#langblrsecretsanta2018

[sneakend]

Helloo, @lioncubstudies I’m your substitute santa for @langblrsecretsanta 

You said you like Japanese and literature so I made a rec list of the top 10 Japanese books I’d recommend to everyone (though it’s entirely based on my own personal taste). One of the books is a manga but we studied it in the university in Japan and it’s worth a read. (+ you also said you like music recs so feel free to check out this Japanese music rec list I made for my other giftee in December!)

  ♡ 本 ♡

As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams (aka Sarashina Nikki) by Lady Sarashina

“Night after night I lie awake, listening to the rustle of the bamboo leaves, and a strange sadness fills my heart.”

Born in A.D. 1008 at the height of the Heian period, Lady Sarashina (as she is known) probably wrote most of her work towards the end of her life, long after the events described. Thwarted and saddened by the real world with all its deaths and partings and frustrations, Lady Sarashina protected herself by a barrier of fantasy and so escaped from harsh reality into a rosier more congenial realm. She presents her vision of the world in beautiful prose, the sentences flowing along smoothly so that we feel we are watching a magnificent scroll being slowly unrolled.

Genres: historical, classics, autobiographical

Forbidden Colors by Mishima Yukio

“Beauty is something that burns the hand when you touch it.”  

An aging, embittered novelist sets out to avenge himself on the women who have betrayed him. He finds the perfect instrument in Yuichi, a young man whose beauty makes him irresistible to women but who is just discovering his attraction to other men. As Yuichi's mentor presses him into a loveless marriage and a series of equally loveless philanderings, his protégé enters the gay underworld of postwar Japan. In that hidden society of parks and tearooms, prostitutes and aristocratic blackmailers, Yuichi is as defenseless as any of the women he preys on.

Genres: lgbt, fiction

Confessions of a Mask by Mishima Yukio

“True pain can only come gradually. It is exactly like tuberculosis in that the disease has already progressed to a critical stage before the patient becomes aware of its symptoms.”

This autobiographical novel, regarded as Mishima's finest book, is the haunting story of a Japanese boy's development towards homosexuality during and after the Second World War.

Genres: lgbt, fiction, autobiographical

Out by Natsuo Kirino

“You know," she murmured, "we're all heading straight to hell." "Yes," said Masako, giving her a bleak look. "It's like riding downhill with no brakes." "You mean, there's no way to stop?" "No, you stop all right - when you crash.”  

A young mother who works a night shift making boxed lunches brutally strangles her deadbeat husband and then seeks the help of her co-workers to dispose of the body and cover up her crime. The ringleader of this cover-up, Masako Katori, emerges as the emotional heart of Out and as one of the shrewdest, most clear-eyed creations in recent fiction. Masako's own search for a way out of the straitjacket of a dead-end life leads her, too, to take drastic action.

Genres: horror, crime, mystery

Coin Locker Babies by Murakami Ryu

“Every one of a hundred thousand cities around the world had its own special sunset and it was worth going there, just once, if only to see the sun go down.” 

Abandoned at birth in adjacent train station lockers, two troubled boys spend their youth in an orphanage and with foster parents on a semi-deserted island before finally setting off for the city to find and destroy the women who first rejected them. Both are drawn to an area of freaks and hustlers called Toxitown. One becomes a bisexual rock singer, star of this exotic demimonde, while the other, a pole vaulter, seeks his revenge in the company of his girlfriend, Anemone, a model who has converted her condominium into a tropical swamp for her pet crocodile.

Genres: contemporary, horror

Kitchen (+Moonlight Shadow) by Banana Yoshimoto

“In the uncertain ebb and flow of time and emotions much of one's life history is etched in the senses.”

Mikage, the heroine of Kitchen, is an orphan raised by her grandmother, who has passed away. Grieving, she is taken in by her friend Yoichi and his mother (who was once his father), Eriko. As the three of them form an improvised family that soon weathers its own tragic losses, Yoshimoto spins a lovely, evocative tale that recalls early Marguerite Duras. Kitchen and its companion story, "Moonlight Shadow," are elegant tales whose seeming simplicity is the ruse of a writer whose voice echoes in the mind and the soul.

Genre: contemporary, short stories

Blue Bamboo by Osamu Dazai

“Any connoisseur knows you've got to be drunk to really enjoy a good romance.”

