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Thursday 19 April 2012

Tribute to Language Love

I have thought about this for some time, and while it really makes me sad, I think it is time to admit that Language Love won't get regular new blog posts for the time being. I need time to concentrate on other things at the moment, and to find my focus again. Language Love will stay online, and there may be new posts from time to time, but I can't keep up with my former schedule.

I want to thank you, my readers and fans, for your support and your comments. I probably wouldn't have carried on for so long without you. It made me proud to see people were reading my blog, and some of you even approached me personally with questions.

One big project on my plate is to finally make a career out of my children's book writing. Another time-consuming "project" is much more mundane: earning money. And between tutoring, editing, copy writing, building Excel workbooks, translating, and looking for more freelance opportunities, it is already hard enough to find some quiet time to write, edit and market my children's stories.

Again, thank you all for your interest in Language Love!

Monday 16 April 2012

Learning German with Miro?

Today, I need your advice. I have an idea for a book (or a series of books) for children which will teach them the basics of the German language.

Now my questions are:

Are parents (and their children) in English-speaking countries interested in foreign languages, and in German in particular?

Do you think there would be a market for such a book (or a series)?

And if yes, should it be in print, or is ebook the better way to go?

I am open to opinions, suggestions, advice, criticism.... Please leave a comment and tell me what you think! Thanks a lot!

Saturday 14 April 2012

Learning Tips ... V

Make your learning environment pleasant but free of distractions. If you feel comfortable, studying won't cause as much negativity. Get a cup of your favourite beverage, the right amount of light, and all the stuff you need to complete the day's studying goal before you start. Keep out all possible distractions and just dive into your work. You can reward yourself with any of your favourite distractions later.

Wednesday 11 April 2012

German Vowel Pronunciation

For some weeks now, I have had the opportunity to help my sweetheart in his endeavours to learn German. Apart from the struggles probably everyone starting to learn a new language faces, I have noticed one struggle in particular: German pronunciation.

For him, many of the vowel sounds I produce sound very similar or even the same, whereas they are two completely different sounds in the German language.

The bad news is: We actually have a lot of them! And each of the "simple" ones (a, e, i, o, u) can usually be pronounced either short or long. Add our weird "umlauts" (ä, ö, ü), the vowel combinations (diphtongs) and "y", which is used like a vowel, to the mix and you get complete confusion.

a
aa
ah
ai
au
ay
ä
äh
äu
e
ee
eh
ei
eu
ey
i
ie
ieh
o
oe
oh
oo
ou
ö
öh
u
uh
ü
üh
y (which isn't really a vowel, but used like one)

If you really want to learn more about the pronunciation of German vowel sounds, I can recommend this website about the German language, by Paul Joyce, which explains in detail the various sounds and gives audio examples (I will certainly pass on the link to my sweetheart).

Oh, and I will also try to convince my sweetheart to write another guest post, telling us his side of this story.

Monday 9 April 2012

Easter in Germany

All right, I already wanted to write this post on Saturday, but my parents' internet connection broke two days ago (it's back up now, finally).

Easter is one of the major religious holidays in Germany, since the majority of Germans are Christians.

Many families colour their own Easter eggs with their children in the days before Easter. Some even take the trouble to blow out eggs (with two small holes, one on each side of the egg, and a lot of breath), colour the empty egg shells, and use them as decoration in bushes and trees.

On Easter Sunday morning, children look for hidden eggs and sweets in the garden, or in the living room (depending on garden availability and weather).

Germany is generous with bank holidays, and around Easter, Germans have three bank holidays (and children usually have Easter holidays from school for one and a half or two days around Easter): Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Easter Monday.

In my family, it has become a tradition to drink "Eierflip", a mix of eggnog (the alcoholic one) and Fanta, on the Saturday evening before Easter Sunday, and over Easter.

Wednesday 4 April 2012

The Power of Visual Help

Some weeks ago, I bought the first three of my visual dictionaries (by now, I own eight of them). They have pictures of situations or different things on every page, ordered by topics. Those pictures are labelled in two languages (the foreign language you wish to learn, and a language you know well for reference). In the case of Chinese (Mandarin), they are labelled in Chinese signs, the reference language, and pinyin (the Latin writing of the Chinese syllables).

Learning vocabulary grouped by context has already been known to be easier and more successful than just learning vocabulary lists. Now, those visual dictionaries take it to another level. By connecting new words with an image, we are more likely to remember the words. Our brain saves images and labels together, which means we have more than just one trigger to access the whole image, and with the image, the word, meaning and spelling.

This leads me to a learning tip I read some weeks ago. When you learn vocabulary, imagine to write down each word on a screen in the upper left corner of your vision (if this doesn't work for you, try the upper right corner--we look up to one of those corners of our vision when we try to remember things). When you need to remember that word, look at your imaginary "screen". You should be able to see it, thus being able to spell it (both forwards and backwards, since you can "read" it off your imaginary screen).

Visualisation can be an immense help for our studying, not only for vocabulary. You could basically transfer anything to your imaginary screen, like mathematical formulas, notes for a presentation, or simply your shopping list. I guess it takes some practice, though. Anyway, I would be really interested in hearing from you whether or not visualisation helps you.

Monday 2 April 2012

A New Language Learning Method

Recently, I read about an interesting language learning method, and I would like to tell you about it.

It consists of four steps:

First Step
Look at an unknown text and highlight everything you already know.

Second Step
Translate all other words with a dictionary, word by word, and write the translations over the original words.

Third Step
Listen to the text while you read the highlighted sections and the translations, but not the unknown foreign words.

Fourth Step
As a last step, you finally read the complete foreign text while listening to it.

To prepare texts for this method, you should copy them. If possible, enlarge the text and leave enough room in between the lines for your translations.

The goal of this method is to take advantage of our brain's natural strengths and capacities by concentrating on one thing at a time. The first step shows us what we already know (or don't know). In step two, we connect spelling and meaning of the unknown words. Step three allows us to learn the pronunciation of unknown words and to connect pronunciation and meaning, whereas step four finally lets us concentrate on connecting spelling and pronunciation.

