Seen On The Street - bus showing seated student advertising University of WInchester

 On the back of a bus. Big advertisement. Seated student. Advertisement for Winchester.

Ac stands for academic or academia, high education institutions such as colleges, universities and research organizations.

Driving south of London to Southampton, we saw this bus to Winchester.

From Southampton to Winchester is about 12 miles, 20 kilometers, on the M3 motorway, about 20 minutes.

I was wondering how the Roman word for fort, similar to castle and German cassel, turned into chester in modern place names. I asked Gemini and got this useful result:

The suffix -chester (along with regional variants like -caster and -cester) has a rich etymological history tied to the Roman occupation of Britain [cite: 1.1.9].

1. The Root: Latin Castrum

The origin traces back to the Latin word castrum (plural: castra), which meant a Roman military camp, fort, or fortified stronghold [cite: 1.1.3]. (This root is also the ancestor of the modern word castle [cite: 1.1.9]).

2. The Anglo-Saxon Adoption: Ceaster

When the Romans left Britain in the 5th century [cite: 1.1.9], the invading Anglo-Saxons encountered these old stone fortifications and walled towns. They adopted the Latin term into Old English (Anglo-Saxon) as ċeaster, using it to describe a Roman town, city, or fort [cite: 1.1.10]. Over time, they began attaching this suffix to local geographic or tribal names to designate a former Roman site.

3. Regional Variations

Depending on where you are in England, the Old English ceaster evolved differently based on local dialects:

• -chester (Standard/Southern/Mercian): Found in names like Winchester, Manchester [cite: 1.1.5], and Colchester [cite: 1.1.9].

• -caster (Northern / Danelaw): In areas heavily influenced by Old Norse (which lacked the soft "ch" sound), ceaster shifted to a "k" sound, resulting in names like Doncaster [cite: 1.1.6], Lancaster [cite: 1.1.5], and Tadcaster [cite: 1.1.9].

• -cester (Midland): Reduced over time in rapid speech, seen in names like Gloucester [cite: 1.1.9], Worcester, and Leicester [cite: 1.1.9].

In short, whenever you see a town ending in -chester, it is a linguistic fossil pointing directly to a Roman fort or walled settlement [cite: 1.1.4].

 I knew that the city names Chester, Colchester, and Manchester were related. I had not realized that Lancaster was part of the same group.

Useful Websites

winchester.ac.uk

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Winchester

German Words In Several Countries - Placenames And Memorable German Words Similar To English

 

Where can you use German? In Europe: Germany, Austria, Switzerland.

Also in parts of several other countries. 

Belgium (co-official language in the German-speaking Community in the east.

Liechtenstein (official language)

• Luxembourg (co-official language alongside Luxembourgish and French)

Also Recognized & Spoken In Regions 

• Italy: Recognized as an official regional language in the South Tyrol (Alto Adige) region.

• Namibia: Recognized as a national minority language (due to its colonial history).

• Minority Communities: German is also spoken by recognized minority populations in parts of 

• Poland, 

• Czech Republic, 

• Hungary, 

• Romania, 

• Slovakia, 

• France (Alsace and Lorraine), 

• Denmark, 

• Russia (Volga Germans).

Some words you might spot when travelling. 

Austria

Innsbruck

The word Bruck means bridge as used in the Austrian city of Innsbruck.

Salzburg

Salzburg in Austria means salt city.

Germany

Frankfurt

Furt means ford, as in the German city of Frankfurt.

Dusseldorf

Dorf, like the English word thorpe, means village. You see that is German towns like 

Dusseldorf, and in the English attraction, Thorpe Park. 

German - English

Bus - bus

Film - film

oft - often

Maschine - machine

English - German

bus - Bus

film - Film

machine - Maschine

often - oft

-ends-

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Easy Malay words

Malaysian Flag public domain. No copyright.

 Malay - English easy words (alphabetically)

anda - you

artichoke - artichoke

asparagus - asparagas

bas - bus

makan - eat

menu - menu

sandwic - sandwich

taman - garden

teh - tea

tiket - ticket

tomato - tomato

tuna - tuna

vinaigrette - vinaigrette (from the French)

Confusing words Malay - English

air - water

Confusing Words English - Malay

water - air

Useful Resources for learning Malay

Translate Google

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Malay_phrasebook

To see the differences and similarities between Malay and Indonesian :

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Indonesian_phrasebook

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Japanese Language - A Quick Reminder

I thought I could probably remember up to ten Japanese words, and you could probably do the same, at least five, without visiting recently or at all.

Here is my list, amplified with a quick look back through my own blogs on Japanese.

