Essential Aid To Language Learning

Of all the online translators available, I think the Google Translate is by far superior. I used the Yahoo Babel Fish all these days. To put it as mildly as possible - the translation stinks. You need numerous attempt to coax the desired result. And to think that I translated a 200 page document from German to English using Babel Fish! Some patience!

It was quite by accident that I hit upon Google Translate and I am mighty pleased. (Actually I feel quite dumb about it - this service has been in existence for some time now).

The translation is 'live' - the text get translated as you press "enter"(I find this aspect missing and terribly annoying in Babel Fish. After entering a text, you have to click on the translate button. At times nothing happens.)

Don't like the translation provided by Google? Go ahead and recommend a better translation.

Yet another good feature of the Google Translate is that it also displays a tiny dictionary that can be explored. You can also search the word in the web from a link.

A good test of a well translated text is to reverse the translation. Google Translate allows you to swap the languages at a click of a button.

And, oh yes, Hindi is one of the languages that you can translate into or from. This is yet another instance of Google coming in late into a domain and providing a better solution that all existing ones.

I think this is an invaluable tool in learning a language.

Now if only I could have a mobile version of this ...

Spanish Potatoes

My fascination for the connection between Spanish and Hindi continues (see here). At times the connection stuns me. I hope you also will be.

The word "ki" (कि) in Hindi is equivalent to the English "that". "He said that ..." is "woh bola ki..."
Guess what is equivalent of the Hindi "ki" in Spanish?
You guessed right! It is "Que" - pronounced "kay". "él dijo que ..."

Ok consider this now ... slightly complicated.

है (ha-ay), in Hindi, is difficult to explain and can mean "is" or "... is there". Example, "Is there anyone?" is " कोई है?" (Ko-ee ha-ay). The word for "is there" in Spanish is "hay", pronounced aa-ee.

I find such similarity amazing. It is easy to ascribe such similarities to Indo-European langauges (Sanskrit, Spanish, German, all belong to this group of languages.) However, Hindi did not evolve from Sanskrit. It evolved from Prakrit, like other dialects, such as Braj and Awadhi. But absorbed heavily from Sanskrit to become a standard version. So the basic structure still remains different from Sanskrit.

Thus, the word है does not have any equivalent in Sanskrit. But yet, has similar sounding word in Spanish. I wonder what the connection is?

The only other strange connection I can see is in an entirely different domain - culinary. There is hardly any day when potato does not form part of the North Indian meal. Potatoes were introduced to India by the Portuguese - who were, of course, once upon a time part of Spain. Spanish and Portuguese most definitely have got this from Peru and Chile. I do not know the exact mechanism of how Potato was made popular in India by the Portuguese but I find it very difficult to believe that it was merely a case of dumping a sackful of potatoes on an Indian door step.

So is there a connection? After all both - language and cuisine - are the subject of the tongue.

This post is merely a flight of imagination. I do not claim any scholarly knowledge on this subject. There are much more learned people than I in this domain. If you are one such and happen to read this blog, I will be obliged if you could throw some light on this.

Spanish and Hindi

All I know is German and Sanskrit are close relatives in the Indo-European group of languages. Spanish does not seem to be. But the more I listen to the audio lessons the more it is clear to me that there must be some link somewhere.

Now, what would you say if I say 'tu'. All Hindi speaking people will say that is the informal you (तू). Bingo! A Spanish speaking person would say the same; except they write it as 'tú'. And amazingly the pronunciation is identical - yes with a soft 't'.

Alright, here are a few more:

'pagar' in Spanish is 'to pay'. Guess what it means to Hindi speaking people? To them 'pagar' (पगार) is salary. The pronunciation is identical(=pagaar)

'pero' (=pay-row) in Spanish is similar to पर (=purr) in Hindi (meaning 'but')
'que' (=kay) in Spanish is similar to क्या (=kya) in Hindi (meaning 'what')

Now, this could be coincidence. In any case, I will dig deeper and report soon.

Making Devanagri Script Universal

As I learn new European languages, I can't help but feel amazed by the ancient wisdom of the creators of the Devanagri script. I am fairly certain that most European languages had their own script before turning to Roman script. Otherwise there is no reason to use same alphabet to generate different sounds.

Take 'j' for instance.
It is pronounced 'j' (as in jacket) in English, pronounced 'ya' in German and 'kh' in Spanish.
In Devanagri script, there are different alphabets for each of the above sounds. (ज, य, ख)

What about 'a'?
Both Spanish and German the 'a' is stretched and pronounced with lips open and relaxed, almost 'aah', like in father. In English, apart from a few exceptions, like father, 'a' is pronounced 'ay'.

In Devanagri script you can distinguish the two sounds, अ and आ.

Then there is the soft 't' and the hard 't'. The soft 't' is pronounced with the tongue between teeth like the Spanish do. In English it is always the hard 't'. In Devanagri script you have a त (soft 't') and a ट (hard 't').

These are a few illustrations. I could go on and on.
The advantage of the Devanagri script therefore is that you get read what you write.

Shouldn't the Devanagri script be made the universal script?
This could be India's second gift to the world - the number system being the first.

A language without pronouns

Every language has some unique features that strikes to you odd at first, but then once you get used to it, makes lot of sense. Take Spanish, for instance. It is took me a while to get used to almost complete absence of the pronouns: I, you and we. Since the verb form changes with the personal pronoun, one can easily understand who the text is referring to.

For example,

tengo - (I) have
tiene - (you) have
tenemos - (we) have

Efficient, isn't it?

I wonder why German that has similar verb form did not go the same way. Is it because Germans prefer order? Perhaps. It is definitely worth exploring the relation between general characteristics of a nation and the language.

Well, I guess that's the way a language evolves. It grows naturally. No wonder why artificial language like Esperanto could not grow into a world language despite numerous attempts in the past.

You can thrust a language on anyone.

Why am I learning Spanish?

Why am I learning Spanish?
In one sentence, I think I have a nut loose up there.
But it is amazing how things work out.

There is a sweet lady in Bangalore who runs a book shop called Strand.
She has Strand Book Festival every December.
I regularly visit this annual affair.
I go just to browse and end up buying a bunch of books.
That is the purpose of the book festival min any case.

About 4 years ago, my wife and I were browsing books in the Strand Book Festival when I came across two tiny packets, one called Learn French and the other called Learn German. My wife always wanted to learn French. SO she encouraged me to buy both. The packet consisted of a tiny booklet and a small-length cassette consisting of assorted phrases. I started learning French and I found it exceedingly difficult. I mean, after all, one cannot start learning a foreign language by just listening to some random phrases, can they? And one fine morning I misplaced the French lessons. I search and search but no, it was nowhere to be found. So I picked up the German packet and to my surprise I could pick up a few words straight away. One thing led to another and today I have a passable command (an oxymoron, I suppose, "passable command") on that language.

What aided in my learning was that shortly after I started learning German, I visited Germany. The company I work for got its first German customer. I visited Germany many times thereafter.

I am hoping the same with Spanish :D
Now that I have started on Spanish - Madrid, Barcelona, Lima, Beunos Aires, and most importantly, Machu Picchu, here I come.

Let's Learn German Together - Lesson 13

At the Hotel Atlantic.

The hotel is bang opposite the Bremen Airport. Your car waits for the tram to pass and stops in front of the hotel. You enter the building lobby. The hotel is to your left through the lobby.

At the reception, you find a smart gentleman, greeting you with a ...

Receptionist: "Guten Tag! Willkommen im Hotel Atlantic." (Good day! Welcome to Hotal Atlantic. Gooten Takh.Wil-com-men eem ho-tail Atlaantic.)
You: "Guten Tag! Ich heiße Rahul X. Ich habe eine reservierung." (Good Day.My name is Rahul X. I have a reservation. Gooten Takh. Issh hye-say Rahul X. Ish haabay eye-ney reser-veer-ung.))

I had to use some name! I know that Shah Rukh Khan is extremely popular in Germany. Hence Rahul :-)

R: "Ja! Herr X. Von heute bis Freitag." (Yes. My. X. From today till Friday. Ya. Hair X. Fon hoy-tay bis Fry-takh)
You: "Das ist Korrect. Was kostet das Zimmer?" (That is correct. How much does the room cost? Dass isst co-rect. Wass cost-et dass tsimmer?)
R: "Neunzig Euro pro Nacht. Mit Bad und Frühstück." (90 Euros per night. Includes bath and breakfast. Noyn-tsish Oy-row pro naakht. Mit baad oont frueh-stook.)
You: "Danke." (Thank you. Daankay)

The receptionist gives you a form to fill.

You fill up the following ...

Vorname
Familie Name
Addresse
Staat
Pass Nummer
Unterschrift
First Name
Surname
Address
Country
Passport Number
Signature

R: "Zimmernummer einhundertdreizehn." (Room number 113. Tsimmer nummer eyen-hundert-dry-tsen)
You: "Danke!" (Thank you. Daankay)
R: "Bitte!" (You are welcome. Bittay)

Interesting Points:

1) The receptionist called you by your surname. This is normal in Germany and considered polite.
2) Generally, rooms come with a bath or a shower. But it is better to ask. Breakfast is usually included. Hotel Atlantic has a restaurant at the top of the building.
3) Note the tendency to form bigger words. All numbers are merged to form one big word. (More on bigger number in my next lesson.)
4) Joined words take the gender of the last word. Thus, Zimmer is a neuter word where as Nummer is of feminine gender. Therefore, the word Zimmernummer will be feminine. das Zimmer, die Nummer, therefore, die Zimmernummer.