Saturday 31 March 2012

Update Language Love

Hey guys, some of you may have noticed that my blog posts haven't been as regular as usual recently. I am really sorry about it. Part of the reason is my non-existent new internet service (the provider somehow screwed me...still working on a long-term solution). The other part of the reason is that my head has been so full with other stuff--work, my sweetheart, planning for new projects--that I didn't think of new posts early enough to get them scheduled ahead of time.

Language Love will continue to be your resource of useful, interesting, funny, serious, and [insert suitable adjective here] blog posts about language-related topics. I also want to keep up the schedule of Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday posts.

If you want to help me out, or want some exposure, and think you have something interesting to say about language, don't hesitate to contact me about guest blogging! Right away, I am not able to pay for guest posts, but I will put your byline and links up and will link to your guest post on Facebook and Twitter. If you would like me to guest blog for your blog in return, I would be happy to consider it.

Wednesday 28 March 2012

Learning German in Germany

by my sweetheart

I've been learning German with only brief review before traveling, which has given me the exciting opportunity (a phrase with many meanings) of touring a new place without really speaking the local language. The task before me is daunting but enticing.

I've gotten some practice learning definitions from an English-German book that classifies things into categories (shopping, cooking, anatomy); I've also been soaking up music and television with mixed success, and spying in on conversations that occur around me. I manage to get the gist of what they're saying sometimes, though I'm not always sure how I know (the power of body language, partly). The ability to do that makes me a little proud, and the evening that I gave three or four topical replies in a row is my proudest moment thus far.

Saoirse has given me a lesson on numbers, about which I now feel rather competent – not fast, but accurate. It's a good feeling to feel some kind of mastery over an area, rather than taking potshots at words that I've heard several times (though that has its place as well).

I tend to badger her with questions about what this sign says, or what that advertisement said, or some word I've heard spoken aloud several times. I've quickly found that while hearing it is important, I learn best when I have it spelled; something I feel a little guilty about it, since my constant interruptions require her to rattle off the lettering of each word. At some point, I really should pick up a German-English dictionary.

Pronunciation is going to be … 'entertaining'. When I ask Saoirse what some word means, she often gives me a quizzical look – often I have to show her the text I'm looking at before she knows what I'm trying to say. It's an irksome subject, since even after being corrected, it doesn't sound like I'm that far off. (to his ears, at least ~Saoirse)

Playing Heroes with her has been an entertaining exercise – very time-consuming at first since all the words were new, but I don't have to arrest her attention as frequently now that my exposure to new words in the game has leveled off. It is to my advantage that I've played similar games before, and I am presently to the point where I can decipher much of a new spell's use even if can't read it precisely.

I look forward to trying Neverwinter Nights when we've run out of steam for Heroes, and in parallel learning, perhaps I'll try to find some list of particularly common German words, or come up with groups of words I want to learn (they, we, you (singular/plural), it, right/wrong, left/right, etcetera).

Wednesday 21 March 2012

Why Vampires Shouldn't Be Fearsome or Sexy

Today's post is to be taken with a grain of salt, I guess. My roommate gave me the idea for this post, and I thought it was too much fun to pass on.

Have you ever thought about how vampires speak? I mean, honestly, their long and sharp teeth must be annoying. Just think of it: If they are not careful enough, they will pierce their own lips, which would probably lead to them sucking out their own blood (that is, if they still have blood running through their body, which I assume, since they would look really wrinkly and sunk in otherwise).

However, if they indeed speak very carefully, they probably talk rather slowly. Imagine then trying to frighten someone, but voicing every single syllable with utmost care. Before they have finished their sentence, you've likely passed them without noticing.

Another consideration is how they pronounce words. Someone with such huge and dangerous front teeth who needs to be so very careful would likely have difficulty with pronunciation too, probably speaking with a lisp.

Now, ladies, seriously: How could such a being be fearsome or sexy?

Monday 19 March 2012

Teaching German through Gaming

You know, one of the easiest ways to help a gamer learn a foreign language is to...right, game. Since my sweetheart wants to learn German and also loves videogames, I have come up with a nice idea to help him: play a great role-playing videogame with lots of dialogue together--in German. I will be there to help him and to translate for him if necessary, but through repetition, he will still expand his vocabulary (and likely his grammar skills). Granted, he won't really learn the right set of words to talk to my parents next month, but his language learning is definitely a nice excuse for me to play more videogames again.

After just a few days of gaming, he is already able to figure out many texts without help. Of course, there is always the odd word he asks me about, or a short text I have to translate for him, but overall, he is doing really well.

So far, we have been playing a round-based game (Heroes of Might and Magic V). This has two great advantages: First, he is able to take his time with any German he comes across, and second, I can use his turns to get some work done. It is fun, and he automatically picks up things like sentence structures and grammar rules--apart from the obvious vocabulary--without having to struggle with it.

At some point, we want to play Neverwinter Nights together, which will require a certain level of German since he can't take as much time as he wants anymore. However, it will teach him more words and language skills due to a larger amount of dialogue compared to mostly short explanatory texts in the game we play at the moment.

Anyway, isn't it just awesome to learn a language by doing something you love?

Saturday 17 March 2012

Learning Tips ... IV

If you don't understand a certain problem, draw a picture. No need to be accurate, just jot down what you understand of it and try to find a connection. Visualising a problem like this often helps us to view it from a different angle, and can be surprisingly effective in helping us find a solution.

Wednesday 14 March 2012

Writing for Children

Some people think writing for children is easy since the stories are usually a lot shorter and often simpler than stories for adults. Is that true? Is children's literature the "light" version of writing?

I will ask you a few questions first:

What are the topics young children care about?

How long may a story for first readers be so that they can read it without losing concentration nor interest?

How simple or complex should a story for advanced readers be? About what kind of topics, and how long?

See? Writing for children has its own set of difficulties. Since stories can be very short, every single word counds a lot more than a word in an adult novel. Young readers have their own needs and expectations, and children are not simply children. As a children's writer, you need to know exactly for what group of children you are writing. How old are they? How much reading experienve do they have? What topics hold their interest? What is age-appropriate language?

