Goodbye 2011--Hello 2012

Today at midnight, the year 2011 will end. For some, it was a rough year with lots of challenges, but also with good moments and new friends. I've heard from many people that 2012 will be better, and I firmly believe in that. 2012 will be our year, if we just seize the opportunity and make it our year. Carpe diem--seize the day. That simple phrase tells us all we need to know about how to succeed. It is on us to do something for our success and happiness.

That said, I wish you all a great start into the new year, with your friends and family, good food, beloved traditions, and a smile on your face when you count down.

May we truly make 2012 into our year!

German Tenses--An Overview (Part II.1)

German Tenses—an Overview Part II: Passive Tenses, Regular Verb, with “haben”

“fragen” is a regular verb which builds its compound tenses with the modal verb “haben” (to have).

Infinitiv == (infinitive)

fragen == (to ask)

Indikativ == Indicative Mode

Präsens == (simple present)

Ich werde gefragt == I am asked

du wirst gefragt == you are asked

er/sie/es wird gefragt == he/she/it is asked

wir werden gefragt == we are asked

ihr werdet gefragt == you are asked

sie/Sie werden gefragt == they are asked (you are asked—formal address)

Präteritum == (simple past)

ich wurde gefragt == I was asked

du wurdest gefragt == you were asked

er/sie/es wurde gefragt == he/she/it was asked

wir wurden gefragt == we were asked

ihr wurdet gefragt == you were asked

sie/Sie wurden gefragt == they were asked (you were asked—formal address)

Perfekt == (present perfect)

ich bin gefragt worden == I have been asked

du bist gefragt worden == you have been asked

er/sie/es ist gefragt worden == he/she/it has been asked

wir sind gefragt worden == we have been asked

ihr seid gefragt worden == you have been asked

sie/Sie sind gefragt worden == they have been asked (you have been asked—formal address)

Plusquamperfekt == (past perfect)

ich war gefragt worden == I had been asked

du warst gefragt worden == you had been asked

er/sie/es war gefragt worden == he/she/it had been asked

wir waren gefragt worden == we had been asked

ihr wart gefragt worden == you had been asked

sie/Sie waren gefragt worden == they had been asked (you had been asked—formal address)

Futur I == (future I)

ich werde gefragt werden == I will be asked

du wirst gefragt werden == you will be asked

er/sie/es wird gefragt werden == he/she/it will be asked

wir werden gefragt werden == we will be asked

ihr werdet gefragt werden == you will be asked

sie/Sie werden gefragt werden == they will be asked (you will be asked—formal address)

Futur II == (future II)

ich werde gefragt worden sein == I will have been asked

du wirst gefragt worden sein == you will have been asked

er/sie/es wird gefragt worden sein == he/she/it will have been asked

wir werden gefragt worden sein == we will have been asked

ihr werdet gefragt worden sein == you will have been asked

sie/Sie werden gefragt worden sein == they will have been asked

(you will have been asked—formal address)

Watch out for Part II.2 next Wednesday!

Tipps for Language Learning in a Foreign Country

If you ask around what way is best to learn a second language, many people will tell you to travel to a country where that language is spoken. Sounds easy enough, doesn't it? However, simply travelling to another country won't increase your language proficiency in that country's official language. There are some things you should keep in mind to reach your goal:

1) In order to increase proficiency in a language, you need to use it. This seems to go without saying, but I have known people who went to another country to do an internship and still didn't know any more of that country's official language by the time they returned home several weeks later. Another example is the youth group who goes on holidays. If all the teenagers stay among themselves, they won't need the second language at all, so they might as well spend their holidays in their own country for all the effect on their language skills.

2) Stay in a guest family. The best way to naturally increase your language proficiency is to stay in a guest family. You will need to use the second language whenever you want to communicate with them, and you will hear it in a natural environment. It is not necessary for you to communicate in grammatically correct sentences; as long as your guest family understands what you mean, you are fine (and they can help you express yourselv correctly).

3) Don't be shy. You are in a foreign country and have the opportunity to use your second language, so seize that opportunity. Most people will be willing to help you even if you don't know exactly how to say something, and you might meet a lot of interesting people that way. It is definitely a good start for a conversation if they notice that you are not from there.... If you are too shy to start conversations with strangers, just keep in mind that you probably won't see them ever again.

Generally, travelling to foreign countries is an awesome opportunity to learn or improve your language skills, and it is likely the easiest way to do it. Furthermore, it is a great way to learn a language in a way no text book or language course can usually offer you.

Merry Christmas!

It is the 24th, and in Germany, today is the main day of Christmas, where the children get their presents in the afternoon or evening (often after having been to church earlier). Many families sing some Christmas songs together before opening the presents. In the afternoon, Christmas cookies, lebkuchen and stollen are eaten, and in the evening, the whole family has a traditional meal together. The traditions here reach from simple potato salad and hot dogs, to fish or duck, to opulent meals; it really depends on the family.

(the work of one afternoon--my sister and I had fun)

On the next two days (25th and 26th), both of which are bank holidays, many families visit with their grandparents and other relatives. (Yes, Christmas lasts for three days in Germany.)

Every year, thousands of people storm into the shops on the morning of Dec 24th, to get the last Christmas presents, buy a Christmas tree (if there are any left), get groceries.... Some good advice: If you don't need it, leave your car at home on the 24th, and only venture out if you really have to (until the shops close at around noon or one).

Merry Christmas to all of you! (And if you don't celebrate Christmas, I still wish you a really nice day, and maybe a different holiday....)

German Tenses--An Overview (Part I.2)

continued from Dec 14, 2011

Konjunktiv I == Subjunctive
Präsens == (present)

ich frage == (that) I ask
du fragest == (that) you ask
er/sie/es frage == (that) he/she/it ask
wir fragen == (that) we ask
ihr fraget == (that) you ask
sie/Sie fragen == (that) they ask ((that) you ask—formal address)

Vergangenheit == (Perfekt) (past)

ich habe gefragt == (if) I asked
du habest gefragt == (if) you asked
er/sie/es habe gefragt == (if) he/she/it asked
wir haben gefragt == (if) we asked
ihr habet gefragt == (if) you asked
sie/Sie haben gefragt == (if) they asked ((if) you asked—formal address)

Futur I == (future I)

ich werde fragen == (if) I were to ask/should ask
du werdest fragen == (if) you were to ask/should ask
er/sie/es werde fragen == (if) he/she/it were to ask/should ask
wir werden fragen == (if) we were to ask/should ask
ihr werdet fragen == (if) you were to ask/should ask
sie/Sie werden fragen == (if) they were to ask/should ask
((if) you were to ask/should ask—formal address)

Note: The subjunctive future with “should” is mostly used in BE.

Futur II == (future II)

ich werde gefragt haben
du werdest gefragt haben
er/sie/es werde gefragt haben
wir werden gefragt haben
ihr werdet gefragt haben
sie/Sie werden gefragt haben

Note: German Konjunktiv I Futur II doesn’t seem to have a corresponding English verb tense (on the other hand, the English pluperfect subjunctive doesn’t have a corresponding German verb tense). It is rarely used in modern German anymore.

