Word for the Travel Wise (04/17/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Northern Europe has been an area I’ve long neglected to visit or think much about, but the more information I gather on countries like Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Finland I’m starting to sing another tune. Today I’ll say Finland and their sauna’s are slowly winning me over, but tomorrow I’ll probably say it’s Denmark. For the Finnish a trip to the sauna is part of everyday life. Today they are considered a common luxury, serving as a focus for family and community as noted by the tourism site. If you’re considering a trip to Finland’s saunas check out the site here for all the details and remember the season for sauna is summer.

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

löyly – quality of steam

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

Word for the Travel Wise (04/16/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

With today being a holiday many of you probably spent your afternoon and evening around the dinner table laughing and sharing stories with close family members and friends. Perhaps you were in church all day long with your community celebrating the resurrection of Christ or hunting for colorful Easter eggs planted by an imaginary Easter Bunny with the children. (You know – the kind of heartfelt moments Kodak and Hallmark pride themselves in knowing how to capture best.) If Easter happens to be a holiday you don’t particularly celebrate then maybe you spent your afternoon lying lazily in a grassy park with a good book. I’ll even go as far as guessing that it was a Lonely Planet guide to Greece for your upcoming summer travels. Either way today’s word should come in handy for anyone with an appetite for learning, maghiritsa (a tripe and herbs soup) or potential travelers to Greece.

Today’s word is a Greek word from Greece:

Pascha – Easter

According to the Ministry of Tourism in their little summary on how the Easter is celebrated, the word “Pascha” stems from the Jewish “Pasah” which means “Passover.” The corresponding Greek word for “Pascha” is “Lambri” (Brightness) because the day of the resurrection of Christ is a day full of joy and exhilaration. To sum it up, Easter is a pretty big deal in Greece.

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

Word for the Travel Wise (04/14/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

It is a firm belief of mine that I will one day return to Budapest. I’m setting my hopes high to reside in the city for at least one year, but I’ll surely settle for a quick jaunt if it’s the only way to explore my beloved Budapest at least once more. To prepare for the day of my return I like to keep tabs on what’s happening via Pestiside.hu – the daily dish of cosmopolitan Budapest. In one of their more recent dispatches a failed shoplifter returns to the scene of the crime to file a complaint. You can read the full account of what went on at Pestiside or Index.hu (a Hungarian consumer blog). Pestiside notes the original letter from the alleged thief claims he was removed from the store after asking to write in the shopper’s book, which brings me to the word for today.

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

vásárlók könyve – shopper’s book

Now Hungarian speakers out there, please help me out. It is my guess that vásárlók könyve truly means shopper’s book, but judging from the piece I’m also going to have to second guess myself. Give me the inside scoop. Dish the deal on this Hungarian language find in parentheses.

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

Word for the Travel Wise (04/01/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

After discovering the Josephine Baker tours being held this year in France I have made a conscious decision to not only tour France, but to brush up intensely on my French. Yes, I know. In my last two posts I was a little hard on the lang, constantly noting how I don’t really care to waste my time learning such a pretentious tongue, but let’s just say I’ve had a change of heart. French isn’t half as bad as I make it sound and doesn’t sound half as bad as Thai for instance. The beauty of the French language like Spanish and other Romance lingos is the similarities among several words. It’s usually all those abstract accent marks making it seem as if the word is much harder to pronounce. In that case I suggest you either avoid or just ignore the marks completely and say the words as you normally may in English with a slight Texas-drawl.

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

frottis – (pronounced fro-tee) fruit

This word is an easy one. No accents marks either. It’s only a smidge different from the English meaning in pronunciation. Here’s a formula to follow: frottis – (fro-tee) – fruit – (fruity). Those French fashionistas may be right about American’s being flashy in attire, but nothing is more flamboyant than their vernacular, so make sure you kick up the body language and wiggle just a little when you say today’s word. Tell your server at the restaurant you’re in the mood for something frottis or the old woman and vendor of the fruit stand that you want the freshest of frottis. They’ll be so impressed you’ll want to thank me later.

Anyhow… free online sources include France-Pub, French Assistant, and the BBC Languages.

Past French words: confiture, difficile

Word for the Travel Wise (03/29/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Here’s a cool little lesson on the various ways to describe a camel in Somali, 46 to be exact. The author of the blog asks that we don’t take their word for all variations, but considering how little I know about Somali now I think I’ll take my chances of picking one and passing it onto you.

Today’s word is a Somali word used in Somalia:

qaalin – young camel

Since Somali isn’t spoken by a large population learning the language online for free will be a difficult task to accomplish. You maybe able to find an exchange partner online at My Language Exchange, provided there are Somali speakers registered with the site. Your best bet would be travel within the country, finding a local tutor or purchasing language software from African Language dot com. Their CD-ROM is priced at $99 USD, so may wish to shop around before buying.
Past Somali words: maxaad shektay