Uttering words you didn't know

[Arachu]

Has anyone else ever muttered a word or sentence they didn't understand, only to find out that it was an actual language later?

It happens to me every so often, but just tonight I thought the word "woman" and my mind transcribed it to "lagam"

After perusing Google for a few minutes, I learned that Lagam is the Urdu word for Woman (Urdu being primarily spoken in Pakistan and India, which I've never been to (to my dismay)).

Obviously, this does not quite compute, though now I'm more than tempted to check if I've actually been speaking Urdu (or a root, such as Persian) instead of random gibberish.

Anyone else have a moment (or series of moments) as confusing as this?

[Szilard]

I once thought up of the word bacta to explain why I grew back limbs in a toy-lightsaber fight. Then it turned out that bacta is a healing substance in the Star Wars universe. Though this is probably because I subconsciously knew that already.

[Hell Puppi]

Yup...'Urogi'.

I guess it can mean 'magic' or 'witchcraft'. Had a dream where someone told me this was their name, with the spelling and everything. I thought it was weird and utter gibberish but it stuck in my head for some reason.
I looked it up and it's an actual thing.

[Arachu]

Another one... My own internet name :smalleek:

I couldn't find a translation, but "Arachu" is a Sumerian word.

Also, Urdu has Persian roots, and Persian has Sumerian roots.

Huh :smallconfused:

[Anuan]

As above, my username.
'Anuan' has a special significance to me that I can't really explain here because of the rules. Let's just say it's a more important name to me than my parent-given one for spiritual/religious reasons.

I found out later that 'Anuan' is an Armenian word meaning 'Name.'
Rectangular building pieces were ejected.

[Yarram]

I once named a campaign world I made "Avernum," but then later found it was both a video game, and another word for hell.

[Totally Guy]

I wanted to call an NPC wizard in my D&D game "Wirinum" and I must have somehow subconsciously known it was a good word because it's an Aboriginal Australian word for mystic.

[Castaras]

Castaras was a random bunch of letters I put together for my username... ages ago, when I started playing Runescape.

8 months after it's creation I found out it's also the name of a spanish town.

[Coidzor]

As above, my username.
'Anuan' has a special significance to me that I can't really explain here because of the rules. Let's just say it's a more important name to me than my parent-given one for spiritual/religious reasons.

I found out later that 'Anuan' is an Armenian word meaning 'Name.'
Rectangular building pieces were ejected.


a sometimes touchy yet cute and lovable Australian guy whose awesomeness is so overwhelming that it has been known to paralyze!
Anuan = awesome. End of story.

I don't see how that's not board friendly.

[Arcane Copycat]

Apparently I speak Czech in my sleep. Although my father's family speaks it well, I know about 3, maybe 4 words (none of which can be said in front of my grandparents though)

[TheLibrarian]

Well,
This may just be because I've spent too much time thinking about the Words of Creation and all that Truename jazz, but I came up with this theory that there are roots to all of the words (not just back to Latin) but languages that evolved completely separate from each other all have some sort of primordial meta-language that unconsciously has made its way into speech.
This is probably not true but I thought that your accidental speaking of Urdu provided validity to my relatively unfounded theory.
... it might be true...
That or you overheard someone use Lagam somehow and subconsciously it came out by accident.

[kamikasei]

There are 6000 languages in existence, and others no longer spoken but recorded. You could probably find just about any short string of sounds pronounceable by a human as a meaningful word in one of them.

The coincidences in meaning in some cases are entertaining, but I don't see that they require more than coincidence (plus large numbers and selective recollection) to explain.

Now, if you have a record of producing full, grammatical, meaningful sentances in languages you've never been exposed to, you might want to send James Randi a letter.


This may just be because I've spent too much time thinking about the Words of Creation and all that Truename jazz, but I came up with this theory that there are roots to all of the words (not just back to Latin) but languages that evolved completely separate from each other all have some sort of primordial meta-language that unconsciously has made its way into speech.

a) There's no reason to think that's true.
b) Human languages are in fact extraordinarily different from one another, to the extent that there is no coherent theory of what you need to construct a language that doesn't have at least one exception. Now, that's at the grammatical level, but since you would expect that vocabulary should be considerably more malleable than grammar, and I've never heard anything about unrelated languages sharing more than a chance number of roots...