Akiko  girl's name meaning bright or autumn child (ko as the ending of a name means child or girl)

arigato - thank you

baddo - bad

basu - bus

beddo - bed

bento - box of lunch, think of lunch box, divided into compartments like an airline meal

creamu - cream

desuku - desk

e Edo - (name of former capital, gate of the river, now used in other place names)

fan - electric cooling fan

gamu - gum

geisha girl - entertainer, usually female, multi-skilled including singing and sympathy

ginko - nuts, prized for health giving property

hai - yes (I think  of Hi. Another memory aid would be to think of a high excited agreement of delight at a suggestion)

Hiroshima - hiro is wide and shima is island

hoteru - hotel

iki-gai - zest for life, reason for living, passion, inspiration, what gives your life meaning

jinzu - jeans

judo - gentle way, (martial arts). judoka - judo practitioner, judo-ki judo clothing or uniform 

kamera - camera

karaoke - singing for fun, to recorded music, using songsheets of video subtitles in the language you choose, provided by the company hiring the studio room, often in a shopping mall or hotel The word means empty orchestra.

kawa - river

Kiko (ki-ko means hope-child, or bright future)

Kimono - wide sleeved outfit, wrap around, secured by a wide belt. Associated with women, but can also be worn by men. Often heavy, satin or similar, lined, elegant, with seasonal patterns

Kin-tsugi - literally gold(en) journey, adding a gold line over a crack in a cracked or broken porcelain 'china' case, crockery, bowl or other object, to recycle and upcycle. Kinkaku-ji means the golden pavilion.

kinokunia - bookshop name, huge store in Singapore, name meaning country, trees

kissu - kiss

Kōhī - coffee

konnichiwa - hello / good afternoon

Kyoto  kyo means capital, to means capital, together they mean capital city

l

menu - menu

Midori - green, a girl's name, and a green drink, sweet, melon flavour,20% alcohol and as it is quite strong, used with non-alcoholic mixers to make cocktails

miso soup, like a green tea, meatless, seaweed?

mori means mountain

N 

Nagasaki, name of the city, from Naga meaning long, and saki meaning headland or cape

Noriko - girl's name law-child, discipline

O obi - wide sash worn over a kimono to tie around the waist.

Ohaiyo gozaimasu. Good morning.

piza - pizza

q

resutoran - restaurant

sake - the drink, a spirit, served hot or cold from a small porcelain bottle into tiny porcelain cuts without handles. I love it.

sayonara - goodbye. You can watch a video on You Tube of the popular classical song, in English, featuring the word sayonara.

sensei - teacher master maestro

sofa - sofa

sushi - pressed rice, topped with sliced raw fish, or meat 

sachimi Sashi - sliced/pierced thinly - mi = meat)

shoppingu moru - shopping mall

taxi - taxi

Tokyo means Eastern Capital

tometo - tomato

u

v

wagu beef, tender marbled meat from a breed of cow called Wagu, fattened up from Kobo in Japan, or Australian, expensive because of the cost of feeding the cattle

Wasabi - horseradish or similar plant, green paste with sharp flavour

x

Yotto - yacht

Yoko - girls name meaning sunlight-child, child of sunlight, bright child

Yokohama yoko is by, beside, next to, and hama is beach or shore

yukata - light summer kimono, fold-over wrap, housecoat, often cotton

Yukiko - girl's name snow-child, pure and soft

zero - zero

Useful websites

https://www.namesmama.com/japanese-girl-names/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintsugi

https://japaninsides.com/japanese-words-that-sound-like-english-38261

wordhippo.com

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Fifth set of handy Albanian words

 

Some more handy word for you to look up and memorize

FAMILY - familja English - Albanian 

this - kjo

this is  - kjo është (you can copy the e with the accent from a word in Wikipediat and add it to all the words in the list which need an e with an accent)

my husband - burri im (notice that my comes after the word it describes, noun then adjective, like the French phrase moulin rouge, red windmill, and Spanish casa mia, my house)

my wife - gruaja imi

My child - femija im

my grandchild - nipi im

baby - bebe

Albanian English

Familja - family

Property and Travel - Prona dhe Udhëtimi

my passport - pasaporta ime

my reservation - reservimin tim

my ticket - bileta ime

my destination - destinacioni im

my suitcase - valixhem time (like the French word valise)

my plane - avioni im (like the French par avion)

my bus - autobusi im

.....................

Useful Websites

Duolingo

translate Google

Wikipedia

Wikitravel phrasebook

More Americanisms - British English

English - American

coach - (inter-city) bus, usually single-decker

Economy class - coach class

first floor - second floor

fortnight - two weeks

ground floor - first floor

jelly - Jello (brand name)

tissues/paper hankies - Kleenex

twice - two times

with ice cream - a la mode

American - British English

a la mode - (French for in the fashion) with ice cream 

bus (as in Greyhound bus) - (long-distance) coach

coach class - economy class

coach - railway carriage

first floor - ground floor

Jello (brand name) - jelly

Kleenex - tissues/paper hankies

second floor - third floor

two weeks - fortnight (short for fourteen nights)

two times - twice

Useful Websites

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2022/10/americanisms.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_English

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_English

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Don't ask to be taken to a brothel! French 'false friends' translated - cars, casinos and stores are not what you think they are

 We received an extending rod to open a high in the roof Velux window. We read the instructions in other languages and came across a word we knew in English, stores, which clearly meant something else in context. I looked it up in translate Google and the answer came back, blinds. I reversed the direction of the translation. The translation for the English word blinds was the French word stores.

