Focus on art: Japanese aesthetics and design principles

Author: Stephane D’Alu, via Wikipedia Commons
日本・京都の龍安寺石庭
Dry Garden in Ryoanji (Kyoto, Japan)

Today’s blog post is taking us to Japan and to Japanese notions of aesthetics and beauty which are fundamentally different from western notions of beauty in art.
Unlike in the West, in Japan the concept of aesthetics is not seen as separate and divorced from daily life, but as an integral part of it. Japanese aesthetics has its roots in Shinto-Buddhism 神道 Shintō , with its emphasis on wholeness in nature and its celebration of nature and the landscape, as well as its emphasis on ethics, as well as Zen Buddhism 禪 and its philosophy. In Buddhism, everything is considered as either dissolving into ‘nothingness’ or the ‘void’ or evolving from it, whereby this void is, however, not a sort of ‘empty space’, but rather a space of potentiality from which things can grow and come into being and later return to it – everything is in transience and constant change.
Japanese concepts of aesthetics are based on the ancient ideals of wabi (transient and stark beauty), sabi (the beauty of aging and of natural patina) and Yūgen 幽玄 (subtlety and profound grace).
Wabi-sabi represents an aesthetic understanding based on the acceptance of transience and imperfection, an appreciation of the beauty of things which are imperfect, incomplete and impermanent. Things in decay or those in bud are evocative of wabi-sabi and are therefore appreciated. The concept of wabi-sabi is derived from the Buddhist teaching of the three marks of existence (三法印 sanbōin ), which include impermanence (無常 mujō), emptiness or the absence of self (空 kū ) and suffering (苦 ku ). This notion of an aesthetic based on imperfection stands in direct contrast and opposition to the western understanding of beauty and aesthetics based on the ancient Greek ideal of perfection. Moreover, Japanese aesthetic ideals have an ethical connotation, since the aesthetic concepts are not only found in nature, but are also evocative of virtues of human character and appropriateness of behaviour. It is therefore believed that the appreciation and practice of art can instil virtue and civility in people.
The concept of wabi-sabi evolved from two different but related concepts, those of wabi and sabi, whose meanings overlapped and converged over time until they unified into the new combined concept of wabi-sabi (わび・さび or侘・寂). Wabi わび originally referred to the experience of loneliness of living in nature remote from the rest of society, whereas sabi (寂) means ‘withered’, ’lean’ or ‘chill’. There is an interesting phonological and etymological connection to the Japanese word sabi (錆), meaning ‘to rust’. While the two Kanji characters as well as their meanings are different ( ‘rust’, sabi), the original spoken word, which is pre-kanji or yamato-kotoba, is believed to be one and the same.
In Japanese aesthetics, wabi now connotes a quality of rustic simplicity, of understated elegance, quietness and freshness, and can be applied to both natural and human-made objects. Wabi can also refer to the imperfect quality of any object, due to limitations in design and quirks and anomalies arising from the process of manufacture and construction which add uniqueness to the object, in particular also with respect to unpredictable or changing conditions of usage. Sabi refers to the beauty or serenity that comes with age, and to the limited life-span of any object whose impermanence is evidenced in visible repairs and in its patina and wear.
Wabi-sabi has come to be defined as ‘flawed beauty’ and its characteristics include asymmetry, simplicity, irregularity, asperity or roughness, austerity, intimacy, modesty and economy, as well as an appreciation of the integrity of processes and of natural objects. The concept also has connotations of solitude and desolation.
Some examples illustrating the concept of wabi-sabi are chips or cracks in an item of pottery, which make the object more interesting and confer a greater meditative value onto it, the colour of glazed items which changes over time, as well as materials like wood, fabric and paper which exhibit visible changes over time, but also natural phenomena like falling autumn leaves.

