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

by Adrienne Wilson on

Lots of things going down in Switzerland these days and judging from their events calendar a lot of it deals with the sound of music. If festivals are your thing, Europe your destination of choice and Switzerland on your radar you may want to book your last-minute flight, say right now. Starting Friday, June 23 three music fests will be kicking off: Openair Frauenfeld, JazzAscona, and the St. Galler Festspiele, classic muzik festival. All of them sound quite promising and run throughout the weekend. If you can try making it a triple-header of musical sounds.

Today’s word is a Romansh word used in Switzerland:

allegra – hello

German is the most widely spoken language in Switzerland of the four national languages which also include; Italian, French, and Romansh. The Romansh language has a total of 50,000-70,000 speakers. It is a Romance lang and not truly a single language, but a group of closely-related languages or dialects. Depending on which region you’re traveling you may never need to use the Romansh language, but it never hurts to know. Head over to Websters Online Dictionary for decent size list of common Romansh words and their English equivalents or watch Romansh TV online at Radio e Televisiun Rumantscha. Lastly, check into Wiki for additional links and historical facts.

Word for the Travel Wise (06/19/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Well I’ll be the first to admit that while I thought people from Scotland talked a wee-bit funny I never knew their language is as complicated as Arabic. (So it seems.) After fishing through the BBC online language programs I came across this very well-built guide for learning Scottish Gaelic. Considering I’ve probably got enough work cut out for me in learning the language of my Welsh ancestors (one of these days), I’ll be passing on the Scottish Gaelic. However, those of you wanting badly to learn, the time is now. Go for it!

Today’s phrase is a Scottish Gaelic phrase used in Scotland:

beag air bheag – little by little

Scottish Gaelic is spoken in Scotland and some parts of Canada. It falls into the Goidelic branch of Celtic language. Wikipedia can take you further if your main concern is the history of the lingo and to continue learning online your choices are many. Take a look at the links listed on the bottom of the Wiki to guide you to extra sources. I suggest starting with the BBC.

Word for the Travel Wise (06/18/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Just a quick note for all the wonderful adventure dads or armchair traveling fathers reading here this Sunday evening, hope you’re having a most magnificent father’s day and more!

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

aabbe – (pronounced ah-bo) father

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, qaalin, khapar

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

by Adrienne Wilson on

As summer quickly comes near I can’t keep from thinking of great beach destinations to spend simmering days in the hot sun cooling off by the ocean. Malta maybe? Ibiza perhaps? Jamaica sounds good. Beyond anything I’d love to take off to a place in the Carribbean like Martinique, St. Lucia or Guadalupe before hurricane season really kicks in with fierce everyday rains, but chances are that trip won’t be happening soon. Until it does I’ll just keep dreaming – as always.

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

pensées – thoughts

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)

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

by Adrienne Wilson on

Before yesterday, I didn’t feel a huge need to learn any Russian. At least I didn’t see an urgent need to learn the language, but all that has changed. I suddenly find myself just a few months away from touring lands nearby Russia’s border where the sound of the lingo can still be heard clicking off the local’s tongues. Besides it has been almost two months since the last lesson. Let’s dive in with an easy one…

Today’s word is a Russian word used in Russia:

paka – bye-bye

Ready to learn Russian? Check out Master Russian first. They have numerous excellent sound files and the text is clear and easy to read. Learning also goes beyond your Russian A, B, C’s at their site as they have crosswords, literature, proverbs, folk music, and homework help. Other good sites include Learning Russian and this Ectaco Translation Dictionary. Click here for two language book rec’s on Amazon. BBC has the basics to download and hear audio, while Wiki provies the in depth Russian lang back history.

Past Russian words: , shakzochniy