Maps provide quick and easy ways to learn words. You could learn one word today in ten languages. One useful word. (Plus a few useless words.)
Let's take some well known place names. They take us Geography and history.
English Place Names From England:
English and Oxford
If you visit London you will probably see the main shopping street, Oxford Street. Americans shorten and simplify spelling and language. Americans often drop the word street which can be a disaster for getting directions in London. At least one American has asked for Oxford and been sent on a journey to the university city of Oxford many miles away. The Oxford street presumably originally led in that direction.
English and Cambridge
The Cambridge is - a bridge over the river Cam. Cambridge is the city famous for students punting up and down the River Cam, little boats with a standing student pushing on a pole.
Oxford street. A ford over the river Ox.
Oxford and Cambridge have a boat race with several rowers which ends in London.
Israel and Jerusalem
Capital Jerusalem. J e r u - salem. Origin - salem or peace. The Hebrew for peace is Shalom. The Arabic is Salaam. The Hebrew greeting, equivalent of Hello or Hi, is shalom. The Arabic greeting worldwide is local or dialect variations on Salaam.
Israel and El
The two names for God in the bible, the old Hebrew bible or Old Testament, are El or Al and Yahweh. The name Jo-El combines both.
El or Al gives us the Arabic Allah.
Yahweh gives us the word Jehovah and Jehovah's witnesses.
From Jo we get Joseph, Josephine, Josie, Jo, Joe.
Aramaic, the language at the time of Jesus, is the origin of Arabic, and of Hebrew. The written language originally had no vowels. Only the rich and famous and highly educated could read. Later dots and dashes were added above as guidelines. So the earliest parchments have no vowels and we have to guess the pronunciation.
The English pronunciation of El appears in many personal names. For example El-ijah, El-izabeth.
Beth or Beit is building or house. Bethlehem is house of bread. Beth - house - lehem - bread. Think of bakery, which also starts with the letter b, but house of bread enables you to remember each of the two words.
A quick way to learn a few words of a language is to look at the map. What are the words for the top ten cities, the mountain, the river, the square, the house, the church? The numbers one to ten also appear in names.
Numbers
Beersheba or Beersheba is a down in the south of Israel which in the original Aramaic would have been seven wells. Sh-ev-a or She-b-a is seven.
Other common names are new and old. In England we have Newcastle, a city with a castle which is now quite old.
In London towards the old East End we have Old Street.
Looking at the train stations will also teach you history and Geography, although many names reflect past ages and landmarks which have vanished.
In London, Shepherds Bush will not have any shepherds nor bushes.
Orchard Road, Singapore's equivalent of London's Oxford Street, no longer has an orchard but is full of shopping malls.
On the other hand, looking at the map of England, it's easy to recall that Norfolk is north of Suffolk, because Norfolk was the land of the North folk, whilst Suffolk was the land of the South folk.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer, photographer, author, speaker.
Let's take some well known place names. They take us Geography and history.
English Place Names From England:
English and Oxford
If you visit London you will probably see the main shopping street, Oxford Street. Americans shorten and simplify spelling and language. Americans often drop the word street which can be a disaster for getting directions in London. At least one American has asked for Oxford and been sent on a journey to the university city of Oxford many miles away. The Oxford street presumably originally led in that direction.
English and Cambridge
The Cambridge is - a bridge over the river Cam. Cambridge is the city famous for students punting up and down the River Cam, little boats with a standing student pushing on a pole.
Oxford street. A ford over the river Ox.
Oxford and Cambridge have a boat race with several rowers which ends in London.
Israel and Jerusalem
Capital Jerusalem. J e r u - salem. Origin - salem or peace. The Hebrew for peace is Shalom. The Arabic is Salaam. The Hebrew greeting, equivalent of Hello or Hi, is shalom. The Arabic greeting worldwide is local or dialect variations on Salaam.
Israel and El
The two names for God in the bible, the old Hebrew bible or Old Testament, are El or Al and Yahweh. The name Jo-El combines both.
El or Al gives us the Arabic Allah.
Yahweh gives us the word Jehovah and Jehovah's witnesses.
From Jo we get Joseph, Josephine, Josie, Jo, Joe.
Aramaic, the language at the time of Jesus, is the origin of Arabic, and of Hebrew. The written language originally had no vowels. Only the rich and famous and highly educated could read. Later dots and dashes were added above as guidelines. So the earliest parchments have no vowels and we have to guess the pronunciation.
The English pronunciation of El appears in many personal names. For example El-ijah, El-izabeth.
Beth or Beit is building or house. Bethlehem is house of bread. Beth - house - lehem - bread. Think of bakery, which also starts with the letter b, but house of bread enables you to remember each of the two words.
A quick way to learn a few words of a language is to look at the map. What are the words for the top ten cities, the mountain, the river, the square, the house, the church? The numbers one to ten also appear in names.
Numbers
Beersheba or Beersheba is a down in the south of Israel which in the original Aramaic would have been seven wells. Sh-ev-a or She-b-a is seven.
Other common names are new and old. In England we have Newcastle, a city with a castle which is now quite old.
In London towards the old East End we have Old Street.
Looking at the train stations will also teach you history and Geography, although many names reflect past ages and landmarks which have vanished.
In London, Shepherds Bush will not have any shepherds nor bushes.
Orchard Road, Singapore's equivalent of London's Oxford Street, no longer has an orchard but is full of shopping malls.
On the other hand, looking at the map of England, it's easy to recall that Norfolk is north of Suffolk, because Norfolk was the land of the North folk, whilst Suffolk was the land of the South folk.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer, photographer, author, speaker.