Author: ottmarliebert.com via Wikipedia Commons, wabi-sabi bowl

A related design concept is the principle of miyabi ( 雅), which means ‘elegance’, ‘courtliness’ or ‘refinement’ and is sometimes translated as ‘heart-breaker’. It has its origins in the aristocratic ideals of the Heian era (平安時代 Heian jidai ), which prescribed the elimination of anything which was vulgar, unrefined, absurd, crude or rough and aimed for the polishing and refinement of manners and sentiments. Miyabi is closely connected to the notion of Mono-no-aware もののあわれ ( 物の哀れ, lit. ‘the pity of things’), a bittersweet awareness of the transience of things.
Wabi-sabi can be achieved through the seven aesthetic principles derived from Zen philosophy:
– Kanso (簡素) – simplicity; a clarity achieved through the omission of everything that is non-essential resulting in a plain, simple and natural manner
– Fukinsei (不均整) – asymmetry or irregularity; the notion of controlling balance in a composition via irregularity and asymmetry. An example for this principle is the Ensō (円相 circle) in brush painting (sumi-e 墨絵 or suibokuga 水墨画 ), also known as the Zen circle, which is often painted as an incomplete and unfinished circle, symbolizing the imperfection that is part of existence, as well as the absolute, the void, enlightenment, elegance and the universe itself. Some artists practice painting an ensō daily as a meditative spiritual Zen exercise. One of the aims of fukinsei is that by leaving an item incomplete, the beholder is given the opportunity to participate in the creative act by supplying the missing symmetry.

Author: Kanjuro Shibata, via Wikipedia Commons
Ensō (円相)

– Shizen (自然 , lit. ‘nature’) – naturalness; an absence of pretense or artificiality. An example for this principle is the Japanese garden日本庭園 nihon teien, whose intentional design based on naturally occurring rhythms and patterns, is, though ‘of nature’, also distinct from it.
– Yūgen (幽玄 , lit. ‘mystery’) – subtlety, profundity or suggestion; the term is derived from Chinese philosophical concepts and meant ‘dim’, ‘mysterious’ or ‘deep’ . Yūgen shows more by showing less and by limiting the information. The power of suggestion that visually implies more by not showing everything leaves things to the imagination, thereby enhancing their effect. Yūgen is the subtle profundity of things that is only vaguely suggested and is beyond what can be expressed in words, yet is of this world. Examples for yūgen are the subtle shades of bamboo on bamboo, to watch the sun set behind a mountain, to gaze after a ship that slowly disappears behind the horizon or to contemplate the flight of a flock of birds. Yūgen is a profound, mysterious sense of the beauty of nature and the sad beauty of human suffering.
– Datsozoku (脱俗) – break or freedom from habit or routine, transcending the conventional. A feeling of surprise that arises from unexpected breaks in a pattern or a break from the ordinary. An interruptive break in a design.
– Seijaku (静寂) – tranquillity, stillness, solitude or an energized calm, in which one can find the essence of creative energy. An example for seijaku is meditation or the feeling one may have in a Japanese garden.
– Shibui (渋いadjective, lit.‘bitter tasting’)/shibumi (渋み noun) or shibusa (渋さ noun)– austerity, simple, subtle and unobtrusive beauty, beauty by understatement, elegant simplicity, minimalism. The term originally referred to a sour or astringent taste. Examples are objects which appear to be simple overall, but which include subtle details like textures, which balance simplicity with complexity, offering an appearance of which one does not tire but whose aesthetic value grows over time as one finds new meanings in its subtleties. Shibusa-objects circumscribe a fine line between contrasting aesthetic principles like restrained and spontaneous, or elegant and rough.

Another concept of Japanese aesthetics is the principle of iki ( いき, often written 粋), which has an etymological root meaning ‘pure’ or ‘unadulterated’ and a connotation of having an ‘appetite for life’, which is an expression of originality, simplicity, sophistication and spontaneity, and is emphemeral, straightforward, measured and unselfconscious. Iki can be expressed in the human appreciation of natural beauty or as a trait of human character or through artificial phenomena exhibiting human will or consciousness , but does not occur as such in nature. Iki is a broad term referring to qualities that are aesthetically pleasing, refinement with flair, or a tasteful manifestation of sensuality. The concept of iki is thought to have formed among the urban mercantile class (Chōnin 町人 townspeople) in Edo 江戸(lit. ‘bay entrance’ or ‘estuary’) in the Tokugawa period ((徳川時代 Tokugawa jidai 1603–1868).

