speaking2theworld

[speaking2theworld]

Training your pronunciation in a language!

First, a foreign accent is just fine. There is no need to change it. As long as people can understand you, you’re killing it. However if you want to improve it, I have a few tips and guides!

First: train your ear!

If you can’t hear the sound differences, you can’t speak them either.

The article has tons of ways to train your ear to hear the differences. Basically: imitate immersion. Listen to everything in your target language. Getting a tutor is also a great way to train! They can go through pronunciation drills with you and point out your weaknesses so you can correct any issues sooner, rather than later!

And even if you can’t hear any difference between two tones or sounds in a language now, I promise you: you can learn!!

Next: train your mouth!

Watch and mimic. In the article below, I give tons of ways to achieve this.

Basically, copy every native you can see and hear. Practice tongue twisters, games (especially ones focused on minimal pairs!), watch YouTube videos on half the speed, use Forvo (amazing resource!!) and watch and repeat everything you can. Babble like a baby. Practice makes perfect!

Check out the link for all of the tips and to find some guides on pronunciation in specific languages!

[speaking2theworld]

[speaking2theworld]

¡Colombianismos!

Recientemente vi la película Encanto de Disney en español, la historia de una familia mágica basada en Colombia, y me acordé de aquel conocimiento común que dice que el español colombiano es el más neutro de Latinoamérica. Centros de atención telefónica emplean a colombianos para rendir servicios a hispanohablantes alrededor del mundo. Son fácilmente entendidos y a Colombia se le considera el Ohio de Latinoamérica por también tener un acento neutro al hablar inglés.

Soy admirador del español colombiano por su pronunciación clara con ese toque tan distinto. Sin embargo, esto no significa que carezca de jerga o de expresiones que te dejen confundido. He aquí algunos colombianismos más comunes con su traducción al español neutro para tu deleite y encanto.

1. Bacano = Genial

Ayer la pasamos muy bacano. = Ayer la pasamos genial.

2. Camellar = Trabajar

Me toca camellar fuerte este fin de semana. = Me toca trabajar mucho este fin de semana.

3. Parcero = Amigo

Se le agradece la ayuda, parcero. = Gracias por la ayuda, amigo.

4. Parche = Grupo de amigos

Hoy voy a salir con mi parche. = Hoy voy a salir con mis amigos.

5. Hacer una vaca = Reunir dinero entre varias personas para un fin común

Hicimos una vaca para comprarle una bicicleta a Juan. = Reunimos dinero para comprarle una bicicleta a Juan.

6. Berraco = Persona que saca todo adelante

Ese hombre es un gran berraco, no se deja de nadie. = Ese hombre es muy valiente, no se deja de nadie.

7. ¿Quiubo? = ¿Cómo estás?

¿Quiubo, parce? = ¿Cómo estás, amigo?

8. Tusa = Despecho por la terminación de una relación amorosa

Ella rompió conmigo y ahora tengo una tusa grandísima. = Ella rompió conmigo y ahora tengo un gran despecho.

9. Filo = Hambre

No he desayunado y tengo filo. = No he desayunado y tengo hambre.

10. Boleta = Vergüenza

Ese evento desorganizado estuvo una boleta. = Ese evento desorganizado fue una vergüenza.

11. Rumba = Fiesta

Nos vamos de rumba esta noche. = Nos vamos de fiesta esta noche.

12. Motoso = Siesta

Me voy a pegar un motoso. = Me voy a tomar una siesta.

<< English Version

[speaking2theworld]

Learn languages through live TV and comprehensible input!

Zero to Hero is a Chinese company specialising in English and Chinese education (and a channel I will endlessly promote, because I think they’re brilliant), but ALSO offer resources for a vast number of other languages. 

They have recently updated their flagship website which allows you to click on a world map, navigate to the language you are interested in and access live TV, television shows, dictionaries, phrasebooks and other useful features. You can then click around to filter by country, region, type of television and more!

https://www.zerotohero.ca

When you zoom into the map, you are also able to see much smaller languages. Even if they don’t have live television available, this websites has:

- guided readers (click on any website and use a dictionary to get word)

- a dictionary (Scottish Gaelic has 15,000 words, for example) with options to save words and phrases

- talks and other videos that link to Youtube 

- a full learning path that details how to respond at each stage of the learning, with resources for each 

- a text reader

Here’s a video with Jon explaining how to use it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJN5hwOoz-Q

And all of this on top of its almost frighteningly large library of Chinese content! Check it out - it may be just what you’re looking for.

