Word for the Travel Wise (06/02/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

As some of you may recall, Neil is on his way to distant lands and I can’t say how green with envy I am. Sure, I’m bopping around the U.S. on a walking tour, but nothing thrills me more than coming in contact with a completely different culture and people. Although, I must admit the folks in the Mid-West are certainly groups of their own. Anyhow, one of his destinations appears to be Albania and while I’m not sure how long he’ll be trekking around the country it is my hopes this word comes in handy.

Today’s word is an Albanian word used in Albania:

muaj – month

Albanian is spoken in Albania, Kosovo, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro, and the Republic of Macedonia. It is in its own independent branch of the Indo-European language family with no living close relatives as stated by Wikipedia. Argjiro is a pretty new site with a long way to go, but there are a few things there to help a beginner in the Albanian lang get a foothold. Start with the English-Albanian dictionary. Single-Serving online has an awesome Albanian phrase guide for the tourist with audio files. For history, lessons, and other useful knowledge on the tongue of Albania visit, Albania World.

P.S. Have fun Neil!

Word for the Travel Wise (05/27/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Yesterday, a friend of mine was schooling me to a small chain of luxury inns located in Brooklyn, Cape May, and Washington D.C. The lucky gal went ahead and booked a much needed night’s stay at the Brooklyn mansion which looks quite lovely and like a real treat from their website. The Akwaaba Mansion in NY has been around since 1995 where owners — Monique and Glen — restored the 1860’s mansion to its original granduer so that it could operate as an upscale bed-and-breakfast. How sweet of them! Be it one night or two or whether you’re coming from afar or nearby like my friend, Akwaaba seems like the perfect home away from home with added luxury.

Today’s word is a Twi word used in Ghana:

akwaaba – welcome

I’m really uncertain about akwaaba being of Twi origin, but Twi is one of the more common of tongue from Ghana, so I went ahead and said it. (Gulp!) Please feel free to correct me on this one if needed. Their website said the name was West African from Ghana meaning welcome which made me think to make it the word of the day considering I haven’t touched this country in over two months.

Pronounced ‘chwee,’ the language is spoken by some 7 million people concentrated in southern Ghana and is a dialect of the Akan language which belongs to the Kwa language family. Wikipedia is a good place to start for the background info. Unfortunately there aren’t many Twi resources on the web so I encourage you all to make some friends from Ghana, take a trip or exercise some of these useful books and CD’s found on Amazon. You could also try My Language Exchange, but the chances of there being a fully Twi speaking person wanting to swap your language knowledge for yours doesn’t seem too bright. Sorry, but worry not. I still have my list and more words to follow.

Past Twi words: akwantuo

Word for the Travel Wise (05/25/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Tonight I’m passing up the breathy intro to dive right into our lesson. Sound good? Great! It’s an easy word.

Today’s word is a Finnish word used in Finland:

kiitos – thanks

Finnish is a member of the Finno-Ugric language family and classified as an agglutinative language. This particular Finnish language site provides some examples of easy words and phrases, an intro to the lingo, pronunciation guide and a list of additional Finnish material elsewhere. Another excellent way to advance your skills and engage your senses is to listen to the local music. Try the Finnish Music Information Center for audio and background information on the country’s favorite sounds. Online Finnish Lessons is another site offering lists of links to check out and if you’re in the city of Helinski stop by one of the schools to enroll in Finnish courses.

Past Finnish words: väsynyt, löyly

Word for the Travel Wise (05/22/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Even with June just ahead interested participants can still make the Old Buda Summer festival taking place in Budapest from June to September with the right amount of speedy planning. The summer long event will feature traditional chamber concerts and organ recitals in the courtyard of Kiscelli Museum and St. Peter and St. Paul’s Church. For the more popular concerts with light music from the turn-of-the-century make sure you head over to Main Square. Music won’t be the only thing making the Óbuda settlement a happening place this year in Hungary. You can count on a full scale of cultural activities and I’m sure there will be plenty of food to sample as well.

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

hangverseny – concert

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

Word for the Travel Wise (05/20/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

For animal lovers, especially those who love watching monkey’s and aren’t intimidated by feces being flung their way, a trip to the area of Bossou in Guinea is a must. This is said to be one of the best places in West Africa to spot chimpanzees. According to Lonely Planet’s guide book information online, the guides in the Bossou area see the chimps on a day-to-day basis which almost guarantees a first hand encounter of your very own. But even if you never saw a chimpanzee, the hike alone is supposed to be quite scenic and simply amazing.

Today’s phrase is a Pular Fuuta phrase spoken in Guinea:

Enee, Porto! A majju! – Hey, white boy, you lost?

When I came across this online manual for learning the language of Fuuta Jallon which we know most of which as Guinea, the first phrase in the travel section was the one listed above. That being said, something tells me it may just come in handy when wandering around with your map all up in the air on your chimpanzee hunt.

French is the official language of Guinea so anyone with even a little French under their belt should be able to make it around fine, but there are several ethnic dialects still used in the country, with the Pular Fuuta being one of the more popular. This Mido Waawi Pular guide was developed to help Peace Corp volunteers learning with an instructor, but can be a great tool for anyone seriously wanting to learn. In Adobe format and 128 pages, it is probably one of the best resources you’ll be able to use from the web. Scope out the Wiki on Fula in addition to the guide above, however the family breakdown of the language may be slightly difficult to follow.