GIBRALTAR AND LLANITO/YANITO AND MORE

 Gibraltar is a small British territory on the edge of Spain. It is basically a small town with a rather big airport and a very big Rock called the Rock of Gibraltar.

The Airport Runway Intersection: Because space is at such a premium on the peninsula, Gibraltar's main road (Winston Churchill Avenue) historically had to cross right through the middle of the active airport runway. Every time a flight took off or landed, pedestrian and vehicle traffic had to be stopped by railroad-style crossing gates. (A new tunnel under the runway was built in recent years to ease this unique traffic nightmare.)

The Rock's Hidden Interior: The Rock of Gibraltar isn't just a solid mass of limestone; it's practically hollowed out like a fortress. It contains over 30 miles (50 km) of underground tunnels carved out over centuries by the British military, along with massive natural chambers like St. Michael's Cave.

The Resident Wildlife: The upper section of the Rock is home to the Barbary macaques—the only wild monkey population in Europe. Local legend says that as long as the monkeys remain on the Rock, Gibraltar will stay under British rule.

Curiously the people of Gibraltar have a different language known as Llanito (pronounced yah-NEE-to). While English is the sole official language used in government, schools, and media, and Spanish is widely understood, the indigenous vernacular of Gibraltar is unique, meaning it is not just a collection of slang words—it is a fluid, highly expressive blend of Andalusian Spanish and British English.

Calling oneself a Llanito is a proud assertion of Gibraltarian identity—distinguishing locals from both mainland British culture and neighbouring Spain. It is primarily an oral language without a standardized written grammar or spelling.

In standard Spanish, llano means "flat/plain," and llanito is its diminutive form, translating literally to "little flatland". Another variation suggests it stems from the Spanish term la gente llana, referring to the "plain" or "common working-class" townspeople.

OH NOT MISS OUT 

The name Barbary (as in the Barbary Coast, Barbary macaque, or Barbary lion) is the historically European name for the coastal regions of North Africa—encompassing modern-day Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya.

Ancient Greek: Bárbaros (βάρβαρος): To ancient Greeks, anyone who did not speak Greek sounded like they were making meaningless sounds: "bar-bar-bar". Thus, bárbaros meant "someone who speaks an incomprehensible language" or simply a "foreigner."

Latin: Barbaria: The Romans adopted the Greek term (barbarus) to describe any ethnic group outside the Greek and Roman cultural sphere. When the Romans conquered North Africa, they used Barbaria to refer to the territories beyond their immediate provincial control, particularly the inland regions inhabited by indigenous groups.

Arabic: Al-Barbar (البربر): Following the 7th-century Islamic conquests of North Africa, Arab chroniclers adopted the term from the local Byzantine Latin population to describe the indigenous inhabitants of the Maghreb.

By the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, European languages (French, Spanish, Italian, and English) re-imported the term from Arabic and Latin. The North African coast became known as the Barbary Coast (la Côte de Barbarie), infamous in Europe between the 16th and 19th centuries due to the Barbary Pirates (corsairs) who operated out of ports like Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli.

Europeans and Arabs historically used variations of Barbary/Berber. 

IN INDIA/INDIAN LANGUAGES

Sher is Tiger, while Babbar Sher is Lion. 

The name Babbar Sher derives from Barbary lion. 

Curiously the Indian Lion is actually the Persian Lion Panthera leo persica (extinct in Persia, survives today only in India's Gir National Park in Gujarat) and not the North African Barbary Lion Panthera leo leo. 

The similarity between Babbar Sher (बब्बर शेर) and Barbary Lion is a classic case of false cognates—words that sound almost identical and describe similar things but come from completely different linguistic roots.

In classical Persian, Babr ( ببر) originally referred to a Tiger or a fierce predatory big cat. The word was borrowed into Arabic (Babr/Babir) to describe aggressive, maned predators or ferocious wild beasts. When Persian and Arabic merged with local North Indian vernaculars (Khari Boli/Hindustani) during the medieval Sultanate and Mughal eras, the word doubled its consonant into Babbar (meaning ferocious, mighty, or full-maned).

Babbar (Ferocious/Maned) + Sher (Big Cat) = Babbar Sher (The Maned Lion)

The Sanskrit word सिंह (Siṃha) is the primary root for "lion" across nearly all Indo-Aryan languages, as well as several languages in Southeast Asia that were historically influenced by Indian culture (Sanskritization).

Bengali: সিংহ (Shingho)

Hindi: सिंह (Singh)

Marathi: सिंह (Siṁha)

Odia: ସିଂହ (Singha)

Assamese: সিংহ (Shingho)

Sinhala: ସିଂහ (Sinha)

Kannada: ಸಿಂಹ (Simha)

Telugu: సింహము (Simhamu)

Malayalam: സിംഹം (Simham)

Tamil: சிங்கம் (Singam)

Malay: Singa

Indonesian Bhasa/Javanese: Singa

Thai สิงห์: (Singh)

Burmese: ခြင်္သေ့ (Chinthe)

Khmer: សិង្ហ (Seng) / សីហ (Seiha)

In Bengali, বর্বর (bor-bor) means "barbaric," "uncivilized," "savage," or "cruel/brutal". It comes directly from Sanskrit (বর্বর/barbara), which meant uncivilized, stammering, or non-Aryan. It shares a common Proto-Indo-European origin with the Ancient Greek βάρβαρος (bárbaros). English Beber and Bengali বর্বর (bor-bor) are practically one and the same. In fact, the English word Barbaric meaning "uncivilized," "savage," or "cruel/brutal" and Barbary come from the same Greek Bárbaros (βάρβαρος)

বর্বর জাতি (borbor jati) → A savage/primitive tribe or society.

বর্বর অত্যাচার (borbor ottachar) → Barbaric or brutal torture/oppression.

বর্বর আচরণ (borbor achoron) → Rude, unrefined, or uncouth behavior.