Words with no frontiers

A handful of words barely change across languages. Can you guess them?

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Every now and then, language brings us together. You can be pardoned for not knowing how to order dinner in Finnish or Dutch. But, most likely, any human will understand you if you say "pizza." Something similar would happen if you were trying to stop a "taxi", or if you were offered "chocolate." Can you guess these 15 words that are practically the same across languages?

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Music is the language of the soul, and apparently, of many tongues too. It traces back to the Greek mousikē, meaning "art of the Muses." The Romans borrowed it as musica, and, just like a catchy tune, it spread.

For example, in Italian, it’s still musica, and in Spanish it’s música. In French, musique, in Turkish müzik, and in Japanese ミュージック (myūjikku).

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This word comes from the Old Italian banca, meaning "bench," because medieval moneylenders did their business on benches in marketplaces. If they failed, their bench was broken—hence bancarotta, or "bankruptcy."

In French, it’s banque, in Spanish banco, in Italian banca, and in German Bank. Even the Dutch stick with bank. A word so universal, you could call it… currency.

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The good news is you will have no problem calling a taxi in several countries. How much they’ll charge you, however, will vary.

This word is short for taximeter, from the French taximètre, which itself comes from the Latin taxa (a "charge" or "fee").

In German, it’s Taxi, in Russian такси (taksi), in Indonesian taksi, and in Finnish, taksi. The French, ever stylish, also call it taxi too.

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This one is just as convenient. The word "hotel" comes from the French hôtel, which originally meant a mansion or townhouse, derived from the Latin hospitale (a place for guests).

It seems like the whole world agreed on the global concept of "mi casa es su casa." For example, in Italian, Indonesian, and Spanish, it’s hotel, in Turkish otel.

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The internet —the modern-day agora. Of course, it’s a recent term, one that transported itself until it became a universal word. As a result, the versions for it don’t vary much across the board.

It’s short for "interconnected networks", a term born in the 1970s. In German, it’s Internet, in French internet, in Japanese インターネット (intānetto), and in Finnish, Dutch, and Spanish, for example, it’s still "internet".

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The piano –both the instrument and the soft intensity– has been conquering souls for so many centuries, that many languages agreed to call it the exact same word.

Its full name, pianoforte, comes from Italian, meaning "soft-loud," because mechanically it could perform both, making it more nuanced than the harpsichord, its predecessor.

In Spanish, it’s piano, in French, it’s piano, in Norwegian, it’s _piano_… You get the idea. The Russians say пианино (pianino), but you would still understand it.

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Cleverly, your ticket to the world is called pretty much the same everywhere you travel.

It comes from the French passeport, literally meaning "pass through a port."

Most languages have a combination of "pass" and "port" in them, and some just reduce it to "pass". For example, in Italian, it’s passaporto, in Finnish passi, in Swedish it’s pass, in Indonesian paspor, and in Turkish, pasaport.

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Many cultures must agree that bananas are nature’s perfect snack. No need to change its fun label. It comes from the Wolof word banaana.

In German, it’s Banane, in French banane, in Japanese バナナ (banana), and in Finnish banaani. And it is exactly banana in endless others, like Spanish, Portuguese, Croatian, and Italian.

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The pizza —Italy’s gift to the world and the reason we all have a favorite topping. It comes from the Latin pinsa, meaning "flatbread."

In French, it’s pizza, in Turkish pizza, in Russian пицца (pittsa), and it’s piotsa in Gaelic. Different ways to pronounce similar sounds, really.

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The existing word was chosen to name the device invented in the 20th century. It comes from the Latin radius, meaning "ray" or "beam," referring to the waves it receives as signals.

In French, it’s radio, in Japanese ラジオ (rajio), in Finnish radio, and in Turkish radyo. Even in Swahili, it’s redio.

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"Safari" comes from the Arabic safar, meaning "journey," which traveled through Swahili before becoming a global term for wildlife expeditions.

The word gained popularity during the colonial era, when Europeans ventured into Africa to hunt (or, these days, photograph) the "Big Five."

In French, Indonesian, Spanish, Finnish, Hindi, and others, it’s safari. Few languages came up with an alternative term, really.

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Similarly to the radio, when photographs were invented, it was decided to name them with terms everybody could understand. This was to combine the Greek phōs (light) and graphē (drawing).

The invention of photography in the 19th century revolutionized how we capture memories, and the word itself became a global staple.

In French, it’s photo, in Japanese フォト (foto), in Turkish foto, and in Finnish valokuva. Well, you got us there. But the Finnish can also call it foto.