Whereas some people seem to have a natural talent to write for children, other writers lack the ability to adapt their writing to this unique audience.

Children's literature is more than just another fiction genre; it is a whole different category with its own genres. So no, writing for children is not just writing a shorter story with younger protagonists. It may be easy for some writers but out of reach for others, just like any other kind of writing.

Monday 12 March 2012

Playing the Interpreter

Before I get into today's topic, I have to apologise. I know I forgot to post on Wednesday, and I feel bad about it. I had the post written in my notebook and had planned to type and schedule it on the weekend. Well, my weekend got kind of messed up due to nervousness, and by the time my boyfriend arrived here on Tuesday, I still hadn't managed to put it up. As you can guess now, I didn't find the time to post it afterwards....

Which brings me to today's topic: playing the interpreter. So far, I haven't worked as interpreter. My main tool was always the written word, whereas interpreters work with the spoken word. At the moment, however, I need to play the interpreter for my boyfriend, who is visiting me in Germany. He doesn't yet know much German, and not everyone around here knows English, so I need to switch back and forth between English and German during conversations. It is interesting for sure, and I think it is a great training for me. However, I have noticed that I am at a loss for words every now and then, even though I am certain I know that word...I simply can't remember at that moment.

Another phenomenon that I noticed is that I actually catch myself using the wrong words in a conversation. I mean, my boyfriend still knows what I mean, but it's annoying, really. And it works both ways.... My guess is that the constant changes back and forth between two languages are hard to process so quickly in my brain, and that I basically talk faster than my brain can think and "proofthink" what I am going to say. I really hope this will get better with time (although, since my boyfriend is learning German, I might not have the opportunity for long enough) and that my mind will learn to process the language changes more quickly. It would be neat to be able to interpret without problems at some point, but I doubt I'll reach that stage of skill soon enough before my boyfriend is able to keep up conversations in German. There is a reason I highly respect interpreters, and I totally understand why their professional training lasts for several years.... While translating is difficult, interpreting is the real mastery of language skills.

Saturday 10 March 2012

Learning Tips ... III

Write summaries of important topics (for example lists of pronouns, mind maps with words of a certain word field) on big sheets of paper and stick them to places at which you often look. Good places are the wall behind your desk, the bathroom door, the walls around your kitchen table, and the wall behind your TV. When you look at them often enough, they will stick in your mind even without actively studying them.

Monday 5 March 2012

Ebook Censoring? Stop PayPal and Friends NOW!

I heard something very disturbing last week. Apparently, several credit card companies are behind PayPal's current endeavours to force certain topics out of ebooks. I received an email explaining the situation (like thousands of other indie authors who have published with Smashwords), and although I haven't yet written erotica and am therefore not (yet) directly affected, I will gladly follow their call for action.

I don't want credit card companies or other financial institutions to censor legal fiction!

Now, it is the erotica writers (main targets at the moment: rape, bestiality and incest).

What will be next? If they manage to get this step of censorship through, will they try to ban sexual acts completely? Or maybe murder? Torture? Crime in a broad sense?

Yes, some of those topics can be highly disturbing, and would be crimes if performed in real life. But can that be reason enough to ban them from books? Who are those institutions to decide about which topics writers can write and readers can read?

Where is our right to free expression???

Books have always addressed controversial topics. There have always been books about crime (there are whole genres for that, you know), and books including sexual acts. If we were forced to write books only about pleasant topics in the future, where would that place us as a society? Would we start to close our eyes to reality once again? Reality and life are not always pleasant. There are dark sides to humanity, and instead of banning them, we should address and discuss them. We should be aware of them, because only then do we have a chance to act against them.

Censorship of ebooks is only a first step, but a step in a blatantly wrong direction.

Act now!

Saturday 3 March 2012

Learning Tips ... II

Try to find out which type(s) of learner you are.

Are you a visual learner, who learns best on his own with his nose deep in books?

Or do you prefer to listen to explanations and new words/formulas?

Do you achieve best results when you can try out new stuff with your own hands?

Once you know which type(s) of learner you are, try to focus your learning methods around your type(s) to get most out of your study time.

Wednesday 29 February 2012

Are You Overusing Adjectives?

I read a text recently in which almost every noun was accompanied by at least one adjective.

Are you wondering why I mention this, or are you groaning now?

If the latter, you are probably an experienced writer. If the former, you likely need to learn some more about writing (or are simply not interested in it, which is also fine).

It is a common mistake among rather unexperienced writers to think that everything and everyone needs to be described as accurately as possible. Whereas the right adjective at the right place can help readers to visualise and understand the story, too many adjectives destroy the flow.

Yes, a story full of adjectives is tedious to read!

It leaves no room for imagination and forces me to visualise every little thing. If I read a story, though, I want to relax. If my mind produces pictures and images for certain details or scenes, fine, but if it doesn't, I just want to keep reading. I'm not missing out on any reading pleasure if I don't have an accurate picture of everything in my head. Furthermore, my mind may already have formed a specific image for someone. Let's say, my mind pictures the protagonist as a fair young lady, and the book suddenly tells me she's a gingerhead with lots of freckles. It will throw me out of the story for sure. It may be that you visualised her as a gingerhead with lots of freckles, but as long as this information is not necessary for the story, please don't tell me how I have to visualise her (or at least be merciful and give me that information early enough before I form a different picture of her in my head).

The point I'm trying to make is this:

Use adjectives sparingly and doublecheck whether you need it of not for each one.

Sometimes, a little more description can add to the story and the atmosphere, and is welcome. Most of the times, however, it is simply not necessary and will not add anything for the reader at best and throw him out of the story at worst.

Of course, there are different "rules" for the use of adjectives and descriptions for each genre, but one thing stays the same for each one: overusing adjectives and descriptions is considered bad style.

Monday 27 February 2012

The Importance of Foreign Language Skills in Business

In our modern business world, foreign language skills become more and more important. Trade and commerce has become international. Clothes from China, computer systems from Japan, coffee from South America...the list is endless. However, international business relationships can't work without communication.

