Language Trainers Blog

Germany is not generally associated with comedy, but the BBC has teamed up with a German stand-up comedian to produce a series of short language videos called What’s so funny about German?.  Henning Wehn, “the German comedy ambassador to the United Kingdom”, takes learners of German through some basic points about his native language, with more than a few comedic examples and observations.  I learned that a Bodybag is not for cadavers, but is a backpack with one strap.  Check out the videos for more interesting German language points!

I stumbled across a learning resource for deaf students and learners of sign language, and an interesting section is the NZSL (New Zealand Sign Language) Signed Songs.  The page lists some traditional Maori and older pop songs, as well as a couple of Christmas ones.  Each song is presented in a  Flash format and has audio as well as video of a signer.

Just in time for Christmas, here’s James Townshend signing Santa Claus is Coming to Town.  Enjoy!

Once again, President Obama and his wife (sometimes dubbed Mobama) have led the way in terms of most-used words of this year.  They were only eclipsed by Twitter, and nearly by King of Pop Michael Jackson.  I guess it’s unsurprising that other top words of 2009 were H1N1 (or swine flu), and stimulus, but I am a bit sad that vampire came in at number 5.  I can only assume that it was related to the popularity of recent films from the Twilight franchise.

Click for the top words of 2009, and, if you’re interested, the top words of the decade (including Global Warming, 9/11, Obama).

I was sent a link to a typing test recently, and because of my competitive nature, decided to try it out.  I was pleasantly surprised by the simple test provided by 10-fast-fingers.com, not only because it was easy to use, but it uses simple, common words, and provides tests in 33 different languages, including such disparate languages as Malaysian, Serbian, and Korean, and even dialects like Galician.  The results tell you how many words you got correct, and incorrect, in 60 seconds, and you can easily post these to your website or favourite social networking site.

Even if you’re terrible at it the first few times, using this test in the language you’re learning can help with word recognition, as well as give you practice using an unfamiliar keyboard layout (e.g. for Turkish), or entirely different character input systems and scripts (e.g. Mandarin or Arabic).

I can type about 6 characters per minute (correctly) in Chinese.  Can you do better?

It may be a last resort to some people, but hand gestures and miming go a long way towards getting your point across.  Looking like a bit of a fool for a few seconds may save you a lot of time spent searching for vocabulary.  And you may not even look so silly; many people are ‘hand talkers’ and use gestures to go along with everyday speech.

Especially when you’re a beginner, and in a foreign country, gesturing and pointing can be a great help when you don’t know specific vocabulary.  I did have a friend who had to mime some unfortunate bodily functions at a hospital once, but hopefully your experience won’t be as traumatic.  If you’re lucky, the person you’re trying to communicate with will provide you with the vocabulary you need (”ah…tomato!”) once they finally understand your meaning.

If you need any other impetus to start moving your hands, this study has shown that gestures, languages and symbols are all processed in the same regions of the brain, and it may be a carry-over from before humans had speech.  So, waving your arms around could be considered more valid than speaking.  Just remember that some gestures aren’t always polite!

If you’re studying Chinese, are interested in the culture, or just want a new name in a new language, check out the Chinese Name Generator.  It takes your name and interests and generates a name based on the sounds of your name.

I put in my details and got 王文寜 (wáng wén níng), with wáng meaning ‘king’, wén to do with language and culture, and níng meaning ’serenity’.  Not bad, and kind of appropriate, especially for this blog!  If I hadn’t been given a Chinese name at birth, though, I think I would have called myself 问题 (wèn tí), which sounds kind of like my English name, and is also the noun ‘question’ (but also ‘problem’ and ‘trouble’!).

Of course, it’s always a good idea to check your proposed name with a native speaker.  As the site says:

This page is mostly created for entertainment. Real Chinese names should be chosen by someone who knows the nuances of Chinese language and culture. Ask a native speaker if you want a Chinese name you will actually use.

I’m pretty sure that Chinese people would find 问题 a ridiculous name, but I still enjoy the idea!  What’s your Chinese name?