How To Pronounce Celtic Words And Names

I love languages. I loved learning them since I was little. Here are some quotes for the people who share the same passion as me. :)  Which one is your favourite?

❝If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.❞ -Nelson Mandela

❝One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.❞-Frank Smith

❝ Die Grenzen meiner Sprache bedeuten die Grenzen meiner Welt. ❞ The limits of my language are the limits of my world. -Ludwig Wittgenstein, German

❝Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can; there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.❞ -Sarah Caldwell

❝ Un vocabolario può contenere solo una piccola parte del patrimonio di una lingua.❞ A dictionary can embrace only a small part of the vast tapestry of a language. - Giacomo Leopardi,Italian

❝To have another language is to possess a second soul.❞ -Charlemagne

❝ یک زبان جدید یک زندگی جدید است. ❞ A new language is a new life. -Persian Proverb

❝ Wer fremde Sprachen nicht kennt, weiß nichts von seiner eigenen. ❞ Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German

❝You can never understand one language until you understand at least two.❞ -Geoffrey Willans

❝   学一门语言，就是多一个观察世界的窗户。❞ To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world.  -Chinese proverb

❝Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.❞ -Rita Mae Brown

❝ Kolik jazyků znáš, tolikrát jsi člověkem.❞ As many languages you know, as many times you are a human being. -Czech proverb

❝ If you want people to understand you, speak their language. ❞ -African Proverb 

❝ Bir dil bir insan, iki dil iki insan. ❞ One who speaks only one language is one person, but one who speaks two languages is two people.  -Turkish Proverb

❝ With languages, you are at home anywhere. ❞ - Edward De Waal

❝ Kolik jazyků znáš, tolikrát jsi člověkem. ❞ As many languages you know, as many times you are a human being  -Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Czech

❝ Learning a language is to understand other;to form connections ❞ -unknown

❝ Notitia linguarum est prima porta sapientiae ❞ Latin. Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom. - Roger Bacon 

❝ Change your language and you change your thoughts. ❞ -Karl Albrecht

❝ Скільки мов ти знаєш, стільки разів ти людина. ❞ How many languages you know, hat many times you are a person. - Pavlo Tychyn, Ukranian

…and don’t forget;

There are hundreds of languages in the world, but a smile speaks them all. -Unknown 

Isn’t it just plain hilarious when you read something in a foreign language and understand it then realise that you don’t even learn that language but you can decode the meaning based on your knowledge of other languages?

french vocab from the first half of my year abroad

I’m home for Christmas now, which means I’m back on Scottish soil with decent internet. It’s giving me a chance to reflect on my French and how much it has improved just in three months of living in France. So I thought I’d share some of the things that I learned from living in the Charente-Maritime: 

ah, bah, oui (expression) this seems to be the equivalent of ‘yeah but no’ when people have a false-start on a sentence. usually, i heard this in disagreements in my classroom when students were wanting to correct another student but couldn’t get the words out fast enough. i think it’s a hilarious thing to say and i’ve been trying to incorporate it into my way of speaking. 

en fait (expression) this literally means ‘in fact’ or ‘actually’, which i think can come off a little rude in english but is actually a common expression in french. french people i have encountered use ‘en fait’ to start sentences, to provide more information, to correct, basically just all the time! 

franchement (adverb) in english, i’m a big fan of using ‘tbh’ or ‘to be honest’, and this is the best french equivalent to that. it sounds so very french when it’s said and can mean ‘frankly’, ‘honestly’, ‘indisputably’ or ‘without hesitation’, depending on the context. 

rater (verb) i picked up this new verb when i was telling a class about how i failed my driving test. i knew that ‘rater’ can mean ‘to miss’, as in ‘i missed the train’, but one student turned to another and said that ‘elle a raté’ and it was explained to me that ‘rater’ can also mean ‘to fail’, or in my case ‘to mess up’ something. 

se tromper (verb) this verb means ‘to be mistaken’, and i definitely found myself saying ‘je me suis trompée’ a lot while I was just new to the country! 

une chocolatine (noun) I was living on the south-west coast of France in the Charente-Maritime region which means that I picked up some new and different ways of saying things. I was quickly informed by my students in the most sincere and serious way possible that the famous ‘pain au chocolat’ pastry does not exist in the Charente-Maritime and I was to ask for ‘une chocolatine’ at the local boulangerie instead. I now use both nouns interchangeably! 

hi! do you know any Norwegian phrases / words to call your significant other? :) my girlfriend loves Norwegian and I'd like to surprise her!

