Mango Languages

Twitter > Textbooks: why social media is tres/muy/molto useful for language learning.

Twitter recently announced the release of the social networking site in 5 new languages bringing the total number of available languages to 17. As a student of French and an avid social media user, this news made me stop and think about the many ways in which social media (Twitter specifically) has shaped my language learning.

Since I first created a Twitter account, I began following French speakers who were influential in topics that interested me. In my case, that means I follow graphic design and marketing professionals from France and French-speaking Canada.

I was able to “eavesdrop” on their topical conversations to learn industry-specific vocabulary. Learning real-word vocabulary, grammar, and slang specific to my interests is something I could have never experienced reading out of one of my college textbooks.

Sorry to any of my dear professeurs reading this but here’s why I think social media is better than traditional advanced language-learning methods:

1. It’s more fun.

Let’s be honest: hanging out on Twitter is more fun than making conjugation charts or writing a literary analysis of a French poem. While learning the basics first is necessary to understanding and interacting in a new language online, once you build a foundation, you’re more likely to stay engaged with something fun that doesn’t feel like homework.

Bottom line: textbooks are expensive and they’re horrible conversationalists.

2. It’s real.

The language you read on Twitter from native speakers is unstructured and natural. People express themselves on social media the same way they do in real life.

If your end goal is to be able to communicate effectively with native speakers of the language you’re learning, the best way to do it is talk with them! If a luxury séjour in the south of France isn’t 100% doable for you right now, logging on to your social networking accounts might be a cheaper alternative (albeit minus the tan).

My advice on how to use the [excessive, in my case] time you spend on social networking sites to accelerate your language learning? Follow, respond to and make your way into the online social circles of native speakers of your target language.

In my experience doing exactly this, I’ve learned cultural nuances, new vocabulary, met fascinating people from around the globe and have even attended tweet-ups in other countries.

Not ready to start chatting-up foreign strangers? Understandable.
A great place to start is by changing the default language on your accounts to the language you want to learn. It’s a simple way to learn new vocabulary words and have them really sink in!

Do you have a success story or suggestion for ways to utilize social media to learn a language?

Translation Theory

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky in Russian

With the release of many e-readers, like the Nook, Kindle, iPad, Tablet, etc., books have become available to us at the touch of a button. Not only can we get millions of books electronically but nowadays we don’t even have to read them if we put on our headphones and tune in while multitasking with audio books.

With the availability to provide a plethora of books to readers within seconds, the demand for classic books translated into many different languages has significantly increased.

One of my favorite books is Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I originally read, or struggled to read, the book in its native language, Russian (this was my mother’s brilliant idea to get her 12 year old to learn Russian). When I found out that Crime and Punishment was on the summer list of books to read for my 11th grade English class, I was one of the very, very few who were ecstatic.

After having many discussions about the book in class, I realized many of the students were frustrated with this particular reading assignment. Aside from 576 page time commitment, I noticed that English students were having  a hard time with understanding the content of the book. Having read the book in Russian and English, the problem seemed to be in the translation. I couldn’t help but wonder, how much of the book’s original context got lost in translation?

It seems like there are just some cultural concepts that cannot be translated into another language. I noticed this also, when I read J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. To many people’s surprise, I enjoyed the book in Russian more than in its original language, English. It seemed like there was more sarcasm that exuded from the main character in the Russian version. Some would say that this would depend on how proficient one is in a language, but I would challenge that by saying that English is my strongest language yet the the Russian version of the American classic appealed more to me.

This led me to think about the practice of translation and what that process incorporates. I recently came across linguisticblog.com, a great blog that has posts about all things linguist and language theory related. There was a great post, My Translation Theory by guest blogger Aleksandra Milcic Radovanovic that talks about the art of translation.

Radovanovic says, “During translation, the translator does not judge, he is open to every idea that can cross the author’s mind.” She explains that the translator is more like an actor and needs to put aside their own personal emotions and personality to play the character they are assigned, or in this case, to translate an original piece to another language without adding their personal thoughts.  She goes on to say, “It is not always possible to discover what the author’s intention was: to provide information or to provoke an aesthetic experience. Therefore, the translator must serve the author, stand behind him trying not to miss any of his ideas.”