Employers often require foreign language skills from their office workers nowadays. Which languages are most sought after depends on where in the world the company has business connections. In Germany, for example, it is almost impossible to get a decent office job without English skills. French and Spanish can also open doors to new jobs and exciting new positions.

In general, Asian languages will become more valuable as the influence of Asian countries continues to grow. China is on its way to become one of the major business nations, and Japan has always been one of the market leaders in the videogame sector.

Although many people working in international businesses speak English to a certain degree, not everyone does. Furthermore, it is a sign of respect to talk to new business contacts in their own native language, even if the language skills aren't enough for a fluent conversation yet.

If you want to get an interesting position in today's international economic world, foreign language skills might be your most valuable assets when applying for a new position, even more important than experience in that particular field. Start planning your career early enough, and take language courses if you have the possibility.

Saturday 25 February 2012

Learning Tips ... I

Never learn in long sessions, but rather break the stuff up in shorter sessions. It helps a lot more to learn three times a day in short sessions than in one long session. The reason behind this is the learning capacity of our brain. If we learn too much at once, we tend to forget everything but the beginning and the end of what we learnt. So take a break in regular intervals, get some fresh air, drink a glass of water, walk around the block...anything to get your mind free again.

Wednesday 22 February 2012

Ugh...Sorry!!!

Oh my...the past few days were so busy that I completely forgot to schedule a post for today.... I'm really, really sorry, guys!

I haven't really been online much at all today and yesterday. Honestly, I think the only thing I did was checking my emails twice. Between clients and tutoring students (I'm teaching again!!!), and planning my own language courses, there wasn't much time for anything else. And now, I'm almost falling asleep sitting in front of my laptop after a long work day (although it started with a nice business breakfast). 9 am just isn't my time of the day, I guess (especially if it is followed by a day of running from A to B, with breaks for giving tutoring).

Anyway, I hope you forgive me. I will answer some emails, do some more research, and hopefully chat for a bit with my sweetheart, before my eyes close for some desperately needed sleep. Tomorrow will be more running around....

Monday 20 February 2012

Listening to Newspapers

Today, I have read about a project in Germany which enables the blind to enjoy newspapers and current news. They started in 1972 and have risen to a nationwide society.

Their concept is as simple as intriguing: Volunteers choose and read newspaper articles which are recorded and then sent out to their clients on CD or can be downloaded as MP3s. They record various collections: regional news, nationwide news, political or health-related collections. They are released weekly or monthly and currently reach 5,000 people in Germany.

Of course, their collections can't be offered for free; they have expenses for equipment, CDs and such. However, they are offered at a reasonable, rather low price.

The idea came about when the founder's wife (who is blind) read newspaper articles to him back in 1972. He thought, If we recorded her, others could enjoy the article as well. One of his friends suggested that the church's youth organisation could help with recording, so they set to work. Since their humble beginnings, they have come a long way. They changed their medium over time to stay up to date with current developments and have slowly increased the amount of collections to reach out to listeners throughout Germany.

I am awed by this project. They have been providing blind people with a medium which allows them to stay up to date for four decades, without having to depend on their spouses, children or friends to read to them. I think this is a great example of how language can connect people in an attempt to make other lives a little bit better.

Saturday 18 February 2012

Word of the Week ... XXIV

This week's word is

"power"

You might wonder why I chose such a simple and commonly known word. The reason is that I had to use it in a completely different context and was wondering how many non-native English speakers know about this other context and meaning.

Meaning: 1. control, strength, authority; 2. used in a mathematical context: 10² = ten to the power of two

Examples:
1. It wasn't long before the new king's power was questioned.
2. Ten to the power of two equals one hundred.

Wednesday 15 February 2012

About Textbooks...

In the near future, I need to choose textbooks for teaching. So what will I look for in the textbooks?

Since I am not the only one who needs to be able to work with them, it is more difficult to find the right ones. On the one hand, of course, I need to be able to work with them since I am the one who will explain and teach its contents to my students, but on the other hand, it would be no use if I thought the books were perfect to work with and my students had no clue what to make of them.

One thing I will definitely be looking for is whether the publisher offers an audio CD to go with the textbook. Usually, those audio CDs include all the units' texts and dialogues, and often some exercises for listening comprehension.

Apart from that, a good textbook needs to have a good balance of texts, grammar, and exercises. It should guide the teacher through the units and make it easy to prepare lessons. It should also have a good grammar section so that students can look up new grammar on their own, for example to repeat it at home.

Last but not least, the contents should be age appropriate. Younger students need young characters and settings that reflect their lives in the texts and dialogues. School settings are popular for textbooks used in regular schools. Adult learners, however, would soon be bored by those texts. They need to be able to relate to the characters and their lives. Settings could range from work environment, travel and family life to more serious topics like history and politics.

I am sure I will find the right textbooks for my purpose, but it may take some time and leafing through a great amount of available books. Thankfully, we have a big bookshop with a huge language department in Berlin.

Monday 13 February 2012

Teaching vs. Tutoring

You may wonder whether there is any difference at all between teaching and tutoring. Believe me, there is. Teaching is a lot more free than tutoring. You see, when you give tutoring, you usually focus on the things your student did at school. His textbooks and his teacher determine what you do with him in the tutoring lessons. When you teach, however, you are the one determining what you do, and how you teach it.

Both jobs have their rewards. If you give tutoring lessons and your student looks at you at the end of a lesson to tell you, 'I wish my teacher could explain as well as you do', well, that's definitely a keeper. Or if a student manages to get his first passing mark in a test because he actually learnt something from you which his teacher couldn't teach him. A teacher on the other hand is the one guiding and encouraging his students to learn. He is (or should be) the one to show his students the wonders of books, of science, or numbers.

Both jobs have their drawbacks. Many children who need tutoring don't want to spend their free time with a tutor and their most hated subject. The tutor doesn't have the power to give marks (and to punish destructive behaviour during tutoring lessons that way). The teacher, though, needs to give marks whether he likes it or not. He has to make decisions (and to defend those decisions against parents' arguments every now and then). If a student feels discriminated, the teacher will become the target of parent attacks and complaints. Some teachers are even badly bullied by their students.