[Anuan]

I don't see how that's not board friendly.

BAHAHAHA Oh, I'd forgotten my friend had made that page...woah...

[Blayze]

Utter it? I made a damn *book* and a *webcomic* out of it.

"Luja" was a random collection of letters I threw together as a name for a thief-mage protagonist in the world of "Estra". Little did I know "Luja" was Arabic for "thought" and Swahili for "thief".

Then there was "Janan" (http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Janan), Elemi...


Elemi (Canarium luzonicum) is a tree native to the Philippines, and an oleo-resin harvested from it.

...quite fitting because she's a druid.

And then there's "Estra" itself -- a name derived from the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, Ēostre.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

... From whom the name of the holiday "Easter" is derived.

[Arachu]

a) There's no reason to think that's true.


Actually, that theory is distinctly possible. If one looks at it from an evolutionist's point of view, the human species logically originated in South Africa.

Now, the species ended up crossing Beringia, and this combined with how many stayed in the East (or, one might argue the West in this case :smalltongue:) means massive diversion and isolation.

The two halves were separated. Language would take different courses. Now, on smaller, similar scales, different civilizations isolated themselves in ways.

It is known that languages or dialects have been invented for various reasons (French lower class, American colonies, etc.).

Thus, one can logically assume that there is some form of meta-language, which would logically date back to Sumeria (even farther; Egypt).

Combine this with the instinctual memory theory, and it's entirely plausible.


... Also, I didn't hear Lagam. Or Arachu. Or Lacram (which neither I nor the internet can translate, but a ridiculous amount of things (that I never knew about; it's in some language) have it as a name (or in text, as lowercase, thus it is a word)). The creepy part, is that I thought of the desert when speaking this "gibberish".


... The Fertile Crescent is in a desert.

Not to mention (warning, wandering into quasi-related subject), I envisioned a Jackal every time i heard 'born' until I was 6. I didn't know what a jackal was. The jackal is a desert creature.

... So, anyone know a translator from "unknown to english" that isn't Dictionary.com? Because Dictionary isn't showing me my results :smallannoyed:

I would've known what Lacram means if it did :smallfrown:

[Dr. Bath]

Why are we even talking about the root of language? King Psammetichos has it all worked out already. (http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_herodotus_2.htm) (see story 2)

I say bekos all the time.

[Arachu]

Why are we even talking about the root of language? King Psammetichos has it all worked out already. (http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_herodotus_2.htm) (see story 2)

... Huh. I was wondering who came before Egypt...

Wait, this might mean... :smalleek:

[Telonius]

a) There's no reason to think that's true.
b) Human languages are in fact extraordinarily different from one another, to the extent that there is no coherent theory of what you need to construct a language that doesn't have at least one exception. Now, that's at the grammatical level, but since you would expect that vocabulary should be considerably more malleable than grammar, and I've never heard anything about unrelated languages sharing more than a chance number of roots...

Well, one possible exception.... some words for mom and dad are very similar across several different language types. Most of them involve sounds like "ama" or "mama", and "abba/appa" or "papa" respectively. One theory is that these are among the first sounds a baby is able to make, so have been (maybe not universally, but at least a lot more widespread than chance or dispersion ought to indicate) accepted as familiar names for parents.

[cycoris]

I haven't done exactly that, but I have had people tell me that I'm speaking Chinese (which I know) when I could have sworn that I was speaking and thinking in English.

Does that count? :smalltongue:

[Arachu]

That depends; were you really speaking in English? :smallconfused:

:smalltongue:

[Dr. Bath]

Well, one possible exception.... some words for mom and dad are very similar across several different language types. Most of them involve sounds like "ama" or "mama", and "abba/appa" or "papa" respectively. One theory is that these are among the first sounds a baby is able to make, so have been (maybe not universally, but at least a lot more widespread than chance or dispersion ought to indicate) accepted as familiar names for parents.

