Coronavirus update Sunday 26 2020.

Flag of China.

Sunday. Death toll in China is 55.

China has banned travel into and out of Wuhan province (a large area like a US state) and most travel around the area.

The Coronavirus is a family of viruses including the common cold, SARS and MERS.
Sars in 2002-3 killed 800.
MERS (Middle Eastern virus) killed 700.

Elderly and Young
So far, in 2020, the latest version has killed mainly those over the age of 50, except one case.

Some commentators shrug. It's only the elderly. And the young.

I read about one family. An extended family who had travelled back to China. When they left they were ok. Now the grandparents and grandchildren are all sick. Imagine being a grandparent, wondering if you will die and if you have infected your grandchildren.

Imagine being in the middle, having your parents and children all ill. Imagine being a child. You don't know whether you will live You don't know if your grandparents will live. Your parents are dividing their time between you and the others of you, two siblings and two grandparents.

You cannot travel. You cannot work. Everybody is quarantined.

Spanish Flu 1918
The 1918 Spanish flu killed more people than WWI. 500 million were affected and more than 50 million died.

It killed the young, who had no immunity.

One of my ancestors died of it. He was in South Africa. He was a young married man who jumped up from his sick bed and ran downstairs to answer the phone call from his sister (my granny Hetty) who was in London. He dropped dead.

His wife never remarried. After her sister-in-law, my granny, had died, my mother kept up correspondence. Eventually my mother went to South Africa to visit the now elderly widow.

I look online and read that somebody I know has a cold.

I wonder. Is it just a cold?

I hope they keep following instructions. Wash your hands. Do not touch your eyes and face with your hands.

Keep away from crowds and people who are coughing.

Carry tissues and/or wear a mask.

Useful Wbsites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronavirus
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Singapore

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

Welsh, Words, "Would Like" What to say in Welsh, Why Visit Wales and Ireland

View of Fishguard Bay, Wales. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Wedding at Fishguard Bay Hotel.

Problem
How do you say I would like in Welsh? This is a problem when translating from English into any other language.

Answer
I am learning Welsh from Duo Lingo. Their simple English-Welsh lessons often give alternative answers but they gave the Welsh which I translated as I would like which was not allowed. I wondered whether the Welsh had only one phrase, in which case my alternative should have been allowed. However, according to somebody who replied in the forum, the Welsh English goes like this.

• Hoffwn i... - I would like...
• Dw i eisiau... - I want...

If you want to hear how it is pronounced, go to www.Duolingo.

Story
Children of today speak simply and more directly.
For example:
How are you? to an elderly person requires the answer
Very well, thank you.
A young person says
Fine.
That sounds terribly rude to an older person.

Why Learn Welsh Words?
Why would anybody want, or need, or like, to speak or understand Welsh?
If you drive or take the train across Wales, you will see many signs in Welsh. Why not take a few free language lessons?

Why Go To Wales?
Writers' Holiday
Many of my friends are going to the Writers Holiday in Fishguard, Wales, this week. You can book for a week or be a day visitor.

History and Films
Fishguard is also the setting for many movies or films from the past such as Moby Dick and Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

You can read about the making of the films in the bar of the Fishguard Bay Hotel which is above the port where you catch the ferry to Ireland.

Ireland And Wales
Some people go through Wales because they need to in order to get the ferry to Ireland. You might do so deliberately in order to Enjoy and two destination trip to both Wales and Ireland.

Tourist Information
www.visitWales.com
www.wales.com
www.gofishguard.co.uk/
http://www.writersholiday.net
http://www.directferries.co.uk/fishguard_rosslare_ferry.
http://www.directferries.co.uk/ferries_from_wales_to_ireland. (Choosing which ferry route.)
http://www.irishtourist.com/wexford/towns/rosslare/
www.duolingo.com (Welsh, Gaelic, English for speakers of other languages, other languages)
I have several other posts on Wales and learning Welsh. Please share links to your favourite posts.