Hey there! c: Here’s a short list of common endearments!

As for common phrases, maybe something like:

“Jeg er glad i deg” - “I love you” (used towards friends, family, and also your significant other if your relationship is rather fresh or you’re both very young etc.)

“Jeg elsker deg” - “I love you” (only used towards your significant other if you’re in a pretty serious and long-lasting relationship - also occasionally used towards family, though I personally find this quite uncommon)

“Du er det vakreste jeg vet” - “You’re the most beautiful thing/person I know” (lit. “You’re the most beautiful I know”)

“Du er så pen/kjekk” - “You’re so pretty/handsome”

Though if there’s a specific phrase you want me to translate, shoot me another ask! c:

books, blankets & cozy sweaters : a summary of my winter so far.

die Politik - politics

die Wirtschaftspolitik - commercial/economic policy die Sozialpolitik - social/welfare policy die Sicherheitspolitik - security/military/defence policy die Außenpolitik - foreign policy die Innenpolitik - domestic policy

die Macht - power/force der Konflikt - conflict der Frieden - peace die Freiheit - freedom die Gleichheit - equality die Solidarität - solidarity

der Parlamentarismus - parliamentarism der Sozialismus - socialism der Kommunismus - communism der Faschismus - fascism

die Diktatur - dictatorship die Demokratie - democracy

der Staat - state/country die Regierung - government regieren - to govern der Bürger/die Bürgerin - citizen der Staatsbürger/die Staatsbürgerin - citizen (of a country) die Staatsbürgerschaft - citizenship (of a country) die (Landes)grenze - border

der Bürgermeister/die Bürgermeisterin - mayor die Botschaft - embassy der Botschafter/die Botschafterin - ambassador das Parlament - parliament

die Partei - political party die Koalition - coalition der Politiker/die Politikerin - politician

die Wahl - election der Wahlkreis - constituency der Wahlkampf - election campaign die Stimme - vote stimmen/wählen - to vote der Wähler/die Wählerin - voter die Wahlurne - ballot box das Stimmrecht - right to vote der Stimmzettel - ballot card das Wahlergebnis/der Wahlausgang - election result

reblog if you want your followers to tell you what vibe you give off based on your blog

I previously made a post about Russian Podcasts and German Podcasts. Here is one for French since I started the language.  Many you can find on  iTunes, on Android using Pocket Casts, or on their own websites/RSS feed. There are several more podcasts in French, but these should be enough for now.

Language Learning

Coffee Break French

FrenchPod101

French Your Way

Je French

Learn French with Alexa

Mot du Jour

One Minute French

Real Deal French

Spotify- Learn French

Survival French Phrases

Listening For Beginners-Intermediates

Cultivate Your French: Intermediate-Advanced.

Daily French Pod: Beginner-Advanced. Transcripts can be bought.

Easy French Poetry: Beginner-Int. Includes transcripts.

Français Authentique: Intermediate-Advanced. Includes transcripts.

French Podcasts: A2-B1. Includes transcripts.

Journal en français facile: Intermediate. Includes transcripts.

Learn French by Podcast: Beginner to Advanced. Includes transcripts and grammar lessons.

Native French Speech Podcast: Int.-Advanced. Transcripts can be bought.

News in Slow French: Beginner to Intermediate. Includes transcripts.

One Thing in a French Day: A2-B2. Includes transcripts.