Another one is that most of these languages have spread from a central point in the middle East (one theory is that there was a mass exodus in every direction when the black sea flooded to become.. well, a sea) both East and West, since the 'ma' and 'pa' sounds for parents are only really most common in Europe and Asia, rather than the Americas or Australia.

[Mephibosheth]

It happens to me every so often, but just tonight I thought the word "woman" and my mind transcribed it to "lagam"

After perusing Google for a few minutes, I learned that Lagam is the Urdu word for Woman (Urdu being primarily spoken in Pakistan and India, which I've never been to (to my dismay)).
Where did you find that definition? The only Hindi/Urdu word I know for "woman" is "aurat." I'm not saying you're wrong, but I can't find the definition and it's driving me crazy.

[Hzurr]

While I never have dreams entirely in French, many of my dreams do include people speaking in French, including one where I was speaking, and couldn't remember a specific grammar rule, only to have someone else in my dream correct me, and explain how I should have said it. I guess this means that somewhere in my subconscious my French grammar is significantly better than my conscious spoken grammar...

[Arachu]

I actually forgot where I found the translation, as I had to wade in a veritable sea of text... But a line translated lagam into woman (and, if my gibberish really was a language, then that grammar thing I thought of where the noun is last applies).

It was in some kind of forum format, someone said the line, someone translated it...

... It might have been easier to recall if I didn't put so much energy into lacram...

A lot of help I am, huh? :smallredface:

[Lydronk]

I may have been ninja'd, I probably have been, sir but I was too exiceted too read the posts! But, sir, your experience is referred to as 'xenoglossia'!

Reason for xenoglossia's are unknown, though in most cases of xenoglossia, some subconcious, faint memories of a dictionary, or an encounter with the language is present. You may have heard it 'in the background', perhaps, or you've seen that word while you were skimming through a book.

Either that, or it is that dose of drugs you took :P

[ArlEammon]

Yup...'Urogi'.

I guess it can mean 'magic' or 'witchcraft'. Had a dream where someone told me this was their name, with the spelling and everything. I thought it was weird and utter gibberish but it stuck in my head for some reason.
I looked it up and it's an actual thing.

"Saradinus" the name of the god of magic from Gods of New Star in the role playing section that I played in, was the name of an ancient Persian King.

[Quincunx]

I may have been ninja'd, I probably have been, sir but I was too exiceted too read the posts! But, sir, your experience is referred to as 'xenoglossia'!

Reason for xenoglossia's are unknown, though in most cases of xenoglossia, some subconcious, faint memories of a dictionary, or an encounter with the language is present. You may have heard it 'in the background', perhaps, or you've seen that word while you were skimming through a book.

Either that, or it is that dose of drugs you took :P

Oo, handy! (tucks away the New Word of the Day)

[Arachu]

*facepalm*

I figured out how to work Dictionary... Now, if only it translated Urdu, I'd be set.


... Oh, if I had a nickel...

EDIT: Now, when I look it up, it says "lagan" on everything.

Except for one site. "I learned that Lagam is the Urdu word for Woman...", it declares.

Imagine my surprise; until I saw the URL. Giantitp.

Kinda surreal, though :/

[Jalor]

Four years ago, I'm looking at a picture of especially unusual Mayan ruins. My first thought is "Cthulhu". I think nothing of it. Two years later, I read Lovecraft for the first time. The memory comes rushing back to me.

...true story, but it sounds like it could be an actual Lovecraft work.. Now I'm going to write a Lovecraftian short story about it.

[Arachu]

Wait. I found two sites that translate a song with the word lagam in its lyrics. On this site (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070530012337AAvWrgo), it is translated into one thing.

Here (http://bhuvans.wordpress.com/2006/11/11/ghajini-suttum-vizhi/), it is translated into something slightly different.

... And neither of them are woman... In fact, both translate the same song in different ways; there are similarities, but certain lines vary.

But, embarrassingly enough, it is probable that it refers to "light" or "photo", rather than woman...

Gah, I'm no linguist...

... But, it's remotely possible that the word changed meaning over time. Immensely unlikely, but possible. Again, not a linguist... But even if I erred in the exact translation, it was oddly specific :smallconfused:

I think my brain just broke :redcloak:

[Mephibosheth]

Thanks for the links. Yay Tamil!