Konjunktiv II == Conditional
Präsens (Präteritum/Futur I) == (present)

ich fragte/würde fragen == I would ask
du fragtest/würdest fragen == you would ask
er/sie/es fragte/würde fragen == he/she/it would ask
wir fragten/würden fragen == we would ask
ihr fragtet/würdet fragen == you would ask
sie/Sie fragten/würden fragen == they would ask (you would ask—formal address)

Note: Regular verbs have the same forms in Konjunktiv II Präsens as in Präteritum, therefore the modal verb „werden“ is used in its conditional form (würde etc) together with the infinitive to differentiate Konjunktiv II from Präteritum.

Vergangenheit (Plusquamperfekt/Futur II) == (past)

ich hätte gefragt/würde gefragt haben == I would have asked
du hättest gefragt/würdest gefragt haben == you would have asked
er/sie/es hätte gefragt/würde gefragt haben == he/she/it would have asked
wir hätten gefragt/würden gefragt haben == we would have asked
ihr hättet gefragt/würdet gefragt haben == you would have asked
sie/Sie hätten gefragt/würden gefragt haben == they would have asked
(you would have asked—formal address)

Note: In both German Konjunktiv II tenses, both given alternatives (the „natural“ one and the one using „würde“) are equally valid and are used without difference in meaning.

Imperativ == Imperative

Frag(e)! == Ask!
Fragen wir! == Let’s ask!
Fragt! == Ask!
Fragen Sie! == Ask! (formal address)

Infinitivformen == Participles
Präsens == (present)

fragend asking

Perfekt == (past)

gefragt == asked

Watch out for Part II.1 next week!

From the Life of a Bilingual Writer...(III)

Fun Facts

I have started to try lip reading whenever I watch a synchronised (German) version of an English speaking film or series. It is amazing how many words I can already recognise if I pay attention and the face is shown well!

After I had translated my Miro the Dragon stories into English, single sentences or ideas for the next stories come to me in either German or English (which can be quite annoying since the stories started as a German children's book series and are supposed to stay that way, even if they are translated and published in America--does that make sense?)

Every now and then, one of my other languages takes over my mind, and I imagine certain situations in that language. Those "episodes" are often triggered by some random thing, like a name (and it either frustrates or amazes me, depending on how much I actually remember spontaneously).

Even when speaking German, I tend to use American measurements now.

I felt weird talking German to anyone while I was in America. When I did, I often had situations where I instinctively switched back to English.

During my first weeks back in Germany, I ended up using English words and/or sentence structure without noticing until after it was said.

To be continued...

Word of the Week ... XXII

My word this week is:

"deific"

Meaning: godly, but with a less reverent aspect as "sacred"

Example: The dinner last night was really deific, thanks!

I only learnt of this word yesterday, and it stuck with me enough to be worth a blog post.

German Tenses--An Overview (Part I.1)

Active Tenses, Regular Verb, with “haben”: Indicative Mode

“fragen” is a regular verb which builds its compound tenses with the modal verb “haben” (to have).

Infinitiv == (infinitive)

fragen == (to ask)

Indikativ == Indicative Mode

Präsens == (simple present)

ich frage == I ask

du fragst == you ask

er/sie/es fragt == he/she/it asks

wir fragen == we ask

ihr fragt == you ask

sie/Sie fragen == they ask (you ask—formal address)

Präteritum == (simple past)

ich fragte == I asked

du fragtest == you asked

er/sie/es fragte == he/she/it asked

wir fragten == we asked

ihr fragtet == you asked

sie/Sie fragten == they asked (you asked—formal address)

Perfekt == (present perfect)

ich habe gefragt == I have asked

du hast gefragt == you have asked

er/sie/es hat gefragt == he/she/it has asked

wir haben gefragt == we have asked

ihr habt gefragt == you have asked

sie/Sie haben gefragt == they have asked (you have asked—formal address)

Plusquamperfekt == (past perfect)

ich hatte gefragt == I had asked

du hattest gefragt == you had asked

er/sie/es hatte gefragt == he/she/it had asked

wir hatten gefragt == we had asked

ihr hattet gefragt == you had asked

sie/Sie hatten gefragt == they had asked (you had asked—formal address)

Futur I == (future I)

ich werde fragen == I will ask

du wirst fragen == you will ask

er/sie/es wird fragen == he/she/it will ask

wir werden fragen == we will ask

ihr werdet fragen == you will ask

sie/Sie werden fragen == they will ask (you will ask—formal address)

Futur II == (future II)

ich werde gefragt haben == I will have asked

du wirst gefragt haben == you will have asked

er/sie/es wird gefragt haben == he/she/it will have asked

wir werden gefragt haben == we will have asked

ihr werdet gefragt haben == you will have asked

sie/Sie werden gefragt haben == they will have asked (you will have asked—formal address)


Since I am currently writing up a summary of German verb tenses (and likely more grammar topics to follow) for my sweetheart, who started learning German, I will dedicate Wednesdays to "German Grammar Wednesday" for the time being (read: until I run out of topics). If you have particular questions or want to have a particular grammar topic covered, please let me know.

Next week: Part I.2 (Subjunctive and Imperative of "fragen")

Fun with Pronunciation--English

For all of you who think they know English pronunciation to a t, try yourself at this poem by G. Nolst Trenité which I found online last week. It is amazing, and I am pretty sure I got a few words wrong when I read it aloud. However, it was great fun to test myself. This poem shows the chaos of English pronunciation in a fun and compelling way. After you have read this, maybe you understand a little better why people who learn English as a foreign language may make pronunciation mistakes.

To take just one example from the poem:

Finally, which rhymes with enough,
Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?

We have the same letter combination but various pronunciations. There is no hint as to why you pronounce the word the way you do, and learners of English have two options: to look it up in a dictionary, which is highly impractical in a conversation, or to take their chances with one pronunciation and hope it is the correct one.

Granted, that's exactly the reason why most language courses (even the self-learner courses) come with audio CDs. You only get that far with such a course, though. After that, there are so many different ways to improve your English, not all of which come with pronunciation help. At least, I haven't yet seen a single novel which gave me the correct pronunciation after each word....

Guess what I am trying to say: Be a bit more tolerant towards someone speaking English as a second language when they try to get it right but make pronunciation mistakes. And, just for fun, imagine you trying to pronounce their native language correctly....

Thanks again for this delightful poem, English Pronunciation, G. Nolst Trenité!

Word of the Week ... XXI

This week's word of the week is something I stumbled upon while looking up some other word, and it made me smile, so here it is:

"thank-you-ma'am"

Meaning: A thank-you-ma'am is usually a hole or bump in the road which makes everyone in the car nod unvoluntarily while driving across.

Example: As we drove across a thank-you-ma'am, my sister almost spilled her coffee.

The word seems to have been around in the 19th century in colloquial American English. I have no idea, though, whether or not it is still in use. Americans, ever heard or used it?

Language as Tool Sets

Language gives us the tools to communicate. However, instead of just being one huge set of tools, language is a series of related and often overlapping tool sets. We have a certain vocabulary and way of speaking or writing appropriate to a certain situation, and we can change the way we speak and write accordingly.