加油！

- 梅晨曦

[speaking2theworld]

• 100 days: LANGUAGE CHALLENGE • Day 27

I don't know why, but visually this is one of my favourite pairs of words that look and sound similar but mean very different things.

[speaking2theworld]

favorite language learning resources

duolingo- a lot of language learners have issues with it but it’s good to get a base on the language and they’re always adding new languages!

memrise- good for vocabulary and memorizing, they have a wide list of languages

babbel- really effective if you want to learn how to communicate with people or get around, costs money for the full version but they have sales all the time

hellotalk- language exchange app, i’ve had really good experiences with this app, the only downside is that you have to pay to select more than one language you want to learn

tandem- similar to hellotalk, i like it slightly less but it allows you to choose as many languages as you want!

forvo- you can listen to native speakers pronounce things! it’s amazing!

ipachart- interactive chart with the international phonetic alphabet

wordreference- online dictionary for french, spanish, german, italian, portuguese, dutch, swedish, russian, polish, romanian, czech, greek, turkish, chinese, japanese, korean, and arabic

bab.la- another online dictionary with 24 languages

linguee- really great for learning phrases and seeing words in context

omniglot- encyclopedia of writing systems and languages, really great for learning new writing systems & also basic phrases! also has links to other resources!

the great language game- game for testing listening comprehension to several dozen languages!

ba ba dum- fun vocabulary game

easy languages- youtube channel featuring native speakers speaking a variety of languages but mostly spanish, french, and german

wikitongues- youtube channel attempting to document every language in the world

languagepod101- offers podcasts and youtube videos in a wide variety of languages

verbix- verb conjugating website with a wide variety of languages

quizlet- flashcard website that’s great for compiling vocab lists

lingq- i’ve only used it a little but it seems helpful especially for beginners!

tunein- allows you to listen to radio in a variety of languages

wikipedia- they have thousands to millions of articles in various languages so it’s a great place to test your reading skills, and in addition you can read articles about the language you’re learning and get a grasp on the language’s structure and sound system

lyricstraining- allows you to learn languages using song lyrics, really helpful for comprehension

lang-8- you can post things and have native speakers correct them, and correct things from other people!

feel free to add!

[speaking2theworld]

just a list of idioms i wrote down while watching my childhood anime

諸行無常 - all things must pass; all worldly things are impermanent​ (Buddhist term)

恐悦至極 - extremely delighted​ (humble speech)

開口一番 - at the very beginning of one’s speech; the first thing (one) says after opening the mouth

悪鬼退散 - Evil spirits, begone!

百戦錬磨 - veteran; battle-worn; schooled by adversity in many battles; rich in experience​

天地神明 - the gods of heaven and earth​

笑止千万 - highly ridiculous; quite absurd

災難即滅 - may misfortune leave promptly

先手必勝 - victory goes to the one who makes the first move; being quick to take action leads to victory; the early bird gets the worm

空前絶後 - (so marvellous or horrible that it may be) the first and probably the last​

初戦突破 - advancing to the next stage; breaking through the first match

生者必滅 - all living things must die (​Buddhist term)

主客転倒 - reversing the order of importance; putting the cart before the horse; the tables being turned; mistaking the insignificant for the essential; mistaking the means for the end​

背水の陣 - fighting with one’s back to the wall; having burnt one’s bridges; last stand

奇々怪々 - very strange; bizarre; weird; mysterious​

驚天動地 - astounding; startling; world-shaking; amazing; earth-shattering​

[speaking2theworld]

Picking up a new skill and starting from scratch is always a humbling experience but when you’re a polyglot getting started with a new language half of you is like ‘I’m baby’ and the other half is a wise old man with a mysterious gleam in the eye because you don’t know shit yet... but You Know™

[speaking2theworld]

for those who love poetry and art, and are learning french, may i present to you, the french singer ‘pomme’. She makes beautiful songs which are not only calming and aesthetically pleasing (especially when you understand the lyrics), but they are not too hard for foreigners to follow and understand. Go give her songs a listen ✨🇫🇷

[speaking2theworld]

Italian idiomatic expressions about💖

Avere un cuore di pietra

To have a heart of stone

Avere a cuore

To take to hearth

Con tutto il cuore

With all my heart

 Avere il cuore in gola

To have the heart in one’s throat

Sentire un tuffo al cuore

 To feel the heart skipping a beat.

