ari
@toomuchpiano.bsky.social
languages, mostly semitic. i write songs (https://linktr.ee/toomuchpiano)
Pinned
The winter writes, with ink of rain and showers,
and shining lightning pen and hand of cloud,
a blue and purple letter on the garden
no craftsman in his cunning could devise;
so, when the soil longs for the heavens’ face,
she sews stars on the linen of her beds.
— Solomon ibn Gabirol
and shining lightning pen and hand of cloud,
a blue and purple letter on the garden
no craftsman in his cunning could devise;
so, when the soil longs for the heavens’ face,
she sews stars on the linen of her beds.
— Solomon ibn Gabirol
youtu.be/9KQf_sN8YyM?...
i will refrain from commenting on everything i adore about this album, but i will note:
- the weird vowel system of the Hebrew (a sort of Americanized Litvish?)
- the massive, semi-improvised vocal harmonies
- the sheer depth of feeling they manage to achieve
i will refrain from commenting on everything i adore about this album, but i will note:
- the weird vowel system of the Hebrew (a sort of Americanized Litvish?)
- the massive, semi-improvised vocal harmonies
- the sheer depth of feeling they manage to achieve
Yedid Nefesh (Live)
YouTube video by Chassidim of the Rebar - Topic
youtu.be
January 18, 2026 at 4:50 PM
youtu.be/9KQf_sN8YyM?...
i will refrain from commenting on everything i adore about this album, but i will note:
- the weird vowel system of the Hebrew (a sort of Americanized Litvish?)
- the massive, semi-improvised vocal harmonies
- the sheer depth of feeling they manage to achieve
i will refrain from commenting on everything i adore about this album, but i will note:
- the weird vowel system of the Hebrew (a sort of Americanized Litvish?)
- the massive, semi-improvised vocal harmonies
- the sheer depth of feeling they manage to achieve
one last thought while you guys humor me. Ibn Gabirol doesn’t actually say šəmāyim, but rather šáḥaq, ‘cloud; sky, heaven (by extension)‘, often used after šəmāyim to ramp up intensity, like in Isaiah 45:8.
i think the rendering “the heavens” is pretty good as an archaic/poetic turn of phrase
i think the rendering “the heavens” is pretty good as an archaic/poetic turn of phrase
“earth” was a misstep, i think. the usual pairing for šəmāyim ‘heaven’ is ʔéreṣ; ʔaḏāmāh is really fertile, cultivable earth (it's one of the key words in Gen. 2–4); “soil” would be the better rendering here.
January 17, 2026 at 10:24 PM
one last thought while you guys humor me. Ibn Gabirol doesn’t actually say šəmāyim, but rather šáḥaq, ‘cloud; sky, heaven (by extension)‘, often used after šəmāyim to ramp up intensity, like in Isaiah 45:8.
i think the rendering “the heavens” is pretty good as an archaic/poetic turn of phrase
i think the rendering “the heavens” is pretty good as an archaic/poetic turn of phrase
i just read in Sáenz Badillos that the verb ḥ-m-d can mean ‘envy’ in Andalusi Hebrew poetry as well as it's more conventional meaning ‘desire, long for’:
does the earth blossom because it envies the sky?
does the earth blossom because it envies the sky?
The winter writes, with ink of rain and showers,
and shining lightning pen and hand of cloud,
a blue and purple letter on the garden
no craftsman in his cunning could devise;
so, when the soil longs for the heavens’ face,
she sews stars on the linen of her beds.
— Solomon ibn Gabirol
and shining lightning pen and hand of cloud,
a blue and purple letter on the garden
no craftsman in his cunning could devise;
so, when the soil longs for the heavens’ face,
she sews stars on the linen of her beds.
— Solomon ibn Gabirol
January 16, 2026 at 7:40 PM
i just read in Sáenz Badillos that the verb ḥ-m-d can mean ‘envy’ in Andalusi Hebrew poetry as well as it's more conventional meaning ‘desire, long for’:
does the earth blossom because it envies the sky?
does the earth blossom because it envies the sky?
Reposted by ari
Egyptian Arabic idiom of the day:
"to enter like the government"
i.e. to barge in angrily
دخل دخلة حكومة
dakhal dakhlit ḥukūma
"to enter like the government"
i.e. to barge in angrily
دخل دخلة حكومة
dakhal dakhlit ḥukūma
January 15, 2026 at 6:18 AM
Egyptian Arabic idiom of the day:
"to enter like the government"
i.e. to barge in angrily
دخل دخلة حكومة
dakhal dakhlit ḥukūma
"to enter like the government"
i.e. to barge in angrily
دخل دخلة حكومة
dakhal dakhlit ḥukūma
i've been mulling this translation over lately, now that I have returned to the awful Granadan winter, and i think it could stand to be reworked (or at least the last two verses)
1/
1/
The winter wrote, with ink of rain and showers
and shining lightning pen and hand of cloud,
a blue and purple letter upon the garden
no craftsman in his cunning could devise.
