Word for the Travel Wise (10/12/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Occasionally for some of the harder languages to learn online, I try to go back and do some more site searching. It can be an exhausting task at times. Many sites are just dead ends to error messages or really aren’t worth visiting, but here is one for the Somali language I think will work great if you are interested! They have a list of some 600 English to Somali words which should put anyone off to an awesome start. I believe the site was started to help Somali speakers learn English, but really it should help anyone.

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

waddan – country (also noted as “dal” in Somali)

Since Somali isn’t spoken by a large population learning the language online for free will be a difficult task to accomplish. Start with this Fortunecity site. They offer a 600 word English to Somali dictionary and vice versa. 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, qaalin, khapar, aabbe

Word for the Travel Wise (10/11/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

With it being the Islamic holiday of Ramadan this month I figured this word should come-in-handy if you aren’t already familiar with the term. To learn more about the holiday and the religious practice of fasting and what it means check out this Wikipedia piece. For all those celebrating – Have a happy Ramadan! (I think that’s safe to say?)

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

ezan – the Muslim call to prayer

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

Word for the Travel Wise (10/10/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Just as fall begins it seems as though winter weather comes bulldozing its way in complete with snow flurries and flakes. Now in my mind it couldn’t be a more beautiful or romantic time to plan a holiday in France and this Pyrenees winter walking excursion looks perfect if you share my same thoughts. Responsible Travel has several departure dates in December as well as early 2007, but if you’re not into package deals use their info as a guide and build your own trip. I’m not a big fan of packaged programs either, but I must say this one kicking off in the French spa town of Luchon does seem pretty decent.

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

neige – snow

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, croire

Word for the Travel Wise (10/09/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Today is Columbus Day and though we know Columbus was Italian born and he sailed under the flagship of Spain when he discovered the New World, to pay small tribute I leave you with this word from a neighboring country of the two. Why? Well no good reason really. Besides, I’m sure it’s closely related to the Italian and Spanish word, although I could be wrong.

Today’s word is a Portuguese word used in Portugal:

barco – (baar-koo) boat

Easy Portuguese online offers a small dictionary of useful words, useful phrases, and a couple of short lessons to get you started. Most have audio clips including our word for the day found here. Portuguese Language dot net has excellent historical info on the language and numerous tools to help you get motivated and be successful at learning the 6th most spoken language. For Portuguese heard in Portugal you can download mp3 audio from BBC, which I’m sure there are several similarities between the two countries. Those interested in classroom study abroad can click here for more info at Franco Americano.

Past Portuguese words: xixi, bronzeador, lanchonete, esquerda, crianças, noite

Word for the Travel Wise (10/08/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Having recently purchased a small Lakota dictionary for beginner’s I thought I’d put it to use here on Gadling. Lakota won’t be a language you run around using on a daily basis even with the majority of speakers in the U.S. For the following word I please note the letter ‘n’ should be more like a ‘n’ with a ‘j’ hanging from the second line of the ‘n’. I don’t have the correct character key, but should you really try pronouncing this one, just beware of the way it appears here and how it should actually appear.

Today’s word is a Lakota word used in North America:

wawíhangya – destroyer

Lakota is spoken in the U.S. in areas which include North Dakota, South Dakota, parts of Nebraska, Minnesota, and Montana. It is also spoken by a few people in Canada and has a total range of 8,000-9,000 speakers in all of North America. Lakota is the largest of the three languages of the Sioux, of the Siouan family as noted in Wikipedia. Head over to their page for a quick read on lingo background info. One last interesting fact is that the language represents one of the largest Native American speech communities left in the United States.

Learning Lakota online will be a bit more challenging than Spanish, but can be done to a certain point. There is a Lakotiya Yahoo group which holds live online classes. You must be a member, but I believe registration is free and from there you can start learning pronunciation and grammar. The Saskatchewan Indian Cultural Center has a decent website which includes quotes form the elders, common terms & phrases (with audio), and a grammar guide. Lakhota.org offers off-line language products like this Speak Lakota Level 2 Textbook which are said to be the finest according to the site. If you’re in the northern plains area of the U.S. try seeking out a native speaker for some lessons, otherwise you can pick up this Everyday Lakota for beginner’s dictionary at the Crazy Horse Memorial or on Amazon.