 Persona di cuore

A person with a good heart

 In cuor suo 

In his heart

  A cuor leggero

To do something lightly

  Mettersi il cuore in pace

To find closure/peace

  Stare a cuore

To be a matter of concern. 

Mi piange il cuore

My heart is crying (It breaks my heart)

  Ridere di cuore

To laugh heartily

 Col cuore in mano

With heart in hand, wearing his/her heart on his/her sleeve, sincerely

 Avere un cuore d’oro

To have a heart of gold

 Due cuori ed una capanna

Two hearts and a tent, love on a shoestring.

 Rubacuori

Hearts stealer, heartbreaker.

 La-sicilienne.

[speaking2theworld]

La Leche

Castellano Spanish has a very weird thing with milk… here are some examples… 

A toda leche – at full milk

This essentially means ‘to the max’. So ‘ir a toda leche’ means ‘to go really fast’, ‘trabajar a toda leche’ means ‘to work flat out’ and ‘hacer los deberes a toda leche’ means ‘to do your homework at top speed’.

La leche de – the milk of

This means a lot of something. So ‘saber la leche’ about a given subject means to know a lot about it, while to be ‘la leche de listo’ means to be very clever, and ‘hace una leche de calor’ means that it’s extremely hot. 

Mala leche – bad milk

On its own, mala leche can mean bad luck. So ‘¡Qué mala leche tiene!’ Can mean ‘What bad luck he has’.

Tener mala leche – to have bad milk

This means to be in a bad mood, or to be bad tempered. This Spanish meaning harks from the days when people believed that babies inherited personality traits through breast milk, which is why wet nurses were carefully selected in order not to pass bad milk on to babies.

Hay mala leche – there is bad milk

In this sense, mala leche means bad blood or ill feeling. So ‘hay mucha mala leche entre él y su hermano’ means ‘there is a lot of bad feeling between him and his brother’.

Ser la leche – to be the milk

Generally, this saying means “the shit.” So if a new phone is ‘la leche’, it is very good.

A mala leche/con mala leche – with bad milk

An action undertaken ‘with bad milk’ means it was done with bad intentions from the beginning. 

Darse una leche – to give oneself a milk

When reflexive, this expression means to hurt oneself accidentally by bumping or crashing into something. For example, ‘Andrea resbaló por la calle y se dio una leche’ means that Andrea slipped and fell on the street, but ‘Andrea se dio una leche con el coche’ means she had a crash in her car.

Cagarse en la leche – to s-t in the milk

The expression is used to express anger and frustration.

Qué leches? – what milks?

An expression of surprise, that could be translated as ‘what on earth?’ 

¡Leches! – milks!

This exclamation can mean anything from shock, wonder or surprise to annoyance, and listeners are expected to understand depending on the situation. 

Toda esa leche – all that milk

This phrase has a vague meaning, which can be roughly translated as ‘all that stuff’, ‘all that jazz’, or ‘all that kind of thing’, as in ‘tengo que comprar pan, agua y toda esa leche’ (‘I have to buy bread, water and all that kind of thing’).

[speaking2theworld]

iPhone emojis in English - French - Spanish (Part 1 - Emotions)

