Word for the Travel Wise (02/09/07)

You’d think I’d never traveled to a Spanish speaking country in my life the way one of my close pal from Mexico and my strict Peruvian co-worker are cracking down on the Spanish language lessons. To help prep me for my upcoming trip to the Republica Dominicana (no longer the Dominican Republic) I have been hit with tons of new Spanish vocabulary and useful phrases. Since this is a two way street; they get the enjoyment of laughing as I painfully try to get the double ‘r’ sound followed by a vowel and then another ‘r’ out right – I get to make a list of words I think I’d want to know. Considering how much I like the fruit mentioned below, I thought it would be a good one to practice on now.

Today’s word is a Spanish word used in Mexico:

toronja – grapefruit

Amerispan, Cactus Language and IMAC are all good starting points to learning abroad. A free membership at Spanish Unlimited gives you the opportunity to learn a new word everyday by email, gain pen pals and hear audio of the words. Their website is actually a good resource tool for many different Spanish related topics. I won’t even begin to list some of the texts out there that could further your studies because there are entirely too many. If you know of some language books that would be useful please feel free to list them.

Past Spanish words: escalar, cercano, realidad, enfermo, jalar, isla, timbre, viajar

Word for the Travel Wise (02/08/07)

Malta isn’t the sort of place I’d imagine one getting lost to the extreme or losing their way back for days on end, but not every human that walks or travels the planet is blessed with good sense or sense of direction. I’m pulling this selection from the Survival Maltese site, also mentioned below.

Today’s word is a Maltese word used in Malta:

Intlift
– I’m lost


BBC Languages Quick Fix allows one to download essential holiday phrases like this to store in your mp3 player for the big trip ahead. You can hear audio of some very basic words on their site as well. For a full run down on the history and a thorough section on survival Maltese head over to aboutmalta.com. I’m not too certain how much the survival Maltese will be needed considering the country’s other official lang happens to be English and they happen to have around 40 English learning language schools.

Past Maltese words:
Fejn huma t-tojlezz?, sahha, xorb, jien jisimni, caw

Word for the Travel Wise (02/07/07)

Before puckering up to give your mister or misses a big smooch-a-roo next week, try practicing some of these foreign langs to woo them with over your candlelit dinner. I’m sure his or her corazon (heart) will melt like mantequilla (butter), so long as you stick to one foreign tongue and not two. Oh, and pick up the entire bill, don’t go Dutch. Got it?

Good.

Today I’m supplying you with a list of “I Love You’s” from around the globe:

  • Chinese – Wo ai ni
  • Croatian – Volim te
  • Dutch – Ik hou van je
  • French – Je t’aime
  • Polish – Kocham cie
  • Spanish – Te amo

For more ways to say the three word heart-racing sentence in other languages visit this NY Public Library page.

Word for the Travel Wise (02/05/07)

You must forgive me for being light on the writing these days. I have been doing some vacation planning – the type that makes you want to pull your hair out and scream. Luckily this planning hasn’t anything to do with Bangladesh or me heading over there for the time being; rather today’s word describes what I’ve been planning.

Today’s word is a Bangla (Bengali) word used in Bangladesh:

ch’uti – vacation

Web resources for Bangla are few, but you can pick up quite a few words reading (not skimming) through the Wiki and from this Bangalinet site which has a small tutorial on how to write in the script. Beyond those two I’m sure there are others, but as I mentioned before it is like pulling teeth to get these words at times. My personal resources to the Bengali lang are limited, so much like you out there reading it’s the web or some LP guide out there with the basics.

Past Bangla words: bhromon, shobbho, nir dohsh, ohnubad, naach

Word for the Travel Wise (02/04/07)

I’m busy watching the Superbowl now, but decided to pop in just for all of you.

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

jeu – game

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, neige, cafard, vacances