Flashcards and trilingual books for learning languages

I bought a set of 11 language cards from OOOZU. 

this weekend I was looking for a background for a zoom meeting with Hapy Birthday in multiple languages. 

Useful Websites

https://chrikarublog.wordpress.com/multilingual-flashcards/

Chineasy

ooozu.com

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Language-Cards-OOOZU-Lightweight-

trilingual Books

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trilingual-English-Arabic-Illustrated-Vocabulary/

Introducing yourself in another language

A useful course for introducing yourself is Earworms, from Berlitz but with soothing background music) which in level 1 on disc 1 lets you hear how to introduce yourself by name, country, married or single, to companions on a plane, asking for water or wine from the person serving. The second disc will take you through ordering taxis to airports and city centres and more. 

If you have time, you could start a Duolingo course, which is free.

If you don't have the time or money for this, you could compile your own shortlist of essential words.

Before going to another country, it is handy to compile a list of common words, especially things you might want.

For example

Greetings

Hello Spanish hola; a Chinese matey greeting is hey, like hi; the formal greeting ni hao pronounced knee how.

Good morning/afternoon/evening

A song in the film (the American word for film is movie) Cabaret, includes a song sung by Joel Grey, which starts: 

"Wilkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome." That is welcome in German, French and English.

Goodbye - French au revoir, (see you again), adieu (goodbye forever). The Chinese sounds like sigh chen. Zhai chen. The Spanish is Adios.

Please - French por favor (for a favour). German Bitte. 

Thank you - French merci (Romanian the same, spelled mersi). German danke or danke schoen. 

Not at all/my pleasure. French de rien. 

Excuse me 

Sorry

Where is 

I need

I feel

I have lost

I want

a toilet (USA rest room)

a meal

a restaurant

a drink

water

milk

juice

wine

beer

a cocktail

healthy food

vegan food

vegetarian food/Kosher/halal

I am in a hurry

no hurry

no problem

wait a minute

Do you speak English/Spanish

My name is ... (French je m'appelle ...)

You can call me ....

What is your name?

How do I address you?

Would you like to stop for coffee?

I shall pay

Let's all pay for ourselves

Let's split the bill 

How much is it?

More, please

Please - French S'il vous plait.

Milk

Sugar

cold water

hot water

is it drinking water? - French eau potable

is it free? "Est-ce que c'est gratuit?

I must go

I have a meeting - J'ai un rendez-vous / reunion (meeting is reunion - different to the English)

I need to catch a bus/train/plane

I want to hire a bicycle/a car/a big car

I have one suitcase/2 suitcases/several suitcases - French valise

English - Spanish

country - pais

Spanish - English

pais - country

If this is all too complicated, learn a made up language which is totally predictable, Esperanto. You can visit a museum about made up languages including Esperanto in Vienna, Austria.

Useful Websites

KOREAN

https://domandhyo.com/2020/12/how-to-say-my-name-is-in-korean-introducing-yourself.html

SPANISH

Spanish speaking Toastmasters Club

https://cervantes.toastmastersclubs.org/

Author

The Author

About the Author Angela Lansbury

BIOGRAPHY

Angela Lansbury B A Hons ACG ALB PM5 EH5 DL5 VC5 
The Author of several books including  Etiquette For Every Occasion. Wedding Speeches & Toasts. How to be the Best Man. Quick Quotations. Who Said What When.

Blogs travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Speakers Club Vice President Public Relations (VPPR), Previous President

Join BHA 1st Wednesday 7pm and 3rd Saturday 2 pm Singapore time 

Vice President Public Relations (VP PR) of Tampines Changkat Advanced;

Secretary of weekly online Singapore International Dynamic Toastmasters Speakers’ Club;

Member and past president of Harrovians toastmasters club, UK; Past member of HOD Toastmasters, London. Past member in Singapore of: Toastmasters Club of Singapore (TCS); Tiarel; and Senja Cashew.

More details from Toastmasters International find a club.

Regular attendee at annual Swanwick Writers’ School, England.

Regular attendee at annual Writers’ Holiday, Wales.

Contributor to poetry readings, and after tea courses on: Speaking On Radio To Promote Books; and Plots And Character.

Winner of many club and area speaking contests in the UK and Singapore.

Language advisor to Empire Toastmasters club in Indonesia.

Language and speech workshops in Singapore.

Speaker on radio and TV in England, Scotland, the USA, and Australia.

Compiler of a school course on public speaking for teachers to prepare pupils for school open days with attending ceremonies before government ministers, Singapore.

Former member of Harrow Writers’ Circle, London, and two writing groups in Singapore.

Angela is on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter. She would be delighted to link up with new friends.

 Please share links to your favourite posts.

Books by Angela Lansbury
How to be the best man. (Ward Lock / Cassell.)
Wedding Speeches and Toasts.(Ward Lock / Cassell.)
Unforgettable British Weekends.
Poetry Workshop Workbook.
The Tailor and the Spy. (Lulu.)
Larry The Talking Labrador. (Lulu.)
Writing Poetry for fun.