Maybe only one of the two jobs is for you, or none; they are quite different although they are both about the same goal: Help others to increase their knowledge. I like both.

Saturday 11 February 2012

New Language Project

Hey guys,

I am sorry I am late today, and I don't even have my usual Word of the Week or My Two Cents for you. The reason: My mind has been occupied with a new project, a big project I have been dreaming of for years, for the past days. It may finally come to life!

I won't tell you details yet (don't want to jinx it), but it has to do a whole lot with languages. Promised, I will tell you more as soon as my plans get hand and foot!

Love,
Saoirse

Wednesday 8 February 2012

Dyslexia and ADHD: Advice for Tutoring

Some children have both dyslexia and ADHD--a difficult combination for tutors. How can you teach a dyslexic child how to read and write properly if his concentration only lasts for ten or fifteen minutes at a time?

First of all, keep the lessons short! Yes, children with ADHD need breaks, even if the tutoring class only lasts 45 minutes. Try to break everything you teach into short sections of maybe ten to fifteen minutes each. Rule of thumb: If you notice your student's concentration is getting worse, give him a short break.

Diversify the type of exercises you do with your student! Say, you started with making him write a short text. When you notice his concentration is wavering, stop it and give him a short break, then have him do something different for a short while (yes, even if the text wasn't done). You can come back to the first exercise later.

Make his tutoring lessons fun! This is even more important with dyslexic children, and with children who have ADHD. If you can find a way to make learning fun for them, it will be a lot easier for them to stay focused and to practise difficult skills.

Be positive! Your student concentrated well on the task but still made a few mistakes? Praise him nonetheless. He did something well, after all. Let him know that you noticed even the slightest improvement. Your goal should be to motivate him, not demotivate him by always pointing out every single mistake. Chances are, your student will never be able to produce a text without any mistakes, so just a few mistakes instead of many is a great achievement for him and should be treated accordingly.

Tutoring children with both dyslexia and ADHD can be very rewarding if you have enough patience and heed my advice.

Monday 6 February 2012

Translating Difficult Words

My sweetheart sent me a link to an article some time ago which was about the ten words which are the most difficult to translate. It made me think about words I found difficult to translate during my previous years of translating.

There have been quite a few words, especially in my children's stories about Miro the Dragon, that gave me headaches. Sometimes, I had no other chance than to slightly rewrite the sentence in order to make it work in another language.

What makes some words more difficult to translate than others?

First of all, it is due to the different cultural backgrounds. If a concept does not exist in the target language, it is difficult to translate that concept. You need to catch the essense and rewrite the sentence to get as close to the essense as possible in the target language.

Another reason is the difference in common idioms from language to language. Sometimes, it is hard to recognise an idiom at first glance since it is so rooted in our everyday language that we don't notice it normally; once you have recognised it, you need to find the equivalent in the target language. You can easily spot bad translations by word-by-word translations of idioms.

Tricks for Translating Difficult Words

In a first step, I always translate carefully from the source text into the target language. Whenever I come across a difficult word or phrase, I look up possible translations in various dictionaries and try to find the one with the closest meaning. I often cross-check the possible translations to see if they really fit the context in my case.

In a second step, then, I put away the source text and basically edit the translation. My goal is to produce a text that can't be spotted as translation at all.

A common rule among translators is: As close to the source text as possible, as far away from it as necessary. In other words, I try to translate close to the source text but change phrases or sentences when I have to in order to convey the meaning or because it would sound awkward in the target language.

Saturday 4 February 2012

Language Love Junior

I created another blog in the Language Love family, this time for children. You can find Language Love Junior here: http://languagelovejunior.wordpress.com

There will be lots of short posts with vocabulary, grammar, interesting facts, funny jokes, and more, all related to several languages. Furthermore, every month will feature a new children's story or poem on the website, free to read for everyone.

I also run a monthly contest, and I could need some help spreading the word, so please take a look at the Contest page and tell children who might be interested in participating. Thanks!

Wednesday 1 February 2012

German Tenses--An Overview Part IV.2

Here is the last part of my little German Tense Guide. I hope you enjoyed this excursion into German grammar.

Konjunktiv I == Subjunctive

Konjunktiv I (all time forms) is only used in indirect speech, wishes, religious and mathematical phrases. In indirect speech, both Konjunktiv I and Konjunktiv II are used without difference in meaning.

Examples:

Er sagt, er sei krank. = He says he is ill.

X sei die Zahl 4. = X be the number 4.

Mögen sie ihr Glück finden. = May they find their happiness.

Konjunktiv II == Conditional

Konjunktiv II is used in indirect speech, for wishes, irreal conditional sentences and comparisons, and especially polite requests.

Examples:

Würden Sie mir kurz helfen? = Would you help me for a moment?

Wenn die Sonne schiene, würden wir schwimmen gehen. = If the sun shone, we would go swimming.

Imperativ == Imperative

The Imperativ is used to give orders, recommendations or prohibitions, just like in English.

Infinitivformen == Participles

Präsens == (present)

The Partizip Präsens can be used as an adjective or adverb.

Examples:

der lachende Junge = the laughing boy

Er schrie sie wütend an. = He angrily screamed at her.

Perfekt == (past)

The Partizip Perfekt can be used as an adjective or as part of a verb.

###

Monday 30 January 2012

Fascination Irish Names

I have noticed that quite a lot of people are fascinated by Irish names (me included). Take my pen name, for example: Saoirse O'Mara.

The Irish word "saoirse" means "freedom", whereas the last name "Mara", or "O'Mara", is derived from the Irish word for "merry". When I looked for a pen name, I made short lists of my favourite first and last names found in a list of Irish names, noted down their pronunciation and meaning too, and then googled the combinations. From the combinations which didn't come up with any Google results, Saoirse O'Mara was my favourite. It looks really nice written down, I like the pronunciation (SEERsha O'Mara), and I absolutely love its meaning: merry freedom.

