Most difficult to say

There’s no doubt about it, some words are more difficult to pronounce than others. I’ve always found ‘sixths’ tricky to get my lips around. The short, quick syllables of ‘veterinary’ reduce most of us to saying simply ‘vet’. But there are even greater challenges. I certainly wouldn’t like to attempt ‘autochthonicism’ or ‘paraepithelial’ in a hurry. I’m sure there is a wealth of words in other languages that present the human tongue with similar difficulties. Any other twisters out there?'

Thank you!

Thanks for your thoughts, flee anemone! (Dec 5th). Getting every last definition in Tingo beyond criticism was always going to be a daunting task – and believe me, I’ve taken note of everyone’s comments. Reprints and the American edition (out in March, by the way) will feature a few subtle changes.

Thanks also for hippoppolli, ‘supposed to be an Icelandic word for jumping into puddles’. I’ll check it out – or maybe there’s an Icelandic reader out there who can throw light on this. And what about other fabulous words? Anybody out there got any whacky definitions they’d like to share or discuss?

Greeks in Malaysia?

Perhaps the Ancient Greeks were more adventurous than we have given them credit for. How else can we account for the fact that the Modern Greek word for ‘eye’, mati, is so similar to the Malay word for ‘eye’, mata? Did some of Alexander’s men get further east than we ever imagined? I’m afraid this extraordinary resemblance has a somewhat mundane explanation. After puzzling for some time over the problem, linguists decided that it was simply coincidence. Modern Greek mati is a recent development and comes from a shortening of the older word ommation, meaning ‘little eye’. The Malay word, mata, on the other hand, has kept roughly the same form for centuries. No Ancient Greek ships in the straits of Singapore, then.