Just imagine the language used in law texts (also called legalese), and now the way parents speak with their small children. Yes, I chose two so drastically different sets of language tools on purpose; that way, it is easiest to see how these tool sets differ in choice of vocabulary and sentence structure. Furthermore, we can use these examples to show that not everyone has access to the same tool sets. On the one hand, most people automatically use the appropriate tool set to speak with small children--that seems to be genetically "installed"--but on the other hand, many people who do not usually have to deal with legalese have trouble making any sense of it.

Writers usually have more than one tool set for writing too. Many writers write in more than one genre and every genre has its own tool set (or even several tool sets) to convey the genre-specific atmosphere and feeling. The sets vary in use of vocabulary, sentence length and structure, use of tenses etc. A medieval novel will use different words than a futuristic sci-fi novel, or a contemporary YA novel. Every time a writer tries his hands at a new genre and strives to find his voice for that genre, he acquires another tool set.

To fully utilise a language's potential, you should strive to acquire as many tool sets as you can. It will allow you to communicate effectively in any situation, which is the main reason why language exists. To communicate.

Language Learning Books--OMG!

So, I sorted through all my stuff I want to take with me when I'm moving after Christmas. Honestly, I was shocked when I saw the amount of boxes! Most of them are filled with my books--not just novels, but lots and lots of language learning books. I have eight really big books (and I'm talking about letter size, two inches thick, counting as deadly weapon on the top shelf): four dictionaries (for four different languages), two monolingual dictionaries, one idiom dictionary and one, probably the biggest of all, listing all the Italian verbs and their uses. Furthermore, I own a variety of grammar books, language courses, verb tables, smaller dictionaries (for other languages), and other useful language learning materials.

Why did I gather such a huge amount of stuff?

Well, the first and most obvious reason is because I am learning and working with several languages. But does that really account for having more than one grammar book for any single language? I know I am weird, but I simply love having several possibilities to look something up. Too often, I tried to find something in a grammar book, just to realise that my grammar book didn't sufficiently cover that topic. Granted, by now, I know several websites about grammar for one language or the other, as well as several online dictionaries, but there's nothing that can beat the experience and feeling of leafing through countless pages, scanning the content pages, and finally finding what I need.

The value of my private language learning library? I'm not sure, but I guess well over 1,000 euros (adding the purchasing prices together). It has taken me about half of my life to gather what I have so far, with many of the books having been birthday or Christmas gifts. Yes, I am proud of my little library, but boy, that's a whole lot of books! You never notice until you move and have to carry everything from apartment to car, to storage, to new place....

One Year of Language Love!

Today exactly one year ago, I started Language Love to create a blog where I could freely talk about that topic I love most--languages. I hoped that I might gain some readers who would enjoy what I write, but never would I have thought it possible to achieve this much. My pageviews per month have soared to heights I had never imagined possible for my little blog, and yet, it happened. This tells me one thing above all else:

I have awesome readers!!!

All of you who have shared your experience with us in guest posts, or who have regularly read this blog, have made this huge success possible. I want to thank you for your readership and your loyalty. You really make me feel special and make me smile whenever I have a look at my page view statistics or receive a comment, either on this blog or via email or other ways, since I know I am read, and people enjoy my blog.

As soon as my current situation allows me some time to breathe, I want to go through all these blog posts and comments I have received so far, and want to compile a "Best Of", so stay tuned for that.

As for now, all that needs to be said:

THANK YOU!!!

Default Language

Did you know that your mind operates in a default language, and that this language can change? I noticed it when I travelled to the United States. My mind, usually operating in German, switched over to English as default language, to that extend that I had a hard time expressing everyday things in German since the English expression came to my mind first, and I literally needed to translate it before speaking. Although there were still situations where I suddenly talked German to someone who didn't know German, usually right after waking up whenever my last dream had been in German, English became my mind's number one language to turn to.

Even after a few days back in Germany, I still notice that my mind wants to give me the English version of a sentence first, and then reluctantly translates it for me. It went so far that I told my dad something in English, and realised it after the fact...or that I want to say something, and an English word or two slips out in between, and I have to pause and think about it before starting the sentence anew completely in German.

Since I know my mind can reset its default language to the more prevalent language, I'm just waiting for it to happen again; however, I'm curious to see how long it will take me this time. It happened pretty fast when I switched from German to English at the beginning of my stay.

Even the notes I take are mostly in English (usually, they are a wild mix of both languages). I still write dates the American way (month/day/year), which may well cause irritation and confusion among other Germans, so I really try to remind myself to use the German layout whenever I date something others might have to read. It's really weird right now, but I guess that's what you get for being bilingual and travelling between two countries....

Have you had similar, or completely different, experiences? I would love to hear all about it! You can use the comments function, or if you like, you can send me an email and maybe we can set you up for a guest blog post with your opinion.

Travelling and Stuff

First of all: I am very sorry that I didn't write this post yesterday, as I should have!

Please let me explain the reasons:

I had planned on writing and scheduling this week's blog posts on the weekend. However, on Saturday, I got news which required me to fly back to Germany on Sunday--with less than 24 hours notice! By the time I arrived at the airport in Düsseldorf, Germany, on Monday morning, I had already been up for over 32 hours, and travelling for over 20 hours. I then took the train--or should I say trains--to northern Germany, which took about 9 hours and required me to change trains 5 (in words: five!) times. In the morning when I bought the ticket, I joked about that fact and called it a "city trip", but by the time I finally arrived at the final station, I was simply glad it was over. I read through two thirds of a book during the day, simply to keep myself from falling asleep. (The book is really great, though, and I intended to read it anyway!)

After over 30 hours of travelling and almost two full days without sleep, you will forgive me that I did not plug in my laptop and write Monday's post in time but went straight to bed instead.

Here's a huge thankyou to the stewardesses on my flight who managed to make it an agreeable flight, although the circumstances that led to my travelling were less than agreeable. They were really nice and went out of their way to make me feel better; they were my Advent angels.

I will resume my regular posting schedule tomorrow with my take on how our minds seem to be set in a default language, and are able to switch this default language.

My Two Cents ... XXVII

Today's phrase is

"in the nick of time"

What does it mean?

If something happens in the nick of time, it happens in exactly the right moment.

Where does it come from?

Apparently, "nick" in this phrase means a notch which was used as a marker in former centuries; thus, something that is "in the nick" is exactly where it should be. The oldest record of this phrase is from the 1640s, although the meaning seems to be several decades older.

My two cents:

I like this phrase a lot better than the more common phrase "just in time", which has a similar meaning. This is definitely another phrase which will be saved in my memory for future use.

Learning Vocabulary

Whenever you learn a new language, you also need to learn new vocabulary. Whether you learn the second language in school, in evening classes or on your own, the more words you know, the greater your possibilities. But how can you learn new vocabulary the most effectively?

Cluster Learning
New words stick best if you learn them in connection to something. For example, make a word cluster with words that have to do with holidays, or with school. Then, learn the whole cluster.

Three Times Ten
Instead of learning new words for a long period of time every day, dedicate three times ten minutes per day to new words. The human brain is not able to "save" new input for longer periods of time; instead of remembering everything, it will concentrate on the first and last things you learnt. If, however, you split the time to shorter intervals, your brain can actually save everything more easily.

15 Words
Every time you learn new words, limit the amount of words to about 15 and repeat those 15 words a few times in random order.