Many popular English names have Irish (Gaelic) equivalents (for example James = Séamus, Patrick = Pádraig, Kevin = Caoimhín, Owen = Eoghan (male) or Sarah = Sorcha, Mary = Máire, Jane = Sinéad, Catherine = Caitlín (female)). However, many Irish names are derived from Latin, Arabic and other influences due to Ireland's history. Take Pádraig, for example. Pádraig, or Patrick, is of Latin origin and comes from the Latin name Patricius, which means "nobleman". Saint Patrick, the bishop who brought Celtic Ireland the Christian beliefs, adopted that name after he had been captured and brought up far from home.

If you want to look up various Irish first names and their etymology and meaning, Behind the Name is a good place to start. Namenerds is a true treasure chest for everyone interested in Irish names, as the website has several lists for Irish first names, names by meaning, Irish translations of English names and so on. If you plan to give your baby an Irish name, you can find lots of Irish baby names, their origins and meanings on Baby Names of Ireland.

Saturday 28 January 2012

My Two Cents ... XXIX

I remembered this phrase when I watched a Jane Austen film:

"to use someone ill"

What does it mean?

It means to treat someone badly.

Where does it come from?

I did not find anything about this phrase's origins online, so I can only guess. Since I know it from Jane Austen's novels, though, I think I can safely assume that it originated in Great Britain sometime at the end of the 18th or beginning of the 19th century (that was the time Jane Austen lived).

My two cents:

I was really surprised that I couldn't find anything about its origins online. However, I like the phrase (maybe because I love Jane Austen's novels) and think it deserves this spot in my My Two Cents series here on Language Love.

Wednesday 25 January 2012

German Tenses—an Overview Part IV.1

When do you use which tense in German?

Infinitiv == (infinitive)

The infinitive is used in combination with modal verbs, and sometimes as a noun (like the present participle in English, e.g. “Lesen macht mir großen Spaß.”->”I enjoy reading very much.”).

Indikativ == Indicative Mode

Präsens == (simple present)

Präsens is used to talk about facts, and about events in the present. It is also often used to talk about future events like plans, or timetables (e.g. “Es regnet.” = “It rains.” or “Ich fahre morgen in den Urlaub.” = “I am going to go on holidays tomorrow.”).

Präteritum == (simple past)

Präteritum is used to talk about events which lie in the past (e.g. “König Luois XIV war ein französischer Herrscher.” = “King Luois XIV was a French regent.”).

Perfekt == (present perfect)

Perfekt is used to talk about events which started in the past and still have effect in the present (e.g. “Ich habe angefangen, ein Buch zu schreiben.” = “I started to write a book.” [I’m still writing on it] or “Ich habe heute Morgen in der Schule geschlafen.” = “I have slept in school this morning.” [and that’s why I don’t know what the teacher talked about]).

Note: In German, the rules for using Präteritum or Perfekt are not as strict as the English rules regarding simple past and present perfect.

Plusquamperfekt == (past perfect)

Plusquamperfekt is used for events that took place even before another event in the past (e.g. “Ich hatte Wein gekauft, bevor ich zu ihm fuhr.” = “I had bought wine before I went to see him.”). It is most often found in fiction since many works of fiction are written in the past tense.

Futur I == (future I)

Futur I is used to talk about events which will take place in the future (e.g. “Morgen werde ich mich mit meiner besten Freundin treffen.” = “Tomorrow, I will meet my best friend.”).

Futur II == (future II)

Futur II is used to talk about events which will have taken place (they are already finished) at a certain point in the future (e.g. “Bis morgen Abend werde ich das Auto repariert haben.” = “By tomorrow evening, I will have repaired the car.”).

Note: German does not have a progressive form of the tenses. Sentences like “It is raining.” would be translated using the simple form of the appropriate tense and an adverb like “(jetzt) gerade” (~now) or “im Moment” (~at the moment) = “Es regnet gerade.”

Next week, I will give you the last part of my German Tense Overview. Don't miss it!

Monday 23 January 2012

Something about Me--In Chinese

Like I said, I wrote a short text about myself last week. It was a fun exercise, and I was surprised how many words I already remembered, or at least recognised when I read them.

2012年1月17日

我叫Theresa。我是德国人。我二十四岁。

我的职业是作家,老师和译者。

我喜欢咖啡,我的电脑和语言。

我有一本孩子的书。

我妹妹二十岁。她叫Laura。我很喜欢她。

English translation:
1/17/2012

My name is Theresa. I am German. I am 24 years old.
My profession is writer, teacher and translator.
I like coffee, my computer and languages.
I have one children's book.
My younger sister is 20 years old. Her name is Laura. I like her a lot.

I also drew up a timetable for myself, deciding to refresh/study one language every day with Sundays free (or rather to pursue some IT-related studies since I want to get more proficient in various IT things). So far, I have been able most of the days to stick to my timetable, the only excuse being a time-consuming project I am working on right now for a client (and which I hope to finish today). Work, of course, is my highest priority, but I will still try to find time for my studies and my writing every day, even if it is just for a few minutes.

Saturday 21 January 2012

My Two Cents ... XXVIII

Today's idiom comes from a good friend of mine:

"a piece of cake"

What does it mean?

If something is a piece of cake, it is very easy. Example: How was the test at school?--A piece of cake.

Where does it come from?

Apparently, it originated during slavery in America when slaves could win a cake by circling around the cake especially gracefully. Cakes were also given out as prizes for winning other competitions. The American expression "cakewalk" also originated from the slave competition and means a task that is very easy and fun to do. Both idioms originated in the 1870's, and "piece of cake" was first mentioned in writing in 1936. According to some sources, the British soldiers in World War II already knew and used this term too.

My two cents:

When I chose this idiom, I didn't expect to find such an interesting background story to it. In one way, it shocked me that a phrase commonly used nowadays has such a dark origin, but on second thought, considering the dark spots in history in almost every country, it would be strange if there were no idioms originating in those times. Nevertheless, I like cake, so these two idioms will certainly stick in my mind.

Wednesday 18 January 2012

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

Here is Part III.2, as promised.

