Spanish Made Simple by Angela Lansbury

 Some Spanish words are easy, but other Spanish words are a struggle to remember. But here are some magical memory aids.

Here are words you are likely to need on your travels.

Spanish - English (memory aids, common letters)

alto/alta - high (altitude)

apartamento (flat, apartment)

arte - art

ayuda - help (aid)

barco - boat (we shall embark on the boat)

carro - car (in South America, driving a Corvette car from North to South America)

coche - car (in Spain, we leave the car and take a coach in the Channel to England) 

de nada - not at all (it's nothing, no trouble, replying to thank you, don't mention it)

donde - where (we will don our clothes and go there today)

dormitorio - bedroom (dormitory)

ensalada - salad

especial - special (that is special, I especially like it)

familia - family

gracias - thanks (how gracious of you, I'm grateful)

lampara - light

mano - hand (manual labour)

museo - museum (a museum - oh!)

musica - music

no - no (at the start of a sentence or before the verb it is a negative, think of no I don't, not the case that)

o - or

opera - opera

policia - police

por favor (please, I'm poor, do me a favour)

roto/rota - broken (it's broken, that's rotten)

sal - salt

si - yes

sol - sun

solo - only

tazon - mug (tankard)

tren - train

y - and (Yes, and that one)

Useful Spanish Phrases & Verbs

es - is (yes it is)

quiero - I want

soy - I am (permanently, eg my name is, Soy Angela)

estoy (I am standing temporarily eg I am on a train)

Useful Websites For Learning Spanish

duolingo.com

 Useful Websites on accents

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

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diacritic

Angela Lansbury's Blogs

Please follow me and my blogs on travel, wine and dine, dress, comical poetry. Bookmark your favourites and share the links with your family, friends and colleagues.

Angela Lansbury's Books

My books are on Amazon and Lulu. The subjects include how to write poetry, useful Quick Quotations, Wedding Speeches and Toasts, and more. Also amusing poems, and Embarrassing Moments including mispronunciations and misunderstandings.

Handy Italian for travellers 10 easy essential opening phrases

English - Italian

1 good morning (or day) - buongiorno

2 how are you? - come sta?

2 excuse me - mi scusi 

3 my name is ... - mi chiamo ...

4 I live in London - vivo a Londra (I'm from - Sono di)

5 I am with my husband - Sono con mio marito

6 For work/business / holiday -  per lavoro / per vacanza

6 do you speak English - lei parla inglese?

7 welcome - Bienvenuto

8 Have you understood - Hai capito? (Reply I understood - Ho capito)

9 for me, the same - per me, lo stesso (pointing to a dish or drink)

10 yes, no, please, thanks, Cheers! - si, no, per favore, grazie, Salute! (non is not, before a verb)

More information from

duolingo.com

wikitravel phrase book Italian

google translate

Please share links to your favourite posts.

Albanian words are easy and useful? Yes and no!

The words hotel and bar appear everywhere in Albania.

When standing in a line to get a table at a restaurant, or being approached by the staff, you might want to hold up your fingers and indicate your group, for example, for one, two, three, four or five people. 

Yes and No in Albanian

In an Albanian hotel, at reception, I listened to a conversation an Albanian hotel manager was having on the phone. People in hospitality are positive. He kept sayign Po which means yes. 

At first I had trouble remembering Po is yes and Jo is no. Then I recalled that Positive and Po start with the same letters, so Po is possible, probable or positive. 

Numbers

Looking at numbers, if you are solo, or a couple, or parents with one child, or two couples, you could lean just the word for one, or two, or three, or four.

From Wikipedia

jë—one	tetëmbëdhjetë—eighteen
dy—two	nëntëmbëdhjetë—nineteen
tri/tre—three	njëzet—twenty
katër—four	njëzet e një—twenty-one
pesë—five	njëzet e dy—twenty-two
gjashtë—six	tridhjetë—thirty
shtatë—seven	dyzet/katërdhjetë—forty
tetë—eight	pesëdhjetë—fifty
nëntë—nine	gjashtëdhjetë—sixty
dhjetë—ten

Use these sources for Albanian and other languages as you travel.

My friends, ex colleagues of my husband and their wives and friend, from Europe and New Zealand, who met up with me in Albania did a tour through the region, covering Croatia, Albania, and other countries.