Balinese: language and mythology (the world turtle Bedawang)

Today’s blog post is taking us to South East Asia, to the Indonesian island of Bali and its language, Basa Bali. Balinese is an Austronesian language, like Indonesian, and is spoken by about 3 million people on the island of Bali and in parts of Indonesia like western Lombok and some villages in Sulawesi, where many Balinese anak Bali live. Virtually all people in Bali also speak Bahasa Indonesia, the national language, except for some old people. While the grammatical structures of Indonesian and Balinese are quite similar, the vocabulary of both languages is quite different. Balinese has many words of Sanskrit, Farsi, Tamil as well as Javanese, Dutch and Portuguese origin, reflecting the Hindu background of Balinese society. A particularity of Balinese is its two levels of social distinction, which each has its own set of parallel vocabulary and which reflect both the social status of the speaker as well as that of the person addressed. Biasa or common words are used by people of equal social status and they reflect informality and intimacy among the speakers. In contrast, halus or refined words reflect formality and distance among the speakers. There are, however, only a certain number of words that are different in both language levels, mainly those concerning human beings, while most words can be used for both levels. Topics that are considered very halus, like religion, always require the use of halus words. The Balinese are predominantly Hindus and the traditional Balinese social structure is therefore based on the Hindu caste system. However, ‘caste’ in Bali is not at all based on rigid distinctions and restrictions of occupations as in India, it merely reflects a notion of general social status, which in turn is reflected in the language. The 4 castes are:

Brahmana , the highest caste and those of priests (Brahmin in India), the name of members of this caste starts with Ida Bagus (m) or Ida Ayu (f);
ksatria the second caste and ruler and warrior caste (Kshatriya in India), the name of members of this caste starts with Anak Agung or Cokorda/Tjokorde Gde (m) or Tjokorde Istri (f);
wesia the third caste and that of merchants and officials (weysha in India), the name of members of this caste starts with I Gusti ;
and the sudra or rice farmers’ caste (shudra in India, the non-caste). Only about 7 % of the anak Bali belong to the triwangsa or the three higher castes, while the large majority, more than 90%, belong to the sudra caste.

Generally, people of a lower caste will ‘speak upward’ to a member of a higher caste, i.e. they will choose the more refined halus words. Likewise, a member of a higher caste will ‘speak down’ to a member of a lower class, that is, choose the common biasa words. So a farmer speaking to another farmer would use biasa words, and a member of a high caste speaking with another high class individual would use halus words. However, a farmer speaking with or referring to a member of the high class would use halus words.

Here is an example:

Biasa level: Dadi tawang adane? May I know your name? (Indonesian: Bisa saya tahun nama Anda?) Adan tiange…. Jerone nyen? My name is…. What’s yours? (Indonesian: Nama saya….. Anda siapa?)

Halus level: Dados uningin parabe? May I know your name? (Indonesian: Bisa saya tahun nama Anda?) Parab tiange….. Sira parab jerone? My name is…. What’s yours? (Indonesian: Nama saya…. Anda siapa?)

Biasa level: Ene poh. Luung sajan. (Indonesian: Ini mangga. Bagus sekali.) This is a mango. It is very good. Ene biu. (Indonesian: Ini pisang) This is a banana.

Halus level: Niki poh. Becik pisan. (Indonesian: Ini mangga. Bagus sekali.) This is a mango. It is very good. Niki pisang. (Indonesian: Ini pisang) This is a banana.

As you can see from the last example, there are often two different words for the same thing, like here the word for ‘banana’ which is biu on the biasa level, but pisang on the halus level of speech. The same thing is true for the expression ‘This is….’, which is ‘niki…..’ on the halus level, but ‘ene…’ on the biasa speech level.

Author: chensiyuan, wikipedia Commons

Here are some words typical of Balinese culture:

Odalan temple festival (halus word only)

Pedanda Brahmana priest (pandit in India)

Meru wooden, pagoda-like building with grass roof, named after the holy Mount Meru in India

Naga mythological snake or dragon

Pura puseh temple for the divine ancestors

Pura dalem temple for the dead in the underworld

Another particularity of the Balinese is that people are named according to their order of birth in their family. The names are the same for both males and females, but as an indicator of gender the particle i is used for males and ni for females before the name. Here are the names for members of the farmer caste:

Wayan for the first-born of a family (I Wayan/ Ni Wayan)

Made for the second child

Nyoman for the third child Ketut for the fourth child

A further cultural peculiarity is that the anak Bali will always give directions according to the four directions of the compass instead of using ‘left’ and ‘right’.

