Unspooling a musing from my Edfringe diary...

[diamond_geyser]

When comedians want to compare languages, the word “butterfly” is often how the point is illustrated.

Mr Fliberty Bing Bang Tiernan Douieb sometimes talks of one of the ways the Welsh say “butterfly”: “iar fach yr haf”, which translates as “little chicken of the sky

Comments

[amuchmoreexotic]

Have you heard the Gary Le Strange song Papillon?

[diamond_geyser]

No. The internet insists it exists, mind, and that I can thieve it from here. Can't quite listen at work. Does it have a chorus of “olookolombooka”?

[amuchmoreexotic]

It's only in French and English, but it does have some ace interlingual rhyming.

[perfectlyvague]

Haf is summer, not sky!

Little summer hen, not chicken of the sky!

Checking that online I saw other mad words for other birds and insects. I was reminded that the welsh version of the kid's programme Magpie was called Bilidowcar or cormorant. Also there are much more fluttery names for butterfly in welsh.

[diamond_geyser]

Well I suggest you start placard planning for quite the Douieb heckle.

[perfectlyvague]

Cornish is tykke dew or something. Also, please to be googling andre breton and butterfly for much hilarity.

[diamond_geyser]

A butterfly had attacked the Parisian poet in the middle of New York. I would wager this was - if true - revenge for Breton spearing and preserving so many of his fluttery brethren.