Useful Websites

https://www.google.com/search?q=translate+albanian+to+english

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

I hope you find my posts interesting and helpful. Please share links to your favourite blogs and blog posts.

More Albanian - needs on arrival and getting about

 

Flag of Albania.

I made lists of words I thought I would need to use or recognize when travelling, common words and useful words.

Words which are the same or nearly the same are hotel and farmaci.

Common words

and - dhe

danger - rreziku

the -të

or - ose

you - ju

warning -paralajmërim 

dhe - and të - the ju - you

ose - or paralajmërim - warning

rreziku- danger

You may need 

Linking words English - Albanian

at/beside - në/përkrah

from - nga

to - te

right/left - djathtas /majtas

yes/no po/jo

please/thank you - ju lutem/faleminderit

hello/goodbye - përshëndetje / mirupafshim

boy/girl - djale vajze

man/women - burrë/grua

Albanian - English (alphabetically) 

burrë/grua - man/woman

djale vajze - boy/girl

djathtas majtas - right/left

ju lutem/faleminderit - please/thank you

në/përkrah - at/beside
nga - from

përshëndetje / mirupafshim - hello/goodbye
po/jo - yes/no
te - to

Countries

Albania/Albanian

England/English

America/American

London/Londoner

Germany/German

Shqipëri/shqiptar
Angli/Anglisht
Amerikë/Amerikane
Londër/Londër
Gjermani/gjerman

Albanian - English

ajo - she

ju - you ( similar to the French tu, two letters, but more like d'you, to remember the j, I think you juvenile)

bar/snack bar/coffee shop/bistro/cheap restaurant/fine restaurant/local style restaurant/national food

From Maps

bridge - urë

cafe - kafene

car park - parkim makinash

city - qytet

drinking water

drug store - farmaci

entrance - hyrje

exit - dalje

free - falas

hotel - hotel

urë - BRIDGE
kafene- CAFE
parkim makinash - CAR PARK
qytet - CITY
ujë i pijshëm - DRINKING WATER
farmaci - pharmacy (UK) drug store (USA)
hyrje - entrance
dalje - exit
falas - free
hotel - hotel

Useful websites

wikivoyage

Albanian Language Learning

 

Learning the Albanian language never crossed my mind. Until the last meeting of last year's European hiking group when somebody suggested visiting Albania. Why? Because it was a new destination for us keen travellers - and not too expensive.

Then I started writing a speech, and a blog post to remind myself what to say in my speech, about how you should learn the language of any country you hope to visit on holiday. 

My trip might not be to Albania on my next trip, one after that, but why not plan ahead. I thought I would have a quick look at Albanian. Would it be easy?

Duolingo did not offer Albanian. That was a blow. I have signed up for a dozen languages on Duolingo. 

I have included Korean, Greek, Chinese, Russian and other languages which are a bit of a challenge and to be left until later, on my second or third list of languages to learn. 

Wikipedia

However, Wikipedia gives a useful, long, overview of the Albanian language. It is a bit tiring and tedious. But you can pick out the parts you prefer.

For a start, it tells you how many people speak the language and where. About 7 million, in Albania and a few other places.

Official language in	Albania  Kosovo  North Macedonia[a]  Montenegro[3]
Recognised minority language in	Italy[4]  Serbia[5]  Croatia[6]  Romania[7]

Map portraying countries where Albanian holds official status:

  official language;

  recognised minority language.

The definite article is placed after the noun as in many other Balkan languages, like in Romanian, Macedonian and Bulgarian.

• The definite article can be in the form of noun suffixes, which vary with gender and case.
  • For example, in singular nominative, masculine nouns add -i, or those ending in -g/-k/-h take -u (to avoid palatalization):
    • mal (mountain) / mali (the mountain);
    • libër (book) / libri (the book);
    • zog (bird) / zogu (the bird).
  • Feminine nouns take the suffix -(i/j)a:
    • veturë (car) / vetura (the car);
    • shtëpi (house) / shtëpia (the house);
    • lule (flower) / lulja (the flower).