My husband mentioned that; in France; he had seen another confusing part of a two language pair. The word was occasion. My online search produced the occasion, not the word which I was expecting, sale, but the word opportunity.

A look at the Wiktionary page reminds me of lots of trouble you could get into. For example, ask to visit a casino in France, and you might end up in a brothel! Be careful what you wish for - and be careful what you say!

French - English

actuel - current

agent - police officer

arme - weapon

assortie - matching

avertissement - warning, alert

brushing - blow-dry (at the hairdresser)

car - bus/coach

cave - cellar

casino - brothel

crayon - pencil

crayon de cire - wax crayon

chef - boss/chief (as well as head cook)

demander -ask

eventuellement - maybe

etiquette - label

fabrique - factory

four - oven

grandiose - grand

gros - big

Iseland - Iceland

libraire - bookstore

magasins - stores

Merci - thanks (also short for no thanks)

occasion - opportunity

queue - tail

roman - novel (noun, book , not the adjective new)

sensible - sensitive

stores - blinds

English - French

arm - bras

big - gros

brothel - casino

bus/coach - car

blinds - stores

department store - grand magasin

grand - grandiose

large - grand

library - bibliothèque 

opportunity - occasion

stores - magasins (spelled with s or z? S, as in sins, big sins if you over-spend.)

Useful Websites

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary_of_false_friends

How to Travel During Train Strikes in the UK, by plane, train, taxi, bus & walk

 

In June in London, England, train drivers and train staff have been on strike for more pay. How can you get around and get home?

First you check the media for predicted strike days.

Second, assume there might be delays the following days. If the night staff have not been working signals, this will affect the morning trains. If key workers are late or absent, other businesses might not be open or might cancel events.

Check alternative routes.

Planes

Planes run from London to European cities and other parts of the UK. London City airport.

International Rail

Europe

European Trains

My husband came back to the UK on a pre-booked channel tunnel train from France on Eurostar, St Pancras (Kings Cross & St Pancras station) to Gare du Nord (station of the north) in Paris. The French trains were still running into London. However, they were full. He had booked his return journey the week previously to a wine show for the trade in Bordeaux (which means bordering on water), southwestern France, with a change of trains in Paris, so he had to take a taxi to the other station.

Intercity UK Trains

 If the underground trains in central London are not running, you might still be able to get in and out using the intercity trains. Note if they are express or if they have suburban stops.

Coaches

Check the bus routes, and the coaches. 

Coaches are single decker and go between cities and make fewer stops. Coaches might have toilets.

Buses

In the UK, buses are single or double decker and make numerous stops at bus stops. Some buses have to be hailed.  

All night Buses

A small number of routes. 

Hailing Buses

In the UK to hail a bus you raise the palm of your hand. (Unlike Asia. In Singapore  your palm faces the ground and your hand goes up and down like patting an invisible dog.)

Taxis and Cabs

Taxis

Taxis generally have meters.

Uber and other shared cab services (which may have raised prices to match demand). Uber prices apparently in some places shot up to six times the normal fare.

Share a taxi or cab with a colleague, or somebody you chat up in the taxi queue, to cut costs.

Walking distances and times.

London transport has a map online showing walking distances between main stations. If you have wheeled luggage, or small light luggage, you will find both the short walks and the long walks easier.

Bicycles

Consider hiring bicycles. No need to hunt for a bicycle hire shop. Bicycles in London are on stands in public places.  Now you see the name Santander in the Santander colours. You might remember when the bikes were first a novelty they were nicknamed the neatly alliterative Boris Bikes.

Phone a friend / relative in the city near a mainline station

My family member caught an intercity train to Hendon and his son drove Dad the last  couple of miles out to the suburbs.

Useful Websites

Tfl stands for Transport for London

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_United_Kingdom_national_rail_strike

https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/cycling/santander-cycles

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/walking-tube-map.pdf

https://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-route-maps/city-of-london-night-a4-301119.pdf

Covid-19 What Do These Death and Infection Statistics Mean?

The USA is in turmoil. Some people are in favour of lockdown, others against.

You often hear or read:

'The percentage of people affected is less than one percent. That's less than die of flu.'

It is like comparing guns and knives. 

When I go to a doctor, I don't want him to refuse to treat me on the grounds that I am more likely to be run over by a bus. 

Nr to refuse to treat my teenage child on the grounds that he is more likely to die by suicide. Or by driving too fast.

