Assessing the strength of a language

A language has depth and breadth if it has sufficient words to translate the following.

"
Glint, glisten, glitter, gleam ...

Tiffany though a lot about words, in the long hours of churning butter. "Onomatopoeic," she'd discovered in the dictionary, meant words that sounded like the noise of the thing they were describing, like cuckoo. But she thought there should be a word meaning a word that sounds like the noise a thing would make if that thing made a noise even though, actually, it doesn't, but would if it did.

Glint, for example. If light made a noise as it reflected off a distant window, it'd go glint! And the light of tinsel, all those little glints chiming together, would make a noise like glitterglitter. Gleam was a clean, smooth noise from a surface that intended to shine all day. And glisten was the soft, almost greasy sound of something rich and oily.
"

- Terry Pratchett, The Wee Free Men

Tâi-bûn-koán Koa-á-chheh āu-tâi

Taiwanese New Year

Large trees - Kavalan traditional songs

Tiù-tiù-tâng

An orchestrated version with historic pictures in I-lan County, Taiwan.


"Tiù-tiù-tâng," classic Taiwanese folk song from I-Lan County. This 1968 version by Teresa Teng is extremely commercialized. Teresa Teng 鄧麗君 originates from Yunlin County, Taiwan.

And now sung by a new generation:




And another Taiwanese folk song:

Ta'k-kang ài liān-si'p kóng kap siá Tâi-gí

Bo'k-su, ài ta'k-kang liān-si'p kóng Tâi-gí.


Sèng-tàn-cheh Khoài-lo'k !
Merry Christmas.

"En̂-têu Kîm-ngit Lòi So-mu" -- Liau Tet-thiâm [客家話]

1.
En̂-têu kîm-ngit lòi so-mu,
Chhong-kô chan-mî kám-chhia Chú;
Su-kiên van-vu̍t Sùn chhóng-chho,
Ya kiung ên-têu li̍t-thoi chú.

2.
En̂-têu kîm-ngit lòi so-mu,
Hia̍p-li̍t kot-chhó fe̍t chhán-thú;
Sùn-sîm sùn-yi lòi ki-ngiam,
Yàng-ko sâm-sên lâu mìn-khu.

3.
Kîm-ngit lòi-to fùn-mu chhièn,
Thai-kâ yím-súi oi sû-ngièn;
Hau-kin fu-mû he Chú-hiun,
Kin-pai Thiên Fu yin vì-siên.

4.
Kîm-ngit lòi-to fùn-mu chhièn,
Chhiòn-kâ súm-chúng yu tûi-yén;
Li̍p-sûn hàng-tho yùng-yeu Sùn,
Chho-fuk ngìn-khiùn kien lo̍k-yèn.

---
English:

As we come to sweep the grave, we meet God with thanks and praise.
He who does all things renew, did make our ancestors, too.

As we come to sweep the tomb, cut the grass and turn the earth,
thankfully here we recall, our ancestors in God's hall.

Meeting here before the tomb, this is not a time of gloom.
Parents taught us of the Lord, steeped us in God's holy word.

In the grave-yard where we stand, as a fam'ly hand in hand,
glory give to God above, who receives us all in love.

Words: Liau Tet-thiâm 1999 (Taiwan) ; English translation: David B. Alexander 2004
Music: Lìm Li-ngiu̍k 1986 (Taiwan)