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The Meaning of Tingo

Meeting and Greeting

ai jiao de maque bu zhang rou (Chinese)

sparrows that love to chirp won’t put on weight

¡Hola!

The first and most essential word in all languages is surely ‘hello’, the word that enables one human being to converse with another:

aa (Diola, Senegal)

beeta (Soninke, Mali, Senegal and Ivory Coast)

bok (Croatian)

boozhoo (Ojibwe, USA and Canada)

daw-daw (Jutlandish, Denmark)

ella (Awabakal, Australia)

i ay (Huaorani, Ecuador)

khaumykhyghyz (Bashkir, Russia)

nark (Phorhépecha, Mexico)

rozhbash (Kurdi, Iraq and Iran)

samba (Lega, Congo)

wali-wali (Limbe, Sierra Leone)

xawaxan (Toltichi Yokuts, California, USA)

yoga (Ateso, Uganda)

yoyo (Kwakiutl, Canada)

But it may not even be a word. In the Gilbert Islands of the Pacific, arou pairi describes the process of rubbing noses in greeting. For the Japanese, bowing is an important part of the process and a sign of respect: ojigi is the act of bowing; eshaku describes a slight bow (of about 15 degrees); keirei, a full bow (of about 45 degrees); while saikeirei is a very low, worshipful type of bow that involves the nose nearly touching the hands. When one meets someone extremely important, one might even consider pekopeko, bowing one’s head repeatedly in a fawning or grovelling manner.

Just say the word

Sometimes a single word works hard. In Sri Lanka, for example, the Sinhala word ayubowan means not only ‘good morning’, but also ‘good afternoon’, ‘good evening’, ‘good night’ and ‘goodbye’.

Expectant

The frustration of waiting for someone to turn up is beautifully encapsulated in the Inuit word iktsuarpok, meaning ‘to go outside often to see if someone is coming’. As for the frustration of the caller, there’s always the Russian dozvonit’sya which doesn’t simply mean to ring a doorbell, but to ring it until one gets an answer (it’s also used for getting through on the telephone).

Hey you!

Once the first encounter is out of the way the correct form of address is important. Most of us know the difference between the intimate French tu and the more impersonal (and polite) vous. A similar distinction exists in Arabic between anta (‘you’ singular) and antum (‘you’ plural) – addressing an important person with anta (anti is the feminine version) rather than antum would be considered impolite.

In Vietnam there are no fewer than eighteen words for ‘you’, the use of which depends on whom you are addressing, whether a child or a senior citizen, whether formally or informally. And in the Western Australian Aboriginal language of Jiwali there are four words for ‘we’: ngali means ‘we two including you’; ngaliju means ‘we two excluding you’; nganthurru means ‘we all including you’; and nganthurraju means ‘we all excluding you’.

Cripes!

Exclamations are generally used to express a sudden reaction: to something frightening, incredible, spectacular, shocking or wonderful. Best not attempted by the visitor, they are better heard from the mouth of the native speaker than read off the page:

aaberdi (Algerian) a cry used when learning fearful news

aawwaah (Dardja, Algeria) a shout of doubt or hesitation

aãx (Karuk, North America) how disgusting!

aduh (Malay) ouch or wow!

aduhai (Indonesian) an expression of admiration

alaih (Ulwa, Nicaragua) gosh! goodness! help!

alalau (Quechuan, Peru) brrr! (of cold)

amit-amit (Indonesian) forgive me!

ammazza (Italian) it’s a killer! wow!

asshe (Hausa, Nigeria) a cry of grief at distressing news

bambule (Italian) cheers! (preceding the lighting of a joint)

cq (Albanian) a negative exclamation of mild disappointment

hoppla (German) whoops!

naa (Japanese) that’s great!

nabocklish (Irish Gaelic) don’t meddle with it!

oho (Hausa, Nigeria) I don’t care

oop (Ancient Greek) a cry to make rowers stop pulling

sa (Afrikaans) catch him!

savul (Turkish) get out of the way!

schwupp (German) quick as a flash

shahbash (Anglo-Indian) well done! (or well bowled!, as said in cricket by a wicket-keeper to the bowler)