Stories that combine fantasy and romance with Osamu Dazai's own psychological concerns reveal the optimistic, humorous and idealistic side of a writer too often typecast as dark, pessimistic and self-absorbed.

Genre: short stories

To Terra by Takemiya Keiko

“The future. Having driven Terra to the brink of environmental collapse, humanity decides to reform itself by ushering in the age of Superior Domination (S.D.), a system of social control in which children are no longer the offspring of parents but progeny of a universal computer. The new social order, however, results in an unexpected byproduct: the Mu, a mutant race with extrasensory powers who are forced into exile by The System.”

Genre: scifi, manga

Kappa by Akutagawa Ryûnosuke

“A Swiftian satire of Japanese society thinly disguised as the fictitious Kappaland. Peopled with creatures from Japanese folklore, Kappland serves as a vehicle for the humorous examination of the moral foibles of Japanese society in the early 20th century.“

Genre: fantasy, classics, satire

Hell Screen by Akutagawa Ryûnosuke

“Chained inside the carriage is a sinful woman. When we set the carriage afire, her flesh will be roasted, her bones will be charred: she will die an agonizing death. Never again will you have such a perfect model for the screen. Do not fail to watch as her snow-white flesh erupts in flames. See and remember her long black hair dancing in a whirl of sparks!”

One of the towering figures of modern Japanese writing, Akutagawa's early career was distinguished by imaginative, beautifully crafted stories of medieval Japan, rich with period detail. These two stories include his great masterpiece of that period, 'Hell Screen', and the parable of a thread-thin chance of escape for a sinner in the Pool of Blood.

Genre: short stories, horror

+a few more recs from Mishima Yukio and Murakami Ryu because I’ve read them the most:

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion

Patriotism

Popular Hits of the Showa Era

From the Fatherland, with Love

[chouhatsumimi]

Martial Arts vocabulary in six languages

Happy Holidays to my @langblrsecretsanta giftee, @tokumeino90! I heard you did kickboxing, and I do karate, so I had a good time looking for all the vocabulary in the different languages you study, and comparing the techniques used in kickboxing versus karate!

I can only vouch for the words in Japanese, and somewhat for Spanish- the other languages I’m not familiar with, so there might be mistakes. 

My favorite find was that in Turkish, ‘geri tekme’ for ‘back kick’ sounded like Japanese, where ‘geri’ means kick! 

[hillanguages]

Happy Holidays @byesexualmonster !  This is my gift for you as you secret santa. I made a moodboard of Ideal Finnish Christmas, wrote down some essential vocab you could use and added few festive playlists to check out! :) When i think of Christmas here, i think of piles of snow and darkening days.  Frostbite making my nose red. The smell of Glögi warming up in the stove, or warm Christmas dinner. I think of programs we watch each year like the snowman, Santa's hotline and Disney’s From All of Us to All of You. The sininen hetki (=blue moment) in the evening when everything seems calm and quiet. And of course, I also think of sauna, it wouldn’t be Christmas without it!

Joulu - Christmas Joulukuu - Christmas (literally Christmas month) Lahja - gift Joulukuusi - Christmas tree Koriste - decoration Puuro - porridge Lumi - Snow Hanki - Pile of snow Joulupukki - Santa Tonttu - Elf Olkipukki - Yule Goat Tähti - star Joulukirkko - Christmas church Perhe - family Ystävät - friends Jouluaatto - Christmas eve (24th) Joulupäivä - Christmas day (25th) Loppiainen - Epiphany (holiday) Kortti- Card Joulusauna - Christmas sauna Joululaulu -  Christmas song Joulukinkku - Christmas ham

Hyvää Joulua - Merry Christmas

Onnellista Uutta Vuotta - Happy New Year 

Mitä haluat joululahjaksi? What do you want for Christmas? 

Mitä teit Joululomalla? What did you do during Christmas holidays? Minä vietin joulun perheeni luona I spend Christmas with my family.  Me kävimme   ..hautausmaalla sytyttämässä kynttilän We visited       ..the graveyard to light up a candle ..kirkossa laulamassa joululauluja we sang christmas songs in the church

Also if you are not sick of hearing Christmas songs, here are some playlists of different styles. Raskasta Joulua (Heavy Christmas) features covers of christmas songs in more “heavy” style Joululauluja aattoiltaan (Christmas songs for christmas eve) has more traditional and pop style songs

Rock Joulu (Rock Christmas) i think this one should have more rock style christmas songs, but it seems to share quite few songs with the first one. 