Quick Quotations

Who Said What When

 

Learn Easy Spanish From Place Names And Signs

Spanish flag

Spanish - English
Costa del Sol region, El Corte Ingles department store - here are the word by word translations.

SPANISH - ENGLISH
angeles - angels
arte - art
avenida - avenue
calle - street
casa - house
corte - corner
costa - coast
del - of (the)
el - the
ermita - hermitage


Spain in Europe.


España - Spain
exposicion - exhibition or display
Iago - James
Ingles - English
la - the
libertad - liberty
los - the (plural)
miniaturas - miniatures
museo - museum
Plaza - place or square
san - saint
siglio - century
sol - sun
via - way
y - and

Useful Websites

duolingo.com
www.spain.info

You will find Spanish very useful in Spain, the USA, and South America.

Easy, isn't it!
However, wikipedia warns:

Many English words have their origins in Latin, which makes it easy for English speakers to guess the meanings of many Spanish words. However, Spanish and English also have a number of false cognates that one needs to be aware of to avoid embarrassing mistakes. -embarazada - pregnant; not embarrassed 
-suburbio - slum; not suburb 
-preservativo - condom; not preservative 
-bizarro - brave; not bizarre

Author
Angela Lansbury

Travel Teaches You The Meaning Of Life And Why You And Others Travel

Problems
Why do people travel?

1 To learn about the world.
2 To find the meaning of life.
3 To go to a place they have always yearned to see.
4 To escape from danger.
5 Thrill-seeking, excitement, end of boredom.
6 To join a joyful crowd, experience an event.
7 To find the answer to a problem.
8 To find their ancestors or a lost love they are seeking.
9 For romance which eluded them at home.
10 To earn more money. (For yourself, or your family, or your community, or to save somebody who is sick.)

When I go to Toastmasters, the opening speech by any speaker is often the Ice-breaker, when they tell their life story. Sometimes a speaker postpones their icebreaker for as long as two years.

Why? They say they were too shy. They lacked confidence. It was too challenging.

They don't want to admit to themselves or others about their past failures. They don't know how to recall the past without upsetting themselves.

A Chinese Story
Once, a Chinese girl told us her life story - in a table topic, an impromptu speech, which she later expanded into an Icebreaker. When first speaking to her I had admired her for her courage in taking the big journey from rural China to Singapore / Hong Kong at an early age. She studied relentlessly, studied at night, took two jobs, learned two new languages.

I was surprised to find out that hers was partly an escape story. Her parents were separated and hostile to each other. This made her unhappy at home, yo-yo-ing between the two. She went elsewhere to have education and job prospects. She dreamed of a boyfriend and marriage. Her qualifications and jobs and income and accommodation were gradually improving.

She has two motives. One is escape from warring family. The second is build a secure future.

An Indian Story
At another event, I heard an Indian boy's story. He was smartly dressed in a shirt and tie and business suit and worked in a finance company. He lived in a small village with an extended family. His family and the neighbours all worked day and night and pooled their savings to send him to school and then college so he could get a job overseas either from a scholarship or taking the cheapest form of transport and taking every skilled or unskilled job available and paying his way at each step.

The understanding was that he would pay back to the community, sending money from his salary to his family and those who had funded his education and travel. He would also pay for one or two or three children from his home area to go to school and college.

The second time I heard this story, I thought, I've met this young man before. But I hadn't. It wasn't a unique story. If you think you have met the same young man as the first one I met, or second one I met, probably not.

You eventually find that stories you hear form a pattern. They are not necesaarily copied from each other. They are simply patterns of behaviour. Some people are born poor, others are born rich. You meet some of both.

Some are worn down and commit suicide. Others persist and become famous for their success, like Jack Ma, Chinese founder of Ali Baba.

English And Asian Attitudes
Unlike people in England, who sneer at financiers and those who want to earn money, and wearing a suit and tie, he was very proud to be employed and earn a good salary. he said his dream has been to buy his mother a house, and he had achieved that. Now he was still working non-stop, day, evening, overtime, whatever was pleasing to his employers, whatever would keep his job and earn him promotion. Whatever would enable him to get another job elsewhere. Whatever skills he would learn to run his own company.

He has three or four motives. Fulfil the dreams of his family. Help his family. Repay debts. Start a better life.

Conclusion
Draw your own conclusion about others and yourself. I presume you reach the same conclusion that I reach. But when you ask what people learn from a story, the answers you hear are surprisingly divergent.

Why are you travelling? Are you travelling to get away from something or get to something?

Jews After WWII
After WWII, escapting Jews travelled to get away from the dangerous places and regimes and memories they left behind. Some travelled to the yearned for promised land of Israel. Others travlled as far as possble to South America or Australia.

Some tried to escape and hide their past in a totally new environment. They changed religion. They became buddhist, atheist, humanist. I met a Jehovah's witness in Poland who said he or his co-religionists might have been descended from Jews, but for safety nobody ever admitted it, and rarely discussed it, except with a dying grandparent.

Advantages Of Travel
Some went to a Communist country with no religion. Some married somebody from Asia, such as an a Japanese or Chinese or Vietnamese person who had no knowledge or or hostility towards Jews. I met a man who had married an Asian girl. I eventually learned about his grandparent's past. His mother had kept it from him, and encouraged him to travel to Asia and study Asian languages. Her wish was fulfilled. He had a new life.