Rinse and Repeat
New words need some time and several repetitions in order to be saved in your long-term memory. Repeat new words every day for three or four days, and then go over older sets of words every week until you feel you really know them.

Make it a Game
Learning vocabulary can be very tedious. If you manage to make it fun, though, the task doesn't only become more pleasant, the words will also be easier to remember. Try to make the longest word chain (start each new word with the last letter of the previous word) you can think of, or grab some friends who learn the same language and try to come up with words from different categories which start with the same letter (for example nouns, verbs and adjectives which begin with an a).

If you have other tricks to learn new vocabulary, I would appreciate it if you shared them with us. Thanks!

British English versus American English

Since I was taught British English back at school, and am now exposed to American English on a daily basis, I thought I would give you a short breakdown of the basic differences between those two variants of the English language. Actually, this subject came up last week between my boyfriend and me, which is what made me think about it again. So, here is what I remember:

Spelling:

ou versus o
humour/humor, armour/armor, behaviour/behavior

re versus er
centre/center, theatre/theater

l versus ll
fulfil/fulfill, but: fulfilling/fulfilling

sc versus sk
sceptical/skeptical

s versus z
scrutinise/scrutinize, realise/realize

c versus s
licence/license, defence/defense

y versus i/a
tyre/tire, pyjamas/pajamas

ae versus e
paediatrician/pediatrician, encyclopaedia/encyclopedia

Pronunciation:

[a:] versus [ae]
dance, can't

Vocabulary:

pavement/sidewalk
lift/elevator
lorry/truck
marks/grades
tuition/tutoring
flat/apartment
torch/flashlight
jumper/sweater

Can anyone think of other examples? I would love to collect more examples of differences, either in spelling, pronunciation or vocabulary. Simply put your examples int he comments, please! Thanks!

My Two Cents ... XXVI

This week, we'll have a look at an idiom I came across in a Youtube video:

"fill yer boots"

What does it mean?

It is used in the sense of "go ahead" or "help yourself".

Where does it come from?

I found two possible origins of this phrase, both of which date some centuries back in English history.

The first possible origin claims that this idiom comes from the English sailors who had a leather cup called a "boot" and who were told to "Fill yer boot!" when things were good and they could go ahead and get another rum ration. This meaning is first mentioned in a book published in 1818.

The other possible origin claims it goes back even further, back into the 17th century. In that time, cavaliers used to drink and, according to the source, just peed into their boots instead of getting up, thus the meaning of "go ahead, just do it".

My two cents:
I definitely like the story about the sailors better, and I tend to believe that one since I found a book quote supporting this origin. However, it might be possible that the phrase was first used during cavalier times and later adapted by sailors.

Accents

Yesterday, I found a Youtube video from a guy imitating 32 different English accents. It was, quite frankly, impressive. How did I find it? Well, it all started with me and my boyfriend watching some random videos and stumbling upon one about a prank call a young girl did with a Dublin-based demolishion company. The accent struck me as interesting, so I wanted to see if that was really a Dublin accent. Thus, the Youtube search.

What struck me as interesting was the following: We started listening to the prank call, and I somehow was reminded of how Dutch sounds to me, a German native, just that the language was English. It was not really English spoken with a Dutch accent, though. I was intrigued. The Youtube video with the 32 different accents revealed that apparently, most of the Irish accents remind me of Dutch. I can't really explain this, but I definitely like their accent (and I like the sound of Dutch too).

On another note, I was thinking about different accents in various languages recently and I noticed that it often seems to be the southern part of the country which has a very distinct accent or dialect. It's like this in Germany, in the United States, in France, and certainly in Italy too. I would be interested in hearing about other countries too, so if any of you know about other countries and their various accents, I would really appreciate your insight.

It makes me wonder, though, why accents develop in the way they do. It certainly has to do with the influences from other languages, but is that really all? I mean, those countries I mentioned above have more than one shared border with other countries, not only on their south side. Germany, for example, is surrounded by seven different countries, whereas the two southern countries even speak German (Austria and Switzerland). France shares borders with Spain in the south, and with several other countries in the north and north-east. Italy has no shared border at all in the south.

Can anyone of you shed some light on this phenomenon?

English--Language of Variety

The English language has an extremely wide range of words for us to use. It is estimated that the current English vocabulary sums up to about 500,000 - 600,000 words. German comes close, but French, for example, only knows about 300,000 words. Now what does that mean?

One reason for this huge difference might be the way words are built. Where English or German may create one new word, French uses several existing words to name the same thing. On the other hand, English is a language full of synonyms and words with a similar yet slightly different meaning. In short, English is a paradise for writers because we have a huge variety of words at our fingertips. By choosing one word over another, similar word, we can express nuances of meaning which would otherwise be difficult to describe.

Example:

She looked at him./She stared at him.

Both verbs describe the same activity, but in the second sentence you get the impression that she is intensely looking at him, maybe in shock or surprise, whereas the first sentence could mean anything from a fleeting look over turning her head towards him in surprise because he spoke to watching him in his sleep. "Look" doesn't tell us the quality of the activity; "stare" conveys more information in a single word.

Synonyms can help to make a text varied since we don't need to use the same word over and over again.

Some examples:

eventually--finally--in the end--at last--ultimately
luckily--fortunately
however--though--but--yet

Depending on which word/word group we use, our sentence structure might also vary, which will ultimately make out text less monotonous and thus less boring to read.

If we know our vocabulary, it is so much easier to create images with our writing, and to make a text interesting to read, which should be our ultimate goals as writers (even the best story will suffer from bad writing, but with a good writing voice, even the most boring content can gain appeal).

Word of the Week ... XX

Every writer should know what this word means, so I thought it would make an awesome word of the week for us:

"thesaurus"

Meaning: a synonym for a given word, or at least another word with a similar meaning

Example: If you search for a thesaurus of the verb "to ask", you might come up with other verbs like "to demand", "to inquire", or "to request".

Did you know that Microsoft Word, for example, has a built in thesaurus function?

Watching Films Bilingually

Have you ever tried to watch a film in one language and set the subtitles to another language you know? It can be confusing. Or, more exactly, it is confusing.

Did you know that most languages don't share the same syntax structures? I experienced total confusion when I tried to follow my favourite Disney film, Mulan, in Spanish while catching the meaning with help of the English subtitles. Almost every longer sentence was twisted. If the Spanish sentence began with the main clause, the English sentence ended with the main clause; if the Spanish sentence began with the subordinate clause, the English sentence ended with the subordinate clause. You would think the translators working on the subtitles would watch out for this phenomenon and try to avoid it where possible....

On another note, if you have ever followed subtitles and audio in the same language, you might have discovered that they differ from each other. The meaning is (almost always) the same, but the wording may well be different (and no, the subtitles are not always the easier wording, as one might think since they are usually used by people to help them understand the spoken words).

Well, back to our bilingual problem.... I have noticed that I am unable to follow both the spoken and the written words. If I put on a film in a language where I want to train my listening skills, and they don't have subtitles in the same language, I often don't use any subtitles (and might watch the film a second time in one of my main languages to get what I missed in the other language). It just doesn't work out for me. I tend to follow the subtitles to catch the meaning, and completely miss what is said. If, however, I force myself to concentrate on the audio, I don't need to use subtitles in a different language since I won't be able to read them while listening. My brain seems to be incapable of following two languages at the same time (yet, thinking in two languages at the same time is possible...my brain is really weird!).

