Word for the Travel Time (01/15/07)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Today I offer a simple word out of Ethiopia for the start of the work week.

Today’s word is a Amharic word used in Ethiopia:

Segno – Monday

Amharic is the second most Semitic language in the world after Arabic. It is the official working lingo of Ethiopia and spoken in such places as Egypt, Israel, and Sweden by a number of emigrants. The writing system called abugida is based from the now extinct Ge’ez language. In addition to Amharic other widely spoken languages in the country include Tigrinya, Somali, and Arabic to name a few. Wikipedia has good background information on the lang if you’re at all interested, but for those ready to dig in here’s a couple of places to learn online.

Ethiopian Restaurant dot com was kind enough to include some basic Amharic to use while in a restaurant from which I pulled our word for the day. This a great starter to days of the week, numbers, asking for your bill and other small useful phrases. Listen online to KFAI radio for Amharic broadcast out of Minnesota. Check their schedule for program times and listen daily as a self-learning tool. African Language has Amharic software for purchase and Amazon has a number of books for purchase including the Amharic LP phrasebook.

Past Amharic words: qurse, shuruba, ameseginalehu, buhe, yikerta

Word for the Travel Wise (01/14/07)

by Adrienne Wilson on

I’m not a collector of anything really. I have a couple of scrapbooks, old letters from friends across the globe, and my DVD’s which I’ve slacked on buying new ones recently. Nothing I have is of any value (at least now) and if I were ever to start putting together a collection of something that is, I’d go after stamps. First off, they tell so much about a place in such tiny space. They reveal history, national flowers, popular sports and religion. This web collection of Afghan stamps was fun to click around for a few minutes. They have two of Buzkashi, Islamic stamps and some depicting the Communist takeover. Good stuff and though today’s word isn’t stamp, I offer a closely related one that could be off help when mailing your letters and postcards from Kabul back home.

Today’s word is a Pashto word used in Afghanistan:

khat – letter

Pashto is spoken by 40-50 million speakers in Afghanistan, western Pakistan and northern India. It became an official language of Afghanistan in 1936. Persian or Dari is also an official language. Good example sentences, historical information and links are all found at Wikipedia. Pashto.org has video, music, downloadable dictionaries, software and book lists. Yorku.ca has a long list of words to start along your Pashto learning path for at least a few weeks. Visit the BBCPashto page if you already have some understanding of the language under your belt.

Past Pashto words: mujasemy

Word for the Travel Wise (01/13/07)

by Adrienne Wilson on

I’m on the go this evening so without delay here is your word for the evening.

Today’s word is a Croatian word used in Croatia:

lzlaz – exit

Falling under the western group of south Slavic languages, the Croatian language is used primarily by the Croats and is written in the Croatian alphabet. Croatian is an official language of Croatia as well as Bosnia and Burgenland (Austria). Wiki is the perfect starting point to learn all the background notes on the language as well as an example of the language as found in The Lord’s Prayer. This Hrvatski jezik website has a few lists of useful words and phrases for the traveler looking to get by in the country. Things like days of the week, shopping, sightseeing, customs, and basic greetings are all covered. Learn-Croatian.com is another good tool for picking up enough to make due and offers a number of links to help those interested in learning further. As always two of my personal language learning fav’s include the BBC Quick Fix Guide to Croatian with audio for download and LP’s pocket sized Croatian phrasebook.

Past Croatian words: kolodvor, more, ime, putovnica

Word for the Travel Wise (01/12/07)

by Adrienne Wilson on

I just spent a few minutes hanging around YouTube looking at various dance videos from around the world. My searching stopped at the video featured here of a traditional Bengali wedding dance performed at a henna ceremony. Apparently the performance is not typical for henna ceremonies, but the author of the video still gives props to the dancer and I agree that it is rather lovely.

Today’s word is a Bangla (Bengali) word used in Bangladesh:

naach – dance

Web resources for Bangla are few, but you can pick up quite a few words reading (not skimming) through the Wiki and from this Bangalinet site which has a small tutorial on how to write in the script. Beyond those two I’m sure there are others, but as I mentioned above it was like pulling teeth to get this word. With that being said class is dismissed.

Past Bangla words: bhromon, shobbho, nir dohsh, ohnubad

Word for the Travel Wise (01/11/07)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Coming up this March for all the anime lovers is the Tokyo International Anime Fair in March. To be more exact, the event will be open to the general public on March 24-25, 2007. The event is known as the world’s largest anime exhibition held every spring at Tokyo Big Sight.

Today’s word is a Japanese word used in Japan:

kokusai – international

Spoken Japanese comes smoothly for those who either practice or submit themselves to hours of Japanese pop music, but either way one can learn this language in through several avenues. Japanese Online is a VERY good FREE site to start learning. They have audio and a great conversation lessons. The lessons get more in-depth as you become a registered user which is still free of charge. Takese.com has a list of over 2000 words worth checking out. Those on the road already may want to pick up the LP Japanese phrasebook or check into a school for a few weeks of learning. Study Abroad has a list of school located all over the country. If you’re seeking help with written Japanese best of luck to you!

Past Japanese words: hajimemashite, dewa mata, tomodachi, omocha, uchiwa, nori, shigoto