North = kaja South = kelod West = kauh East = kangin (all biasa words)

This has interesting implications: While kaja generally means ‘inland, towards the mountains’ ‘in the direction of Gunung Agung‘, the highest and holy mountain of Bali (a prosperous direction), in Southern and Central Bali it therefore means ‘north’ but in Buleleng in Northern Bali it means ‘south’! The same goes for kelod, which means ‘towards the sea’ (a disastrous direction): in Southern and Central Bali it refers to the ‘south’, while in Buleleng in Northern Bali it means ‘north’!

Balinese also has an old indigenous script, the Carakan script:

the old Balinese script, the Carakan alphabet

Bali also has a very rich mythology. According to the Balinese creation myth, in the beginning of time, only the world snake Antaboga existed. During a meditation, Antaboga created Bedawang or Bedawang Nala, a giant turtle who carries the world on her back. Two snakes or dragons (naga) lie on Bedawang’s shell, as well as the Black Stone, which is the lid of the underworld. All other creations sprang from Bedawang. When Bedawang moves, there are earthquakes and volcanic eruptions on earth.
Bedawang = boiling water Nala = fuel
Bidawang means ‘turtle river’ in the Banjar language
The goddess Setesuyara and the god Batara Kala, the creator of light and earth, rule over the underworld. Above the world, there is first a layer of water, then a layer of moving sky, where Semara, the god of love lives. Above this floating sky there is the dark blue sky with the sun and the moon. Yet again above this sky, there is the scented sky full of fragrant flowers, the abode of the human-headed bird Tjak (Cak), of the snake Taksaka and of the Awan-snakes (falling stars). The ancestors live in a fiery sky, located above the scented sky. The abode of the gods forms the final and uppermost layer of the sky.
Etymology: a = not, Ananta = endless, never exhausted, boga = food
Anantaboga = endless food, food that never gets exhausted

A rather good online dictionary for Balinese: http://dictionary.basabali.org/Main_Page

Author: Tropenmuseum Amsterdam, Wikipedia Commons
the turtle Bedawang Nala and the snake Ananthabhoga

Author: Tropenmuseum, Wikipedia Commons
Wayang figure representing Batara Kali

Fruits in Swedish and Norwegian

Since the summer fruit season has started, today´s blog post is about the words for some fruits in Swedish and Norwegian. 🙂

Hebrew: Synagogue vocabulary and architecture

Author: Toksave, Wikipedia Commons
Synagogue in Florence, Italy

Today’s blog post is taking us to the Jewish world and to synagogue architecture and vocabulary. Synagogues are called בית כנסת beth knesset in Hebrew, which means ‘house of assembly’. Other words for synagogue are בית תפילה beth t’fila, meaning ‘house of prayer’ or שול shul , a Yiddish term used by Jews of Ashkenazi descent, or אסנוגה esnoga, the latter one being a term used by Portuguese Jews. The English or western term ‘synagogue’ is derived from Greek συναγωγή synagogē which means ‘assembly’.

Synagogues have a large hall for prayer, and often also have some smaller rooms for Torah study, called בית מדרש beth midrash or ‘house of study’, and for social meetings and the like. Synagogues are consecrated spaces for prayer; however, communal Jewish worship can take place wherever a מִנְיָן minyan, i.e. 10 Jewish adults, assembles.

The architectural style of synagogues varies widely, and historically, synagogues followed the prevailing style of their location and time. An example is the Kaifeng synagogue, which looked like the Chinese temples of the region.

Kaifeng Synagogue, China

A central element of all synagogues is the בימה bimah, a table on a raised platform where the Torah scrollתּוֹרָה is read. The reading of the Torah is called קריאת התורה Kriat haTorah.