To the average member of the public these figures are meaningless and the public presented with these facts showng tiny percentages ignore them. Many forums in popular media repeat the idea that it is all a lot of fuss about nothing. 

To convey the message that these statistics are important, we may need to illustrate numbers in human and visual terms.

Meaning how many deaths? And families and workers – does a percentage really matter? If we tell the public this means x deaths in ‘your street’ or ‘your children’s school’, or two primary school children in your school will lose a beloved granny, or two schools in your city will lose a teacher, they are more likely to understand the implications and  demand action and comply with suggestions and laws and instructions.

It would certainly put a blight on a wedding if a parent or grandparent died.

It would cause a major upheaval in a family if the grandparents doing babysitting and childminding were taken away so that the parents could not work.

Stay home. Stay safe.

Useful Websites

https://www.gov.sg/features/covid-19
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/covid-19-a-cautionary-tale-from-spore?
Facebool.trevorsharot

About The Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, club organizer and speaker.

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learncool.sg
Braddell Heights Advanced speakers club meets every Wednesday, currently on line.
Future Meetings include
Wednesday May 13th, lucky for us, as we have Thomas Chen running a workshop on Networking.
Contact President Angela Lansbury or VPE Faith. Then login to learncool.sg and wait to be admitted by the host.
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How The Haze Affects Your Health, Finances and Travels

Where is the haze and when and why?
My family has been experiencing haze in Singapore. I have cancelled my daily swim and I will tell you my other expeiences in a moment. But you will be wondering which countries are affected and how this affects your business and holiday plans.


Haze in KL, Malaysia.



Haze over the Merlion, symbol of Singapore. Picture from Wikipedia article on haze.

This is a neat summary by Wikipedia.

The 2019 Southeast Asian haze is an ongoing trans-national air pollution crisis which affects several countries in Southeast Asia, including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Thailand began to experience haze in February 2019 until mid May 2019, peaking in March and April. Later in the year, starting from June-July 2019, Indonesia began to experience haze. Malaysia was affected from August 2019, while Singapore and Brunei experienced haze in September 2019.

It is the latest occurrence of the Southeast Asian haze, a long-term issue that occurs in varying intensity during every dry season in the region. It has mainly been caused by forest fires resulting from illegal slash-and-burn practices, principally on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan,

Flag of China

Yellow Dust, China and Korea
Yellow dust has also affected Beijing in China, and Korea, but that's another problem, an extra problem. Meanwhile, in Asia we have haze.Who cares if you are not in Asia? Well, there are lessons to learn for the USA and Europe, your overseas colleagues could be affected, and your investments may be affected.

Haze All Over Asia
The haze is bad for business. It doesn't just affect the children, the elderly, the pregnant, the nervous.

Flag of Singapore

Flights
First, the haze can affect flights. You can't land a plane if you cannot see. You cannot fly across the city.

Flag of  the USA

As I discovered on the day of 9/11, if the flights in one part of the world are affected, there's a knock on effect in other parts of the world. Planes are turned back or don't set off. People miss their connections and half empty flight are cancelled. The plane from one continent does not arrive so the ongoing section is also affected. A delay in take off means the pilots and crew are over their permitted time and the plane has to wait for another crew to bbe assembled.

Road Transport
Increase in road accidents. Cars run into each other. Poeple try to tailgate and hit the car in front which slows or stops when visibility ceases, causing accidents.

Your air crew may be in airport hotels, and so may the passengers. But if some of them are in the city and cannot get to the plane that causes problems.

Different countries have different solutions. Take India, for example.

Flag of India

Indian Car Pollution Solution
Cars in cause pollution. So oen measure has been to allow cars to operate on alternating days according to the numberplate, odd numbers one day, even numbers the next.

Car Sharing
So if you and your enighbour have cars which fall into different categories, on odd number days you share one car, on even number days, you share the other.This works if you don't have more than half the seats filled by one family.

Pedestrians and Cyclists
I am planning a trip to a company in Singapore. That involves a walk from the station. But we are told not to go outdoors. Sports are cancelled. Construction workers are recalled. The security on the gate.

Zoos
The staff in the Safari park. The animals in the zoo are inside.

Symptoms
What are the symptoms of the haze? I keep clearing my throat, as if I have a sore throat or bad cold starting. My eyes look bloodshot.  I keep coughing.
My eyes feel prickly.

Business Meetings
So, I don't want to walk to my business meeting. What are the alternatives? I could take a bus. But that involves sitting out in the open air waiting for the bus if the bus is not frequent.

Offering Lifts
I might get a lift back to the station. I might not.

Taxis And Costs
What about the cost of the taxi? There and back. Twice a day for a week, or more. 28 trips averaging 10 dollars. What if the other person cancels? Waiting for the taxi at the pick-up point exposes me to the air.

