Word for the Travel Wise (09/30/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Here’s another interesting blog out of Greece. This one is called Elginism, which means an act of cultural vandalism and focuses on museum scandals and ancient art. Certainly isn’t your average blog, but that’s what I dig about it. If you’re headed to the country and plan on doing some museum hops it may be worth the time to pick up some inside info just to have some conversation pieces if the opportunity so arises.

Today’s word is a Greek word from Greece:

filaki – prison

Online sources for learning Greek for free include BBC Languages and AGNI. The courses at BBC Languages are incredible. Probably one of the best you’ll find online and audio can even be found for today’s word by clicking here. Amerispan offers Greek immersion and language courses in Athens. Pretty pricey, but hey it’s Greece!

Past Greek words: toh karavee, Pascha, aigolios, thello, foni

Word for the Travel Wise (09/27/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

If all the words in the Pidgin language are repetitive like the two I’ve presented thus far I’d have to vote it as the easiest and most fun language to learn. However, all the words are not like this, but it still seems to be fairly simple to catch onto.

Today’s word is a Pidgin (Tok Pisin) word used in Papua New Guinea:

kaikai – food

As noted in Wikipedia the word ‘tok’ means word or speech and the word ‘pisin’ means pidgin and is a Creole language spoken by about 4 million people as a second language and over a hundred thousand as a first. It is spoken in the northern mainland of Papua New Guinea. If you scroll down further you’ll find a nice list of words and some pronunciation examples. As an added bonus you can learn even more words by venturing into the online Tok Pisin phrasebook, also provided by Wiki. They’ve actually got a great handful of links which I suggest going through them all if you’re really into learning this lang. One last site I’ll note here though is Robert Eklund’s Tok Pisin page. It had pictures of signs, people and some audio clips. Looks a winner to learning the very basics.

Past Pidgin (Tok Pisin) words: natnat

Word for the Travel Wise (09/23/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Everyone has a favorite musician they’d take a loan out at the bank to go see in concert if it were the last concert ever being held in some rare exotic place like Easter Island. I have a couple I would go out on a limb and do such for; the first being Björk, second Sade and the third I’ll give to Les Nubians. After seeing the two Cameroonian sisters perform live in Los Angeles I was sold. Listening to a few of their songs now hoping they’ll do a show somehwere nearby soon. I really don’t want to do the loan at the bank thing. Smile.

Today’s word is a French word used in Cameroon:

croire – believe

English and French are both official languages of Cameroon.

French is the third largest Romance language in the world in terms of native speakers according to the Wikipedia and is the official language of 29 countries. There are a number of places to learn French abroad which include Canada and Switzerland in addition to France. Amerispan offers immersion programs in all three of the countries and more info can be found by clicking here. Search other study abroad programs at some of these sites here: Coeur de France, Accord French Language School, and Transitions Abroad to name only a few. Swing over to My Language Exchange where you are sure to find someone willing to exchange their lingo skills for some of your own. Free online sources for learning French include France-Pub, French Assistant, and the BBC Languages.

Past French words: confiture, difficile, frottis, ma reum (mère), pensées, vélo

Word for the Travel Wise (09/20/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Holiday Park in Germany is celebrating 35 years and has a horde of specials for the season running up until November 5, 2006. If your family is going on holiday in Europe put this one on the list for the kiddies, but only if they’re good.

Today’s word is a German word used in Germany:

ankommen – arrive

You can find audio and German slang at BBC Languages, who continue to impress on the online scene. They probably have one of the BEST FREE German language guides on the net. Make no mistake in passing this one up! When it boils down to it there are several good sites to learn the Deutsch lingo. Deutsch Lernen and German for Travellers are two other good picks. First Step World offers study abroad courses in Munich and Berlin.

Past German words: vorglühen(s), krieger, bolzen, durchgeknallt

Word for the Travel Wise (08/27/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Okay, this news is a bit dated, but when I saw the headline I laughed out loud. Seriously. Pestiside.hu has a small blurb on some new traffic rules being enforced in the country which they claim plans to turn Hungarians into US-style safety sisses. How comical is that? I’ve seen how they drive over there and it’s insane! The new traffic rules are in regards to the use of reflective vests and if you’ve got a moment it’s quite funny to find who they point out as frequent users of the vests here in the states. Go to Pestiside.

Today’s word is a Magyar (Hungarian) word used in Hungary:

kijárat – exit

The Hungarian lingo is a Finno-Ugric language, which you can learn more about at Wikipedia, right now let’s stick to the places you can learn it for free. Hungarotips is a completely free site with beginner, intermediate, and advanced lessons. This impulzus web page has everything you’d basically find in a LP guide. There’s no audio, so read a little about the alphabet and then find someone who’s willing to make sure you speak like a local. The verbal exchange will be very rewarding I am sure. As always remember to scope out the BBC for basic lang downloads.

Past Hungarian words: köszönöm, vásárlók könyve, hangverseny