Word for the Travel Wise (05/19/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Here’s a bit of world music news hailing from the country of Iceland – It appears Björk will be releasing a seven album box set titled Surrounded. The hot metallic pink dual disc set will include the artist’s full catalog in Dolby 5:1 and DTS surround sound including all music videos. (I know – be calm everyone.) For those arguing Björk’s position as a true world music artist need to get with it. If you’re in America and she’s from Iceland and some of the tracks happen to be in the Icelandic language, then that my friends is world music. I know I’m not the only one inspired to visit Iceland because of the artist!

Today’s word is an Icelandic word used in Iceland:

velkomin – welcome

Use this one during your travels as much as you can stand. I’ll be using when my own Surrounded box set arrives sometime in June.

In the meantime and from afar we will work on our vocab. Háskóli Íslands, one of the universities offers an excellent free starter course to learning Icelandic. Pictures, text, and audio for sample conversations are included. European Youth Portal points out other sources of study within the country and distance learning. I’ve met several speakers with My Language Exchange. Lastly, check out the BBC for a few easy phrases to help get you around the town.

Past Icelandic words: söngkona/söngvari, himnaríki

Word for the Travel Wise (05/18/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Summer time is oh-so near and with the sun ah’ shinin’ and irie feelings all abuzz I’m sure vacationers will be flocking to the islands as soon the season is officially here. Perhaps they are headed there now, but if you plan on making Jamaica one of your island destinations why not wait and make your trip extra special by tacking on one of the largest Reggae concerts of the year to your itinerary? Hell, I’d do just about anything to get to the Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest this year. To my misfortune I won’t be making it July 16-22, 2006, but there’s always next time. The concert is set to take place in Montego Bay to be specific and the lineup is just plain stupid. Ugh – someone please shake something on the dance floor for me.

Today’s word is a Patois word from Jamaica:

mash up – to destroy, tear down, break up

Quite frankly I think destroy is a little far off, but I tend to use the mash up term to say something to the extent of “have a real good time at the party/concert/fete.” Mash up sounds a lot cooler than have a real good time, but please don’t destroy the place.

You can expand your ‘Rasta Patois’ in several ways. The most rewarding way is straight from the horse’s mouth, so you may wish to seek the knowledge from some West Indian folks in your neighborhood. If you can’t learn anything that way due to the low number of West Indian peeps in your circle, try watching films. The Rockers is an awesome and entertaining starting point. The 25th anniversary edition DVD has great features, including a small Rasta Patois dictionary. A good source on the net is Jamaicans dot com and Jahworks seems decent.

Past Patois words: satta, gwaan, labrish

Word for the Travel Wise (05/17/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

After my first experience at a Tibetan restaurant I figured I’d share some of the delicious vocabulary I plucked off the menu for today’s lovely lingo lesson. Since most of the items were names of dishes I won’t bother throwing them out there, but here’s one you can surely use in Tibet beyond meal times.

Today’s word is a Tibetan word used in Tibet:

Tashi delek – Welcome

Tibet is the type of place I’ve always heard tons of hoopla about, but never truly took the time to figure out what all the rage is about. I’ve already got a lot on my plate and I’m not talking about the veggie-style tsel thupek I had for dinner. Without going into politics I’ll pass on what I’ve found in regards to the language here and some cool notes to note on the country name itself.

According to the Wikipedia the English word for Tibet is derived from the Turkic word Töbän meaning “the heights.” The Sanskrit name for Tibet is Trivishtap and Tibetans call their homeland Bod, pronounced pö in Lhasa dialect. To learn more about the Tibetan language visit Tibet.com where you can find an audio guide, exhibition of Tibetan calligraphy, places to study and various other links. Your most extensive source for information on the web is probably going to be the Tibetan Language Institute site, which you’ll want to check out for yourself if genuinely interested in learning further.

Word for the Travel Wise (05/16/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

After traveling the states these last few weeks and with several more to head through I’m amazed at how many places have gone completely non-smoking. There are more places than one might expect like the Argosy Casino in Lawrenceberg, IN which has an all non-smoking area. I wish something like this could be put into effect all over, but I’m sure this would make for just as many unhappy campers as it would for the happy group. I’ve never been to Vietnam or much of anywhere in Asia, but it’s one of those places that leaves me with the feeling that smoking goes just about anywhere. I could be wrong and in the event you’re there looking for a clean, smoke-free, air zone this one is for you.

Today’s phrase is a Vietnamese phrase used in Vietnam:

cam hut thuoc – no smoking

To continue learning Vietnamese online start with phrase list found at the NY Public Library. This Wanna Learn / Geocities page has some free words and phrases listed. It was one of few I could find online for free though you won’t get far. Rosetta Stone offers audio and web courses for a fee and there’s always the opportunity to take a Vietnamese language class in Hanoi, Vietnam with CIEE. For those flying through the country for just a few short days pick up the phrasebook.

Past Vietnamese words: Xe Ðap, xinh xinh

Word for the Travel Wise (05/15/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Since Neil has started the process of pooling the masses for recommendations and tips for his upcoming trip to Croatia, Albania and Montenegro I’ll use this fine opportunity to enhance our lingo skills from each of the three areas. I imagine there aren’t many of you out there studying any of three countries everyday vernacular or street slang, so I’ll keep it fairly simple this evening and stick to a word that may come in handy for our dear Neil or anyone else with big travel departure plans to Croatia.

Today’s word is a Croatian word used in Croatia:

kolodvor – railway station

Falling under the western group of south Slavic languages, the Croatian language is used primarily by the Croats and is written in the Croatian alphabet. Croatian is an official language of Croatia as well as Bosnia and Burgenland (Austria). Wiki is the perfect starting point to learn all the background notes on the language as well as an example of the language as found in The Lord’s Prayer. This Hrvatski jezik website has a few lists of useful words and phrases for the traveler looking to get by in the country. Things like days of the week, shopping, sightseeing, customs, and basic greetings are all covered. Learn-Croatian.com is another good tool for picking up enough to make due and offers a number of links to help those interested in learning further. As always two of my personal language learning fav’s include the BBC Quick Fix Guide to Croatian with audio for download and LP’s pocket sized Croatian phrasebook.