2607: Golden Horde Feb 3, 2022

There was a reason for the naming of Black-, Red- and White Russia, only one of which survives now, but this is not the same reason for the Golden Horde. That name is disputed, but the English name for the self-titled Ulug Ulus ("Great State") either comes from a calque of the Russian Золотая Орда (Zolotája Orda) which was a reference to the color of the war-time tents of some of their troops, or alternatively was a reference to the tribute that the Slavs needed to pay. That said, the color-inspired names of the White- or Blue Horde as the name for the troops' left wing has been found in many languages and from different sources, with some evidence to believe the Mongols referred to them as well as the Blue Horde.

2401: Russian Continents Jul 16, 2021

It's well known that the Spanish speaking world regard the landmasses of North and South America as one continent, simply the Americas. In this way those people regard the world with 6 continents, but it could go even fewer. The Russians and Japanese distinguish between two Americas, but regard Eurasia as one continent. This makes sense for Russia especially which straddles both with wide margins. That's still just 6, and while some academics discuss the idea of 5 or even only 4—Afro-Eurasia, Americas, Antarctica, Oceania—this is not a major movement.

2186: How Pluralization Can Affect Meaning: 'Oczy' vs. 'Oka' Dec 9, 2020

While pluralization may often be merely a necessary aspect of a language's grammar, sometimes it can have an impact on the semantics too. The Polish noun 'oko' means both 'eye' but also 'oil droplet' and while the plural for the first meaning is 'oczy', for the second it is 'oka'. The reason for this distinction is ostensibly due to the so-called dual number, a form of plural used specifically for things which come in pairs. That is why also even if it is more than 2 eyes, or exactly 2 oil droplets being referred to, the same plural forms are used. Indeed, while the dual is used primarily for things which are considered generally to come as pairs but in Polish and also Russian certain forms of nouns will have different forms for referring to 2, 3, or 4 of that noun, but this extension is limited to the genitive or nominative plural for Polish. Uses for the dual beyond this will be the topic tomorrow.

This post is the start of Pluralization Week, to celebrate the 6th anniversary of the blog.