What are your experiences with subtitled films?

Reasons for Choosing the Second Language You Chose to Learn

All right, today, I want to talk about all the different reasons to choose exactly the language you chose to learn as second language (and I would love to hear about your very own personal reasons in the comments!!!). All reasons given are in no particular order, and are just based on my own thoughts.

Part of your heritage is from a foreign country and you want to learn the language your ancestors spoke.

You like the sound of the language (you have heard it in a film, song or on holiday).

Your significant other speaks a different native language.

You want to travel or move to a foreign country where they speak a different language.

It was the only foreign language offered at your high school or college.

You want to read your favourite author in the original language instead of reading the translations of his books.

The language you chose is believed to be especially easy to learn.

The language you chose is believed to be especially difficult to learn. (Yes, there are people who want the challenge....)

You think the second language will give you an advantage in the job market.

Your boss told you to learn that language if you want to keep your job.

You are particularly interested in a certain country and want to be able to read information about it in its official language.

Your parents thought that language would be best for you to learn.

You came across a dictionary/text book/other language learning resource for that language as a gift.

Your best friend wants to take a class in that language but doesn't want to go alone.

A cute woman/hot guy is in that class and you want to get to know her/him.

The class is taught by a cute/hot teacher.

Okay, and here are my personal reasons for the languages I started learning (and the ones I still want to learn):

English--It was the first mandatory language to learn in school; apart from that, I simply love this language.

French--My second foreign language I took at school. The other alternative was Latin (one of them was mandatory), and I didn't want to learn a "dead" language.

Spanish--It was offered as one of the subjects to choose from in 9th year, and since I like languages, I took up the opportunity to learn yet another one.

Italian--The first language I started learning outside of school, at about the same time I started Spanish classes. I simply liked the language, and came across an Italian course (textbook and audio CDs) on sale.

Chinese (Mandarin)--My vocational school offered a ten-week-class, and one of my best friends wanted to take it. She persuaded me to take the class too, because she thought it would be fun to do it together (she was absolutely right!).

Dutch--I like the Dutch mentality and think the language sounds cute (maybe because it sounds similar to German, yet not quite the same).

Irish--I like Celtic lore, which was alive the longest in Ireland and thus is connected to the Irish language.

Danish--We were on family holiday in Denmark, and my mom was taking Danish classes, so I asked her to teach me a bit while we were there.

Swedish--I wanted to learn a Scandinavian language, and since my mom was already learning Danish, I decided to go with a different Scandinavian language. Also, I grew up with some of the Swedish children's book classics.

Japanese--I haven't yet started to learn Japanese, but it interests me (maybe because I watched a lot of anime when I was younger) and I like the sound of the Japanese language.

Arabic--I haven't yet started on Arabic either, but I feel challenged by the fact that Arabic is seen as the most difficult language to learn for a German native.

Russian--Another language on my wish list. Maybe it's the different alphabet....

Turkish--Since Turkish people are one of the greatest immigrant groups in Germany, I came into contact with several Turkish people and their culture when growing up.

Now here are my reasons, what are yours?

Remember, Remember, the Fifth of November...

Why is it that many people still remember phrases like the above from their school days and actually remember what happened at the date in question? And why do we forget so much of the other stuff we learnt at school?

In order to help us remember things, we need to connect them to emotions. Most likely, rhyming phrases appeal to some area in our brain, maybe the one responsible for having fun, and are recognised as 'Oh, funny, save for later'.

I still remember a poem by heart which we learnt in ninth year at school. Our German teacher made us memorise it and say it as fast as we could. He would stop the time and make a competition out of it. Although the poem itself is really nice, I doubt I'd remember much of it, let alone all three stanzas, without that competition.

So, since it is Saturday, I'll just give you my two cents about this phenomenon:

I think it's really cool that there are phrases like the above for many historical dates. I like history, but it's not one of my main areas of interest, so I often forget things I've read or heard. Those catchy phrases, however, stick to my mind much more likely, and with the phrase, some of the other information about that particular event in history might be brought back from the abyss of deleted memories in my brain.

When all Words Fail...

Sometimes, you reach a situation where you are at a loss for words. It may be for good reasons, or bad reasons, but the result is the same: You feel as if no words are powerful enough to express what you feel right now. They would sound awkward or hollow, maybe even make a bad situation worse or spoil a good one. Now, if you still want to express yourself in such a situation, what can you do?

In a bad situation, for example if someone is crying, you may want to comfort the person. If you know each other well, you might just do best by hugging her and offering your shoulder to cry on. If, on the other hand, you don't know each other well enough for a hug, maybe just squeezing her hand or gently touching her arm or shoulder can convey some comfort.

Good situations are usually different. Someone tells you incredibly good news and you can't think of something to say which would express your joy and happiness. Maybe you know this from your own behaviour, but some situations just ask for squealing, jumping around and doing the happy dance. Other situations, like when a good friend tells you good news, you just instinctively hug your friend (or whoever bears the good news; it might be the postman, if the news he brings are good enough). Another common way to convey happiness is a broad smile that lits up your eyes too.

Even without words, we can make people feel better and share happiness. It's easy; all you have to do is to listen to your heart and soul, and you will know what to do.

Watch Your Wording

All right, so today I got an email in my SPAM folder which notified me that my email address was randomly drawn in a promotional lottery, and that I am entitled to some large sum. Just the usual spam, hit delete and forget about it, you think? Never ever even react to it? Oh no, not in this case!

You see, the email explicitly told me that I have won, and that I am entitled to the money. This is important in so far that they make a promise in this email. They have worded it in a way that can't be mistaken for something else. In their email, they asked me to contact them as soon as possible to receive further information as to how to receive my money. I did; I sent them an email with the required information (name, address, phone number, email address, occupation, my ticket numer which they sent in their email). All information that is available online anyway.

Then, I sent another email, this time to my union. You have to know, in Germany, there have been several law suits against companies like this, promising money they don't intend to pay out. Those companies have lost every law suit so far (as far as I know, I found several cases online). I don't know about American law, but I could easily imagine that law suits like those would be successful in the United States as well.

Anyway, I forwarded both the winning notification and my response to my union, asking them whether they would take on the case and sue the company on my behalf. I offered them 50% of any money I'd get from that company, a promise I intend to keep since they already have done a lot for me, and I wouldn't be able to sue them without their help.

Sure, the question is whether I'd see any money from them at all even with court ruling against them, but hey, they have to learn they can't just pull this BS, right?

I guess what I want to tell you with this story is that you should always watch how you word things, or how your business partners word things. Sometimes, a slightly different wording can result in quite different results, and especially in business, communication should be as clear as possible to ensure both parties are satisfied in the end. Then, on another note, I guess my message is just: If someone tries to take advantage of you and you have a means of paying them back legally, go for it!