The Torah is called ספר תורה‎‎ sefer Torah.

The Torah scrolls are kept in the ארון קודש Aron Kodesh or Torah Ark, a special cabinet which is often closed with an ornate curtain, the פרוכת parochet, which can be inside or outside the doors of the Ark. The Aron Kodesh is the holiest place in the synagogue and is reminiscent of the Ark of the Covenant אָרוֹן הַבְּרִית Aron haBrit which held the tablets with the Ten Commandments. The Ark is usually positioned in such a way that the congregation facing it faces towards Jerusalem. The seating plans of synagogues in the western world therefore usually face east, while synagogues in locations east of Israel face west. Sanctuaries in Israel usually face Jerusalem.

Another traditional feature of synagogues is a continually lit lamp or lantern, the Eternal Light נר תמיד ner tamid which is reminiscent of the western lamp of the מְנוֹרָה‎‎ menorah of the Temple in Jerusalem, which miraculously remained lit perpetually. Many synagogues also have a large candelabrum with seven branches, reminiscent of the full menorah. Orthodox synagogues feature a מחיצה mechitzah, a partition dividing the seating areas of the men and women, or there is a seating area for the women located on a balcony.

Author: Toksook, Wikipedia Commons
Mechitzah at the Suburban Torah Center in Livingstone, New Jersey

Author: Joaotg, Wikipedia Commons
Esnoga in Amsterdam, Spanish and Portuguese synagogue

Author: Jarosław Ratajczyk, Wikipedia Commons
Bimah in Łańcut, Poland

Author: Pretoria Travel, Wikipedia Commons
The parochet covering the Torah Arc of the Beth Jakov synagogue in Skopje, Macedonia

Author: Juda S. Engelmayer
Bimah at Bialystoker

Author: Roy Lindman, Wikipedia Commons
Abuhav Synagogue, Zefat Israel

Author: Alaexis, Wikipedia Commons
Torah scrolls in Istanbul

Author: Roy Lindman, Wikipedia Commons
page pointers for reading the Torah

Author: Willy Horsch, Wikipedia Commons
Sefer Torah in Cologne, Germany

Swahili: Some survival phrases and East African art

Author: Amoghavarsha, Wikipedia Commons

Today’s blog post is taking us to East Africa, to the area where Swahili is spoken. Swahili is a language of the Bantu branch of the Niger-Congo family of languages and its name is derived from the Arabic word sawahil سواحل, meaning “coasts” (from sāḥil (ساحل), meaning “boundary” or “coast” ). Kiswahili means ‘coastal language’, the prefix ki- indicating a noun of the noun class which includes languages.

Author: Brocken Inaglory, Wikipedia Commons
Zanzibar

Standard Swahili developed from the urban dialect of Zanzibar City and was originally spoken by the people living along the coast of the mainland and was spread by fishermen to the islands off East Africa, but then became the language of coastal trade and from the 7th century CE onward it was heavily influenced by Arabic, mainly in the vocabulary. Other influences came from Persian, Portuguese, Hindi, French and English. Swahili is the official language of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as being the lingua franca of the Great Lakes region of Africa. It is spoken by about 50 million people. The name Zanzibar derives from Arabic Zinj el-Barr, which means Land of the Blacks. Zanzibar Island is called Unguja in Kiswahili, and Zanzibar Town is known as the Stone Town or Mji Mkongwe.

Author: Justin Clements, Wikipedia Commons
wooden door at Lamu in Kenya

Author: Maclemo, Wikipedia Commons
door at Fort Jesus in Mombasa

Here some survival phrases in Kiswahili:

Habari Hello

Tutaonana Goodbye

Asante Thank you

Karibu You’re welcome

Tafadhali Please

Ndiyo Yes

Hapana No

Pole Sorry

Samahani Excuse me

Jina lako nani? What’s your name?

Jina langu ni.…. My name is….

The greeting ‘jambo‘ is used to greet tourists who are presumed not to be able to speak Kiswahili. Hujambo? means ‘How are you?’ and the answer is Sijambo, meaning ‘I am fine’.