Jews in WWII, the Kindertransport, have something in common with modern day Chinese and Indian migrants. You admire their enterprise and determination.

Efforts At Assimilation
It can be quite a surprise to learn the initial difficulties they faced. When you meet somebody who seems confident and successful, their past can be a surprise. I have often been taken aback on learning how they started in a dormitory, then it took five or ten years of study and working to learn a new language, get an education, a shared university room or flat, a new skill, a job, a better paid job, a well paid job, their own room, their own flat, owning a flat.

They forgot the past and kept quiet about it, concentrated on their future. If you give them the opportunity to talk, and listen sympathetically, they will tell you.

Revelations - If You Ask
The bouncy, smiling, confident, detmined youg girl starts blinking and licking her lips and sighing as she tells you her past. The suave, loud, or quiet, young man, hesistates, or stammers, when he tells you about his past.

Some tried to hide their poor origins and early suffering. They enthuse about their new contry. Others try preserve what they had lost. Others find a balance. Listen and learn.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Please share links to this post.

How To Remember Portuguese Colours Easily

Problem
How do I remember the colours? Rosa is pink, not red. Preto is black, no relation to any other word.

Answers
Portuguese - English
amarelo - yellow - both end with the sound 'ello'; both have e and letter l and o in the spelling but not that the Portuguese has only one l
descolore - (she) bleaches (discolours, de-colours)
col - colour (like an abbreviation of colour, just the first three letters)
colorido - colourful (coloured)
cores - colours
morena - brunette (a for the female gender)
moreno - dark hair (on a man o for the male gender)
preto - black (pull the p upright, day to night, p to B, t is an upright letter like t, last letter o as in negro - tinto negro, the red grape of Madeira, name of grape, black or red grape for red wine)
rosa - pink (think of rosy cheeks)
roxa - purple (red and extra blue makes purple)

English - Portuguese
bleaches - descolore
brunette - morena
colour - col
colourful - colorido (coloured)
pink - rosa
purple - roxa (red and extra blue makes purple)
yellow - amarelo
white - branco (like white branches, blanc)

Portuguese - English nouns
relogio - watch or clock (think of a Rolex)
roupas - clothes (robes, what you keep in wardrobes)
sandálias - sandals (accent going up and forward on the second a in Portuguese; add an i to sandals in Portuguese - the Portuguese are eyeing your sandals)
vestido - dress (not just a vest but a complete outfit, like a priest's vestments); vest like vest but more than a vest, d as in dress

English - Portuguese nouns
clothes - roupas
dress - vestido
sandals - sandálias
watch - relogio

Learn another set of ten easy Portuguese words at the restaurant table

Portuguese - English
carne - meat
começar - commence / start
ementa - menu (both words have the letters MEN in the middle)
entrada - starter
mesa - table
sim - yes (like the Spanish si but with an extra M, like so many Portuguese words)
solteira - single (female not married)
solteiro - single (male not married)
tinto - red (wine - like tinted)
tipo - type
truta - trout

English - Portuguese
meat - carne (like carnivore or carnivorous)
menu - ementa
single (female) - solteira
single (male) - solteiro
start / commence - commeçar (the Portuguese ends not A but AR like the middle letters of stARt
starter - entrada
table - mesa
trout - truta
type - tipo
yes - sim

Useful Websites
https://www.visitportugal.com/en
http://www.visitmadeira.pt/en-gb/homepage
http://visitbrasil.com/en/
https://www.duolingo.com/course/pt/en/Learn-Portuguese-Online

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, learner and teacher of languages.

Polyglot Poem by Angela Lansbury

Polyglot Poem by Angela Lansbury

I wish I were a polyglot
So many languages, a lot
I wish I'd learned two in my cot
It's best to start when you're a tot

I sit at home, I am a swot
I start a new one, keen and hot
Learned yes and no
But not yet not

I've learned each alphabet and dot
I learned a lot, but I forgot
Don't tell me I have lost the plot
One day I'll be a polyglot!

I really hope that you agree
It's good to know 'oui', and, 'Si, si!'
To roll an r, say three, not tree
Come, be a polyglot with me!

Copyright Angela Lansbury 2018

polyglot - speaker of many languages, from Greek poly - many; glot - tongue or language
see 
https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=polyglot

French - English
oui - yes

English - French
yes - oui (pronounced we)

Spanish

si - yes

Useful Websites

duolingo.com

memrise.com

Polyglot page on Facebook

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

I have many posts on learning other languages including French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Greek, Cyrillic (Russian).

Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts.

Learning Languages By Reading Translated Letters - a few words of Spanish and Portuguese

Problem
What do the translations say on the back of the NHS letter? I received an advance notice letter from the NHS (British National Health Service) about a bowel cancer screening programme. On the back the letter is translated into 15 languages.

Interestingly, not French, nor German, but:
Arabic
Bengali
Chinese
Farsi
Greek
Gjurati
Hindi
Polish
Portuguese
Punjabi
Somali
Spanish
Turkish
Vietnamese
Urdu

By folding the paper, I could compare the English and the Spanish and Portuguese more easily.