Konjunktiv I == Subjunctive

Präsens == (present)

ich gehe == (that) I go

du gehest == (that) you go

er/sie/es gehe == (that) he/she/it go

wir gehen == (that) we go

ihr gehet == (that) you go

sie/Sie gehen == (that) they go ((that) you go—formal address)

Vergangenheit (Perfekt) == (past)

ich sei gegangen == (if) I went

du sei(e)st gegangen == (if) you went

er/sie/es sei gegangen == (if) he/she/it went

wir seien gegangen == (if) we went

ihr seiet gegangen == (if) you went

sie/Sie seien gegangen == (if) they went ((if) you went—formal address)

Futur I == (future I)

ich werde gehen == (if) I were to go/should go

du werdest gehen == (if) you were to go/should go

er/sie/es werde gehen == (if) he/she/it were to go/should go

wir werden gehen == (if) we were to go/should go

ihr werdet gehen == (if) you were to go/should go

sie/Sie werden gehen == (if) they were to go/should go

((if) you were to go/should go—formal address)

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

Futur II == (future II)

ich werde gegangen sein

du werdest gegangen sein

er/sie/es werde gegangen sein

wir werden gegangen sein

ihr werdet gegangen sein

sie/Sie werden gegangen sein

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 ginge/würde gehen == I would go

du gingest/würdest gehen == you would go

er/sie/es ginge/würde gehen == he/she/it would go

wir gingen/würden gehen == we would go

ihr ginget/würdet gehen == you would go

sie/Sie gingen/würden gehen == they would go (you would go—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. Some of the irregular forms are identical too.

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

ich wäre gegangen/würde gegangen sein == I would have gone

du wärest gegangen/würdest gegangen sein == you would have gone

er/sie/es wäre gegangen/würde gegangen sein == he/she/it would have gone

wir wären gegangen/würden gegangen sein == we would have gone

ihr wär(e)t gegangen/würdet gegangen sein == you would have gone

sie/Sie wären gegangen/würden gegangen sein == they would have gone

(you would have gone—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

Geh(e)! == Go!

Gehen wir! == Let’s go!

Geht! == Go!

Gehen Sie! == Go! (formal address)

Infinitivformen == Participles

Präsens == (present)

gehend == going

Perfekt == (past)

gegangen == gone

Next week, I will provide you with the passive tenses of "gehen".

Monday 16 January 2012

My Chinese Dialogue As Promised

So, I didn't find time to do my "homework" until yesterday. I got out my textbook, a sharp pencil (for writing the Chinese signs) and my exercise book with extra large squares (the ones German children use in their first year of school).

First, I read through the pronunciation guide again, just to make sure. Then I moved on to the first chapter. I read the text, and the grammar, and skimmed through the grammar pages of the next two chapters as well. After that, I felt confident enough to start my task: write a short Chinese dialogue.

2012 年1月15日 (January 15, 2012)

你好。我叫Theresa。你叫什么名字?
(Hi. My name is Theresa. What is your name?)
——你好。我叫Dana。你好吗?
(Hi。 My name is Dana. How are you?)
我很好。你是哪国人?我是德国人。
(I am fine. Where are you from? I am German.)
——我是美国人。你今年多少岁?
(I am American. How old are you?)
我二十四岁。我学中语。
(I am 24 years old.I learn Chinese.)
——我也学中语。
(I learn Chinese too.)
再见!
(Goodbye.)
——再见!
(Goodbye.)

Whoa, while writing this into my blogger interface, I learnt that I can switch between Chinese signs and normal letters, and even have a dictionary in my task bar to look up signs! Awesome!

And while I read the text in my textbook, I realised that I remembered quite a lot. I didn't need to look up a single word/sign in order to understand the text.

For next Monday, I will come up with a short text about myself in Chinese. Just need to keep going now that I restarted learning it.

Saturday 14 January 2012

Word of the Week ... XXIII

This week's word is

"flummoxed"

I learnt it from my sweetheart who used it in a conversation, and since I had never heard or read it before, I looked it up. Of course, I thought of sharing it with you at once.

Meaning: baffled

Example: The news of her marriage left him flummoxed.

Do you have other examples? Or maybe similar words? Share them with us!

Wednesday 11 January 2012

German Tenses—an Overview Part III.1

Active Tenses, Irregular Verb, with “sein”

Today, we will have a look at one of German's many irregular verbs. I picked one that builds its compound tenses with "sein" (to be), since German verbs don't always build them with "haben" (to have). Instead, when you learn German, you have to remember which verb uses "haben" and which verb uses "sein".

“gehen” is an irregular verb which builds its compound tenses with the modal verb “sein” (to be).

Infinitiv == (infinitive)

gehen == (to go)

Indikativ == Indicative Mode

Präsens == (simple present)

ich gehe == I go

du gehst == you go

er/sie/es geht == he/she/it goes

wir gehen == we go

ihr geht == you go

sie/Sie gehen == they go (you go—formal address)

Präteritum == (simple past)

ich ging == I went

du gingst == you went

er/sie/es ging == he/she/it went

wir gingen == we went

ihr gingt == you went

sie/Sie gingen == they went (you went—formal address)

Perfekt == (present perfect)

ich bin gegangen == I have gone

du bist gegangen == you have gone

er/sie/es ist gegangen == he/she/it has gone

wir sind gegangen == we have gone

ihr seid gegangen == you have gone

sie/Sie sind gegangen == they have gone (you have gone—formal address)

Plusquamperfekt == (past perfect)

ich war gegangen == I had gone

du warst gegangen == you had gone

er/sie/es war gegangen == he/she/it had gone

wir waren gegangen == we had gone

ihr wart gegangen == you had gone

sie/Sie waren gegangen == they had gone (you had gone—formal address)

Futur I == (future I)

ich werde gehen == I will go

du wirst gehen == you will go

er/sie/es wird gehen == he/she/it will go

wir werden gehen == we will go

ihr werdet gehen == you will go

sie/Sie werden gehen == they will go (you will go—formal address)

Futur II == (future II)

ich werde gegangen sein == I will have gone

du wirst gegangen sein == you will have gone

er/sie/es wird gegangen sein == he/she/it will have gone

wir werden gegangen sein == we will have gone

ihr werdet gegangen sein == you will have gone

sie/Sie werden gegangen sein == they will have gone (you will have gone—formal address)


Watch out for PArt III.2 next Wednesday!

