, Philippines) as a child, to want something one can’t have, get angry and then refuse it when it is finally offered
Distractions must be found; and the Yamana speakers of Chile have several delightfully specific words to describe the making of toys for children and how they play with them:
tukau-iyana to put a foot or feet on a doll or a picture of one
utellana to make or put eyes in the head of a figure one carves or draws
tumusgaia to put down with the face upwards, as with some dolls on a table
kaiyena-na to play quietly, as a little child with a toy
manax-soatekana to play with someone else’s toys
But who needs toys when kids are so delightfully inventive anyway?
goagoana (Setswana, Botswana) to shout at each other in play
chottu (Tamil) a slap on the head with both hands in play
ha-lo-po (Car, Nicobar Islands) to have practical jokes played on one
junken a munken, a sucka sucka po, wailuku wailuku, bum bum show (Hawaiian Pidgin) a kids’ way of deciding who goes first: eeny meeny miney mo
The years race by; things seem to change so fast:
propanach (Gaelic) a well-built boy, beginning to run about
botshegangangatswane (Setswana, Botswana) little boys when still at a stage when they are unabashed by their nakedness
kaaskop (Dutch) a very blond, rosy-cheeked child (literally, cheese head)
timtum (Yiddish) a beardless youth with a high-pitched voice
From ‘Around the rugged rock, the ragged rascal ran’ to ‘red leather, yellow leather’, a key part of learning a language is being able to master its tongue-twisters. They are always decidedly odd sentences. One French example featuring the s sound focuses on food:
Combien de sous sont ces saucissons-ci? Ces saucis-sons-ci sont six sous (How much are these sausages here? These sausages here are six cents.)
While a German tongue-twister that offers a lot of practice in the pronunciation of sch portrays a rather dangerous situation:
Zwei schwartze schleimige Schlangen sitzen zwischen zwei spitzigen Steinen und zischen (Two black slimy snakes sit between two pointed stones and hiss.)
Other favourites include:
Kuku kaki kakak kakak ku kayak kuku kaM kakek kakek ku (Indonesian) My sister’s toenails look like my grandfather’s.
Méla babka v kapse brabce, brabec babce v kapse píp. Zmáčkla babka brabce v kapse, brabec babce v kapse chcíp (Czech) Grandma had a sparrow in her pocket and the sparrow made a sound. Grandma pressed the sparrow and it died.
Als vliegen achter vliegen vliegen, vliegen vliegen vliegensvlug (Dutch) If flies fly behind flies, flies will fly like lightning.
Krόl Karol kupil Krόlowej Karolinie korale koloru koralowego (Polish) King Karl bought Queen Caroline a coral-coloured bead.
Saya sebal sama situ sebab situ suka senyum-senyum sama suami saya saya sehingga sekarang suami saya suka senyum-senyum sendiri sembari sama (Indonesian) I hate you because you used to smile at my husband; now he likes to smile for no obvious reason when he is with me.
Far, får får får? Nej, inte får får får, får får lanun (Swedish) Father, do sheep have sheep? No, sheep don’t have sheep, sheep have lambs.
Kan-jang-kong-jang kong-jang-jang-eun kang kong-jang-jang-ee-go, dwen-jang-kong-jang kong-jang-jang-eun kong kong-jang-jang-ee-da (Korean) The president of the soy-sauce factory is president Kang and the president of the bean-paste factory is president Kong.
Soon enough it’s time to start getting to grips with the ways and means of the adult world…
kinder-vraag (Dutch) a childish question
ABC-Schuetze (German) a pupil in the first year of school (literally, ABC shooter)
skolplikt (Swedish) compulsory school attendance
managòana (Malagasy, Madagascar) to go over a list of names to see if all are there
ageographetos (Greek) useless at geography
katapádama (Sinhala, Sri Lanka) a lesson committed to memory
chongak (Malay) to raise the head and the chin or to do mental arithmetic in class
daoshu (Chinese) to count backwards
sonkkopta (Korean) to count on one’s fingers
mushtiya (Sinhala, Sri Lanka) a fist, a closed hand (also applied to the behaviour of a teacher who withholds some knowledge from his pupils through fear that they may surpass him)
… with all the unpleasant ordeals that that entails:
quemarse las pestanas (cejas) (Spanish) to study hard (literally, to burn one’s eyelashes (eyebrows)
nochnoe (Russian) late-night studying, as before exams
acordeόn (Mexican Spanish) a crib sheet used to cheat in a test or exam (literally, an accordion)
ponchar (Cuban Spanish) to fail an exam (literally, to get a flat tyre)
vo chuoi (Vietnamese) to fail an exam (literally, to slip on a banana skin)
kvarsittare (Swedish) a pupil who has not been moved up
suberidome (Japanese) a school one applies to in case one isn’t accepted elsewhere (literally, skid stopper)
What every parent fears is slynaldem (Swedish), the awkward age, when their once innocent and biddable child starts rebelling against their authority:
kutu embun (Malay) on the streets constantly; young people who roam the streets at night
hangjongeren* (Dutch) groups of teenagers with nothing to do but hang around in groups, making strange grunting noises at passers-by (literally, hanging youth)
katoro buaka (Gilbertese, Oceania) neglectful of one’s parents or grandparents
The good parent can only hope that all their love and hard work is reciprocated:
matteyyatā (Pali, India) filial love towards one’s mother
tindi (Tsonga, South Africa) to express joy at seeing one’s parents (of children)
chengqi (Chinese) to grow up to be a useful person
kakov pop takov i prikhod (Russian) like priest like church
æblet falder ikke langt fira stamen (Danish) the apple doesn’t fall far from the trunk
ibn al bat ‘awwam (Arabic) the son of a duck is a floater
filho de peixe sabe nadar (Portuguese) a fish’s child knows how to swim
de tal palo tal astilla (Spanish) from such stick comes such splinter
hijo de tigre sale rayado (Central American Spanish) the son of the tiger turns out striped
barewa tayi gudu danta ya yi rarrafe? (Hausa, Nigeria) how can the offspring of a gazelle crawl when its mother is a fast runner?