The English reads:

If you are unable to read this letter or the enclosed leaflet because English is not your first language, please ask someone who speaks English to telephone the Freephone helpline for further information and help.

The only two languages I have a hope of translating and understanding are Spanish and Portuguese, both of which I have been learning on Duolingo and the Spanish through Duolingo's Tinycards.

English - Spanish
and - e
English -inglés
first language - lengua materna (like English words linguistic and maternal)
for / or order to - para
free - gratuita (like gratuity)
help - ayuda
If - si
language - lengua
leaflet - folleto (like the English word folio or portfolio)
maternal - materna
more information - información adicional
no / no /cannot (with a verb) - no
obtain - obtener
or - o
read - ler
the - el
this - esta
your - su

English - Portuguese
and - e
English - inglês
first - primeira (like the English word prime)
first language - primeira lingua
for  / in order to - para
help/assistance - assistência
If - se
language - lingua
leaflet - folheto
more information - mais informação
no/not/cannot (with a verb)  - não (the wobbly sign above the a is called a tilda)
obtain - obter
or -ou
read - ler
the - o
this - esta
your - sua

Spanish - English
alguien - someone
ayuda - help
carta - letter
e - and
el - the
esta - this
folleto - leaflet
gratuita - free (similar to the English word gratuity)
habla - speaks
información adicional - more information
(el) inglés - English
lengua - language
lengua materna - mother tongue
leer - read (memory aid - leer at somebody, read a letter)
llame - called
materna - maternal
obtener - obtain
para - for / in order to
pidale - ask him
que - what
si -if
su - your

Portuguese - English
assistência - help
carta - letter
e - and
esta - this
fale - speak
conseguir - get
(o) inglês - English
ler - read
lingua - language
mais informação - more information
não - no/not
o - the
obter - obtain
ou - or
para - for / in order to
peça - ask
pessoa - person
portanto - therefore
primeira - first
primeira lingua - first language
se - if
sua - your
uma - an

I used to buy a small dictionary on every trip overseas. I always found a great choice of dictionaries in tourist shops at the destination. I must confess, I often had to buy a dictionary because I had forgotten to pack the one I had at home.

To help me with translations of packaging in French, Spanish and German, I bought giant one-volume dictionaries.
For a choice of small or large dictionaries, go to Amazon.

Useful websites:
www.Amazon.com
www.amazon.co.uk
www.duolingo.com
www.tinycards.duolingo.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, teacher of English and languages.
I have other posts on languages. Please share your favourite posts.

How to remember the autumn six letters of the Greek alphabet: Xi, omicron, Pi, Rho, Sigma, Tau

Greek alphabet
Αα	Alpha	Νν	Nu
Ββ	Beta	Ξξ	Xi
Γγ	Gamma	Οο	Omicron
Δδ	Delta	Ππ	Pi
Εε	Epsilon	Ρρ	Rho
Ζζ	Zeta	Σσς	Sigma
Ηη	Eta	Ττ	Tau
Θθ	Theta	Υυ	Upsilon
Ιι	Iota	Φφ	Phi
Κκ	Kappa	Χχ	Chi
Λλ	Lambda	Ψψ	Psi
Μμ	Mu	Ωω	Omega

Xi

Ξξ

Xi

The hardest letter. Sh!

Omicron

Οο

Omicron

O is an easy letter to recognize in both capital letters and lower case.

Pi

Ππ

Pi

Think of it as a portal or door.

Mathematicians find this one easy.

Rho

Ρρ

Rho

How do you remember that what looks like a P is really an R. You know all those sign writers who get the signs wrong on signposts and signs on the road. They go home early and don't finish the letters. The Russian sign writer went off for a cup of tea, or vodka. He forgot to put the last part of the letter R. It looks like P but he meant R. The two related letters are PR, as in the initials for Public Relations. P is R. Rho - row, row, row your boat, as the Eton boating song says.

Sigma

Σσς

Sigma

How do you distinguish the Greek  Sigma from the Greek Zeta? Easy. The Zeta is like the English Z. It faces left, looks backward, like the last letter of the English alphabet. The Sigma may be angular like a z, but the top half or face - it faces forwards, to the right, like the English S. You start writing an S with a curve like the letter c in mid-air above the line. The lower case sigma starts the same way with a c shape. C is pronounced s in our English words police and palace.

The second small s is the final s at the end of the word. Imagine that instead of a full stop, in a signature you end with a flourish. So a person called James would write the final s with a twist on the end of the last letter. In joined up writing there's no room on the other letters but the letter with nothing after it can end with a squiggle.

Tau

Ττ

Tau

The letter looks the same as the English Tee. How do you remember it is Tau? Like a towel. Like a taurus.

Glossary

capital letters - the big ones, used in English to start a sentence, as initials for proper names of people such as John. (German uses capital letters for all nouns, but English only bother to use capitals for names of people or objects such as a ship's name. In an English dictionary the words start with a lower case or small letter so that you can see whether you need a capital. For example, the word Elizabeth needs the capital letter at the start. Sometimes handwritten notices are in capitals for clarity and to draw attention. For example: NO SMOKING.

lower case - small letters used in the middle of a word, for joined-up writing.

