Word for the Travel Wise (12/31/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

As promised I’m taking this one full year of language from across the globe and from the teeny tiny villages found in the Congo out with an explosive big bang! Okay, so you saw right through my attempt to hype it up, but really this is an exciting time. 2007 is only hours away for us and this completes a full year first year for the “Word for the Travel Wise” feature. I hope that the lessons have not only been helpful, but a little memorable. For the last time this year I just want to relay that while I do not have a degree as a linguist or speak fluently the mother tongue of several far more exotic places than my home digs in Florida, I appreciate the feedback and minor corrections that have been given and look forward to building a better world language feature in the new year.

Here is Happy New Year in various languages:

  • Yiddish – A git yor
  • Portuguese – Feliz ano novo
  • French – Bonne année
  • Italian – Buon anno
  • Persian – sal-e no mobarak
  • Japanese – Akemashite omedeto
  • Turkish – Mutlu yibasi
  • Catalan – Feliç any nou

Happy New Year everyone!

Word for the Travel Wise (12/25/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Wishing all who are celebrating this Christmas holiday a very merry day. May Santa bring you everything you wish for and more!

Today we say Merry Christmas in various languages:

  • Hawaiian – Mele Kalikimaka !
  • Catalan – Bon Nada!
  • Lithuanian – Linksmu Kaledu!
  • Dutch – Gelukkig Kerstfeest!
  • Persian – Krismas-e shoma mubarak!
  • Spanish – Feliz Navidad!
  • Swedish – God Jul!
  • Korean – Sungtanul chukaheyo!
  • Turkish – Neseli Noel!

Turkish Airlines Employees Off Camel

by Neil Woodburn on

A job well done is celebrated in a variety of different ways around the globe. It could be a pint of ale at the local pub, catered lunch at the office, or the sacrificial slaying of a camel.

Turkish Airlines has been receiving a bit of bad publicity recently when it was learned that maintenance workers at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport decided to celebrate the completion of long, drawn-out project by butchering a camel on the tarmac and distributing 1,540 pounds of its meat to those who got the job done.

Can you imagine looking out of your plane window at the airport and instead of seeing baggage handlers doing their thing, you spot a bunch of blood-covered maintenance workers hacking up a camel?

According to USA Today, such sacrifices are quite common in Turkey to celebrate “a happy event or the accomplishment of a difficult task.”

Oh man, you can just hear that clock tick backwards on Turkey’s bid to become part of the European Union.

Word for the Travel Wise (12/11/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

My trip to Turkey just this past August was too short and not sweet enough. I had a five hour layover and took advantage of the little time to see the city with a friend of a friend who met me at the airport. It became apparent early on that I would need to return for an extended period of time if I were going to see any real action or experience the nightlife. I’m told to go back in May when the weather is nice in the day and perfect for night crawling. If you are planning some time out on the town when darkness surrounds the city and street lights flicker to keep it aglow; check out this list of Istanbul nightlife options from Frommers.

Today’s word is a Turkish word used in Turkey:

gece – night

Prepare ahead of time by visiting this Turkish Class site. Membership is free and you’ll get a lot more than some of the basics they already have listed. Online Turkish is good too, but you’ll have to register and pay to get anything more than hello, how are you and I love you. Stick to the first site and check out this Turkish vocabulary list of body parts. Wiki has an excellent starters piece on background, history and a short list of words. Scope out phrasebooks from Rough Guides, Lonely Planet or grab both.

Past Turkish words: merhaba, iyi volculuklar, sabirsiz, lokanta, ezan

The Real Borat?

by Erik Olsen on

Is our beloved Borat a thief? That’s the question that a lot of news sites are now asking following the complaints of a Turkish comedian whose shtick is eerily familiar to the Kazakhstan goofball played by Brit comedian Sascha Baron Cohen. Mahir Cagri says that he is completely sure that he was the inspiration for Borat, that he’s hoofing it to London to…well, try and get some money our of it. Ah capitalism.

But there is some rather intriguing evidence to back up his claim. To wit: back in 1999, before anyone had heard of Borat, let alone Ali G, Cagri became celebrity online after posting “unintentionally” amusing photos of himself playing ping pong, the accordion and sunbathing in a skimpy bathing suit. Not the stretchy day-glow nut-hugger suit that Borat wears, but then again, perhaps that suit has not been invented yet. He was also known for his broken, albeit charming approach to women: “Who is want to come TURKEY I can invitate … She can stay my home.” You have to admit, it sounds a lot like our little Borat.

But, of course, if anyone who thinks they’re being somehow imitated can get money for that is another question entirely. I don’t know the details exactly, but I do know that the guy upon whom the Kramer character is based in Seinfeld tried to get some compensation for that fact….and didn’t….although I think he’s leading tours in the city or something. So perhaps if all else fails the “real” Borat can maybe buy himself a bus.

(thanks Karen!)