    • The Albanian alphabet (Albanian: alfabeti shqip) is a variant of the Latin alphabet used to write the Albanian language. It consists of 36 letters:^[1]

      Capital letters

      A

      B

      C

      Ç

      D

      Dh

      E

      Ë

      F

      G

      Gj

      H

      I

      J

      K

      L

      Ll

      M

      N

      Nj

      O

      P

      Q

      R

      Rr

      S

      Sh

      T

      Th

      U

      V

      X

      Xh

      Y

      Z

      Zh

      Lower case letters

      a

      b

      c

      ç

      d

      dh

      e

      ë

      f

      g

      gj

      h

      i

      j

      k

      l

      ll

      m

      n

      nj

      o

      p

      q

      r

      rr

      s

      sh

      t

      th

      u

      v

      x

      xh

      y

      z

      zh

      IPA value

      a

      b

      t͡s

      t͡ʃ

      d

      ð

      ɛ

      ə

      f

      ɡ

      ɟ͡ʝ

      h

      i

      j

      k

      l

      ɫ

      m

      n

      ɲ

      ɔ

      p

      c͡ç

      ɹ

      r

      s

      ʃ

      t

      θ

      u

      v

      d͡z

      d͡ʒ

      y

      z

      ʒ

      Note: The vowels are shown in bold.

      The letters are named simply by their sounds, followed by ë for consonants (e.g. fë). Listen (help·info) to the pronunciation of the 36 letters.

Translate Google

Next comes translate google. I wanted to find hello, goodbye, welcome and good evening to add to my speech. 

Where to start?

On Ling, beginner lessons are free.

Let's organize the words I have found in Ling into an alphabetical list.

Pronunciation

C with a tail is not s as in French but Ch.

Good luck sounds like patch fat. 

J is pronounced like y as in year.

So jo, no is yo.

YES AND NO

The Albanians, like the Bulgarians, nod for no and shake their heads for yes. I did not find this a problem in Bulgaria. You just have to listen to what they say, and rely less on body language.

THE

English - Albanian

bird/the bird - zog/zogu (not just a bird, zog - ooh! this one)

flower - lule

the flower - lulja (the suffix or addition adds the word the - think of it as a flower - that one! Ya, yes, that one)

mountain/the mountain - mal/mali (another suffix or addition for the, a mountain ee! this one, the one)

Albanian - English

lule - flower

lulja - the flower

mal/mali - mountain/the mountain

zog/zogu - bird/the bird

How do you remember these words. I say the "a /an" version by looking upwards. Zog,is bird, a bird, one of many. Then I point and say zogu, meaning the bird.

Negatives

Numbers

Numerals

një—one tetëmbëdhjetë—eighteen dy—two nëntëmbëdhjetë—nineteen tri/tre—three njëzet—twenty katër—four njëzet e një—twenty-one pesë—five njëzet e dy—twenty-two gjashtë—six tridhjetë—thirty shtatë—seven dyzet/katërdhjetë—forty tetë—eight pesëdhjetë—fifty nëntë—nine gjashtëdhjetë/trezet—sixty dhjetë—ten shtatëdhjetë—seventy njëmbëdhjetë—eleven tetëdhjetë/katërzet—eighty dymbëdhjetë—twelve nëntëdhjetë—ninety trembëdhjetë—thirteen njëqind—one hundred katërmbëdhjetë—fourteen pesëqind—five hundred pesëmbëdhjetë—fifteen një mijë—one thousand gjashtëmbëdhjetë—sixteen një milion—one million shtatëmbëdhjetë—seventeen një miliard—one billion

My memory aids:

the word for one has an n in it nje, only one

the number two starts with d like duo

the word for three is shortened to tre or tri

the word for four also ends with an r, a bit like quarter kater

the word for nine begins with n and ends with e

thank you - faleminderit

Useful Websites

Hear it here

https://play.ling-app.com/learn/tutorial

https://ling-app.com/sq/greetings-in-albanian/

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

https://ling-app.com/sq/words-and-phrases-in-albanian/

https://www.facebook.com/simya.learn.languages/

Writing my elevator speech in Chinese and other languages

Why learn to read a foreign language?

I want to read foreign languages so that I can read signs on stations and in hotels. I need to read signposts and maps when walking, driving, or taking a taxi.

It is also useful to be able to translate the headlines in newspapers.

When listening to conversations, I listen out for useful words, at least to know if the answer to a question is yes or no.waiters and hotel receptions saying, yes, no, we can, and we can't.

Greek

In the Meze restaurant in Limassol in Cyprus, I could only see that they were still discussing whether they could find us a table and when.

Russian 

When I listened to a Ukrainian woman talking on the mobile phone to her son, I kept hearing Da, which is yes in Russian, so I assumed it was the same in Ukrainian.