Schools Closed
Schools are closed. That means parents have to stay home to look after their children. Shops and services and businesses are closed.

Sports
The swimming pool lessons are cancelled. The golf tournaments.

Swimming pool in Singapore.

Restaurants
Restaurants with outdoor seating are losing half their business.

Waiting For Your Driver
I could call a grab or taxi. Both ways if I do not get a lift home. The person kindly offering me a lift wants me to wait at the pick up point outside the station. But that involved standing by traffic fumes and breathing in the haze. I have to arrive early to be sure not to miss the driver.

Motorcycling
Motorcyclists are affected. You could cancel your outing and your trip to the outdoor restaurant. Order food delivered. But the Domonis pizzza and McDonalds delveries and Deliveroo might cancel delivered to protect the health of their drivers.

Social Engagements Cancelled
My Singaporean friend Shan (ethnic Chinese, speaking Mandarin friend who married a men from Australasia, has a second home in Australia. She decided to fly back to Australia last time there was a haze. So her lunch with me was cancelled. I started to feel like the last rat on a sinking ship.

Buying Property
Singaporeans keep telling me to sell my home in the UK and buy in Singapore. If I sell up in the UK I have nowhere to go back to. I am having second thoughts. Will I really want to reture to Asia and the haze when the haze is bad for the elderly?

Wind Direction
The wind blows away the haze. Relief. Then the wind changes.

Where Is the Fire?
Fires are in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Flag of Malaysia

Talks are taking place about fines or punishments for those who are residents of one country, running businesses in another. Instead of waiting for Indonesia to fine the subsidiary company in in Indonesia, fining the main company in Malaysia or Singapore, and vice versa. If it costs only 40 dollars (per foot, per acre or whatever.  to clear land by fire, but to clear by other conventional means costs 400, a business is tempted to take the cost effective route. If the government fines so that the balance is changed, or puts poeple in prison, or takes other measures, that might affect the matter.

Who is paying for the preventive measures? It costs money to send out planes, drop water, deploy the army. Add the cost to the emergency services, sending the firefighters, compensating firefighters who lost their lives, ambulances, hospital staff.

Farmers have lost lives trying to protect their crops and cattle.

Shutting Windows
In Singapore we are looking at windows. The open air scullery areas. The maids walking the dog and cleaning the car in the open sided car parks.

Wearing Masks
The number of people wearing masks is increasing. The people across from you on the train are wearing masks.


Masks

Buying Masks
You can buy masks from pharmacies but when there's a spike in the haze the masks run out. Some masks are only effective a few hours.

Masks are unfomfortable to wear.

Before buying a mask check the different kinds. Dust marks are not the same as haze masks.


Tourism Affected
Do you enjoy tourism when there's a haze. Even if you were not worried about your health, the safari park is shut. The walk to the Gardens By The Bay from the MRT means you might take a taxi instead. The cheaper hawker centre, the outdoor food court, will be deserted and closed.

Coffee Shops and Fast Food
The outdoor areas of McDonalds and Starbucks are empty.

Photographs
The picture of the Taj Mahal or another pretty building, the mosque in Malaysia, all shrouded in mist, or against a white sky instead of blue. The 'ordinary' buildings, the skyscrapers, are against a white sky.

Windows and Fans
I wake to feel groggy. The air is stifling. What is wrong. The patio doors to the balcony have only a little gap for air. I close them. The bathroom air is bad. The high window by the shower is adjar, always. I must clea a path to all doors and windows to clear them in a hurry. We used to leave open the doors and windows to create a through breeze and save the cost of air conditioning.

What I Cancel
If a meeting is held in the outdoor void deck of a Community Center, I won't stay. If the get together after the meeting is at an outdoor hawker center (food court) I won't go.

Tip
Look for free masks given away free at hospitals and clinics.

Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Dust
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Asian_haze

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Learn A Few Words Of Malay Easily During Malay Language Month In Singapore

Singapore flag.

Why bother learning the Malay language? It is spoken in Malaysia and Indonesia, is easy to learn, is all around in Malay restaurants and food kiosks and even Singapore airport signs and train station announcments. Why not? A new skill for free.

Signs You See At Singapore Airport:
(You will also see similar bilingual signs in Malaysia and Indonesia.)

English - Malay
bus - bas
taxi - taksi

Just say the words aloud and you will find the language is phonetic and you can often recgnie at least one word in every sign and sentence.

Pick up a Singapore map or travel guide and compare it with the version in Malay.

English - Malay
action - aksi
admission/ticket - tiket
app - aplikasi (like application)
category - kategori
customer - konsumen
Chinese - Cina
connectivity - konektivas
electric - elektrik
fares - tarif
festival - festival
focus - fokus
free - gratis
local - lokal
optical illusion - ilusi optik
recipes - resep
Singapore - Singapura
souvenir - suvenir
tour - tur
traditional - tradisional/tradisi
trail - rute
transport - transportasi
unique - unik

That's twenty-one words you can instantly recognize.