😊 To smile - Sourire - Sonreír

😄 To laugh - Rire - Reír

😂 Cry laughing - Pleurer de rire - Llorar de risa

😇 An angel - Un ange - Un ángel

😉 A blink - Un clin d’œil - Un guiño

😘 A kiss - Un bisous - Un beso

🤓 Glasses - Des lunettes - Gafas

😎 Sunglasses - Des lunettes de soleil - Gafas de sol

🙁 To be sad - Être triste - Estar triste

😫 To be desperate - Être désespéré - Estar desesperado

😭 To cry - Pleurer - Llorar

😤 To be mad - Être fâché - Estar enfadado

😳 To be surprised - Être étonné - Estar estupefacto

🤬 To insult - Insulter - Insultar

😱 To be scared - Avoir peur - Tener miedo

🤔 To wonder - Se demander - Preguntarse

🤫 Hush - Chut - Chito

🤥 To lie - Mentir - Mentir

😬 To be stressed - Être stressé - Estar estresado

🙄 Roll your eyes - Lever les yeux au ciel - Levantar la miranda al cielo

😴 To sleep - Dormir - Dormir

🤒 To be sick - Être malade - Estar enfermo

🤧 Having a cold - Être enrhumé - Estar resfriado

🤮 To puke - Vomir - Vomitar

🤢 To feel bad - Se sentir mal - Sentirse mal

🤕 To be hurt - Être blessé - Ser herido

[speaking2theworld]

Portuguese Menstruation Vocabulary

Inspired by this post

o sangue - blood

menstrual - menstrual

menopáusico - menopausal

a menopausa - menopause

a menstruação - menses

o ciclo menstrual - menstrual cycle

o fluxo menstrual - menstrual flow

a menorreia - menstrual flow

o período menstrual - menstrual period

menstruada - menstruating

menstruar - to menstruate

o útero - uterus

a descarga - discharge

a oscilação de humor - mood swing

o absorvente - sanitary pad

o absorvente interno - tampon

a cólica - cramp

o protetor de calcinhas - panty liner

o penso diário - panty liner

o  endométrio - endometrium

a  ovulação - ovulation

o ovário - ovary

o óvulo - egg

a gravidez - pregnancy

Tensão pré-menstrual (TPM)  - PMS 

os  absorventes ecológicos - ecological pads

o coletor menstrua - menstrual cup

o canal vaginal - vaginal opening

sangrar - to bleed

Onde é o banheiro? - Where is the bathroom?

Estou menstruada - I’m on my period

Vou ficar menstruada - I’m about to get my period

Você pode me emprestar um absorvente? - Can I borrow a pad/tampon?

Preciso passar na farmácia - I need to stop by the drugstore

Minha menstruação está atrasada - My period is late

Eu estou grávida - I am pregnant

Não estou me sentindo bem - I’m not feeling well

Estou com cólica - I’ve got cramps

Estou de TPM - I have PMS

let me know if I need to correct anything or if you have anything to add!

[speaking2theworld]

Spanish and French similarities and patterns. There are less similarities between Spanish and French than there are between Spanish and Portuguese because Spanish and Portuguese are Ibero-Romance languages and French is a Gallo-Romance language. Nonetheless there are some similarities and patterns you can find, though not all similar words follow these rules. 

There is also one chart that includes English; though English is a Germanic language, English has a lot of borrowed vocabulary/spelling conventions from French because the Duke of Normandy invaded England in the 11th century. 

[speaking2theworld]

A tip for native English speakers learning romance languages

In English, most verbs have a lot of different significations, and you can use the same verb in a lot of different contexts, sometimes just by changing the preposition that goes after the verb, for exemple: to look at, to look after, to look forward to… English speakers use the same verbs, such as “to have”, “to take”, “to go”, for a lot of different situations, whereas romance languages speakers will change the verb to be more accurate depending on the situation. 

So if you want to speak French, Spanish, Portuguese etc. like a native, you will have to do a lot of work on vocabulary to learn the different verbs so that you can use the right one depending on the context.  An example of this is that the verb “to bring” can be translated in French by “amener”, “emmener”, “emporter” and “apporter”, which are all pretty close but still have a slightly different meaning. 

Here are some examples in Spanish and French to help you be more accurate:

TO TAKE  

To take a picture - SACAR / TOMAR una foto - PRENDRE une photo To take a video - GRABAR un video - PRENDRE une vidéo  To take a pencil - AGARRAR un boli - PRENDRE un stylo  To take the bus - TOMAR el autobus - PRENDRE le bus To take an exam - PRESENTAR un examen - PASSER un examen  To take someone to - LLEVAR alguien a - EMMENER quelqu’un à  To take a shower - BAÑARSE - PRENDRE une douche  To take away - QUITAR - PARTIR  To take back - DESVOLVER - RENDRE  To take off - IRSE - S’EN ALLER  To take out - SACAR - SORTIR  To take a walk - DAR un paseo - SE PROMENER  To take something from someone - ARREBATAR algo a alguién - PRENDRE quelque chose à quelqu’un 