So, when the earth desired the heavens’ face,
it wrought stars in the linen of its beds.
— Solomon ibn Gabirol, tr. mine
and shining lightning pen and hand of cloud,
a blue and purple letter upon the garden
no craftsman in his cunning could devise.
So, when the earth desired the heavens’ face,
it wrought stars in the linen of its beds.
— Solomon ibn Gabirol, tr. mine
January 16, 2026 at 12:21 PM
i've been mulling this translation over lately, now that I have returned to the awful Granadan winter, and i think it could stand to be reworked (or at least the last two verses)
1/
1/
i'm very amused by this /gilutīn/ ‘guillotine‘ and /galatīn/ ‘gelatin’ near minimal pair from Cairene, carefully distinguished by plene vowel spellings
January 16, 2026 at 11:34 AM
i'm very amused by this /gilutīn/ ‘guillotine‘ and /galatīn/ ‘gelatin’ near minimal pair from Cairene, carefully distinguished by plene vowel spellings
my home river is the Portugués, here depicted in 1888 by the impressionist painter Francisco Oller. the magnificent kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) in the picture died in 2021, to much sorrow.
January 13, 2026 at 1:07 AM
my home river is the Portugués, here depicted in 1888 by the impressionist painter Francisco Oller. the magnificent kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) in the picture died in 2021, to much sorrow.
Reposted by ari
my hot take for parashat shemot: חֲתַ֥ן דָּמִ֖ים לַמּוּלֹֽת is glossing a Midianite (read: Arabic) word with the Hebrew translation. Nobody is a “bridegroom of blood,” it’s a blood-circumcision but she’s using a dialectal word for circumcision
January 10, 2026 at 5:06 PM
my hot take for parashat shemot: חֲתַ֥ן דָּמִ֖ים לַמּוּלֹֽת is glossing a Midianite (read: Arabic) word with the Hebrew translation. Nobody is a “bridegroom of blood,” it’s a blood-circumcision but she’s using a dialectal word for circumcision
finally, an Analects that feels legible!!
(always meant to get into the Chinese classics; life and Arabic got in the way :P)
(always meant to get into the Chinese classics; life and Arabic got in the way :P)
okay, you can see what I have so far of the Analects translation here. https://xn--hmr.net/classicalchinese/analects/
I am aware that the site theme is currently rather jank on mobile.
#classicalchinese #translation #localization #philosophy
I am aware that the site theme is currently rather jank on mobile.
#classicalchinese #translation #localization #philosophy
January 8, 2026 at 10:11 PM
finally, an Analects that feels legible!!
(always meant to get into the Chinese classics; life and Arabic got in the way :P)
(always meant to get into the Chinese classics; life and Arabic got in the way :P)
Reposted by ari
People will read old newspaper clippings
January 1, 2026 at 6:01 PM
People will read old newspaper clippings
in my first Classical Arabic class, we had to translate an old joke about Khusraw and an old man planting a date tree. Khusraw asks the old man, "why would you plant a date tree in your old age, knowing you won't live to see it give fruit?"
Ruus Al Jibal Arabic word of the day
عون
ʔ̰ɨwɨn [ʔ̰ʊwɪn]
‘a very old, very tall date palm tree’
cf. Fujairah Arabic ʕawān (same meaning but plural)
عون
ʔ̰ɨwɨn [ʔ̰ʊwɪn]
‘a very old, very tall date palm tree’
cf. Fujairah Arabic ʕawān (same meaning but plural)
December 31, 2025 at 4:11 PM
in my first Classical Arabic class, we had to translate an old joke about Khusraw and an old man planting a date tree. Khusraw asks the old man, "why would you plant a date tree in your old age, knowing you won't live to see it give fruit?"
