Question

We have come across words like ‘gale’ and ‘storm’ in the account. Here are two more words for ‘storm’: typhoon, cyclone. How many words does your language have for ‘storm’?

Answer 1

In English, we have words like storm, gale, typhoon and cyclone. In some Indian languages, there are several terms too. For example:

Hindi:

• आंधी – strong dusty wind, often before rain
• तूफ़ान – violent storm, often with heavy rain
• चक्रवात – cyclone

Bengali:

• ঝড় (jhor) – storm in general
• ধুলো ঝড় – dust storm
• ঘূর্ণিঝড় (ghurnijhor) – cyclone

You can make a similar list for your own mother tongue, counting how many different words it uses for different kinds of storms.