How To Remember European Capitals

The capital of Spain is  .......................................... Madrid

The capital of France is ...................................................................................Paris

What are the capitals of Finland, Croatia and Estonia? Georgia? Iceland?

Problem
How do you remember European capitals? I was doing an exercise on capital using Duolingo tiny cards - I'll give you the link at the end. I thought, I'd better record my system for remembering.

Answer
Use letter links. This is my system. I am Angela Lansbury.
OK - let's go!

Country - Capital * Memory Aids and Letter Links
This is how you do it.
France - Paris - * F R AnCe P A RiS

Paris, France and Paris, Texas are easy to remember, no problem for me because I grew up in Europe and lived in the USA.  But I can imagine that somebody from China or Africa or a child under ten might have a problem. Who else would need help remembering Paris, France? People developing Alzheimer's, drunks doing a quiz might have a blank moment. If you are ever teaching, or learning it is a good exercise to show you how to remember by linking words.

What do Paris and France have in common as link letters?  Paris has the letters AR and France reverses the letters as F  RA.  Think of pARis fRAnce.

The initial letters are linked. F and P are both uprights with two horizontals. join the two horizontal bars in the F and you have a P. So thin of  P ar is F ra nce.

paParis ends with a S sound. So does France, although the letter C is used instead. Once you have grasped the fact that English uses an e after C to make the S, sound, in words such as place, palace, police, it is easier to remember that Russian used C on its own as an S sound.  So the Russian word for Russia has the letter C more than once.

You could, of course, just keep repeating: Paris-France, Paris-France. France-Paris. France-Paris. For some reason I find it easy to recall Paris, France, than France, Paris. that's probably because I have heard Paris, France so often but rarely hear France, Paris.

Now, if you are a teacher in a primary school, you can teach your class or an individual who needs help. The same goes for teaching as a home tutor to a Japanese or Korean or Chinese seven year old, a refugee, or anybody.

Now, we are confident that we can teach ourselves and anybody else one common pair, let's look at harder ones.

I woke up tired this morning and before a glass of water I was blank on even things I knew well because my mind was on more serious problems in the day ahead.

Country - Capital (Letter links) (Twice is British English for two times.)
Andorra - Andorra La Vella (AND it's the same word twice, the country and the capital.)
Austria - Vienna (austrIA - vIennA )
Belgium - Brussels  (B E L g i U m - B r U s s E Ls - common letters B E L . . U . Eating Brussels sprouts in Belgium)
Belarus - Minsk ( B - M - I was beaming in Belarus in Minsk)
Bulgaria - Sofia (bulgar IA - sof IA)
Corsica - you won't find this listed in countries because it is a French island. The capital is Ajaccio.
Croatia - Zagreb (croAtia - zAgreb)
Cyprus - Nicosia (Common letters are C and S and  i looks and sounds like y, CS CypruS niCoSia.)
Czech Republic - Prague (Common letters are ERU: czEch REpUblic pRagUE
Denmark - Copenhagen (Initial letters D and C: Washington DC; D enmark C openhagen)
Estonia - Tallinn (Double l and double n. estonNIA - tAllINn I estimate they are tall in Estonia)
England - London (e n g L  a N D - L.ND..)
Finland - Helsinki (fINLand - heLsINki - common letters INL LIN . If I use a dot for the missing letters I see .INL... ..L.IN..)
France - Paris (common letters RA - AR)
Georgia -Tbilisi (Repeated letter I.)
Germany - Berlin (gERmaNy bERliN - common letters are ERN)
Greece - Athens (GrEece AthEns)
Hungary - Budapest (common letters are .U..A.. .U.A....)
Iceland - Reykjavik (Spelling of capital is Y and then J. Letters common to country and capital IA.)
Ireland (Eire) - Dublin (I r e L aN D - D u b L i N)
Isle of Man - Douglas (Common letters are S L O A, iSLe Of mAn - dOugLAs.)
Israel - Jerusalem (But you will probably fly to Tel Aviv.) Common letters iSRAEL jERuSALEm)
Italy - Rome (The Romans roamed from their home in Italy.)
Latvia - Riga (A-A - LatviA- RigA, or IA  IA l a t v I A - r I g A)
Lithuania - Vilnius (N - N; or LI UN - l I t h U a NI a - v I l NI u s)
Malta - Valletta (Double L and double T. Common letters ALT, vowel A twice in the country and twice in the cApAtal; m A l t A, v A l l e t t A, l and t once in the country but twice in capital)
Netherlands - Amsterdam (nethERlANDs - amstERDAM land and dam sound similar; the Netherlands has lots of dams - the capital is Amersterdam)
Northern Ireland - Belfast (northErn Ireland bElfast)
Norway - Oslo (nOrway Oslo - in Norway the pace is slow and the capital is Oslow, or Nice and Slow in Norway and Oslo)
Poland - Warsaw (I went to Poland and saw the war-torn Capital, Warsaw.)
Portugal - Lisbon (Last letter of Portugal is L; first letter of Lisbon is L.)
Romania - Bucharest (After roaming wearing my Roman robes and I needed a rest in Romania)
Russia - Moscow (Common letter S. RuSSia. moScow. The letter s is used twice in Russia, whilst the letter o is used twice in Moscow.)
Sardinia - another popular holiday spot, not a country but an Italian Island. The capital is Cagliari.
Scotland - Edinburgh
Serbia - Belgrade (sERBiA - BElgRAde. I want to be in Belgrade in Serbia.)
Slovakia - Bratislava. (The spelling SLOV or Slav is in the country and the capital. Common letters SLVIA. The Slovaks or Slovakians are going back to Bratislava.)
Slovenia - Ljubljana 
(Common letters are LNN: sLoveNiA and LjubLjANA. Now I can see why I mistyped the capital and put an ia at the end because the country ends in ia but the capital is merely a at the end. The capital has LJ twice. That is legitimate. LJ. However the j is more like a y or a u.  lyublee- arna.
How do I distinguish Slovenia from Slovakia? The first alphabetically is Slovakia with AK in the middle. Slovenia has EN in the middle, both letters later in the alphabet. The capital of )
Spain - Madrid (spAIN - MAdrId)
Sweden - Stockholm  (SS Sweden-Stockholm)
Switzerland - Bern (Mutual letters ER and N. switzERlaNd bERN.)
Turkey - Ankara (but you are likely to fly to Istanbul)
Ukraine - Kiev (Letters K i E in both words u K r a I n E  and KIEv)
United Kingdom - London - United KingdOM - LondON)
Wales - Cardiff - (Common letter is A. We drive by car to Cardiff in Wales where we have a whale of a time because everything is different.)