Reposted by ari
youtu.be/ceOe0eOgYVA?...
i've been talking about Puerto Rican Spanish, which means I have to pull out my favorite video in the world: this interview between Benicio del Toro and Puerto Rican basketball star Raymond Dalmau, who Benicio is fangirling over
i've been talking about Puerto Rican Spanish, which means I have to pull out my favorite video in the world: this interview between Benicio del Toro and Puerto Rican basketball star Raymond Dalmau, who Benicio is fangirling over
Raymond y Benicio - #LaLigaMásDura
YouTube video by Baloncesto Superior Nacional
youtu.be
December 30, 2025 at 1:53 AM
youtu.be/ceOe0eOgYVA?...
i've been talking about Puerto Rican Spanish, which means I have to pull out my favorite video in the world: this interview between Benicio del Toro and Puerto Rican basketball star Raymond Dalmau, who Benicio is fangirling over
i've been talking about Puerto Rican Spanish, which means I have to pull out my favorite video in the world: this interview between Benicio del Toro and Puerto Rican basketball star Raymond Dalmau, who Benicio is fangirling over
youtu.be/ceOe0eOgYVA?...
i've been talking about Puerto Rican Spanish, which means I have to pull out my favorite video in the world: this interview between Benicio del Toro and Puerto Rican basketball star Raymond Dalmau, who Benicio is fangirling over
i've been talking about Puerto Rican Spanish, which means I have to pull out my favorite video in the world: this interview between Benicio del Toro and Puerto Rican basketball star Raymond Dalmau, who Benicio is fangirling over
Raymond y Benicio - #LaLigaMásDura
YouTube video by Baloncesto Superior Nacional
youtu.be
December 30, 2025 at 1:53 AM
youtu.be/ceOe0eOgYVA?...
i've been talking about Puerto Rican Spanish, which means I have to pull out my favorite video in the world: this interview between Benicio del Toro and Puerto Rican basketball star Raymond Dalmau, who Benicio is fangirling over
i've been talking about Puerto Rican Spanish, which means I have to pull out my favorite video in the world: this interview between Benicio del Toro and Puerto Rican basketball star Raymond Dalmau, who Benicio is fangirling over
oh shoot, is Levantine zġir, ‘small’, influenced by Aramaic? the voicing and deemphatization always seemed strange to me, but i'm not sure that the distribution works out. (Egyptian at least has ṣuġayyar)
Syriac sentence of the day:
ܡܕܝܢܬܐ ܚܕܐ ܙܥܘܪܬܐ ܐܚܝܕ ܐܢܐ. ܘܫܦܝܪܐ ܘܠܬܪܝܢ ܣܦܩܐ ܠܡܥܡܪ ܒܗ̇ ܒܫܠܝܐ.
mḏittā ḥḏā zʕōrṯā aḥiḏ-nā. w-šappirā w-la-ṯrayn sāp̄qā l-meʕmar bāh b-šelyā.
"I have a little city. It's beautiful and it's enough for the two of us to live in in peace."
ܡܕܝܢܬܐ ܚܕܐ ܙܥܘܪܬܐ ܐܚܝܕ ܐܢܐ. ܘܫܦܝܪܐ ܘܠܬܪܝܢ ܣܦܩܐ ܠܡܥܡܪ ܒܗ̇ ܒܫܠܝܐ.
mḏittā ḥḏā zʕōrṯā aḥiḏ-nā. w-šappirā w-la-ṯrayn sāp̄qā l-meʕmar bāh b-šelyā.
"I have a little city. It's beautiful and it's enough for the two of us to live in in peace."
December 29, 2025 at 9:11 PM
oh shoot, is Levantine zġir, ‘small’, influenced by Aramaic? the voicing and deemphatization always seemed strange to me, but i'm not sure that the distribution works out. (Egyptian at least has ṣuġayyar)
but also there are like. eight of them. 90% of persian "verbs" are just maṣdar kardan/šudan
verb that looks like all the other verbs is exactly right
December 25, 2025 at 9:11 PM
but also there are like. eight of them. 90% of persian "verbs" are just maṣdar kardan/šudan
types of Persian word:
very, very Indo-European (barādar, "brother"; sitāra, "star")
inexplicable false cognate (bad, "bad"; mēz, "table")
learnt it from an Indian takeout menu (murġ, "chicken"; gōšt, "meat")
very, very Indo-European (barādar, "brother"; sitāra, "star")
inexplicable false cognate (bad, "bad"; mēz, "table")
learnt it from an Indian takeout menu (murġ, "chicken"; gōšt, "meat")
December 25, 2025 at 6:06 PM
types of Persian word:
very, very Indo-European (barādar, "brother"; sitāra, "star")
inexplicable false cognate (bad, "bad"; mēz, "table")
learnt it from an Indian takeout menu (murġ, "chicken"; gōšt, "meat")
very, very Indo-European (barādar, "brother"; sitāra, "star")
inexplicable false cognate (bad, "bad"; mēz, "table")
learnt it from an Indian takeout menu (murġ, "chicken"; gōšt, "meat")
Reposted by ari
Lo, Hrodulf the red-nosed reindeer –
That beast didn’t have unshiny nostrils!