A couple more handy words:
and - dan (the same letters but the letter d is at the start instead of the end)
you - anda (I think of  'and you')

Restaurant Menus
Looking at Restaurants and food kiosks and the food in supermarkets at Singapore airport, you will soon learn that Makan / makanan means food, meal, or eat and Minuman means drink or drinks.

Some items you might spot on menus:
English - Malay
icon - ikon
chocolate - coklat
satay - sate

Also look for t-shirts with the flag.

And baseball hats. I bought mine for 5 dollars on the YWCA shop.

About the Author
Angela Lansbury is an author, travel writer and photogrpaher and teaches English and other languages.

Learn 4 Chinese Symbols At The Bus Station in Singapore

Singapore flag.

Singapore is a great place for learning Chinese (Mandarin). As I walked from the Yio Chu Kang bus station towards the Grassroots Community Club Building, I passed a sign which said in English, For Alighting Only. So you could get off the bus, but not onto it.

I passed a second sign which said the same thing. This time I felt compelled to stop. Only four symbols in Chinese. One was a sign I often saw.  It looked like the number four. I had been recognizing the sign for weeks, wondering what it means.

I saw the four Chinese symbols underneath and wondered what they were. How did they tie in with the English words?

I stopped a passer-by, a young man, and asked him if he spoke Mandarin and understood the symbols.

"Which one is which?" I asked.



The last of the four signs looks like a letter 4 with other lines around it. It means car or carriage, in this context bus.

To the left was a sign like half a T with two tiny downstrokes like drops of rain dropping off an umbrella. That means down, descend, get off (a bus).

The other two words mean 'only' (first on the left) and second from the left is 'allowed' or 'permitted'.

I felt very satisfied. I was pleased with myself for translating four signs.

Afterwards I went back and checked another sign which looks like the number 4.

On the MRT map you will see
Legend
East West Line (green)
North South Line  (red)
North East (purple)

The Chinese sign East-West is in the same order.

However, two other signs are in a different order. East North. South North.

Let us go back to East West. The sign for East has only one horizontal line above the four. The downward line of the four curves like a J. Two samll lines diagonally and separate at lower sides of the J point in different directions like a boat rowing to the East thought the many islands of Indonesia and to the island of Singapore.

The one which looks like it incorporates the number 4 means East.
What's the difference between the two signs continaing what looks like 4?.

The 4 above meaning car or carriage has two parallel lines the same as the bar on the four, one above and one below. Like the roof and floor of the railway carriage or car or bus.

The sign for East



Useful Websites

You can learn Chinese (Mandarin) on Duolingo.
Duolingo
duolingo.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Japanese words you already know - a reminder

UK flag

Japanese - English
1 coffee
2 sayonara - goodbye
3 hoteru - hotel
4 takushi -taxi
5 terebi - tv

6 deska - isn't it (so) / is that so? / really? (Universal question word at the end of a sentence, which does not have to agree with any other word unlike the English isn't it or aren't they)
7 mushi mushi - hello, hello  (on the phone, memory aid think of it's me, it's me)
8 arigato - thank you
9 hello - konichiwa
10 tea - ocha (like the old fashioned English from Chinese, a cup of cha)

11 rajio - radio
12 basu - bus
13 kamera - camera
14 supa - supermarket
15 depato - department store

16 konpyuta - computer
17 kurimu - cream
18 miruku - milk

Katakana is simplified signs used for modern conversational Japanese or slang as opposed to formal Japanese.  Formal words are more often Japanese or Chinese.

As Wikivoyage explains:
Japanese is written using a convoluted mix of three different scripts: kanji (漢字) or Chinese characters, together with "native" hiragana (ひらがな) and katakana (カタカナ) syllabaries. There are thousands of kanji in everyday use and even the Japanese spend years learning them, but the kana have only 46 characters each and can be learned with a reasonable amount of effort. 

Of the two, katakana are probably more useful for the visitor as they are used to write loanwords from foreign languages other than Chinese, and thus can be used to figure out words like basu (バス, bus), kamera (カメラ, camera) or konpyūtā (コンピューター, computer). However, some words like terebi (テレビ, television), depāto (デパート, department store), wāpuro (ワープロ, word processor) and sūpā (スーパー, supermarket) may be harder to figure out. Knowing Chinese will also be a great head start for tackling kanji, but not all words mean what they seem: 大家 (Mandarin Chinese: dàjiā, Japanese: ōya), "everybody" to the Chinese, means "landlord" in Japan!

Flag of China.

Japanese and Chinese writing
The written language uses the same signs as Chinese. So if you know or learn Chinese writing you can read Japanese. If you know or learn Japanese writing, you can read Chinese. A bit like the 'no smoking' sign consisting of the outline of a cigarette with a line through it, understood by everybody in Europe, although their spoken languages are different. Learn Chinese from Chineasy.
Below the top level centre sign is king. the lower level far left sign is hill.