Capital - Country
Andora Le Vella   - Andora
Amsterdam - Netherlands
Athens - Greece
Belfast - Northern Ireland
Belgrade - Serbia
Berlin - Germany
Bern - Switzerland
Brussels - Belgium
Budapest - Hungary
Bucharest - Romania
Budapest - Hungary
Cardiff - Wales
Copenhagen - Denmark
Edinburgh - Scotland
Ireland - Dublin
Kiev - Ukraine
Lisbon - Portugal
Lithuania - Vilnius
London - England
Madrid - Spain
Minsk - Belarus
Moscow - Russia
Nicosia - Cyprus
Oslo - Norway
Paris - France
Prague - Czech Republic
Reykjavik - Iceland
Riga - Latvia
Rome - Italy
Sofia - Bulgaria
Stockholm - Sweden
Tallinn - Estonia
Tbilisi - Georgia
Valletta - Malta
Vilnius - Lithuania
Zagreb - Croatia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_national_capital_and_largest_cities
If you want to buy a book on memory, you will find lots on Amazon.com
http://amazon.co.uk.
http://amazon.com Type in books.
I just found a book on remembering which I don't' know but it looks good:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Memory-Illusion-Remembering-Forgetting-Science/dp/184794762X
https://tinycards.duolingo.com/decks/

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have several posts on languages and destinations. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Easy To Remember German Words from the Poem Bridge on the Tay (railway disaster 1789)

Problem Translating German

I found a German poem about the Bridge on the River Tay. The disaster happened Dec 28 1879. Scottish poet immortalised the event and himself in the poem he wrote.

Wikipedia told me that a German poet had written a poem on this event. Was it a different poem, or a translation?

Die Brück’ am Tay

(28. Dezember 1879)

When shall we three meet again? The three witches in Macbeth, making predictions.

GERMAN

»Wann treffen wir drei wieder zusamm?«
   »Um die siebente Stund‘, am Brückendamm.«
     »Am Mittelpfeiler.«
         »Ich lösche die Flamm.«

5

 »Ich mit«

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
When will we three meet again? (Literally: when meet we three again together)
On/around the seventh hour, on the (bridges dam/ Google gives Bridge of Bruck?)
On/at the pillar /pier (middle pillar)
I'll erase/lose/extinguish/kill the flame (metaphor for life?)
I with (Me with, Me too, I also, I'm with you, I'll be with you)

         »Ich komme vom Norden her.«
»Und ich vom Süden.«
             »Und ich vom Meer.«

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
I come from (the) North
And I from (the) South
And I from (the) sea

»Hei, das gibt einen Ringelreihn,

10

Und die Brücke muß in den Grund hinein.«

»Und der Zug, der in die Brücke tritt
Um die siebente Stund’?«
             »Ei, der muß mit.«
»Muß mit«

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Hey, here is a ring
And the bridge must (go) in the ground (fall/go in/enter)

And the train, which in/on the bridge goes
At the seventh hour
Oh, it must (go) with
(It) Must, (go) with (or too)

Ringel is ringlet
sieben is seven

15

        »Tand, Tand

Ist das Gebilde von Menschenhand!«

Auf der Norderseite, das Brückenhaus —
Alle Fenster sehen nach Süden aus,
Und die Brücknersleut’ ohne Rast und Ruh

20

Und in Bangen sehen nach Süden zu,

Sehen und warten, ob nicht ein Licht
Übers Wasser hin »Ich komme« spricht,
»Ich komme, trotz Nacht und Sturmesflug,
Ich, der Edinburger Zug.«

25

Und der Brückner jetzt: »Ich seh’ einen Schein

Am anderen Ufer. Das muß er sein.