Is it true that there are just some things that are not possible to fully translate into another language? That no matter how professional and experienced the translator is, some of the context will get altered  a bit due to the language of the book?

What are YOUR thoughts? Have you experienced this when reading a book that has been translated from its original language?

US vs. Them: British vs. American English

[Thanks to Matt Owen for this guest post and his perspective!

Hey there! I’m Matt, and I’m from England. I was trying to write a few words for Mango on the differences between UK and US English. I thought it would be fun.

Unfortunately I can’t do it.

I mean, I can write the words down easily enough, but it’s nearly impossible for me to point out the differences.

Because Microsoft Word won’t let me.

As in all fields of combat, the US tends to rely on technology to dominate the battlefield, and the battle for control of the language has been running since you guys decided you were probably better off without the King sticking his royal nose in your business.

And yeah, I’ve tried changing my settings (which incidentally, read “English” or “UK English” – make of that what you will), but every time I save or reopen a document, Microsoft discards all of this.

I’ve tried to convince it that I like spelling “Favour” like that, but it won’t take the hint. Or do me any favors.

Of course, this isn’t the only way American English has become the version most of the world speaks. When Britain was at the height of its powers, it spread the language by forcing people to use it to buy and sell, and by using it in churches and schools across the globe.

America on the other hand simply visits any given country, and quietly builds a Starbuck’s around anyone speaking another language.

I’ve already mentioned the war of independence, and John Adams himself was (unsurprisingly) a great fan of “Americanisms”, happily announcing that he thought the US would do a great job of “Polishing the language”.

What John forgot to mention was that we Brits had been polishing away ourselves for several hundred years already, and people continue to do so on both sides of the Atlantic.

To really understand the differences, you have to delve further back into history.

Despite the name, English is actually something that crawled out of the mud of French, Saxon and pig-Latin  [He’s kidding about the pig-latin part, ightray, Attmay? -Rachel].

You can also add a few other factors to those weird roots: A history of being invaded by nearly every country in Europe (quite why the Romans were so keen on trooping all the way from sunny Lazio to get their hands on a small grey island with nothing but a bit of tin and constant rain going for it remains a mystery), and books written by semi-illiterates on printing presses that couldn’t handle all the letters.

Take the word ‘Ye’ for example, it only exists because old printing presses had a symbol that looked like a ‘Y’ instead of a ‘TH’.

Next up, Britain went through an industrial revolution a bit earlier than most countries, with the billowing smog in London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Liverpool filling the local people’s sinuses and having a similar effect on the local accents – they all make you sound as though you’ve got a clothes-peg on your nose [For Americans: case in point; we say clothes pin -Rachel].

Meanwhile, in the US, something more profound was happening. We like to call it “Hollywood”. The movie industry has a huge history of imposing standards on across the world.

Here’s a question for you – what noise do frogs make?

If you answered “Ribbit”, it’s because that’s the noise frogs from Southern California make, most other places they go “Bloik”.

And English is the same. All over the world, countries got used to the language of Shakespeare through films, where trousers were pants, pavements were sidewalks and words followed the general American rule –pronounce it how you spell it.

This approach is sensible, but wouldn’t really work in England, where no word seems complete without a hidden ‘H’ or a silent ‘U’ in the middle. This is why tourists constantly ask me the way to “Li-ses-ter Square”. It’s actually pronounced “Les-ter”, but spelled “Leicester”.

Meanwhile, my American workmate gets weird looks when she asks for Pleated Pants in stores here. In the office, any businessman who wears ‘Suspenders’ probably shouldn’t mention it if he wants that promotion (If you want to know why, try using Google.co.uk to look the word up –just don’t do it while you’re at work!).

We’ve also got different words for commonplace things: some make more sense, some make less. Want to give me a call? I’ll take it on my mobile. It’s a phone, and it’s mobile. Makes sense yes? ‘Cellphone’ actually means ‘battery powered phone’. When you think about it, that’s just weird.