And here are the words for the most iconic East African animals:

simba lion

tembo elephant

chui leopard

kifaru rhinoceros

twiga giraffe

punda milia zebra

swala gazelle

Tingatinga paintings in East Africa

Tanzania is also home to two internationally recognized art styles, Tingatinga painting and Makonde carvings. The Tinga Tinga school of painting is a style which developed in the second half of the 20th century in the Oyster Bay area of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and is named after its founder, Edward Said Tingatinga. It later spread to most of East Africa. The art style is characterized by its bright colours and its depiction of people, animals or daily life. Tingatinga paintings are traditionally made on masonite (a hardboard made of steam-cooked and pressure-molded wood fibres) or on canvas, using several layers of bicycle paint which gives the paintings their brilliant and highly saturated colours. Tingatinga paintings are an example of a tourist-orientated style, with their subject matter chosen to appeal to western tourists, e.g. featuring the Big Five of Eastern African mammals. The paintings are also usually small, so they can be easily transported, and their style can be considered both naive and caricatural, and sarcasm and humour are often evident.

Author: MatthiasKabel, Wikipedia Commons
Makonde carving c.1967

Author: MatthiasKabel, Wikipedia Commons
Makonde carving c. 1967

Makonde art is a sculptural style developed by the Makonde, a tribe native to Tanzania and Mozambique. It is famous for the high Ujamaas (Trees of Life) made of the hard and dark wood of the ebony tree (Diospyros ebenum and Swartzia ssp.). The Makonde traditionally carve masks, figures and household objects.

Focus on Architecture: Muqarnas

Today’s blog post will take us to the Islamic world again, and to a feature of Islamic architecture, the muqarnas (Persianمقرنس , Arabic مقرنص). Muqarnas are ornamented vaults consisting of a complex arrangement of vertical prisms, and are sometimes also called stalactite or honeycomb vaults, due to their resemblance to these. When the muqarnas resemble stalactites, they are known as mocárabe (Arabic al-halimat al-‘uliya, or ‘the overhang’).

Author: Patrickringgenberg, Wikipedia Commons
Isfahan Royal Mosque – muqarnas

The muqarnas design is a geometric subdivision of a so-called ‘squinch’ into a large number of miniature squinches, arranged into complex prisms. The squinch probably originated in Iran (from Persian “سه+کنج) “سکنج) sekonj) and is a masonry construction in the upper angles of a square room which forms the base for a spherical or octogonal dome. It is constructed either by an arch or a number of corbelled arches built diagonally across the corner. The muqarnas are used for domes and, in particular, half-domes in apses and entrances and are purely decorative. The individual niches in the prism are called alveoles.

squinch

Author: Jvwpc, Wikipedia Commons
Alhambra, Granada

The stalactite design of the muqarnas is said to be a symbolic representation of the cave where Muhammad received the Quran.

Author: Jasleen Kaur, Wikipedia Commons
Muqarnas corbel balcony, Qutb Minar

Author: Daniel Csorfoly, Wikipedia Commons
Sevilla

Icelandic: Elves and some survival phrases

Today’s blog post is taking us to the far North of Europe, namely to Iceland, the land of geysirs and volcanoes, sagas and eddas, Vikings, and of álfar (elves). 🙂 The elves living in Iceland are also known as Huldufólk, which derives from huldu– ‘pertaining to secrecy’ and fólk ‘people, folk’. There are said to be 13 different types of elves living in Iceland, who have the same size and the appearance of humans, but are invisible to most humans. Building and construction projects sometimes have to be altered because they would damage or disturb the rocks and places where elves are said to reside. Elves usually live in mounds and like dancing, but dislike electricity, churches and crosses, and one should not throw stones in Iceland because of the possibility of hitting elves. Precursors to the Huldufólk date back to the writings of Snorri Sturluson and to skaldic verse. The legends surrounding elves are an example of the intangible and oral heritage of Iceland. In the picture below, you can see some álfhól (elf houses):

Author: Christian Bickel, Wikipedia Commons
Elf houses in Iceland

The Huldufólk are also part of Faroese folklore, where they are said to have black hair and to wear grey clothes. The Faroese language is closely related to Icelandic.