Flag of Singapore

In Singapore I can recognize Chinese sign for Hillview station from the sign for the hill. I can recognize King Albert Park station from the sign for King.

Chineasy. Picture from Wikipedia.

Useful Websites
Free internet language learning for computer or mobile phone
duolingo
duolingo.com

google translate
wikipedia Japanese language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_language

simple wiki
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_language
Language and travel:

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Japan

To ask questions join facebook polyglots
https://www.facebook.com/groups/polygotcommunity/2286624571556302/?comment_id=2286632228222203&reply_comment_id=2286660528219373

Travel
https://www.jnto.go.jp/

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, Teacher of English to Toastmasters International clubs, colleges and businesses. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Welsh words for bus, train, new - and accents

Welsh dragon.

When I was travelling through Welsh station by train I picked up a view Welsh words by looking at the bilingual signs.

Welsh - English
Abertawe - Swansea
bws - bus
Caer - Chester
Caesnewydd - Cardiff
Cwmni - Wales
lifft- lift
newydd - new
trên  - train (Circumflex accent on the e in tren)
Wreksam - Wrexham
Y Rhyl - Rhyl

Accents
 trên I could not find the accents in Google nor in Word. When I was using an Apple computer you held down the key. But now typing on a thinkPad doing that produces a line of the letter e. 
I googled the answer found a guide with three suggestions. One said use insert but I cannot find insert in blogger. Another suggestion said hold down alt plus g and r but that did not work and involved too much time and effort. 
So I looked up Welsh dictionary and found a university website Welsh dictionary from Wales, typed in train, and copied the Welsh word.
When I find a solution to inserting accents in Word and blogger I shall write it on a sticker and stick it on my laptop.

I have been learning Welsh on Duolingo, which is a website teaching several languages for free - with occasional advertisements.

Useful Websites
https://www.duolingo.com/

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Taking A Bus In Hanoi, Vietnam

The number 14 bus in Hanoi. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

We took the number 14 bus to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology from Hanoi's old quarter. The fare was a modest amount. The conductor sold us the ticket. Years since we have seen a bus conductor.

The return was less happy. We waited ages in the freezing cold in December 2018 at a bus stop which had no shelter.

The bus lurches and brakes suddenly, hard. I fall over the feet of the person on the end of the row of seats as I try to reach the middle. Now I could use the word sorry, from the translation in the booklet I picked up in a Hanoi hotel.

The seats are around the edge of the bus, not many seats. Mostly standing room, we presume.

In the UK you don't have standing on buses permitted. Too dangerous with the lurching.


More Information From
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Joseph's_Cathedral,_Hanoi
Travel information
For hotels
booking.com
Comparison site:
https://www.clicktripz.com/rates/search/index
For airlines
travelok.com
vietJetair.com (Comprehensive list of budget airlines in Wikivoyage.)
For transport
https://www.grab.com/vn/en/

Language
Duolingo.com 
(Remember to click on the sound symbol to hear how words are pronounced.) 

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Please share links to your favourite posts. I have several more on Hanoi, Halong Bay and Vietnam.

Fifteen Fun Ways Tourists Can Travel in Singapore or London and Cities Around The World

Singapore Flag.

Problem
What to do - where to go? How to get around? In Korea in the snow I was scared to walk to the nearby station. I ended up taking two expensive tours with an English language guide who picked me up from the hotel in the bus. Singapore is one of the easiest countries to get around. But all over the world you will find most of these options, such as hired bicycles you ride yourself, and the trishaws (three wheeled tourist vehicles with a guide in front pedalling), and hop on hop off bus tours.

APPS for your phone
googlemaps (go to google and look for google maps). Download ad from google store or on an iphone from the apple store. Install for free. Click on install.

my transport SG

Singapore MRT

1 BICYCLE

hellobicycle.co.sg

Other bicycles can be picked up and dropped off.


2 BUS (SG) (See app above)

Night buses in Singapore:
SMRT Night Rider
SBS Nite Owl Service
London, England, also has night buses.

3 CAR
Hire cars for use in the island to tour around or drive across the bridge to Malaysia.
If you want to fly-drive, you can also hire bicycles with helmets over in Indonesia. Remember to take your driving license as well as your passport and credit card. You might want to take your own helmet, driving gloves, goggles, suitable footwear, jacket, rainwear, waterbottles etc.

4 E-scooter
goscoot.com.sg
https://singaporelegaladvice.com/law-articles/e-scooter-laws-singapore

Scooter at Clarke Quay, Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

5 Grab
www.grab.com/sg
Instead of a meter, find out the fare fixed in advance. Once I took a grab on a rainy day and one road was closed because of an accident. The journey took longer than expected but I did not have to pay any extra for the additional mileage.