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

German Pronunciation Simplified

Problem
How do you pronounce German words?

Answers

AU is OW as HOW NOW BROWN COW
I had a friend whose surname was Blau (rhyming with now) meaning blue.
frau - woman - think of a frowning woman with brows in a brown dress , pronounced f r o w,

IE
i e pronounce the second letter W i e n e r - p r o n u n c e d v e e n e r

V and W
W is v as in the German word for sausage: w u r s h t (pronounced v e r sh t).
So now you can recognize it when a German speaker talks about a sausage from Vienna.
You can also recognize what sounds like v e e n e r schnitzel.

Frequent use of W pronounced as V
was - (vas or vuss) what
wie - what
German wir - we pronounced veer

German - English
was - what (vuss as in fuss)
wir - we (veer)
wie - how (vee)
wieviel - how many (vee feel)
w i e v i e l u h r ist es (what time is it - v e e like the letter vee, feel, i s t e s s as in yes)

German J is Y
jung - young pronounced y o o n g , the vowel as in cook


English - German
we - wir (pronounced veer)
where

Finally, when writing, go back and check you have capital letters for all the words describing things. In English we save a capital lesson for a specific name of a person, Mr Blue, but in German the word man it would be Mann.

Tips
I suggest you get a notebook or diary and write down a key to the ones which puzzle you on one page with a key word in English for the pronunciation.
Left column for the sound as it is written in German, second column for the word in English.
I shall do this and take a photo and add it later.

Websites
Wikipedia give a complete guide, letter by letter, including variations for Switzerland.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Standard_German
It is so long and complicated that it's hard to find the sounds you need and remember them.

For more tips on pronunciation:
http://www.fluentu.com/german/blog/how-to-pronounce-german-words/
Long and chatty. The opposite of Wikipedia.

duolingo.com
The first page of any of their dozen or so languages gives you a guide to grammar and pronunciation of the language you have chosen to learn. Even if you are not learning, or have finished the course and want a reminder, it's worthwhile going to their page one. Notes are at the bottom of the screen and easily missed so if you are on a small screen scroll down for them.

You might like to look at my other posts on German, French, Romanian, Italian and other languages. I also have travel articles in this blog on my trips to Italy (a press trip, covering Umbria and Francis of Assisi) and Cambodia (Ankor Wat temple). I also have several posts on Singapore and restaurants in London, Central London and Hatch End and Harrow. Other blogs cover etiquette, humorous poetry and my books. I am also you YouTube, linkedIn, Facebook, Lulu.com books and Amazon. If you meet me at a meeting of Toastmasters International clubs (UK, USA and Singapore) I am a chatty person. I am always delighted to talk about travel and culture and please to meet a fan and if you want to buy a coy of one of my books I'll sign it and write you a personalised message, motivation quote or a couplet based on your name. Happy reading.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and phgotarpheer, author and speaker. Please share posts.Enable GingerCannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection
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More Malay Words from TV programme titles

Problem
How do you get interested in Malay? Just look at words around you and on line. the language structure is in some ways quite easy.
I and my are the same word. Here are some more words from the day's news programmes:

Malay - English
b e r i t a - news
c i l i k - young
Cina - China
d a t u k - grandfather
d e t i k - second
jalan - way / road
jalan d a t u k saya - the way of my grandfather / grandpa's road
kenegeri - the land
kenegeri cina - the land of China
m a s y a r a k a t - community
saya - I (or my)
skuad - squad / team ; skuad cilik - young squad / team

English - Malay
China - c i n a
community - m a s y a r a k a t
I / my - s a y a
grandfather - d a t u k (like Dad but older)
land - k e n e g e r i
news - b e r i t a
road / way - jalan
second - d e t i k (the letter d often starts two or second, as in duo, duet, dual, double)
squad / team - s k u a d (the sound is the same but a q is turned into a K)
Young - c i l i k

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, teacher of English and other languages and public speaking.