Word of the Week ... XIX

Today's word is

"to eavesdrop"

The past week, it bugged me that I couldn't remember if it was "eavesdrop" or "eardrop". Somehow, it made more sense to me that it should contain the word "ear" since that is the body part we use to eavesdrop. However, my mind and guts told me it was eavesdrop, so I finally looked it up. My curiosity was spiked, and I wanted to know more about the etymology of this word. Here's what I found out: The eavesdrop referred to the place next to a house where you were still sheltered from rain since most houses had slanted roofs whose eaves projected beyond the walls. The meaning of "to eavesdrop" is supposed to have developed since you could overhear conversations going on inside the house when you stood there.

Meaning: to listen to somebody, often secretly, to overhear others' conversations without being caught, or to actively listen for something

Example: He eavesdropped on his parents last night to find out what they had bought for his birthday.

Can you come up with more examples?

Baby Talk

Have you ever listened to a baby when they first start making sounds, long before they actually start talking (in words we understand, that is)? It is cute, and often hilarious.

I have noticed that babies seem to start out with only one or two syllables. They mumble, coo, squeal and say them over and over again, with various intonations and facial expressions. After some time, they increase their repertoire by another syllable, then another one, and another one...until, one day, they say their first real word.

What is even more interesting, though, is the fact that they indeed try to mimic us to a certain degree. If you say a word which contains new syllables over and over again, they will try to repeat the new syllable (usually the first syllable of the word). At some point, they might even understand that some strange new word is your name, and try to get the syllable(s) right when they see you (even before they have managed to say their first word).

On another note, whoever says babies can't understand what you are saying is wrong. Have you ever tried to get across the meaning of "no", not only by saying it (probably even while laughing because it is just too funny what the baby did, even though it shouldn't do it) but by actually emphasising the meaning with your intonation and facial expression, maybe even shaking your head? It works.

However, back to the funny part. Talking to a baby is usually very funny and relaxing. When they react to your voice and actions with delightful screams or just a big smile, or seem to enter a "real" conversation with you (one that makes no sense because no one actually understands the sounds), you just can't help but smile. And who knows, maybe they are indeed telling us some fairy tale when they start cooing and babbling just before falling asleep, or they tell us about a nice dream they had when they wake up cooing and "talking" in the morning.

Do you have any interesting personal experiences regarding baby talk? If so, please tell us abou them!

Words out of Nowhere?

I've recently seen a discussion in my writers forum which sparked my interest. It started with the headline "Have you ever used a word..." and went on to describe this weird occurence when you write away on your story and use words because they fit, and later discover that you have no clue what those words actually mean.

I was surprised to discover that this phenomenon happens even to native speakers of English (I always thought it happened to me because I learnt English as a second language--if it happens to me in German too, I haven't noticed it yet).

Strange enough, in most of the cases, the unknown word fits perfectly (as verified with a dictionary).

How can this be? Magic? A muse with a good dictionary whispering words into our ears?

Although I like the idea of my muse sitting on my shoulder and leafing through a dictionary to find the right word for me, there is a simple explanation for this. When we read or hear a new word, our brain saves it somewhere. Most of the time, we can't remember the meaning when we come across it for the second time although we might vaguely remember having it seen or heard somewhere before. It usually takes about three times before a new word wanders into our passive memory, meaning that we are able to recognise it and remember its meaning when we come across it. At that point, we are usually not able to actively use this word in writing or in a conversation because we just won't remember it on our own. To be saved in our active memory, we need to come across it six times or more.

Now, when this phenomenon happens, it certainly is strange enough since it means we unconsciously used a word that wasn't yet stored in our active memory, maybe not even in our passive memory. However, it is not magic. To be able to use a word at all, we must have come across it before, even though we might not remember it.

So, while my muse isn't sitting on my shoulder leafing through a dictionary, she might well be surfing my brain for the best-fitting word....

Word of the Week ... XVIII

This week's word is a word I have heard for the first time and immediately thought, 'I have to look it up, and if it's something useful, it will go on my blog!' Well, here it is:

"trepidation"

Meaning: It someone has trepidations about something, he is prejudiced and somehow afraid of it, doesn't trust it and/or has a bad feeling about it.

Example: Whenever she sees a black cat in the morning, she has trepidations for the rest of the day.

Did you know this word before, and if so, in which context(s) do you use it?

Letters and Numbers

Have you ever wondered where our letters and numbers come from? Maybe you have cursed at how difficult writing is at some point, or you hated maths back in school. Let me tell you: It could have been worse, much worse!

As it is, we got our letters from the Romans, and our numbers from the Arabs. We definitely got the better from both cultures. Our numbers use the decimal system, which makes it easy to calculate with them. Take written additions and subtraction, for example. Since you have the ones, tens, hundreds and so on neatly one below the other, it doesn't take much effort to add or subtract even large numbers.

Our letters, on the other hand, may be complicated for children when they first start learning them, but they are pretty easy to distinguish from one another.

Now imagine we had got our numbers from the Romans and our letters from the Arabs. Have you ever had to calculate with Roman numbers? German school children are required to do it in sixth year, and let me tell you, it is very confusing. To give you an example of what our maths lessons could have been all those years:

1 = I
5 = V
10 = X

Now, some easy additions:

2+2=4 -- II+II=IV
4+6=10 -- IV+VI=X
4+8=12 -- IV+VIII=XII

Confused? Let's continue with some easy subtractions:

5-1=4 -- V-I=IV
7-4=3 -- VII-IV=III
23-5=17 -- XXIII-V=XVII

Now, if you have ever seen Arabic writing, you will probably appreciate that our ancestors decided to use Latin letters instead. It looks beautiful, but at least to me, it also looks very difficult.

Seems like our ancestors made some good decisions, huh?

Language Education in Germany

It recently struck me just how lucky I am that I went to school in Germany. I mean, don't get me wrong, there were many things I hated, and I envy American pupils for some of their possibilities; however, I love languages, and for that matter, growing up in Germany was great.

You see, children in Germany are required to take lessons in at least one foreign language--usually English--throughout their school education. Back in my days, we started in fifth year; nowadays, children start to learn English in first year. That does not mean that everyone in Germany can speak English well, let alone fluently. After all, not everyone taking maths lessons becomes a maths genius, right? But, every pupil in Germany has the chance to acquire good English skills, and a certain level of language comprehension is necessary to graduate from secondary school (no matter which type of secondary school--there are several in Germany).

And it doesn't end there. If you want to graduate with Abitur (which is necessary to go to university, unless you want to be restricted in the subjects you can study), you are required to have taken lessons in a second foreign language for at least three years. The most common choices offered by German grammar schools are French and Latin, although there are grammar schools which offer a different set of foreign languages to choose from (such as Spanish, Italian, Russian or even Old Greek). Some grammar schools, for example, teach Latin or French as first foreign language, and in some regions close to the borders, other foreign languages (such as French) are mandatory from first year on (instead of English). The second foreign language is usually taught from seventh year on, for at least four years.

Many grammar schools even offer lessons in a third foreign language from ninth year on. You can usually choose to take lessons in the other language offered in seventh year (as opposed to the one you chose), and many grammar schools offer another language to choose from at this point (for example Spanish, Italian or Russian on grammar schools where French and Latin were the choices offered in seventh year).

As it was, I learnt three languages in grammar school: English (from fifth till eleventh year), French (from seventh till eleventh year) and Spanish (from ninth till tenth year). The only reason why I only took two years in Spanish was that our Spanish course wasn't offered in eleventh year due to course size (only about a third of our course wanted to continue). Usually, I would have stayed in grammar school for two more years (till after year thirteen) to acquire Abitur, but I chose to change to a vocational school after eleventh year.

