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WHILE it is commonly known that Eskimos have dozens of words for snow, were you aware that the Albanian language boasts 27 different words for moustache (and a similar number for eyebrow)?
These and scores of international linguistic curiosities are celebrated in a new book to be published next week.
"The English language has a long-established and voracious tendency to naturalise the best foreign words. Ad hoc, feng shui, croissant, kindergarten.
We've been pinching words from other cultures for centuries. Here are some we missed," explains Adam Jacot de Boinod, author of The Meaning Of Tingo.
His interest in quirky words soon became an obsession after he started working as a researcher for BBC quiz programme QI, hosted by Stephen Fry.
(C) 2005 Evening Standard - London. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved
