I only took one semester of Japanese in high school (at college level D:) and one semester of Spanish (I had to retake the class over again), but I reeeally like reading about languages. And other cultures.
Nov 2008 15
Dear Readers, Languages & Culture
(Now my mom is playing Christmas music over the stereo speakers. I guess I don’t feel so bad. ::listened to her Christmas playlist once yesterday::)
…is counting. Yup. In Japanese and Spanish, to go from one to ten, it’s ichi ni san yo go roku shichi/nana hachi kyuu juu and uno dos tres cuatro [...]
Oct 2008 08
“Juan!” Ana called sharply. “Listen to me. Obey Teresita, don’t go too close to the water and be back before the sun begins to set. You don’t want to meet La Llorona, do you?”
La Llorona (”lah yoh-ROHN-ah”) aka “The Weeping Woman.” Several variations of this legend exists throughout the Spanish-speaking world (and even in Kansas [...]
Jun 2008 17
First off, since we’re talking about languages: Two Chinese Characters: How to Pronounce Beijing. I remember several years ago coming across a web page somewhere, where the owner was put off by people pronouncing Beijing with a French j. I haven’t been able to find that page again, but I assumed he meant it’s actually [...]
Apr 2008 14
It’s about 90°F outside (or it feels like it) and both doors in the cafeteria are wide open. A poor little bird managed to fly in and is confused on how to get out. No one’s doing anything about it, I guess because no one knows how to tell it “Go through the [...]