TO GET 

To get something - ENTENDER algo - COMPRENDRE quelque chose  To get to the destination - LLEGAR al destino - ARRIVER à destination  To get to study at Harvard - LOGRAR a estudiar a Harvard - REUSSIR à étudier à Harvard  To get $100 - GANAR $100 - GAGNER $100 To get along with someone - LLEVARSE bien con alguien - S’ENTENDRE avec quelqu’un  To get around - SALIR a menudo - S’EN SORTIR To get away - ESCAPARSE - S’ECHAPPER  To get dirty - ENSUCIARSE - SE SALIR To get back - VOLVER - RETOURNER To bet better - MEJORAR - S’AMELIORER To get dressed - VESTIRSE - S’HABILLER  To get into - ENTRAR - ENTRER To get in trouble - METERSE en problemas - S'ATTIRER des problèmes  To get married - CASARSE - SE MARRIER  To get on - SUBIR en - MONTER sur  To get out - SALIR - SORTIR To get started - EMPEZAR / COMENZAR - COMMENCER To get up - LEVANTARSE - SE LEVER  To get worse - EMPEORAR - EMPIRER

[speaking2theworld]

Language Learning Tips

For all those linguists, here are some important tips to accelerating your progress:

Learn the 10 parts of speech in your native language. This will save you wasted time relearning basic grammar in your target language(s). 

Buy a grammar book in your native language and a grammar book in oyur target language. 

Read in your target language, no matter how short and elementary the text. Do not wait until you have achieved an imaginary state of proficiency. 

Read children’s books in your target language (see 3). 

Memorise the conjugation of verbs for: present, perfect, imperfect, pluperfect, future, future perfect, conditional, and conditional perfect. 

Buy two dictionaries: one bilingual and one entirely in your target language. The latter will teach you to define words and explain things. 

When learning vocabulary, note the root of a word and look up other similar words.

Watch videos in your target language from the get go. Make a list of topics that interest you, as you will know what is being discussed. 

Use your target language to write to do lists, journal entries, memo’s, etc. Keep a dictionary handy for new vocabulary. 

Buy books in your target language on other subjects such as Maths, History etc. You will be studying the subject as well as picking up vocabulary, grammar etc. 

Learn an additional language in the language you are currently studying. For example, I am strong in French and I use it to study Maths and Russian. 

[speaking2theworld]

Animals in French - Spanish - Portuguese - Italian

🐶 Un chien - Un perro - Um cachorro - Un cane 🐱 Un chat - Un gato - Um gato - Un gatto 🐰 Un lapin - Un conejo - Um coelho - Un coniglio 🐻 Un ours - Un oso - Um urso - Un orso 🐼 Un panda - Un panda - Um panda - Un panda 🐨 Un koala - Un koala - Um coala - Un koala 🐯 Un tigre - Un tigre - Um tigre - Una tigre 🦁 Un lion - Un león - Um leão - Un leone 🐮 Une vache - Una vaca - Uma vaca - Una mucca 🐷 Un cochon - Un cerdo - Um porco - Un maiale 🐸 Une grenouille - Una rana - Um sapo - Una rana 🐵 Un singe - Un mono - Um macaco - Una scimmia 🐔 Une poule - Una gallina - Uma galhina - Una gallina 🐺 Un renard - Un zorro - Uma raposa - Una volpe 🐗 Un sanglier - Un jabalí - Um javali - Un cinghiale 🐴 Un cheval - Un caballo - Um cavalo - Un cavallo 🦄 Une licorne - Un unicornio - Um unicórnio - Un unicorno 🐍 Un serpent - Una serpiente - Uma cobra - Un serpente 🐢 Un tortue - Una tortuga - Uma tartaruga - Una tartaruga 🐠 Un poisson - Un pescado - Um peixe - Un pesce 🐬 Un dauphin - Un delfín - Um golfinho - Un delfino 🐳 Baleine - Una ballena - Uma baleia - Una balena 🐘 Un éléphant - Un elefante - Um elefante - Un elefante 🐑 Un mouton - Una oveja - Uma ovelha - Una pecora