Rajaton Joulu (Limitless Christmas / Rajaton is also the name of the ensemble.) These songs have no instruments, just vocals. A cappella.

Vanhoja Joululauluja (Old christmas songs) the title speaks for itself, old songs kept quite close to the original style.

[breatheandfocus]

Merry Christmas @aspoonfuloflanguage​! For @langblrsecretsanta​ I decided to write up some french slang phrases that I learnt in my Erasmus year in France. I hope you learn something new with this!!    

[langblrsecretsanta]

Hi Everyone! 

We had much fun last year, so I thought we could try and do the langblr posts exchange again, if anyone is still interested :) 

This time I’ve prepared a proper sign up form (but the questions are mostly the same as last year) and you can find it here: click

The sign up form will be open till November 10, the assignments should be sent by November 17 and you’ll be asked to post your gifts between December 16-26. 

All of you are invited! Having a langblr is not required, you can use your ordinary tumblr account. 

Sign up and spread the word! If you need an encouragement, just look at all the fantastic posts from the last year’s event :)

If you have any questions - go to the FAQ page or contact me :)

Meg

[teddylearnslanguages]

Dear @spraache, I’m your substitute Santa at @langblrsecretsanta this year! Hope you like your gift ♥♥♥

Im Wald - En el bosque - In the Woods

der Wald, Wälder - el bosque, la selva - forest, woods

der Laubwald, Laubwälder - el bosque caducifolio - deciduous forest

der Nadelwald, Nadelwälder - el bosque de coníferas - coniferous forest

der Mischwald, Mischwälder - el bosque mixto - mixed forest

der Waldbrand, Waldbrände - el incendio forestal - forest fire

der Förster/die Försterin, Förster/Försterinnen - el/la guarda forestal - forest ranger

Pflanzen - Las plantas - Plants

der Baum, Bäume - el arbor - tree

die Tanne, Tannen - el abeto - fir

die Fichte, Fichten - la pícea - spruce

die Kiefer, Kiefern - el pino - pine

die Buche, Buchen - el haya (f) - beech

die Birke, Birken - el abedul - birch

die Eiche, Eichen - el roble - oak

der Ahorn, Ahorne - el arce - maple

der Efeu - la hiedra - ivy

der Farn, Farne - el helecho - fern

das Moos, Moose - el musgo - moss

der Strauch, Sträucher - el arbusto - bush, shrub

das Laub - la fronda - foliage

Tiere - Los animales - Animals

der Fuchs, Füchse - el zorro - fox

das Eichhörnchen, Eichhörnchen - la ardilla - squirrel

der Dachs, Dachse - el tejón - badger

der Käfer, Käfer - el escarabajo - beetle

die Ameise, Ameisen - la hormiga - ant

die Spinne, Spinnen - la araña - spider

der Hirsch, Hirsche - el ciervo - stag

der Elch, Elche - el alce - moose, elk

das Reh, Rehe - el corzo - deer

das Wildschwein, Wildschweine - el jabalí - boar

das Kaninchen, Kaninchen - el conejo - rabbit

der Hase, Hasen - la liebre - hare

der Wolf, Wölfe - el lobo - wolf

der Vogel, Vögel - el ave (f), el pájaro - bird

die Eule, Eulen - la lechuza - owl

der Specht, Spechte - el pájaro carpintero - woodpecker

der Fink, Finken - el pinzón - finch

das Rotkehlchen, Rotkehlchen - el petirrojo - robin

die Meise, Meisen - el paro - titmouse

Happy holidays ヾ(＠⌒ー⌒＠)ノ

[pearls-langs]

Merry Christmas!

this is my secret santa gift for @lipwigliest !! :D @langblrsecretsanta I hope you like it :)

You said that you'd like a few recommendations. Unfortunately for the first part, it's been a long, looong while since I actively watched anything from the German side of youtube... BUT I spent some time looking up/remembering a few channels you might enjoy!

           Youtube

MarmeladenOma (This channel belongs to a lovely grandmother who reads fairy tales and tells stories from her life. She also livestreams!)