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It would be easy to ask for coffee everywhere in the world, and we are grateful for that. Imagine having to remember a contrite translation as soon as you wake up!

It comes from the Arabic qahwa, which originally referred to wine but later became associated with the energizing drink. The word traveled through Turkish kahve and Italian caffè before spreading worldwide.

In French and Spanish, it’s café, in Japanese コーヒー (kōhī), in Finnish kahvi, and in Indonesian kopi.

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They say that one out of ten people don’t like chocolate. That must mean that approximately 90% of the world enjoys it. And they all agree to call it the same name.

It comes from the Nahuatl word xocolātl, which the Aztecs used to describe a bitter drink made from cacao beans. Spanish conquistadors brought it to Europe, where it was sweetened and transformed into the treat we adore today.

In French, it’s chocolat, in Japanese チョコレート (chokorēto), and in Turkish çikolata. Even in Hindi, it’s चॉकलेट (chŏklaṭ).

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It’s no wonder, is it? One of the words that remains barely changed across languages has the Latin universus ("whole, entire") as its root.

It’s because, originally, the term was a phrase describing an academic institution: universitas magistrorum et scholarium ("community of masters and scholars").

In French you’d call it université, in Spanish universidad, in Italian università, in German Universität, and similarly on.

LOST ALONG THE WAY

10 Forgotten Modern Inventions Once Thought To Be The Future

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In the fast-paced world of technology, few inventions stand the test of time. Once-trendy gadgets and innovations have now become relics of the past, overshadowed by newer and more efficient products.

Let's take a nostalgic journey through 10 modern inventions that have been relegated to the annals of history.

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Since at least 1876, telephone landlines have connected people across long distances, allowing communication on a scale that was never possible before. But the once familiar ring of landline phones is now something of the past. Most modern households have abandoned their landline phones altogether in favor of the convenience and mobility offered by mobile devices.

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Before the era of word processors and computers, typewriters were the primary tool for producing written documents. The mechanical sound of keys striking paper was the expected background noise in most offices around the world, and there was at least one typewriter in every household. Today, despite their practical obsolescence, they remain within intelligence agencies and in handling top-secret documentation, or wherever a connection to the internet is more of a liability than an advantage.

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The successor to the portable cassette player, the compact disc player vastly improved the experience of listening to music on the go. Sadly, its reign was somewhat short-lived, as the rise of smaller and more versatile MP3 players rendered these clunky devices obsolete.

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In the pre-digital era, fax machines were the only way to transmit scanned documents quickly. A revolutionary device, it quickly became a staple of offices and businesses everywhere. However, the advent of email, cloud storage, and digital signatures made fax machines mostly obsolete.

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Before smartphones, pagers were the ultimate communication gadget. Doctors, emergency personnel, and business executives relied on these pocket-sized devices to stay connected everywhere they went. However, their limited capabilities meant they were quickly replaced by the rise of mobile phones that could support both text messaging and voice calls.

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Before CDs, USB drives, and cloud storage, floppy disks were the primary means of portable data storage. Their simplicity of use and small size meant they were adopted in both domestic and commercial settings. However, their limited capacity and susceptibility to damage made them impractical compared to modern storage solutions.

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While they are still around, having a working film camera today is quite rare and almost synonymous with being a photography student of some sort. But before the ubiquity of smartphones equipped with high-quality cameras, these devices were the primary tool for capturing memories of friends and family. Their grainy quality and the whirring sound of a film advance lever, however, still evokes nostalgia for simpler times in photography.

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The VHS tape (and player) really revolutionized home entertainment, allowing viewers to watch their favorite movies from the comfort of their living rooms. But with the emergence of DVD and Blu-ray discs, followed by digital streaming services, VHS tapes became obsolete. Even the old saying "Be Kind, Rewind," often affixed to rental tapes, now feels like a relic of a bygone era.

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The unmistakable (and weirdly cacophonous) sound of a dial-up modem connecting to the internet once signaled a gateway to the digital world. Unfortunately, the glacial pace of dial-up internet became intolerable with the advent of broadband connections. Today, in the era of high-speed internet, the idea of waiting minutes for a web page to load feels like a distant memory.

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DVD players were a true jump in quality for home entertainment systems. With their superior video and audio quality compared to VHS tapes, DVDs quickly became a staple in households around the world. Their extended capacity also meant movies came with all sorts of goodies like director’s commentary and various choices for subtitles. However, with the advent of online streaming services like Netflix or Hulu, DVDs fell out of use, and the sight of a DVD collection gathering dust on a shelf became commonplace in many houses.