On the other hand, a Truck sounds much better to me than a Lorry…

The differences don’t stop there either: remember the history bit earlier? England has a pretty long tradition of battling with France at every given opportunity, so that any word sounding vaguely French is considered low class, so the Toilet is the ‘Loo’, although you guys might say ‘restroom’. A few years back an Aunt of mine told me that when she first visited back in the 80s, she honestly thought that a restroom was just a quiet area where you could go and sit down and read a book for a while…

And then there’s slang. In the US, English has had a healthy injection of Dutch, German, Spanish, Yiddish and Eminem to help it along, In England we just go for weird rhyming slang (Apples and pears= stairs, dog and bone = phone), text speak and references to weird English sitcoms from the 70s. In other words, If we fancy an ace night out we get bladdered down the nags, and hopefully there’s no aggro involved innit, y’get me?

I’ve tried to come up with an American equivalent for that last line. Let’s just say a few beers after work doesn’t quite sum it up…

Meanwhile the yoofs have well and truly looted the language for all it’s worth. Where I live, most kids is speakin the Jafaican mon [Matt explained this to me as "fake-Jamaican" -Rachel] (when they aren’t stealing ‘Trainers’ from the local sporting goods store), usually in a weird accent that arrives in Hackney after swinging through Kingston Town and early 90s South Central LA. Don U be letting the feds catch ya janga sistrin innit?

Nope, I don’t know what that means either…

Overall, the language we speak is vaguely similar, but history, immigration and culture have changed the two so that visitors from either side have to make a real effort. Whenever I write for a website, a good bit of my time is spent going through and putting ‘Z’ instead of ‘S’ in words – although in England even the letter would be pronounced differently, so bad news for any fans of Zed Zed Top out there.

On the plus side it means that the way we speak gets more and more interesting as we go along. The regional diction of newscasters doesn’t really match what people say in San Diego, or in Des Moines, and in England it has to be said that even the Queen (god bless you ma’am…) has a pretty weird accent compared to most of her subjects.

The reason English is so dominant on the world stage is because it’s inclusive, always happy to add in a new expression from a different country or a new technology – look for ‘Twiterati’ in Websters and the Oxford English soon. And hey, next time I walk into a diner and order a beefburger and chips, cut me some slack yo?

Travel Tuesday: Aloha, Mickey!

Disneyland, one of the happiest places on Earth, already boasts a pretty impressive resume. With attractions in areas such as Paris, Florida, and Japan, the timeless brand can now add one more exotic location to its list: Hawaii! Though I have never visited the island, it has always been a dream to bronze my increasingly pale skin on one of Hawaii’s many exotic beaches (which, obviously, would include attending a traditional luau…food is never far from my mind). While I must admit that much of Hawaii’s appeal was inspired by the Saved by the Bell episodes that took place there years ago, the addition of a brand new, state of the art Disney resort is just the icing on the pa’i palaoa (Hawaiian for cake)!

The 840 unit resort and spa is located on the island of Oahu, just about an hour from Waikiki. Most notable about the resort is its strong ties to the Hawaiian culture. Even its name, Aulani, comes from a Hawaiian term that means “messenger of a chief or higher authority.” While Disney influences are strewn about the hotel (for instance, each room has a custom lamp featuring Mickey Mouse with a surf board), the main focus in both design and function is celebrating Hawaii. As a language learning advocate, one thing that stuck out to me was the adherence to the Hawaiian language. The Olelo Room lounge has all items labeled in the native language, including chairs (noho) and floor (papahele). Anyone working in the Olelo room will be fluent in Hawaiian and be able to speak with other staff members and other employees of the resort will undergo language and cultural training to keep the experience authentic for guests. You think they’re offering training with the brand new Mango Languages Hawaiian course?

Every last detail, including the landscaping (inspired by an ahupuaa, an ancient Hawaiian land division system that extended from the mountain to the sea) pays homage to its Hawaiian roots. The main theme of Aulani involves canoes and an overall maritime theme, inspired by the Hawaiian voyaging canoe Hokulea. Joe Rodhe, head of Aulani’s creative crew, says the focus on canoes represents the “whole sense of arrival, journey, and … canoes are this sort of quintessential Hawaiian art form.” A Honolulu native, he recognizes the importance of a focus on the Hawaiian culture and recognizes that guests visits Hawaii “first and foremost for everything Hawaii has to offer” (The Oakland Press, 4 September 2011).