I’mJette (She’s an artist who does all kinds of creative stuff.)

coldmirror (Our German Queen of Youtube who has achieved the status of an absolute classic. She’s also made an animated parody series of Star Trek)

and because you said you liked gaming (but I don’t know anything about that..) here’s a video about someone’s top 5 German gaming channels

                      Music

and here are fifteen different German songs

Mark Forster - Sowieso / Namika - Lieblingsmensch / Revolverheld - Lass Uns Gehen / Glasperlenspiel - Geiles Leben / Alligatoah - Wie Zuhause / Roger Cicero - Frauen Regieren Die Welt / AnnenMayKantereit - Barfuß am Klavier / Kraftklub - Ich will nicht nach Berlin / Peter Fox - Haus am See / Tim Bendzko - Nur Noch Kurz Die Welt Retten / Frida Gold - Wovon Sollen Wir Träumen / Christina Stürmer - Immer An Euch Geglaubt / Wir Sind Helden - Nur Ein Wort

and because it fits so well: a song about wood!! (christmas edition)

           Books/Movies

I’ll start with a few authors:

Cornelia Funke (I love the Tintenwelt-Trilogie with all my heart, although I desperately need to re-read the series because I’ve forgotten so much)

Andreas Eschbach (primarily sci-fi. I adored the Out-Series)

Ursula Poznanski (similar to Eschbach, she uses a lot of Sci-Fi elements)

Kerstin Gier (She wrote the YA Edelstein-Trilogie about time travel)

Kai Meyer (Fantasy, I liked his Die Seiten der Welt)

and movies:

Fack Ju Göthe (A comedy)

Die Welle

because at this point I realize I know absolutely nothing not nearly enough about German movies (which is a bit embarassing, I admit..) I’ll include a list with 55 German movies

Ich wünsche dir frohe Weihnachten und einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr! Hoffentlich hat dir mein Geschenk gefallen! And if you have any questions, feel free to message me :)

[azaharperezoso]

Arabic in Spanish and Portuguese

Hi, @unicorns-eat-pizza! I’m your substitute Secret Santa! I’m sorry you have to wait so long for your present, but I hope you like it! <3

A big thank you to @langblrsecretsanta for this!

As you said you are interested in the connection between Portuguese, Spanish and Arabic I thought of making a list of Spanish and Portuguese words which origin is an Arabic word. In the list I put the Spanish and Portuguese words and then the Arabic word they come from.

Spanish - Portuguese - Arabic

aceite - azeite -  azzáyt  

alcohol - álcool -  kuḥúl

almohada - almofada - al-mukhaddâ

alfombra  - alfombra -  alḥánbal

ajedrez - xadrez -  aššaṭranǧ

asesino - assassino -  ḥaššāšīn

arroz - arroz -  arráwz

azafrán - açafrão -  azza‘farán

azúcar - açúcar - as-sukkar

azulejo - azulejo -  azzuláyǧ[a]

cero - zero -  ṣífr

guitarra - guitarra -  qīṯārah

jarabe - xarope -  šaráb

jarra - jarra -  ǧárra

jinete - ginete -  zanáti

limón - limão -  laymūn

naranja - laranja -  naranǧa

ojalá - oxalá (from Spanish) -  law šá lláh

tarea - tarefa -  ṭaríḥa

zanahoria - cenoura -  safunnárya

The English translation of the words is under the cut.

It’s very interesting to see the relationship between English and Arabic too!

aceite - oil

alcohol - alcohol

almohada - pillow

alfombra  - carpet

ajedrez - chess

asesino - killer (but you have the word assassin too!)

arroz - rice

azafrán - saffron

azúcar - sugar

azulejo - tile

cero - zero

guitarra - guitar

jarabe - syrup

jarra - jar

jinete - horseman/horsewoman

limón - lemon

naranja - orange

ojalá - I hope

tarea - job/task/work

zanahoria - carrot

Pictures: 

La Alhambra taken from: https://www.alhambra.org/

Silves Castle taken from: https://www.algarvetips.com/cities/silves/

[lioncubstudies]

Langblr Secret Santa 2018

Happy Holidays @mikamarguerite ~~ I hope you had a nice celebration in company of your loved ones. Here is your gift for this year’s @langblrsecretsanta :)

Since one of your languages of interest is Spanish and you mentioned that you like to listen songs from various origins, I thought about putting together a little list with songs by chilean musicians. Some modern, others somewhat older. I hope you enjoy them.

Quédate un ratito más by Javiera Mena

Adivinanzas by Deplasticoverde

Llueve sobre la ciudad by Los Bunkers

Shock by Ana Tijoux

Cómo puedes vivir contigo mismo by Alex Anwandter

Hablar de ti by Gepe

El Beso by Mon Laferte

Simetría by Ases Falsos

Un café para Platón by Fernando Ubiergo (Do Remix ver.)

