Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2016 May 5

= May 5 =

Tan Hana Wighna Tan Sirna
The article for the Indonesian military unit KOPASKA says that their motto is "Tan Hana Wighna Tan Sirna" and gives the translation of that phrase as "There is no obstacle that cannot be defeated". The motto isn't in Indonesian however. Even the Indonesian language Wikipedia article for KOPASAKA gives a translation of the phrase into Bahasa Indonesia ("tak ada rintangan yang tak dapat diatasi"). At first thought I thought it may be Javanese, but google translate doesn't recognize any of the words in the phrase in a way that could make any sense. What language is "Tan Hana Wighna Tan Sirna"? 139.228.118.179 (talk) 04:17, 5 May 2016 (UTC)
 * "Wighna" (विघ्न) means "obstacle" in Sanskrit and "sirna" (शीर्ण shirna) can be translated as "shattered, broken away, withered", i.e "defeated".--William Thweatt TalkContribs 05:58, 5 May 2016 (UTC)
 * So is it Sanskrit, or is it another language that is using Sanskrit loan words? 139.228.118.179 (talk) 08:29, 5 May 2016 (UTC)


 * This page List of military unit mottoes by country says that many Indonesian military mottoes are taken from Sanskrit or Old Javanese - so that seems to be you range of options. Given that the article on Old Javanese says that the language was heavily influenced by Sanskrit, it might be hard to decide between them. 81.132.106.10 (talk) 08:58, 5 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Old Javanese is heavily influenced by Sanskrit in the same way English is heavily influenced by Latin. They're totally different languages, not even from the same family. Just lots of loan words and they share a script (or one derives its script very closely from the other). 139.228.118.179 (talk) 13:45, 5 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Using this Old Javanese to English dictionary I confirmed it is Old Javanese. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. 139.228.118.179 (talk) 13:57, 5 May 2016 (UTC)

Malba
This article, dealing with museums in India in the light of the recent fire, includes the phrase "unhygienic and offensive garbage disposal arrangements, including heaps of junk and malba that are left to lie around for months and years". What is malba? --rossb (talk) 11:24, 5 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Geotechnical Engineering by Sahashi K Gulhati Manoj Datta defines it as "construction waste comprising of brickbats, concrete lumps, soil, etc" See also The Times of India article "Govt gives malba products a shot", for example, where it is defined as ".demolition waste". The English Wiktionary entry on debris gives "मलबा ‎(malbaa)" as the Hindi translation of debris in the sense of "rubble, wreckage, scattered remains of something destroyed"---Sluzzelin  talk  11:32, 5 May 2016 (UTC)
 * I had, until 30 seconds ago, thought that a brickbat was a wooden implement used either by bricklayers or brickmakers; I now find that it's just a piece of broken brick used as a weapon. We live and learn but grow not the wiser. Alansplodge (talk) 22:22, 5 May 2016 (UTC)
 * I only ever knew it as the opposite of a bouquet. Even less wise am I. --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  22:43, 5 May 2016 (UTC)
 * In deference to Alan's Plodges's contribution, I should like to say that in normal English we say 'none the wiser'. KägeTorä - (影虎)  ( もしもし！ ) 08:54, 6 May 2016 (UTC)


 * Indeed that is the normal modern phrase - however, Alansplodge is quoting the original version from the works of 17th century poet John Pomfret 81.132.106.10 (talk) 14:05, 6 May 2016 (UTC)

Thanks for the explanation. It would seem to be a word in use in Indian English.--rossb (talk) 22:27, 5 May 2016 (UTC)
 * It sounds a very useful word - how can we introduce it into other forms of English? 81.132.106.10 (talk) 14:05, 6 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Just start using it :) SemanticMantis (talk) 18:58, 6 May 2016 (UTC)
 * We already have it, with Peach Malba, a flavour of yoghurt. KägeTorä - (影虎)  ( もしもし！ ) 15:06, 7 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Are you sure you are not thinking of peach melba - a well known culinary delight 81.132.106.10 (talk) 15:45, 7 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Named after the famous Australian operatic soprano Dame Nellie Peach. --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  21:57, 7 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Considering the antecedent response to KageTora's antecedent remark, I'm really terrified. --Askedonty (talk) 22:44, 7 May 2016 (UTC)
 * JackofOZ does that to people. You should see his collection of S&M gear.  KägeTorä - (影虎)  ( もしもし！ ) 09:39, 9 May 2016 (UTC)