USA

We often hear about how you should prepare your elevator speech. That's a two minute speech introducing yourself when you happen to find yourself with the CEO or VIP - or in fact anybody who might be useful. 

First, make yourself sound pleasant: useful, helpful. (I am visiting your lovely country.) Or a recipient of the listener's greater wisdom. ('We are lost. Are you local?')

Next, end with your question. Or call to action.

Your request for action or answers could be simple. 'Where is the restaurant?' Or, 'Where is the nearest toilet?'  

Cyprus

In Cyprus, our statements and simplified questions were, "We (are) British tourists. Here (only) one day.  (We don't mind) waiting, (for a table). (Is that  ) OK? (Can we sit on) a chair? (And read) the menu? (Maybe order) a drink?"

Eventually, I want to give the introductory or icebreaker speech to a Mandarin speaking club in Singapore. I want to know how to introduce myself in a minimum of four minutes for a four to six minute speech.

Some sentences are easier than others. Some nationalities are easier to pronounce than others. Decide what you want to say, and the easiest way to remember the useful words. For example, Is it easier to say, I am English, or, I am not American. 

Can I make a joke? using the same sentence structure, I might use different nouns or adjectives. Translate, I am not American, I am not Australian, I am not Chinese, I am English. 

Many phrase books such as the Berlitz phrase books divide the sentences into useful things you can say in certain situations or places, such as at the doctor, dentist, hospital, airport, train or bus station.

Berlitz also started Earworms. I have the discs and books. They come in a set of two. I have set one for German and Chinese. The part one starts with a conversation on a plane. I would like a beer, a glass of water, and so on, to the air hostess. To your fellow passenger, I am from such and such a city. Where are you from. Are you married? I am married. (Vital for singles, this one, if looking for romance, and for married people, when trying to prevent trouble.)

In Chinese I wanted to look up the difference, if any, between I and me, and me and mine.

What are: I , me , my book 

I translate into Chinese, then separate the words to see what each one means. Then translate back into English.

Google translate gave me this

I - wo

of - de

book - shu

You have to watch the accents which are a guide to the tone. 

Useful Websites

Handy Spanish words for tea, coffee, many, mountain and more

 

Bar la escueva

Escueva means school

 A few words of Spanish

English - Spanish

and - y

another - otro

bar - bar

beautiful - hermosa

big - grande

certificate/diploma - diploma

city - ciudad

flag - bandera  (like the word band)

Hello - hola

here - aquí

is - es

mountain - montaña (like the US state)

in - en

language - lengua (looks like language and linguistics)

mi - my

nothing - nada

of - de

or -o

please - por favor

restaurant - restaurante

river - rio

royal - real

thank you - gracias

that - esa/eso

the angels - Los Angeles (the US city)

the (masculine singular, feminine singular/masculine plural/feminine plural) - el/la/los/las 

very - muy (spelled like much)

wine vino

where is - donde esta

yes si

one - uno

two - dos

three - tres

four - cuatro

five - cinco (memory aid - think of five sinks)

six - seis

seven - siete (think of seven settees)

Spanish - English

uno - one

dos - two

tres - three

cuatro - four (note the c not a q)

cinco - five

seis - six

siete - seven

...

angeles - angels

aquí  here

bandera - flag 

bar - bar

café - coffee
con - with
de - of
dia - day
en - in
esa/eso - that
hermosa - beautiful
ciudad - city

dónde está - where is

el - the

es - is

gracias - thank you
grande - big
Hola - hello

instituto - institute

la - the

los - the plural

leche - milk

lenga - language

mi - my 

montaña - mountain

mucho - much, many

muy - very

nada - nothing (it's nothing, in reply to thank you)

no - no

o - or

otro - another, other 
por favor - please

real - royal

rio - river

si - yes
restaurante - restaurant

té - tea
vino - wine

y - and

Useful Websites

Berlitz

https://www.berlitz.co.uk

Earworms

https://www.earwormslearning.com//

duolingo

https://www.duolingo.com/

memrise

https://www.memrise.com/languages/learn-spanish

translate google

MONDLY

https://www.mondly.com/blog/2019/03/27/spanish-accents-how-to-type-pronounce-and-master-them-all/

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

WIKI WORDS

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

About the AUTHOR

Angela Lansbury is an aspiring polyglot. She learned French (O level and A level) and Latin (O level) in school.