Whether you are a philologist, a translator, or just a multilingualism lover, you are probably constantly on the hunt for new exciting facts about languages. Especially when they come in the form of amusing short videos you can enjoy during lunchbreak! Have we guessed? Without a doubt, we are all on the same page here when it comes to learning through entertainment.
In this week’s Video-Fix, we are exploring the fascinating field of Weird Word Origins. And we have a very special expert with us! John Green, YouTube content creator and author of bestselling books like Looking for Alaska and The Fault In Our Stars, is guiding us through the world of words in this short video for Mental Floss. Did you know that the word lemur means ‘spirits of the dead’ in Latin? We bet you didn’t realise that jeans were named after the Italian city of Genova! And who would have thought that ketchup may come from ancient China? Are you intrigued? There is so much more to learn from this awesome list!
Written by Magdalena Sikorska, Schuman Trainee at the Terminology Coordination Unit.