La señora interesante by Cucky (31 Minutos)

Maldito Amor by Supernova

Todos Juntos by Los Jaivas

Despedida by El cómodo silencio de los que hablan poco

Ya no se trata de ti by Francisca Valenzuela

Con tu cuerpo el huracán by Prehistöricos

Querida Rosa by Camila Gallardo

Caen las Hojas by We Are The Grand

Hoy by Nicole

Quédate by De Saloon

Cae y Calla by Camila Moreno

That’s it! I hope you enjoyed this.

Bonus: This year I discovered City Girl’s music, and it has been my favorite to listen during my study sessions~

[finnishfun]

Langblr Secret Santa 2018

Hi @catsandpens and Merry Christmas! I hope you like this small post for this year’s @langblrsecretsanta where I collected my favourite random things about Swedish and Finnish Christmas, as I see we share these languages! You probably know some of these already but I hope you find something new too :)

My favourite fun fact about Swedish Christmas is the Gävlebocken, you can watch a video about it here:

The most popular Christmas candy in Sweden is polkagris (middle picture in the bottom row), a kind of candy cane, available in many shapes and flavours.

In Finland, there are many types of Christmas cakes, for example gingerbread cookies and joulutorttu (bottom left picture).

Joulupukki, the Finnish Santa Claus is of course very popular, he even has his own Youtube channel with interesting videos in multiple languages. You can learn Finnish with him too.

Who else can tell you best about Finnish Christmas traditions than Kirikou (if you don’t know him yet, check out his Youtube channel!)

And finally, two Swedish movie recommendations for the holidays:

I couldn’t find a trailer for this one, so I’ll put a funny clip here:

Hope you enjoyed and have a great holiday season!

[languagesandstuff]

Merry Christmas from your @langblrsecretsanta​, @malteseboy​! 🎅 Here’s a Turkish culture moodboard and vocabulary list related to the topics you’re interested in. I hope you like it! ❤️🎁

turkish vocabulary list

travel -  yolculuk to travel - yolculuk etmek journey - seyahat baggage - bagaj suitcase - valiz passport - pasaport visa - vize ID card - kimlik ticket - bilet airplane - uçak airport - havalimanı train - tren bus - otobüs bus stop - durak / otobüs durağı taxi - taksi ferry - feribot / (arabalı) vapur boat - tekne port - liman cruisehotel - otel hostel - pansiyon booking - rezervasyon to book - ayırtmak to exchange currency - döviz bozmak Where’s …? - ..... nerede? I’ve lost my passport - Pasaportum gözden kaçırdım   How much does a ticket cost? - Bilet ne kadar? Have a good journey! - İyi yolculuklar! What does/do .... mean? - ..... ne demek? culture - kültür art - sanat painting - resim to paint - boyamak sculpture - heykel music - müzik tradition - gelenek custom - töre folklore - halk bilimi / folklor folk costume - halk giysisi religion - din history - tarih

none of the photos are mine

[lingdragon]

Italy & Anime

Yep, it’s a thing :) So in this post I’ve put all the links and descriptions I could find. Happy Holidays to @foxlanguages​! :) 

Anime with Italy-inspired characters

Marco (Tremila miglia alla ricerca della mamma - trasmesso in Italia anche con il titolo Marco - Dagli Appennini alle Ande), è un anime prodotto negli anni settanta da Nippon Animation, da Taurus Film e da Fuji Television, ispirato al racconto Dagli Appennini alle Ande di Edmondo De Amicis.

Marco Rossi è un ragazzino genovese la cui madre, Anna, è costretta a emigrare in Argentina per lavoro mentre il padre Pietro rimane a casa a gestire la clinica medica per poveri che finalmente è riuscito ad aprire con tanti sacrifici. Marco sente la mancanza della madre col tempo sopporta sempre meno il fatto che il padre e il fratello maggiore Tonio prendano decisioni importanti senza prima parlargliene. Lentamente la conflittualità tra padre e figlio aumenta, l'uomo che vede Marco ancora come un bambino e non comprende che sta crescendo, Marco che inconsciamente disprezza il padre per non essere andato lui in Argentina al posto della madre. (x)

Gunslinger Girl è un manga scritto e disegnato da Yu Aida dal 2002 al 2012. Dai primi due volumi è stato tratto una serie televisiva anime di tredici episodi, diretto nel 2003 da Morio Asaka. Una seconda serie, intitolata allo stesso modo ma con il sottotitolo Il Teatrino è stata diretta da Rei Mano nel 2008, e si basa su alcuni degli eventi presenti nei volumi tre, quattro e cinque del manga.