[586]

Nun, Mutter, weg mit dem bangen Traum,

Unser Johnie kommt und will seinen Baum,
Und was noch am Baume von Lichtern ist,

30

Zünd’ alles an wie zum heiligen Christ,

Der will heuer zweimal mit uns sein, —
Und in elf Minuten ist er herein.«

Und es war der Zug. Am Süderturm
Keucht er vorbei jetzt gegen den Sturm,

35

Und Johnie spricht: »Die Brücke noch!

Aber was tut es, wir zwingen es doch.
Ein fester Kessel, ein doppelter Dampf,
Die bleiben Sieger in solchem Kampf.
Und wie’s auch rast und ringt und rennt,

40

Wir kriegen es unter, das Element.

Und unser Stolz ist unsre Brück’;
Ich lache, denk’ ich an früher zurück,
An all den Jammer und all die Not
Mit dem elend alten Schifferboot;

45

Wie manche liebe Christfestnacht

Hab’ ich im Fährhaus zugebracht
Und sah unsrer Fenster lichten Schein
Und zählte und konnte nicht drüben sein.«

Auf der Norderseite, das Brückenhaus —

50

Alle Fenster sehen nach Süden aus,

Und die Brücknersleut’ ohne Rast und Ruh
Und in Bangen sehen nach Süden zu;
Denn wütender wurde der Winde Spiel,
Und jetzt, als ob Feuer vom Himmel fiel’,

55

Erglüht es in niederschießender Pracht

Überm Wasser unten... Und wieder ist Nacht.

»Wann treffen wir drei wieder zusamm?«
   »Um Mitternacht, am Bergeskamm,«
     »Auf dem hohen Moor, am Erlenstamm.«

[587]

60

 »Ich komme.«

     »Ich mit«
         »Ich nenn’ euch die Zahl.«
»Und ich die Namen.«

        »Und ich die Qual.«

65

 »Hei!

   Wie Splitter brach das Gebälk entzwei.«
        »Tand, Tand
Ist das Gebilde von Menschenhand.«

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
And I (am)the torment
Hey!
So (in) splinters broke the (building/entablature) in two
(a) (tiny) fragment, (a) tiny fragment
Is the structure /construction (building or rebuilt literally has been built ge means past/gone/done) of (the) men's/ mankind's hand (the hand of a man but German makes one word from the double word phrase)

Looking at the German poem, I have picked out words which I can easily recognize and remember. I am recording them alphabetically. 

GERMAN - ENGLISH

Only one or two letters change to something which sounds similar. Same letters in caps.

Brücke - bridge (BR..E ck -dg)

dezember - December (DE.EMBER z-c)

drei - three (.RE. d-t) 

hand - hand

haus - house (H ..S au-ou)

ich - I (I..)

ist - is (IS. st-s)

komme - come (.OM.E k-c)

Mensch - man (M.N...)

nacht - night (N.cH. ch-gh) 

Norden - North / northern area (NOR.... d-th)

und - and (.ND u-a)

von / vom - from (..O. v-f n-m)

Wasser - (.A..ER water SS-t)

It's easy to work out the English from the German, in context, and once you know, especially with the help of Google translate.

ENGLISH - GERMAN

and - und

bridge - Brücke

come - komme

December - dezember

from - von / vom

hand - hand

house - haus

I - ich

is - ist

men - mensch

night - nacht

North / northern (area) - Norden

three - drei

water - Wasser

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Teacher of English and other languages. I have several more posts on European languages, English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Welsh and Romanian. Also destination guides and stories. Please share links to your favourite posts.

How To Learn Welsh words for: pig, snake and tiger!

Croeso - Welcome
Welcome to my blog and page on learning welsh.


Problem
How do you recognize Welsh words when reading them?

Answer
Make up a sentence from the letter.

Welsh - English
mochyn - pig (M u n C H e s   any Y t h i N g;  Muddy not eaten by MOslems nO)
neidr - snake (Remember No I Do not Run, or N o t an a D d e R I hope)
teigr - tiger -(same letters mixed up, only the letter e is moved to make teiger; Gr! remember TeIGR, TeIGR, buRnInG bRIghT in the foREsT of ThE niGhT. )

English - Welsh
pig - m o c h y n
snake - n e i d r
tiger - t e i g r

Welsh - English
mochyn - pig
neidr - snake
teigr - tiger

Pronunciation
GOOGLE
Go to Google translate:
type in Google translate and up pops translate.google.com
Type in the word in English. Click on Welsh in the other box.
If you are translating from Welsh, click the reversing arrow at the top.
Click on the symbol for sound.
If I am typing in a lot of words and I am in a hurry I just type in the word No in English and up pops dim in Welsh.
After I have used this website several times, it remembers and the Welsh language appears second on the list across the top of the box.

DUOLINGO
If you want to learn Welsh pronunciation, you can find the pronunciation and hints on grammar and learning any language on the first page of Duolingo for that language by signing up for that language.