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in Anglo Saxon meter:
allthingslinguistic.com/post/1359368...
That beast didn’t have unshiny nostrils!
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in Anglo Saxon meter:
allthingslinguistic.com/post/1359368...
December 24, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Lo, Hrodulf the red-nosed reindeer –
That beast didn’t have unshiny nostrils!
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in Anglo Saxon meter:
allthingslinguistic.com/post/1359368...
That beast didn’t have unshiny nostrils!
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in Anglo Saxon meter:
allthingslinguistic.com/post/1359368...
Reposted by ari
"actually there are only two words for horses and it's equus and morin"
I somewhere read a theory that Berber a-yis “horse” would be a loan from Hurrian ⁖))
December 16, 2025 at 8:09 PM
"actually there are only two words for horses and it's equus and morin"
Reposted by ari
(Repost) POV: you've just started reading Genesis 1:2
December 11, 2025 at 6:40 AM
(Repost) POV: you've just started reading Genesis 1:2
Reposted by ari
this was prompted by "Fishing Alone in the Freezing River for Snow," attr. Fan Kuan 范寬 (c. 960 - c.1030): I was planning to use it to illustrate something else, then realized I would have to translate the poem as the caption for it to make any sense
December 10, 2025 at 6:25 PM
this was prompted by "Fishing Alone in the Freezing River for Snow," attr. Fan Kuan 范寬 (c. 960 - c.1030): I was planning to use it to illustrate something else, then realized I would have to translate the poem as the caption for it to make any sense
Reposted by ari
But anyway the thing that has stuck with me about "April is the cruelest month" was something Suzanne Stetkevych pointed out once, which is that in premodern agricultural societies, planting had begun in April but winter stores were running out. So you had to starve while you used seed you could eat
December 7, 2025 at 12:27 AM
But anyway the thing that has stuck with me about "April is the cruelest month" was something Suzanne Stetkevych pointed out once, which is that in premodern agricultural societies, planting had begun in April but winter stores were running out. So you had to starve while you used seed you could eat
The winter wrote, with ink of rain and showers
and shining lightning pen and hand of cloud,
a blue and purple letter upon the garden
no craftsman in his cunning could devise.
So, when the earth desired the heavens’ face,
it wrought stars in the linen of its beds.
— Solomon ibn Gabirol, tr. mine
and shining lightning pen and hand of cloud,
a blue and purple letter upon the garden
no craftsman in his cunning could devise.
So, when the earth desired the heavens’ face,
it wrought stars in the linen of its beds.
— Solomon ibn Gabirol, tr. mine
December 7, 2025 at 10:37 AM
The winter wrote, with ink of rain and showers
and shining lightning pen and hand of cloud,
a blue and purple letter upon the garden
no craftsman in his cunning could devise.
So, when the earth desired the heavens’ face,
it wrought stars in the linen of its beds.
— Solomon ibn Gabirol, tr. mine
and shining lightning pen and hand of cloud,
a blue and purple letter upon the garden
no craftsman in his cunning could devise.
So, when the earth desired the heavens’ face,
it wrought stars in the linen of its beds.
— Solomon ibn Gabirol, tr. mine
realizing that my fuṣḥà is a little all over the place phonologically. i think it's mostly Moroccan (ج [ʒ], a fairly back final /a/), but these days i've had a little Egyptian bleeding in (madrása-type stress).
December 6, 2025 at 9:55 AM
realizing that my fuṣḥà is a little all over the place phonologically. i think it's mostly Moroccan (ج [ʒ], a fairly back final /a/), but these days i've had a little Egyptian bleeding in (madrása-type stress).
thought Hebrew qinnāmōn, "cinnamon", was a recent internationalism, but it turns out it's in the Pentateuch!
the borrowing's the other way around: Greek κιννάμωμον is a borrowing from Canaanite (Herodotus says Phoenician, Klein says Hebrew).
the borrowing's the other way around: Greek κιννάμωμον is a borrowing from Canaanite (Herodotus says Phoenician, Klein says Hebrew).
December 4, 2025 at 9:58 PM
thought Hebrew qinnāmōn, "cinnamon", was a recent internationalism, but it turns out it's in the Pentateuch!
the borrowing's the other way around: Greek κιννάμωμον is a borrowing from Canaanite (Herodotus says Phoenician, Klein says Hebrew).
the borrowing's the other way around: Greek κιννάμωμον is a borrowing from Canaanite (Herodotus says Phoenician, Klein says Hebrew).