The French Podcast: Beginner to Intermediate. Transcripts can be bought.

French Only

AnthroStory: Anthropology.

AppLoad: Gadgets and technology.

Bienvenue à Valnuit: French version of Welcome to Nightvale

La Conversation scientifique: Science.

Grosses Têtes: News & culture.

L’histoire du soir: Medieval literature.

LSD, La série documentaire: Culture & news.

Les Nouveaux chemins de la connaissance: Philosophy.

Les Pressés de l’Expression: Language and linguistics.

Parler Cuisine: Food and cooking.

Podcasts d'Europe: Culture, economics, politics.

Podcast Science: Science.

Poésie et ainsi de suite: Poetry

Positron: Music, film, TV.

Le RDV Jeux: Gaming.

Les Regardeurs: Art.

Rendez-Vous Avec X: History

Le rendez-vous Tech: Technology.

Le Salon noir: History.

Franceculture: Several podcasts can be found here and sorted by theme.

Franceinter: Website that hosts several more podcasts.

Francemusique: Website that has more podcasts.

a list of untranslatable words ☕️

cafuné - brazilian portuguese: the act of running one’s fingers, gently but deeply, through someone else’s hair 積ん読 (tsundoku) - japanese: the act of leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other such unread books 木漏れ日 (komorebi) - japanese: sunlight filtering through the trees mångata - swedish: the roadlike reflection of moonlight on water verklempt - yiddish: a person who is too emotional to speak liefdesverdriet - dutch: the heartache caused from an unrequited love and the mental pains one endures; the physical pain of depression fika - swedish/finnish: gathering together to talk and take a break from everyday routines, usually drinking coffee and eating pastries 幽玄 (yūgen) - japanese: an indescribable sentiment, can only be described as a painful awareness of the mysterious beauty and human suffering l'esprit de l'escalier - french: the moment one finally thinks of a witty remark, far too late, after the opportunity has passed kilig - tagalog: the feeling of butterflies in your stomach, usually when something romantic or cute takes place いるす (irusu) - japanese: pretending to be absent from home when someone is at the door habseligkeiten - german: personal belongings, small treasures and property, which define our happiness and sentiments nefelibata - portuguese: cloud walker; name given to the quixotic dreamers, they appear spacey, otherworldly, but intelligent σοφρωσύνη (sophrosyne) - greek: self-control, balance, wisdom & grace;virtue that follows the aphorisms “nothing in excess” & “know thyself" hiraeth - welsh: homesickness for a place which never even existed. Connotations of sadness, yearning, profound nostalgia and wistfulness torpe - tagalog: being too shy to pursue amorous desires waldeinsamkeit - german: the feeling of being alone in the woods litost - czech: the humiliated despair we feel when someone accidentally reminds us, trough their accomplishment, of our inadequacies dustsceawung - old english: contemplation of the fact that dust used to be other things - the walls of a city, a book, a great tree… duende - spanish: the spirit of evocation; the mysterious power a work of art has to deeply move a person gattara - italian: a woman, often old and lonely, who devotes herself to stray cats tоска - russian: a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause, a longing with nothing to long for, nostalgia φιλότιμο (philotimo) - greek: a complex array of virtues; expressed through acts of generosity & sacrifice w/o expecting anything in return  gezellig - dutch: abstract sensation of individual well-being that one shares with others;cozy ambience, anything pleasant, homely, friendly

The thing about being multi-lingual is that it’s not just that you have one language you think in, and then you translate based on what environment you’re in. It’s more like, when you’re speaking another language, you’re almost a different person. You’ve had different experiences speaking those languages and thinking in those languages; those experiences shape who you are in that language, in my experience. So when I’m speaking Japanese, I’m not just speaking Japanese. I’m also thinking and feeling in the Japanese person that I am, who is a little bit different. Well, not different, but stronger in personality in certain aspects more than others, I guess.

Mitski (“More Mitski, please” NUVO interview by Katherine Coplen)