Word for the Travel Wise (04/04/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Every time I discover a means to
learning a language many of us probably never heard of and may never use I still feel as if we’ve gotten one step
closer to being better communicators with the planet as a whole. Instead of just conversing with the town folk in lil’
Podunk, Alabama imagine being swept away to lands further east with a knowledge of this Niger-Congo lang years before
arriving. I find dreams like getting out of Podunk to go to Africa lands quite enchanting. For one I’ve never been to
either of the two, but making it a reality would be far cooler.

Today’s phrase is a Mende phrase used in Sierra Leone:

Nya sinjii
ve – Give me my change

So what if Sierra Leone
isn’t hot on the tourist maps?
By the time things finally simmer down for good in all parts of the land you’ll be one of the few rambling off in
Mende. With this phrase you’ll even be one of the smarter few making sure you’re getting your change instead of getting
ripped off. I am sure you can say this one a number of ways to be either demanding or polite. In most cases always
request your change in a polite tone. The knowledge you hold will be perplexing enough.

Mende is going to
be yet another toughie to learn online. For now I suggest going through this Mende Phrasebook published by the Bumumbu Press during
colonial times to help Mende speakers learn English. In turn it can help you learn Mende in modern times.

Cultures: Divorce While Sleeping

by Adrienne Wilson on

I
didn’t know things like this could happen, but what’s more interesting is the what was supposed to happen afterwards
and what actually happened. Pology, an amazing blog covering
cultures from all over brings our attention to an unusual case of
divorce in eastern India. Under Islamic law a husband only has to say "talaq," the Urdu word for
divorce three times to secure a permanent end to his marriage. Well, while Aftab Ansari was asleep and under the
influence of medicines to help him sleep better, the 30 year-old uttered "talaq" three times causing
his wife to worry and discuss with friends. The husband said he did not mean to divorce his wife of 11 years and that it
was an accident, however when word got around to the Village Elders their solution was this:

In order to
remarry the couple would have to be apart for at least 100 days and that the wife would have to spend a night with
another man and then be divorced by him. The couple not wishing to obey the rules have now been ostracized according to
the Yahoo
news piece.

Now is that crazy or what? It’s almost like the Wizard of Oz with a twist where Dorothy and Toto are at ends and
"talaq" three times gets them their wish to be free from one another and Toto speaks instead of
barks.

Word for the Travel Wise (04/02/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Score! Another cool African language to enhance our experience on the diverse continent. This one comes from southern Africa and is spoken in a country that has one of the only three monarchies left in Africa. Know where it is? I mentioned a popular festival called Umhlanga held every August in the area not too long ago. You can check that here if you missed it, but enough guessing games for now.

Today’s word is a siSwati word used in Swaziland:

Ninjani – How are you?
Also known as Swati, Swazi, and Seswati; siSiwati is a Bantu language from the Nguni group spoken in Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique and South Africa. There are an estimated 1,706,924 speakers across the four countries and is listed as an official language in South Africa and Swaziland only. There are a few sites to visit to assist in learning this African tongue. Start with the Swaziland tourism site. The homepage has a sample dialog including the response to today’s word. Young Heroes has their site set up to learn one word a day, but you can refresh as many times as you wish in one day to learn multiple. Lastly, I would search around Amazon more, but this Essential siSwati might be a good start for those really wanting to learn.

Word for the Travel Wise (04/01/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

After discovering the Josephine Baker tours being held this year in France I have made a conscious decision to not only tour France, but to brush up intensely on my French. Yes, I know. In my last two posts I was a little hard on the lang, constantly noting how I don’t really care to waste my time learning such a pretentious tongue, but let’s just say I’ve had a change of heart. French isn’t half as bad as I make it sound and doesn’t sound half as bad as Thai for instance. The beauty of the French language like Spanish and other Romance lingos is the similarities among several words. It’s usually all those abstract accent marks making it seem as if the word is much harder to pronounce. In that case I suggest you either avoid or just ignore the marks completely and say the words as you normally may in English with a slight Texas-drawl.

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

frottis – (pronounced fro-tee) fruit

This word is an easy one. No accents marks either. It’s only a smidge different from the English meaning in pronunciation. Here’s a formula to follow: frottis – (fro-tee) – fruit – (fruity). Those French fashionistas may be right about American’s being flashy in attire, but nothing is more flamboyant than their vernacular, so make sure you kick up the body language and wiggle just a little when you say today’s word. Tell your server at the restaurant you’re in the mood for something frottis or the old woman and vendor of the fruit stand that you want the freshest of frottis. They’ll be so impressed you’ll want to thank me later.

Anyhow… free online sources include France-Pub, French Assistant, and the BBC Languages.

Past French words: confiture, difficile

Word for the Travel Wise (03/18/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

For some reason I had great difficulty picking a word today until I looked down on my foot and discovered the perfect word to pass onto you all. Strangely enough I have only one word tattooed on my body and luckily it isn’t the name of some estranged ex-boyfriend. Rather it is a word I use to remind me how I would like to live my life and one of the ultimate goals I’d like to achieve. The first two things people always ask when they see the tat is “what does it mean and didn’t it hurt getting it on your foot?” To answer the second question first, the tattoo didn’t hurt at all. I did have to hold my leg to keep from kicking the tattoo artist because the needle kept hitting a nerve that causes that kicking reflex, but it tickled for the most part. To answer the first question I will provide you with today’s word.

Today’s word is an Arabic word used in Qatar:

taeadol – draw, a tie (like in a good game of futbol)

When I selected the word I did so in Farsi, a language I had been pretty avid at learning while living in Los Angeles and in Farsi ‘taealdo’ means balance. It wasn’t until a few years later in Tampa when a gentleman from Qatar noticed the tattoo and told me it’s meaning in Arabic which is quite similar to the Persian meaning when you think about it. I’m just glad to know it didn’t mean something like tapioca or the color perry-winkle (two of my least favorite things) in Arabic. The major lesson in today’s word for the travel wise is to make sure you investigate all meanings of a word before you ink it on your outer most organ.

My Language Exchange is an excellent site in making friends across the globe while zoning in on the areas that give you the most trouble in your language of choice. While most services are free, contacting other members does cost a very small fee. Other learning tools for free standard Arabic online include this Learn Arabic site which has some remarkable lessons. The audio sounds a bit off for me, but they’ve got both the Naskh script (easy to read when learning the alphabet) and the Latin spelling of the letter. Babel Arabic is another good source. Planet Edu has an online listing of Arabic schools all over the Middle East, Africa and the U.S. Lastly, for purchase and a quick pocket guide there’s the Lonely Planet Egyptian Arabic Phrasebook, which should be the closest to that spoken in Qatar verses Moroccan Arabic.

Past Arabic words: wafin, akhdar