Snakes and tigers are scary, but you don't often see them in Wales except at a zoo, or in the books on Jungle in a bookshop in Fishguard.

What I find scary is the picture of people standing on a ledge which looks like a see-saw in Snowdonia.

Author
Angela Lansbury
Please share links to my posts.

More Welsh Animals, from a cranky crab to a dog with a key

Problem
How do I remember Welsh words for animals?

Answers
Make unusual mental pictures.

Welsh - English
anifail - animal (both start with ANI but the Welsh animal fails to be human or English)
cranc - crab (think of a cranky crab; both words start with CRA; the letter c follows b)
ci - dog (imagine a dog carrying a key)
llew - lion (both start with the letter l, think of Leo the lion; vowels aE IOu - l l e w)

English - Welsh
animal - anifail
crab - cranc
dog - ci
lion - llew

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, teacher of English and other languages. Please share links to your favourite posts. 

Learn Welsh words for animals: bear, bird, elephant, horse, sheep

Problem
How do I remember them?

Answer
By similar letters.

Welsh - English
arth - bear ( Think of ARth beAR or Arth(ur) the bear)
aderyn - bird (Think of a b(c)de - ryn
ceffyl - horse (think of see 2 foals grow up to be horses c e f f y l)
eliffant - elephant (think of  eliFFant and ElEphant double f in the Welsh, twice E in the English)
dafad - sheep (think of the double e in the English and daft sheep with double letters a and d)

English - Welsh
bear - arth
bird - aderyn
elephant - eliffant
horse - ceffyl
sheep - dafad

To learn how to pronounce Welsh words, go to
www.duolingo.com

For information on Wales see my previous posts and
www.visitWales.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, language teacher. I have more posts on the Welsh language, visiting Wales and other languages. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Welsh word look alikes and sound alikes

Problem
How do I remember Welsh words?

Answer
Look for patterns of letters and meaningful phrases.

Welsh - English
e s g i d i a u - shoes (sounds like yes giddy eye)
c r y s - shirt
m e n i g - gloves
n e w y d d - new
s a n a u - socks
s i w t - suit
t r o w s u s - trousers

English - Welsh
gloves - menig - the last letter of m e n i g is the first letter of gloves. Imagine a mirror image. The e in menage is second to last in the mirror.
New - n e w y d d (the first three letters are the same)
shirt - c r y s (looks like a crease in the shirt belong to Chris, creating a crisis, making us cry)
socks - s a n a u (pronounced san - eye; sanitary socks, I washed them. Both words start with the letter s and have five letters.)
suit - s i w t (The first and last letters are the same  s..t .  Both have the letter i. u an e are similar.)
trousers - t r w s u s  first two letters and last letter are the same which makes it easy to translate from Welsh back into English. Trous(res) (suit) us. Push the o and u together in trousers to make the letter w. It sounds similar in both languages.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Teacher of English and other languages. I have many posts on languages and travel. Please save and bookmark and share links to your favourite posts.

German language - solving how to remember

Problem
How to remember German verbs and words?

Answer
Create sentences and phrases

Story
LOSEN
For example the German losen is not lose but solve. How do I remember? German lose a problem - they solve it. The first three letters of the German word LOSen and the start of the English word SOLve.
Beachten is German for consider. So I recall beaChteN means CoNsider. Con or even CN will remind me.

Tips
German - English
beachten - consider
eklare - explain (like the French word eclair, as chocolate eclair, make clear, explain which you are eating a chocolate eclair)
losen - solve

English German
consider - beachten
explain - eklare
solve - losen

Author
Angela Lansbury, teacher of English language and languages.

German words for to be eating

I am learning German and at first I would get confused between i s t and i s s t. They sound and look the same. But i s t means is. I s s t with the double s in the middle is eat as in essen and the adopted English word delicatessen. (Remember delicate eating! Or delicious food, if you prefer.)

Ist - is
isst - eat(s)

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, English and language teacher.

Best way to learn languages through memory aids

I wrote to my friends on Facebook that I was studying languages, four languages, through Duolingo. You can get  a free look at an example.

Tony Winyard Duolingo is very good. Take a peek at Linkword which for me is even better http://www.linkwordlanguages.com/

Linkword Languages - The Easiest Way To Learn A Language

LINKWORDLANGUAGES.COM

Like · Reply · Remove Preview · 6 June at 10:11

Angela Lansbury Thanks. It is brilliant. But at £20 for the first course, then another, for French, Spanish, German, Russian, Mandarin Chinese - actually not so bad. Especially if you pick one language, for a birthday present. Or get your employer to pay. Or can take it off tax. They do Polish and Hebrew but not Arabic, Hindi/Urdu/Persian which I understand (from the ladies in the sauna in Harrow) are similar.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I looked at the cost. You would pay another £5 or so to have the disc. I would invest in the disc. Every two years or so you find you laptop is corrupted, or out of date and replaced, or the memory is full and your downloads are replaced or put onto a backup and lost. If you are using a language course to get started and then become fluent and never need it again, then you don't need the disc. But if you want to refresh a year or two later, the disc is useful. Especially when you buy a new device and not everything is copied.