At my vocational school, I took lessons in five foreign languages over the course of two years, two of which were mandatory for my certification as foreign language assistant (including business communications and business translations in German and both foreign languages). I started out with English and French in my first year. Since part of my form had Spanish as second foreign language (instead of French, which was only offered for those who had already taken four years of French at secondary school, while Spanish was a beginner's course) and I wanted to improve my Spanish as well, I talked to the Spanish teacher and was allowed to take their exams, and hand in my homework for correction, in addition to my French lessons and exams.

Through my German teacher, who also taught Italian to a different form, I ended up participating in their Italian lessons too (which were in the afternoon after my normal lessons). I took the exams in Italian along with the others, and got a certificate stating my Italian marks at the end of the school year since that course was not part of my normal school report.

In my second year at vocational school, I switched my second foreign language completely to Spanish (and graduated in English and Spanish). I continued with Italian lessons, and even took a ten-week-course in Chinese (Mandarin) which was offered at our school.

All right, and now some vocabulary help since educational terms vary greatly from BE to AE:

BE -- AE

year -- grade
form -- class
lesson -- class
marks -- grades
school report -- report card
grammar school -- high school (the secondary school that leads to German Abitur)
pupil -- student

(Somehow, the BE terms seem to be clearer.... I mean, there are four different words where AE only has two words....)

My Two Cents ... XXV

This week's phrase is

"the die has been cast"

What does it mean?

It means that an irrevocable decision has been made, something that can't be taken back or changed.

Where does it come from?

It is supposed to go back to Julius Caesar, who uttered the Latin equivalent when crossing the Rubicon. There are no written records of this use, however, and the phrase he used wasn't in English. The first English record of this phrase dates back to 1634 and a book written by Sir Thomas Herbert.

My two cents:

I really like this idiom since it reminds me of tabletop gaming. Yes, I'm a total geek, I know. Still, it fits. If you cast your die, you can't take it back, nor change the outcome. The die may, depending on the circumstances, decide your character's fate.

Speech Verbs--What?!?

Since I mentioned verbs that could be used with direct speech in Monday's post, I thought it might be time to clarify this one.

A speech verb is a verb that can be used with direct speech. The best-known speech verb surely is "to say": "I can't do this," he said.

In writing, it is a common beginner's mistake to use each and every verb as a speech verb, regardless of whether or not it can be used that way. I see it regularly when I am reading texts from aspiring writers, and when I think back, I have to admit that I made the same mistake in my texts. It took some time and experience, and learning from other writers, until I noticed my mistakes and was able to avoid them.

People in those texts "sigh" something, "laugh" something or "sob" something. Honestly, have you ever tried to laugh the sentence "Oh, that was funny"? You can say it while laughing, but you certainly can't laugh it (and if you could, you would probably posess a very rare talent indeed and should be on TV with it...).

So, how can you find out whether or not a verb is a speech verb?

The safest bet is to get a good dictionary (probably a monolingual one) which indicates speech verbs. Mine, for example, lists [+ speech] if a verb can be used as speech verb.

If you don't have access to a dictionary which lists this, you can either try out whether or not you can actually ... something (insert the verb you want to use as speech verb), or you just stick with the ones you know for sure to be on the safe side.

Some of the most common speech verbs:

to say
to ask
to answer
to whisper
to shout

Do you have more questions on this topic? Go ahead and post them in the comments section!

The Virtues of a Good Monolingual Dictionary

When I corrected the proof copy of my children's book about Miro the Dragon, I encountered some cases where I wasn't 100% sure about a preposition, or the right use of a word. No big deal, I thought, and asked my boyfriend, who is a native English speaker and pretty smart. However, he wasn't absolutely sure in every of the cases either. Boy, I missed my monlingual dictionary at that point!

The greatest thing about my monolingual dictionary is that it actually gives example sentences for the use of words, and those sentences almost always include the correct prepositions to go with it. That way, I dont only get an example of the context(s) in which a word is used, but also the correct preposition(s), and whether it is followed by a to-infinitive or a gerund.

It also gives me phrasal meanings, that is, an alphabetical list of uses for this word (with prepositions etc which take on a different meaning).

Another thing I don't want to miss is the indication of whether or not a verb can be used with direct speech (like "to say", "to ask").

Last but not least, my monolingual dictionary tells me when a word, a spelling or pronunciation is only used in British English or American English (I think it even indicates Australian English use only).

All in all, my monolingual dictionary has become a trusted and valuable asset for writing and editing. It's a Cambridge Dictionary (from PONS, I think), by the way, for those of you who are interested, and it's already some years old. In fact, it has accompanied me through the last couple of my school years and all my freelancing life, and it's almost letter-size and has several hundred pages. It's paperback, though, so unlike my other dictionaries, this one wouldn't make a good weapon against robbers....

Do you have a monolingual dictionary you use for reading/writing/editing or anything else? If so, tell us about it!

Word of the Week ... XVII

This week's word is

"serenity"

I'm thinking of it right now while I write my blog post because it is the way I feel. It is a lovely autumn morning, the sun is shining down and a cool breeze keeps the temperatures just low enough to utterly enjoy the day. I came back from a nice morning walk about half an hour ago, grabbed some of the world's best cappuccino on the way, and am now sitting in the dining room, the window in my back open, birds singing and an adorable baby sleeping peacefully on me, her head resting on my chest. Forgotten last night's stress while trying to get some more work done, forgotten the lack of sleep, just living in the moment and thoroughly enjoying it. I feel completely at ease with me and the world right now. And that is what "serenity" means for me: to be at ease, not to worry about anything, just enjoying the moment.

I know that this week's post has a slightly different layout, but I thought this word (and the state of mind associated with it) could be better explained in above paragraph than in just a short example or two.

Enjoy your day, everyone!

The World's Most Powerful Language

If you think about the world's most powerful language, what comes to your mind first of all?

I thought about this for a moment. My first thought: money. But then, I looked at the sleeping baby on my chest and realised that the strongest and most powerful language of all is the language of love. Even money can't corrupt true love.

You ask why I come up with this topic, and what it has to do with languages? Well, granted, neither money nor love are languages in the closer sense of the word. However, you can communicate a whole lot with both, without ever using a single word from another language. And isn't that exactly what defines a language, the power to communicate with it?

When money is used as a means of communication, it can convey both positive and negative meanings. If someone gives you money to help you out, it is definitely a positive meaning, a sense of friendship and trust. If someone pays you for a service, it communicates valuation of your services, often combined with appreciation. However, if someone withholds money due, or asks for money in order to "protect" you or to keep quiet, money can suddenly become a means of negative communication. There is someone who thinks your services are not worth the money agreed on, or someone who threatens you and wants money in order to keep from fulfilling his threat.

Love, on the other hand, is a language designed to make us feel good. A single smile, a gentle touch or a kiss can say more than 1,000 words (yes, I know, this is a cliché...but it fits here). It tells you that you are loved, cherished and wanted. Even if you felt really bad just a moment ago, the language of love can make you feel good again in a matter of seconds.