6 LTR (See MRT)
Pass by the skyscraper housing blocks and the LRT carriage windows go dark to protect the privacy of the occupants. I met somebody who lives in one of the blocks. He says, residents can't see the trains or be seen, but can hear the trains passing.

7 Open top bus with commentary and map
(Free if you are on a stopover with Singapore airlines in daytime and have a few hours to spare.)
Several companies include:
Duck+Hippo
Charter tel: 6338 6877

8 MRT underground train
Must see the modern trains with the glass doors keeping passengers and their belongings off the tracks.

MRT Train map including LRT from the rack in any ticket office on the concourse level; also online.
Options include:
One trip ticket.
Multi-day tourist pass.
Ex-pasts who are senior citizens and PR permanent residents, can pply for a ticket which gives reductions on all journeys.

9 SINGAPORE FLYER
Book online for a daytime or evening ride with commentary.

Get a discount for a ride with another attraction.


Transit Link Hotline
1800 - 2255 663
www.transitlink.com.sg

SBS Transit Hotline
1800 - 287 2727
www.sbstransitlink.com.sg

SMRT Hotline
1800 - 336 8900
www.smrt.com.sg

10 Duck boat

11 River Boat/ Cruise
Singapore River Cruise Traditional Bumboat
riverboat.com.sg
rivercruise.com.sg

12 Taxi
Comfort (+65) 6552 1111

Premier Taxi (+65) 6363 6888

SMRT (+65) 6555 8888

Trans Cab
(+65) 6555 3333

13 Trishaw
Tour Little India for about 30 minutes with commentary, for  about S$39 adult and 29 for a child.
Got more time and money? Slightly longer, approx 45 minute tour of Chinatown or Kampong Glam for 49 adult and 39 child. Their leaflet has a handy map which enables you to identify your photos of streets and buildings such as mosques and temples afterwards.
www.trishawuncle.com.sg

14 Walk Alone / With your family and friends
a) Walk under the malls when it rains, from Orchard MRT to Ngee Ann City, basement one or basement two.

WALK UNDERGROUND
b) Ngee Ann City on the major shopping street, Orchard Road, illuminated for Christmas and Chinese New Year and other festivals. If it rains, walk along underground between the underground shops and eating places.


 c) Botanical Gardens And Parks

Botanical Gardens. Free. Singapore.

Free in Singapore. In most other cities you pay for Botanical Gardens, eg Indonesia and Madeira. In England, London's free parks include central Green Park, and Regents Park; in South London on a good day there's a view from and Horniman Museum Gardens (see my post).

d) Gardens By The Bay
Walking around the gardens admiring the plants and reading the plaques is free.
You can also pay to walk along the overhead walkway, about S$8 per adult. Some tickets for the two attractions of Gardens by the Bay include the walkway. (See my posts on Gardens By The Bay.)

15 Walk With Guide
www.singaporewalks.com

MORE INFORMATION FROM
BIKES
https://mobike.com/sg/faq
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OBike (Countries covered include Austria, Australia, France, Germany and more.)

Singapore Bike price comparison
https://www.shape.com.sg/lifestyle/bike-sharing-singapore-which-cheapest-option/

BUSES
Singapore
https://www.mytransport.sg/content/mytransport/home.html
London, England
https://tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/

MULTI-TICKETS FOR TRAINS AND ATTRACTIONS OR BOTH
You can buy tickets for multiple journeys on underground trains in most cities of the world.
Multi-attraction passes are also available. Last summer leaflets on London's UK mainline stations offered discounts on attractions combined with railway tickets.
New York was offering a multi-pass to attractions.
London's multi-attraction pass included the Coca-Cola London Eye (big wheel) and other attractions.

TOURIST BOARDS
Singapore & UK and Other Tourist Boards
visitsingapore.com
https://www.visitsingapore.com/travel-guide-tips/getting-around/
visitbritain.com

AIRLINES
Singapore Airlines
singaporeair.com

TRAVEL SITES
tripadvisor.com

HIRE CAR
Note that if you speak German or other languages you will find translations of most of the English language websites. However, you might find lower prices or more choice on other websites set up by speakers of other languages, aimed at people whose point of departure is in those countries. The advertising is in their language and the bookings are at hotels where their language is spoken by staff and guided tours are in their language or available in their language. We discovered this on a trip to Madeira, organized by the Germans who we had met in Indonesia. They were booking hire cars at different rates and at different companies from those offered to us on our English language websites much cheaper than the hire care from the casino hotel reception which was delivered to the hotel. Our German friends paid for a taxi to the hire car firm office where they collected the car. That saved them a lot of money.

wikitravel
https://wikitravel.org/en/Singapore
https://wikitravel.org/ (Many other cities and countries with ads for tours.)

wikivoyage
Free travel guide that anybody can edit
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Singapore
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.