Here is a photo of a road which had to be built around rocks where elves are said to live:

Author: Christian Bickel, Wikipedia Commons
Álfastein in Kópavogur near Álfholsvegur 125

Here are some survival phrases in Icelandic:

Halló Hello

Bless Goodbye

Takk fyrir! Thank you

Þakka þér kærlega fyrir! Thank you very much!

Það var ekkert You are welcome

Fyrirgefðu Sorry

Afsakið Excuse me

Hvað heitir þú? What’s your name?

Ég heiti…. My name is…

Hvernig ert þú? How are you?

Allt fínt. En þú? Fine. And you?

Focus on cultural diversity: Miswak twigs

Today’s blog post will be about miswak twigs, teeth cleaning twigs made from the Salvadora persica tree, which is known as pilu tree in India (Hindi पीलू pilu or कूम्भी kumbhi) and as arak tree (Arabic أراك ) in the Middle East. Miswak twigs (Arabic السواك) are known as kayu sugi in Malay, and are also often called just siwak. Miswak twigs are commonly used throughout the Middle East, India, Central and Southeast Asia, and are especially common in Muslim countries, since the Prophet Muhammad recommended their use in a hadith. The use of miswak therefore plays a role in Islamic hygienic rules, and its use is recommended e.g. before religious practice, on Fridays, before journeys, before joining a gathering, etc.

Author: Iqbal Osman, Wikipedia Commons
Miswak twigs

To use a miswak twig as a toothbrush, you just cut off the end of a twig, then chew it lightly, so that its end will fray and turn into bristles. You then use these bristles to brush your teeth. Miswak has slightly antiseptic properties and can stop tooth decay. You can buy miswak twigs in oriental and Asian foods stores.

Author: J.M. Garg, Wikipedia Commons
Salvadora persica tree (pilu tree)

The evergreen pilu tree (Salvadora persica), from whose twigs miswak sticks are made, is a salt-tolerant shrub or small tree that is native to arid zones in the Middle East, India and Africa. The use of its twigs dates back 7,000 years ago, to the ancient Babylonians and Egyptians. In Pakistan, the tree has an association with graveyards.

Useful language learning tool: ‘Word of the day’

Author: Paul, Wikipedia Commons

Today’s blog post is about a language tool I find very useful, both for learning new languages and for keeping up old ones: the ‘Word of the Day’-feature offered by several websites for free, which you can often also subscribe by email.

These ‘Words of the Day’ are offered for many languages, though not for all, unfortunately, and each website offers a different selection of languages. I find this feature really useful when used every single day because it makes sure that you hear at least one sentence a day in each language which you speak (provided there is a page which offers this feature for the language you want).

Here are some websites which offer them for multiple languages:

http://www.innovativelanguage.com/word-of-the-day – this is one of the best offers for the ‘Word of the Day’-feature since the number of languages offered is quite large. Beware, though, of their “free lifetime account”! I strongly recommend *not* signing up for it since all you sign up for is a lifetime of *spam* as this company will send you at least 2 emails each single day, often even 3, and the ‘unsubscribe’-function notoriously does not work!!! Their youtube channel is also good though.

http://www.transparent.com/word-of-the-day/ – this page offers a different selection of languages, some rather “exotic” languages among them, which other websites don’t offer

For Irish Gaelic: http://www.gaelchultur.com/ga/frasa_an_lae.aspx

The handwritten Hebrew alphabet

Today’s blog post is taking us to Israel and to the Hebrew language, and more precisely to the Hebrew alphabet. Since Hebrew courses and textbooks often only teach the printed version of the Hebrew script, but the handwritten alphabet looks markedly different, I thought the handwritten alphabet and how to write it would be a nice topic for a blog post. 🙂 Here is the handwritten alphabet, with little arrows indicating how to write the letters:

The same alphabet is also used for writing Yiddish, with only slight variations of some letters. The alphabet is written from right to left, and there are no capital letters. Five letters take a different form when they are in the final position of a word (last letter of a word); these are the letters khaf, mem, nun, feh and tsadi.

Author: Golasso, Wikipedia Commons
The Western Wall in Jerusalem

Polyglottando

A blog about languages, multilingual living and cultural diversity