Dying Languages

Did you know there are actually languages with only a handful of speakers left? Or, more correctly, two elderly men who don't even talk to each other? It must be depressing to watch your native language die, knowing full well that you might take it to the grave with you when you die. I can't even imagine having no one to talk to or write with in my native language, although I love English. It would feel weird, to say the least.

It must be even worse if the only other person still speaking your native language fluently doesn't talk to you -- for whatever reason. I mean, can you imagine never hearing your native language again? And if you talk to someone else who might just understand enough, you get a response in a different language.

This really makes me wonder how many languages die out every year. The article in the Guardian (see link above) was the first article of this kind I've read, although when I think about it, I'm pretty sure that languages die out constantly. The only difference: Normally, the broader public doesn't notice, yes, doesn't even know the language ever existed. There are so many languages which are almost completely unknown outside the area in which they are spoken (tribal languages in Africa, for example) that I'm actually wondering whether we will ever be able to tell exactly how many languages exist on earth.

What are the criteria for a language, anyway? When does a dialect become a language in its own right? Who has the right or power to decide? I mean, if you think about how close some languages are, like Spanish and Portuguese, and how strange and different some dialects sound even to native speakers.... An example from my own life: When I was younger, I was able to have a simple conversation with my best friend's mother, speaking Spanish while she spoke Portuguese. However, when I was on holiday in Bavaria, I tried to talk (or rather listen) to an elderly woman who spoke the Bavarian dialect. I wasn't able to tell what she was saying, although German is my native language and Bavarian supposed to be a German dialect.

Do you have your own experiences with cross-language conversations or dialects you didn't understand? Or do you know of a language which is endangered? Please share with us!

Word of the Week ... XVI

Today's word of the week:

"virago"

Until recently, I thought "Virago" was simply a motorbike. What a surprise to find out (thanks to another writer who used it in a writers forum) that it actually is a real English word!

Meaning: A virago is a cantancerous female, often the spouse or mother in law of someone, who makes life hard for those living with her.

Example: So, Paul, how do you get along with your new mother in law?--Oh, don't mention her...she's a real virago; you better don't cross her. Or, best, avoid meeting her!

Can you come up with another example, or maybe with a funny story about a virago you have met/known/heard about?

Tabletop Gaming and Languages

All right, so now I'm totally outing myself as a geek. You know, one of those crazy people who meet every week, sit around a table and roll weird-looking dice in order to determine who is the smartest, strongest and best (all right, and usually to achieve some greater goal as a team). You wonder what this has to do with languages? Well, even in a fantasy world, different people (and elves, and dwarfs, and orcs...okay, forget it) speak different languages.

Most races start with at least two languages, their own one and a more universal one. The universal language exists so that all party members can actually communicate with each other, even if they are from different races. You can probably compare it to Esperanto, the artificial language created as a universal language. However, unlike in the fantasy RPGs, the universal language in real life is actually spoken by only a small part of people. The crux: As long as most people don't speak Esperanto, people will rather choose to learn a real language like English or French instead of Esperanto, which doesn't help to increase the number of Esperanto speakers....

So what is the difference between the universal language in fantasy RPGs and Esperanto? Those RPGs assume that most people speak the universal language, a status quo which actually offers a great motivation to learn it. You only need to learn one additional language instead of several to be able to speak with others from several different races and regions.

In our real world, English has a similar status quo in many different areas of life. People in most countries speak and understand at least some basic English, and in many business-related areas, especially marketing and IT, English is the universal language for international teams and cooperations. If you speak English, you are, in fact, able to talk to people from many different countries and with many different native languages.

To come back to tabletop RPGs: The main question is whether or not languages are following a logic rule. I say: Yes, they do. Even if the used premise for an artificial universal language is far from reality, the situation that people actually grow up with their native language and a second language used for everyday business is found in many countries. In fact, many families with migration background live in the very same situation; they speak their native language at home and learn the country's official language for their everyday life outside their home.

Breathing Soul into a Story

Have you ever thought about what makes a good story, well, good? Good stories have a soul. They conjure images inside your head, provoke emotions and touch you. They're not just stories; they become part of our life, our memories.

So in a way, writers are like gods. We create those stories, and it is our responsibility to breathe a soul into every one of our stories, to turn them into more than just a mere alignment of words. I've heard from many novel writers that their characters stay with them and become an integral part of their lives until the novel is finished, and that the last word seems like saying farewell to dear friends.

Now, what exactly is the soul of a story? Is it a good plot, or well-developed characters? In my opinion, it is simple: A good story's soul are its emotions. The problem: Actually, it is not as simple, or could you tell for sure what causes a story to have emotions? Some people will be touched by a certain story setting, or a plot arch, because it touches their own life experiences and memories. Other people won't be touched at all by the very same story. People are all different, and they read stories in different ways.

This difference makes writing a good story a damn hard job. The trick is to pour your own emotions into the story while you write it. Let your own joy, fear, sorrow or regret flow into your story, weave your dreams and experiences in, and write a story that touches you, the writer. Your story's soul still won't be noticeable for every one of your readers, but chances are that many of your readers will feel the emotions you wove into the story. Don't be afraid to write about something which makes you break into tears or lets you giggle like a crazy idiot (but you probably might want to write these stories at home and not, like I've done before, in a public place like a café or a bakery). But most important of all: Write because you feel the need to write, not because you force yourself to do it.

My Two Cents ... XXIV

This week's phrase is
"to kick one's heels"

It is another idiom I found in said English crime novel (so, yes, by the time my plane landed, I had three bookmarks stuck in my book: one for each of the two idioms I found, and the last one to mark where I had stopped reading).

What does it mean?

In the novel, and according to online sources as well, this idiom means to wait impatiently.

Where does it come from?

This phrase was first mentioned in writing by Samuel Foote in 1760. My sources didn't tell me in which country it originated; however, I looked for Samuel Foote and found that he was an English dramatist.

My two cents:

Another English expression I profoundly like! This idiom makes me see all the impatience and the pacing back and forth of someone waiting impatiently for someone to come or something to happen while summing it up in just three words.

A House of Post-Its

How can you start learning a new language when you have hardly any time to sit down and learn rows of new words?

Get post-its, and lots of them!

Honestly, right now, I'm helping friends to transform their house into a German classroom. There are small post-its all over the place, giving the English word and the German translation (with gender since German knows three different genders).

The trick behind this is that our brain will pick up new things even if we don't actively learn them. It takes longer, and in the case of new words, our brain needs to see them repeatedly before they stick, but this method will help to learn a base vocabulary without actually studying.

I actually used this method before when I wanted to learn Italian pronouns. I couldn't for the hell of it remember which ones were direct and which indirect pronouns and constantly mixed them up, so I just wrote them all down in orderly lists and pinned them to my wardrobe doors (the outsides). Every time I looked at my wardrobe, I saw the lists and unconsciously started reading them. After some time, I finally got my pronouns straight--without the frustration of sitting down and studying!

This said, I can heartily recommend this method for everyone who has a hard time remembering something new. It doesn't need to be language-related; the post-it method would work great with math formulas too, for example. Just one piece of advice: Make sure everyone living together with you is okay with this transformation since they will encounter your post-its daily, and likely for weeks or even months.