Aulani opened its doors yesterday to guests seeking an upscale experience and is expected to serve clientele from the West Coast and Asia. Free of most of Disney’s popular attractions, the resort seeks a different type of visitor, while still holding true to Disney’s sense of whimsical imagination. Though Hawaii will always hold a special place in my heart as the backdrop for my favorite television series, Lost, Disney’s new Aulani resort may now come in as a close second. So grab your Mickey ears, a lei, and be sure to book your stay at Aulani! Until then, aloha (yes, it means “hello” and “goodbye”… thanks, Miss Congeniality)!

What other locations do you think Disney should consider for future attractions that could offer a similar sense of language and culture?

Overheard in Montreal: 5 Quintessentially French Canadian sentences from the streets of Quebec.

I love Montréal; the sights, the sounds, the food (try the poutine at La Banquise Resto), the people, everything!  But let’s talk about the sounds.

One of my favorite parts of traveling to Montréal is overhearing, “Québécismes;” words and phrases that are très French Canadian.

Check out these five actual phrases I’ve heard during my travels to Montréal and what they can teach us about the language:

1. C’était bien le fun!
What it means: It was really fun!
Why it’s awesome: I was speaking in French with a Quebecois man when I heard this phrase. After he said it, I remarked that it was interesting that he used the English word “fun.”

He looked at me like I was crazy.

Much like “bouquet” or “clique” in English, the word “fun” (among many others) is used so frequently that French Canadian speakers don’t even realize it’s an English word.

2. Je vais te sender un email.
What it means: I am going to send you an email.
Why it’s awesome: The word “sender” in this sentence is what I found the most interesting. Especially when it comes to technology, French Canadians borrow lots of English words. When referring to email, the English verb “to send” was adopted into French grammar by adding an “–er” verb ending.

3. Il faut pas se bâdrer avec les détails!
What it means: Don’t bother with the details!
Why it’s awesome: The word “bâdrer” comes from “to bother” in English. This sentence is awesome because of what it reveals about the difference in the accents of Francophones when speaking in English. Stick with me here. When someone from Paris says, “the car” it usually sounds like “zee car.” When someone from Montreal says it, it usually sounds like “deh car.”

So, the word bâdrer comes from the French Canadian pronunciation of the word “bother” in English. The “th” sounds like a “d” and an “–er” verb ending was added.

4. C’est le friforâll (See photo above)
What it means: It’s a free-for-all.
Why it’s awesome: When I first looked at the advertisement in the photo above, I had no idea what friforâll meant…until I sounded it out in French: free…for…all ! Voila! French Canadian often takes English words and changes the spelling so that when sounded out in French, the pronunciation remains similar to how it’s pronounced in English.

5. Je suis badeloqué, la.
What is means: I have bad luck.
Why it’s awesome: Much like the free-for-all example above, badeloqué comes from the English “bad luck” but with a French spelling and is used as an adjective, “bad-lucked.” The “la” at the end of this sentence is heavily used in French-speaking Canada. In instances like this, “la” doesn’t have much meaning. It’s a filler that can be compared to “um” or “so” in English and is used to show emphasis.

The French Canadian language is a fascinating mélange of culture and history (with some English mixed in for good measure). Have you encountered any interesting “franglais” phrases or any other language combinations?

Spanglish: English Words With a Spanish Twist

I recently took a trip to the beautiful city of Austin, Texas. Besides the record-breaking heat, the amazing night life, and the delicious and diverse food, one of the things that I noticed is the use of Spanglish.

As a passionate student of the Spanish language I was fascinated with the popularity of this dialect, one that combines Spanish and English and that has become socially accepted and encouraged.

Ilan Stavans, professor of Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College and author of,  Spanglish: The Making of a New American Language, says Spanglish changes so fast it’s hard to pin down. His book includes a Spanglish dictionary. Some examples: “Backupear” is to back up a car, “yarda” is yard, “pregneada” is pregnant.

Here are some definitions from his book:

carpeta (kar-PE-tah) — carpet.
chopin (TCHO-peen) — 1.Shopping center mall. 2. n., going shopping.
deiof (dey-OF) — day off.
frizer (FREE-zer) — refrigerator.
grocear (gro-SEAR) — to acquire groceries.
jonrón (khon-RON) — home run.