In un imprecisato futuro, l'Italia è preda di attentati terroristici realizzati dal Movimento delle Cinque Repubbliche, un movimento indipendentista del Nord. Per fronteggiare il crimine e il terrorismo sempre più dilagante, lo Stato ha creato l'Ente Pubblico per il Benessere Sociale, un'organizzazione governativa facente parte della rete italiana di intelligence ed antiterrorismo. Alla luce del sole, però, agisce solo come una società per la salvaguardia del bene pubblico, salvando vite e riabilitando bambini e bambine vittime di abusi. Infatti, mentre la "Sezione 1" utilizza soltanto uomini e donne, la "Sezione 2" impiega giovani bambine, vittime di atroci violenze, di malattie o incidenti invalidanti, trasformandole in cyborg micidiali. Le bambine vengono chiamate dagli adulti "marionette". (x)

Tutor Hitman Reborn!  è uno shōnen manga scritto e illustrato da Akira Amano da cui è stato tratto anche un anime. Dal 7 ottobre 2006 al 25 settembre 2010 viene trasmesso in 203 episodi l'omonimo anime creato dalla Artland. 

Tsunayoshi "Tsuna" Sawada è un ragazzo imbranato e scansafatiche che non ha amici, un fallimento sia nello studio che nello sport; frequenta le medie Namimori e vive solo con sua madre, dato che il padre lavora all'estero per guadagnare di più e torna a casa solamente ogni due anni. L'unico motivo per cui continua ad andare a scuola è per vedere il sorriso della ragazza per cui si è preso una cotta, Kyoko Sasagawa, la più popolare della Namimori, che per giunta è nella sua stessa classe. La sua vita monotona e noiosa viene interrotta dall'arrivo di Reborn, un bambino di soltanto un anno, che si presenta come insegnante privato, ma in realtà è un abilissimo sicario della famiglia mafiosa Vongola giunto dall'Italia. L'obiettivo di Reborn è di addestrare Tsuna e fare di lui il degno successore dell'attuale boss della famiglia Vongola, avendo quest'ultimo legami di sangue con l'attuale IX boss, Timoteo, il quale ritiene Tsuna il più adatto per tale ruolo. (x)

La storia della Arcana Famiglia è una visual novel giapponese sviluppata dalla HuneX e pubblicata dalla Comfort il 27 ottobre 2011 per PlayStation Portable. Il videogioco è stato adattato in una serie televisiva anime dallo stesso nome, trasmessa a partire dal 1 luglio 2012 fino al 16 settembre dello stesso anno.

L'anime, tratto da un videogioco, narra la storia dell'Arcana Famiglia, un'organizzazione che possiede misteriosi poteri, impiegati al fine di proteggere dai pirati una piccola isola del Mediterraneo chiamata 'Regalo', oltre che dalle invasioni straniere e da ogni sorta di altra inaspettata minaccia. La Famiglia è composta da giovani che hanno fatto una sorta di contratto o patto con una delle carte dei Tarocchi chiamate Arcani maggiori e, a seguito della carta scelta come protettrice han ricevuto da essa certe speciali abilità. Alla sua festa di compleanno il capofamiglia, colui che viene chiamato anche "Papà", ha deciso che è giunta per lui l'ora di andare in pensione; per decidere chi sarà più degno a succedergli nella carica indice una competizione aperta a tutti i membri e che si svolgerà fra due mesi: al vincitore verrà inoltre data in moglie la sua unica figlia, Felicità, e potrà farsi esaudire un desiderio. Ma la stessa Felicità, che non è affatto d'accordo sul fatto di doversi sposare forzatamente, combatterà nella competizione per poter aver la possibilità di scegliere liberamente la propria strada. Verrà affiancata nell'impresa dai coetanei amici e colleghi, nonché innamorati, Nova e Libertà. (x)

Campione! è una serie di light novel giapponesi ambientata fra l'Italia, gli USA e il Giappone, scritta da Jō Taketsuki ed illustrata da Sikorsky. La serie è stata adattata in un manga nel 2011 ed in una serie televisiva anime nel 2012.