Monday 9 January 2012

My Language Learning--Out in the Open

All right, here we go. I really want to refresh and improve my language skills. To help me along with it, I will post about my learning experiences here, on Language Love, for all of you to follow (and to kick my ass if I slack).

This week, I want to begin with laying open my Chinese (Mandarin) skills. Since I haven't used it in quite some time, I have forgotten almost everything I knew. I still know about the four tones and the pronunciation, and I think I still know in which order to write the signs. I even remember how to say a few basic sentences, but there's about where it stops. Even writing down those few sentences would be a problem; I have forgotten how to write most of the (few) signs I once knew. It is a lot easier on my laptop since it gives me possible signs when I type in the spelling in pinyin, but I still need to know how the sign looks to choose the right one. Well, here's some of what I remember (written down without the help of a dictionary):

我是德国人。我学中语。你好吗? (I am German. I learn Chinese. How are you?)

I know, it's not much. I remember a few more sentences but am not able to write them down without looking up some signs. It's a shame how much knowledge gets buried in our heads if we don't use it every now and then.

My goal for this week is simple: Write down a simple dialogue in Chinese and memorise the signs and words. Baby steps to get into the language again.

If you can think of a good goal for the week (or the week after), please leave me a comment. Is there anything you are particularly interested in? Let me know, and I'll try to include it in my studies.

I will post my results here next week, including an English translation.

So far,

再见

Saturday 7 January 2012

Fun with Accents

I know it's Saturday, and usually, you get an interesting phrase or word on Saturdays, but I saw this Youtube video last night and thought it was hilarious! It's apparently a very strong Scottish accent, and I have to admit, I haven't been able to understand most of what was said when I first watched it (although one of my English teachers was a Scot, and I've even been told I have a slightly Scottish accent myself).

Have fun with it! Scottish couple in talk show

Wednesday 4 January 2012

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

Today, we'll have a look at Part 2 of our second German tense overview, starting with the subjunctive.

Konjunktiv I == Subjunctive

Präsens == (present)

ich werde gefragt == (that) I be asked

du werdest gefragt == (that) you be asked

er/sie/es werde gefragt == (that) he/she/it be asked

wir warden gefragt == (that) we be asked

ihr werdet gefragt == (that) you be asked

sie/Sie warden gefragt == (that) they be asked ((that) you be asked—formal address)

Vergangenheit (Perfekt) == (past)

ich sei gefragt worden == (if) I were asked

du sei(e)st gefragt worden == (if) you were asked

er/sie/es sei gefragt worden == (if) he/she/it were asked

wir seien gefragt worden == (if) we were asked

ihr seiet gefragt worden == (if) you were asked

sie/Sie seien gefragt worden == (if) they were asked ((if) you were asked—formal address)

Futur I == (future I)

ich werde gefragt werden == (if) I were to be asked/should be asked

du werdest gefragt werden == (if) you were to be asked/should be asked

er/sie/es werde gefragt werden == (if) he/she/it were to be asked/should be asked

wir werden gefragt werden == (if) we were to be asked/should be asked

ihr werdet gefragt werden == (if) you were to be asked/should be asked

sie/Sie werden gefragt werden == (if) they were to be asked/should be asked

((if) you were to be asked/should be asked—formal address)

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

Futur II == (future II)

ich werde gefragt worden sein

du werdest gefragt worden sein

er/sie/es werde gefragt worden sein

wir werden gefragt worden sein

ihr werdet gefragt worden sein

sie/Sie werden gefragt worden sein

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 würde gefragt/würde gefragt werden == I would be asked

du würdest gefragt/würdest gefragt werden == you would be asked

er/sie/es würde gefragt/würde gefragt werden == he/she/it would be asked

wir würden gefragt/würden gefragt werden == we would be asked

ihr würdet gefragt/würdet gefragt werden == you would be asked

sie/Sie würden gefragt/würden gefragt werden == they would be asked

(you would be asked—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. In Passive voice, however, the natural form is unique (werden->würde is irregular).

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

ich wäre gefragt worden/würde gefragt worden sein == I would have been asked

du wärest gefragt worden/würdest gefragt worden sein == you would have been asked

er/sie/es wäre gefragt worden/würde gefragt worden sein == he/she/it would have been asked

wir wären gefragt worden/würden gefragt worden sein == we would have been asked

ihr wäret gefragt worden/würdet gefragt worden sein == you would have been asked

sie/Sie wären gefragt worden/würden gefragt worden sein == they would have been asked

(you would have been 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

Werd(e) gefragt! == Be asked!

Werden wir gefragt! == Let’s be asked!

Werdet gefragt! == Be asked!

Werden Sie gefragt! == Be asked! (formal address)

Infinitivformen == Participles

Präsens == (present)

gefragt werdend == being asked

Perfekt == (past)

gefragt worden == been asked


Watch out for the start of Part III next week!

Monday 2 January 2012

Puns--Playing with Language

Puns--everyone has heard or used them before. They are seen as either very bad jokes, or a fun and smart way to play with language, depending on who you ask. Many comedians build their programmes around subtle puns which require some thinking instead of taking their audience by their hands. The best puns are usually those that make you laugh out loud all of a sudden hours after the pun has been told.

Not only comedians use puns, though. Asterix, a popular French comic book series, relies on puns a lot, for example. Most of the characters' names are puns, intended to portray the characters' quirks or strengths in an often satirical way.

Why are puns seen in two completely different ways?

Honestly, some puns are probably too old, too commonly known, to be more than a groaner. Other puns, however, are so subtle that most people won't even notice them at first, and might burst out laughing in an inappropriate moment hours later when they suddenly understand them.

I personally love puns. They are one of the fun parts of language. A playground, if you want, where all we language lovers can let out our inner child and have fun.

Feel free to share your favourite puns in the comments; I would love to read them!