Exercise:
Translate the following:

a) I would like a room with a bath. (check out the previous lessons for the German word for "would like")
b) I need breakfast. (check out previous lessons for the German word for "need")
c) What is your surname?
d) Where do you come from? (see previous lessons)

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To see all the german lessons on one page click here =>

Let's Learn German Together - Lesson 12

German stations are like shopping malls. The platform itself does not have much life - unlike Indian platforms, which at any given time of the day is bristling with vivacity. But once you come down to the main concourse, you can see all sorts of establishments and shops - selling insurance, books, magazines, food, meat (meat?), and in some cases fur-covered handcuffs (hmm...)

***

You get down at the Bremen station. It is now evening. You drag your luggage to the help desk.

You: "Entschuldigen Sie!" (Excuse me! Ent-shool-dig-en zee!)

The person at the help desk has buried her head deep into a novel. She raises her head ... where was she all your life? ... Such angelic beauty ...

She: "Wie kann ich für Sie tun?" (What can I do for you? V cann ish fuer zee toon?)

Wake up!

You: "Wie komme ich zum Hotel Atlanta?" (How can I go to hotel Atlanta? V commay ish tsum Ho-tail Aatlaanta?)

She: (with a smile - oh! what a smile) "Dort drüben sind die S-bahn. Die nummer elf geht zum Hotel Atlanta. Oder, Sie kann das Taxi nehmen. Gehen Sie links, dann geradeaus und dann rechts. Die Taxis steht dort.  Das Hotel ist gegenüber der Flughafen."

(Over there are the trams. The number 11 goes to the hotal Atlanta. Or, you can take the taxi. Go to your left, then straight on and then right. The taxis are there. The hotel is opposite the Airport. Dort drue-ben zint dee s-baan. Dee nummer elf gay-t tsum Ho-tail Aatlaanta. Oder, zee cann dass taaxi nay-men. Gay-hen zee links, dann geraadaa-aus oont dann rekhts. Dee taaxis stay-t dort. Dass ho-tail ist gaygen-uber dair fluk-haafen.)

You: "Danke sehr." (Thank you very much. Daankay zay-r)

She: "Bitte sehr." (You are welcome. Bittay zay-r)

And she dives right back into whatever she was reading. You wish you had something else to ask.

You do not feel like taking the tram after a long, tiring journey. You go to the taxi rank and go to the hotel.

Interesting Points

1) To ask where to go somewhere, the Germans always ask how do I come there. Wie komme ich ...

2) Links = left; Rechts = right. Easy to remember (l, r).

Exercise

Instead of attempting something new, why don't you revisit all the previous classes? It is always good to revise. 

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To see all the german lessons on one page click here =>

Let's Learn German Together - Lesson 11

This is perhaps my last post this year. Unless something else comes to my mind by mid-night.
So, here's wishing all my subscribers and readers

A VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR

****

You are now on the Train to Bremen. The train is more or less packed. The seat next to you is vacant. An elderly man comes up to you and says:

He: "Ist das frei?" (Is that free? Isst dass fry?)
You: "Ja!" (Yes. Ya)

He: "Danke." (Thank you. Daankay)
You: "Bitte." (You are welcome. Bittay)

You will get used to this "danke", "bitte" routine.

You smile at each other politely and ...

He: "Wohin fahren Sie? Nach Bremen?" (Where are you going? To Bremen? Vo-hin faah-ren zee? Naakh Bray-men?)

You: "Ja bitte." (Yes please. Ya Bittay.)

He: "Woher kommen Sie?" (Where are you coming from? vo-hair commen zee?)
You: "Aus Indien." (From India. aaos Indi-en)

He: "Aah! Indien. Sind Sie hier in Urlaub?" (Aah! Are you here on holiday? Zint zee here in uur-laaup)

You: "Nein! Geschäftlich." (No. On business. Nine! Gay-shaeft-lish)

He: "Ach so! Was sind Sie von Beruf?" (I see. Was are you by profession? Aakh zo! Wass zint zee fon bay-roof?)

You: "Ich bin Ingineur." (I am an engineer. Issh bin in-gin-ear)

He: "Ist dieses Ihr erste Mal?" (Is this your first time? Isst dee-zes eahr air-st maal?)
You: "Nein! Ich komme nach Deutschland oft. Aber, ich kenne Bremen nicht." (No. I come to Germany often. But, I am not familiar with Bremen.)

He: "Ach so! Bremen ist sehr schön. Kennen Sie die Bremen-Straßensänger? Sie sind noch da." (I see. Bremen is very beautiful. Do you know the Bremen Street Singers? They are there. Aakh zo. Bray-men isst zay-er schoen. Kay-nen zee dee Bray-men-straasen-saynger? Zee zint noch daa.)