Godō Kusanagi è uno studente di sedici anni, che all'età di quindici anni ha ucciso la divinità persiana "Verethragna" ed ha assunto il titolo "Campione" (lett. Assassino di dèi). Erica Blandelli è una ragazza italiana di sedici anni, "Gran Cavaliere" della società magica della "Nera Croce Ramata" e ha combattuto insieme a Godo nella lotta contro Verethragna. Godo non ama combattere, ma il titolo di "Campione" lo costringe ad accettare le sfide che gli vengono lanciate da qualunque altro Campione o da qualunque altra divinità vendicativa. (x)

Hetalia: Axis Powers è un webcomic giapponese, successivamente adattato in un manga e una serie televisiva anime, da Hidekaz Himaruya. La presentazione principale della serie è un'allegoria esagerata degli eventi politici e storici e di confronti culturali in generale. I personaggi sono personificazioni di paesi, Hong Kong e micronazioni, con stereotipi culturali sia positivi sia negativi. (x)

Bonus

⇨ Anime openings in Italian, some with lyrics in descriptions

⇨ MangaAnimeSekai | GianluSora & Saber (Italian anime reviews channel)

⇨ Arkantos (Italian anime reviews channel)

⇨ Informations about Studio Ghibli films, with links to trailers (all in Italian)

⇨ Italian blogs about anime: nippop, AnimeClick, ROBA DA OTAKU

⇨ Davide Sasso‘s Instagram with photos inspired by anime

This post is a part of @langblrsecretsanta​ 2018 exchange :)

[hemlocks-deserve-better]

Hokkaido Culture and History

Hi Maddy! Since you said you’re particularly interested in the Hokkaido region, I thought I’d make a post about various parts of Hokkaido culture! I don’t speak a word of Japanese, so trying to assemble the Japanese language parts of this was a really interesting and enjoyable challenge. I hope the Japanese web pages and videos are all okay! 

First, the soundtrack for this post: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekN8fqU9zY4

This is music of the Ainu people, a group indigenous to the Northern Japan region. Here’s a really cool website for learning more about their traditional lifestyle (English), oral literature (English), and religion (English).

The Ainu descended in part from the Jomon people (English), a prehistoric hunter-gatherer culture that began around 13,000 B.C. and continued for approximately 10,000 years -- thought to be the longest-lasting continuous culture in the world! (English) This brochure has a really great overview of more of Hokkaido’s history.

Food is a vital part of any culture. Hokkaido has a large variety of specialties, and is the main producer of Japan’s dairy products! Because of this, Hokkaido is known for ice cream, especially delicious soft serve. However, it has some fantastic savory dishes as well: here’s a video to help you make one type of Hokkaido ramen at home!

Hokkaido also has a written literary tradition (English). Takeo Arishima (有島 武郎) is known as the “father of Hokkaido literature.” Here’s a link to read a children’s story he wrote in Japanese, and here’s a translation of the story!

Finally, you said that you’re interested in art as well, so below is a mini-gallery of Hokkaido art, with links to learn more about the artists.

Have a wonderful Christmas, and a happy and healthy start in the New Year! よいお年を！

Eien Iwahashi (岩橋英遠) was a significant artist of the Nihonga movement during the Showa era, who “depicted the harsh nature of Hokkaido with a melancholy touch.”

「秋韻」（1987年）

「蝕」（1959年） 

Tamako Kataoka (片岡球子) was another Nihonga painter contemporary with Eien Iwahashi, known especially for her bold, bright paintings of Mount Fuji.

「早春の赤富士」 (2008年)

「面构 葛饰北斋」(1971年)

「面构 浮世绘师歌川国芳与浮世绘研究家铃木重三」(1988年)

Hōshun Yamaguchi (山口蓬春) was an earlier Nihonga painter, who was commissioned to paint a piece for the Tokyo Imperial Palace.

「市場」　昭和7年(1932)

「北京風景」素描　昭和18年(1943)

「松原図」　昭和7年(1932)

@kawausolang

@langblrsecretsanta

[langblrsecretsanta]

It’s a wrap!

As far as I know, every active participant has now received a gift! If you haven’t seen yours, please try searching the tags for your username:

http://langblrsecretsanta.tumblr.com/tagged/username

If you still can’t find your gift, please message me!

Acknowledgements!

