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Shanks’s pony

There’s much more to walking than simply putting one foot in front of the other:

berlenggang (Indonesian) to walk gracefully by swinging one’s hands or hips

aradupopini (Tulu, India) to walk arm in arm or hand in hand

uitwaaien (Dutch) to walk in windy weather for fun

murr-ma (Wagiman, Australia) to walk along in the water searching for something with your feet

’akihi (Hawaiian) to walk off without paying attention to directions

Walking in Zimbabwe

The Shona-speaking people of Zimbabwe have some very specialized verbs for different kinds of walking: chakwaira, through a muddy place making a squelching sound; dowora, for a long time on bare feet; svavaira, huddled, cold and wet; minaira, with swinging hips; pushuka, in a very short dress; shwitaira, naked; sesera, with the flesh rippling; and tabvuka, with such thin thighs that you seem to be jumping like a grasshopper.

Malaysian movements

The elegant Malaysians have a highly specialized vocabulary to describe movement, both of the right kind, as in kontal-kontil, ‘the swinging of long earrings or the swishing of a dress as one walks’, and the wrong, as in jerangkang, ‘to fall over with your legs in the air’. Others include:

kengkang to walk with your legs wide apart

tenjack to limp with your heels raised

kapai to flap your arms so as to stay afloat

gayat feeling dizzy while looking down from a high place

seluk to put your hand in your pocket

bongkeng sprawling face down with your bottom in the air

Ups …

Sometimes our movements are deliberately athletic, whether this involves hopping on one leg (vogget in Cornish, hinke in Danish), rolling like a ball (ajawyry in the Wayampi language of Brazil), or something more adventurous:

angama (Swahili) to hang in mid-air

vybafnout (Czech) to surprise someone by saying boo

puiyarpo (Inuit) to show your head above water

povskakat’ (Russian) to jump one after another

tarere (Cook Islands Maori) to send someone flying through the air

lele kawa (Hawaiian) to jump into the sea feet first

Lele kawa, of course, is usually followed by curglaff, Scottish dialect for the shock felt when plunging into cold water.

… and downs

But on other occasions there seems to be a banana skin waiting for us on the pavement:

blart (Ullans, Northern Ireland) to fall flat in the mud

lamhdanaka (Ulwa, Nicaragua) to collapse sideways (as when walking on uneven ground)

tunuallak (Inuit) slipping and falling over on your back while walking

kejeblos (Indonesian) to fall into a hole by accident

apismak (Turkish) to spread the legs apart and collapse

jeruhuk (Malay) the act of stumbling into a hole that is concealed by long grass

False friends

gush (Albanian) to hug each other around the neck

shagit (Albanian) to crawl on one’s belly

snags (Afrikaans) during the night

sofa (Icelandic) sleep

purr (Scottish Gaelic) to headbutt

What-d’you-call-it

Just because there is no word for it in English doesn’t mean we haven’t done it or experienced it:

mencolek (Indonesian) touching someone lightly with one finger in order to tease them

wasoso (Hausa, Nigeria) to scramble for something that has been thrown

idumbulu (Tulu, India) seizing each other tightly with both hands

přesezený (Czech) being stiff from sitting in the same position too long

’alo’alo kiki (Hawaiian) to dodge the rain by moving quickly

honuhonu (Hawaiian) to swim with the hands only

engkoniomai (Ancient Greek) to sprinkle sand over oneself

tallabe (Zarma, Nigeria) to carry things on one’s head without holding on to them

gagrom (Boro, India) to search for a thing below water by trampling

chonggang-chongget (Malay) to keep bending forward and then straightening (as a hill-climber)

When it all goes horribly wrong …

That sinking feeling, puangi (Cook Islands Maori), the sensation of the stomach dropping away (as in the sudden surge of a lift, plane, swing or a tossed boat), is something we know all too well, as are:

dokidoki (Japanese) rapid pounding heartbeats caused by worry or surprise