You: "Ich besuche sie bestimmt." (I will definitely see them.)

When you have someone to talk to the distance to your destination grows shorter. Even if it is an old man who asks lots of questions?

He: "Wo wohnen Sie?" (Where do you stay? Vo vohnen zee?)
You: "In Bangalore."

He: "Ach so! Software!"
You: "Ja!"

He: "Wie lange bleiben Sie in Bremen?"
You: "Nur drei Tage."

And thus talking to the old gentleman you suddenly realize you are in Bremen.

Interesting Points

1. By now you know that "bitte" can be used just about anywhere. When in doubt use it.

2. "fahren" means "to drive". However, it is used by Germans for a drive, train ride, to ski, cycle ride, to go somewhere, etc.

3. "kennen" and "wissen" both mean "to know". However, the way they are used is different. I find easiest to remember "kennen" as "acquainted with" in  a loose form. "wissen" goes with "I am aware."

For example,

Q: Do you know Germany is a big country?
A: Ich weiß. I am aware or I know.

Q: Do you know that place well?
A: Ich kenne. I am acquainted with that place.

4. "b" at the end of a word is always pronounced "p"

5. You must have heard of the Bremen Street Singers. Here is a photo.

6. "wo" means "where". "wohin" means "where from." "woher" means "where to".

Exercise

Translate:

a) Are you on business?
b) Where are you going?
c) Where do you come from?
d) Do you know Mr. X?
e) Do you know that ...?

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To see all the german lessons on one page click here =>

Wake Your Mind Up

Didn't you always want to become a genius? Without trying, of course! Wouldn't you like to achieve more in less time? Resolve difficult problems at one glance? I always wanted to do this. Imagine walking into a room full of people struggling with a tough issue. You have a glance at the flip charts, shrug, offer a solution and walk out leaving everyone flabbergasted. Now that would be something! Such 'wow' moments have been few and far between. But I never stopped dreaming.

I am not alone in my thinking though - the market is flooded with how-to-think-like-a-genius type self-development books. I have always tried to avoid such books. I have always viewed them with suspicion. If only becoming a genius was that easy ...

But I have two. One is How To Think Like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael J. Gelb. I have blogged on this before. Here. Not sure whether this helped me or not, but the only reason I am learning German is this book. (You need to read the book to find the connection - though it is very obvious).

Some time ago I succumbed to another book. It was the title that caught my attention. The Mind Gym: Wake Your Mind Up. I must have purchased this book about a year ago and only today managed to force myself to read it. It lay untouched all these months. The book comes with a free membership to the mind gym website.

Will let you know as the days progress if this book helps me use my brain in new ways. You can check it out as well.

Wish me luck!

If you liked this blog, why don't you stay back a bit and read my other blogs discussing books that buy. Here.

Free Resources For Learning German

An established way to learn German (or for that matter any language) is to listen to the language as spoken in native tongue. Spoken language however, normally, comes at a cost. Either one stays in Germany or other German speaking countries, or buy expensive German Learning Courses. Among the German Learning Courses I found Rocket German the best for gaining initial confidence. It is also the least expensive of all other similar course.

However, after spending a considerable sum of money in buying books, CD's and German courses, I recently chanced upon this huge pool of free resources that is available on Internet. My earlier Google searches on German Language had not thrown up this site.

As it happens, Deutsche Welle has some fantastic German courses - all available for free. The material is very effectively designed (with the help of Goethe Institute in some cases) and can hold your interest for a long time - which helps when you are learning a foreign language. The language courses are graded and so one could pick up from the level one is comfortable with.

For example, the language course that goes by name of "Deutsche, warum nicht" is a set of four courses with increasing difficulty and contains upward of 1200 hours of recorded material. "Mission Berlin" is a gem of a language course. (There is also Mission Paris and Misja Krakow - for those who wish to learn (preliminary) French and Polish). The course is presented as a fast paced computer game. Check this out too.

And there is a lot more to explore.

Yet another method of learning German is to get a German sentence everyday by e-mail. You have the whole day to memorize the sentence. I find this very helpful. Check out http://www.german-flashcards.com. I found this site good to boost my vocabulary. The primary membership is free where you get to learn words and sentences on flashcards. Just spend 10 minutes a day to improve your vocabulary. Very effective. The premium membership helps you with the pronunciation too.

The book that I most refer to for brushing up and clearing doubts is Teach Yourself German. I would strong recommend this.

And finally my own home-grown method. I discovered this only last month when I was in Germany and browsing through a book shop. I wonder why it didn't strike me before. If you are into Tintin comics, then buy these comics in German (or in the language you are learning). You will learn the language faster and enjoy it all the more. By the way, Tintin is known as Tim und Struppi (Struppi = Snowy) in the German version.

Note: The photograph used belongs to Dale Eurenius. Please go here to see more such photographs.