Many thanks to all of you for participating in the Langblr Secret Santa Event 2018! You’ve created many fantastic culture- and language-related posts, and I hope you had much fun doing the research and meeting other language learners :)

Special thanks and shoutout to the substitute Santas! @offisiellenorskblogg, @lmaolanguagesamiright, @not-actually-nordic, @studyingblush, @leda-japanesetime, @sneakend, @join-the-dutch-clan, @yeah-i-study-korean, @ylangue-ylangue, @languagesandshootingstars, @azaharperezoso, @tokumeino90, @teddylearnslanguages, @a-studying-hobbit, @herecomesthepolyglot, @cinnamonsstudy  -> you guys are amazing :D

Announcements!

I’m really sorry that not everything went smoothly and according to the schedule. The number of participants was much bigger than the year before, and it wasn’t easy to track everything and everybody. I tried my best to make sure that all the participants are treated fairly, and sometimes it recquired of me to act almost like some sort of law enforcement, which I hated, but didn’t see another way of doing it. So if any of you felt uncomfortable and pressed on by me - I’m really sorry. 

I think that this year’s schedule was spread out too much, and it caused several situations where someone signed up in October but deleted their tumblr account in December, or had some unexpected events in December which made the further participation in our exchange impossible. Such things happen, and I understand it. Therefore if we’re doing this next winter, I propose a tighter schedule:

signing up: 18 - 28 November 2019

sending out the assignments: 2 - 8 December 2019

working on your gifts: 9 December 2019 - 22 December 2019

posting your gifts: 22 - 29 December 2019

late-posting: 30 December 2019 - 5 January 2020

I hope that only active tumblr users will sign up then :)

So that’s it for now

Happy 2019 to Everybody! May this year be filled with love, kindness, growth, new friends, and time for learning and enjoying new languages and cultures!

Meg

PS. If you have any questions, suggestions, etc. - as always, feel free to contact me! :)

[jpn-langblr]

Merry Christmas, @a-studies-journey! I’m sorry I’m posting this so late; I really wanted to have your gift for @langblrsecretsanta ready earlier, but here it is:

‘Jingle Bells’ - in Danish, Japanese, and their English translations by me!

I noticed that not only is one of your target languages my native one (Danish), but we share Japanese as a target language, too! I picked this song because you very likely know the melody already, so you can concentrate on practicing singing the lyrics in a foreign language.

I hope you have had a delightful December c:

[daydreams-and-books]

Langblr Secret Santa Gift

Hello @gwendolynlerman! This is my @langblrsecretsanta gift for you. Happy holidays! I made a French vocabulary list themed around books, because you said you like reading. I hope you like it!

Verbs:

To read - lire

To turn a page -   tourner une page

To like/love - aimer 

To hold - tenir

To finish - finir

To start - commencer

To cry - pleurer  

To laugh - rire

To check out a book - consulter un livre Nouns: Book - le livre 

Novel - le roman

E-book - un livre électronique 

Paperback - un livre de poche

Hardcover - un livre à couverture rigide  

Prequel - une préquelle 

Sequel - une suite

Book series - une série de livres

Trilogy - une trilogie 

Chapter - le chapitre

Prologue - le prologue 

Epilogue - l’épilogue (m) 

Word - le mot 

Paragraph - un paragraphe

Quote - une citation 

Character - un personnage

Character development - le développement du caractère

Character Trait - un trait de caractère 

Main character - le personnage principal

Side character - un second rôle

Protagonist - le/la protagoniste

Villain - un méchant

Favorite character - le personnage préféré

Genre - le genre

Fiction - la fiction

Non-fiction - la non-fiction

Short story - la nouvelle/la petite histoire

Fantasy - le fantastique

Comedy - la comédie

Romance - la romance/le roman d’amour 

Mystery - le roman policier 

Thriller - un thriller/un roman à suspense 

Horror - d’horreur

Sci-fi - la science-fiction

Poetry - la poésie 

Fan fiction - la fanfiction

Story - l’histoire (f)

Title - le titre

Cover - la couverture

Summary - le résumé 

Writer/author - un écrivain

Librarian - le/la bibliothécaire

Library card - une carte de bibliothèque 

Library/bookshelf - une bibliothèque

Bookstore - une librairie 

Bookmark - un marque-page

Cliffhanger - un cliffhanger

Suspense - le suspense 

Scene - la scène 

Plot twist - un rebondissement/un renversement de situation