There has been an ongoing debate among academics and politicians about taking Spanglish more seriously and recognizing it as an official dialect. Many feel like using Spanglish takes away from fully learning and appreciating either the English language or Spanish, while others believe that it is a way of self-expression and serves as a representation of a new culture, one that incorporates both Spanish and English.

Stavans goes on to say that “poets, novelists and essayists have realized that it [Spanglish] is the key to the soul of a large portion of the population. Spanglish is a creative way also of saying, ‘I am an American and I have my own style, my own taste, my own tongue.’”

In Spanglish, one would say “parquear” which means “to park.” Using the initial letters and sounds of the English word with the correct er/ar ending to represent the Spanish verbs, Spanglish words and phrases are created.

The use of Spanglish has been produced by close border contact with large bilingual communities on the northern side along the United States-Mexico border and many US states such as California, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, and Florida.

Personally I think it’s awesome to combine two languages to create a new way of expression and communication that represents both cultures and traditions.

What do you think about Spanglish?

Testimonial Lib-KDL

Have you tried Mango Languages? If you haven’t, then now is a great time to check it out. If you have, then let us know. Tell us how you use Mango Languages and be entered to win a free Mango coffee mug. Just leave your feedback in the comments section below, along with a valid email address, and you’re automatically entered to win. The contest runs through August 31.

Mango Languages is a free online language learning system that teaches practical conversation skills for real communication. It’s a fast, easy, and effective way to learn to speak a foreign language. Basic courses are offered for 35 foreign and 15 ESL languages, with most offering  more in-depth complete courses as well. You can even use Mango on your mobile device! Read More…

Travel Tuesday: Combining Business and Pleasure

Working in events, I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel from time to time for work. Unfortunately, this was not the case for a recent trip to Puerto Rico taken by Jason Teshuba and Ryan Colpaert, our CEO and Director of Sales and Marketing, respectively. The rest of us Mangoes spent the week slaving away at the office while Jason and Ryan spent a week relaxing on the beach in sunny San Juan. Ok fiiiine, I will admit that their trip was not without purpose (and I promise I’m not still bitter). Our two jetsetters made their way to Puerto Rico to attend the 77th Annual World Library and Information Congress Conference and Assembly! The conference took place from August 13-18 and, according to the website, it brings together over 3,500 participants from more than 120 countries. The exhibition portion of the conference boasts over 80 exhibitors with a combined buying power of all delegates estimated at more than 1.2 billion dollars! Needless to say, it was an exciting opportunity for Mango Languages to attend the show for the first time, especially given this year’s exotic location.

Because most of our Mangoes are curious travelers and always seeking out cultural experiences, Ryan and Jason decided to extend their trip and get a little taste of what San Juan has to offer. And being a self-proclaimed foodie, I was most interested in what they actually DID taste. Jason came back raving about his new favorite food, mofongo. A specialty of Puerto Rico, the dish combines mashed plantains with any combination of meat, seafood, and vegetables. Traditionally, the dish is prepared in a mortar and pestle, but can also be made in a food processor, depending on how authentic you want your experience to be. Either way, I will selflessly offer to taste any mofongo you decide to prepare. I’ll bring the Puerto Rican rum.

Aside from food and drink, Jason and Ryan also took advantage of Puerto Rico’s famous rain forests. While in San Juan, they had the opportunity to take a tour of El Yunque, pictured above. Additionally, the guys caught an awesome cultural performance of native dances at the conference, shown in the video below. I’m thinking we should try this out in the office. Nothing like a little choreography to break up the work day!

That, coupled with lounging in the sun, does not sound like too stressful of a work trip, no? That, my friends, is what we call “fundipline.” A combination of “fun” and “discipline,” it is one of our core values we are always striving to emphasize over at the Mango office (and the creation of a new word exemplifies “innovation,” another one of Mango’s core values.. TANGENT ALERT). Work hard, play hard is what we are all about. Rather than fly in and out solely for the show, our Mangoes decided to take advantage of their time in a new and exciting place. I think it goes without saying that I will be joining the guys for the 2012 conference in Helsinki (where we will hopefully indulge in some Finnish sweet bread, called pulla). Until then, adios and hei-hei!

Can you recall a time where you have been able to combine business and pleasure to gain a cultural experience?

Texting in Different Languages

Mango Monday:
Recently I was texting with a friend who lives in NYC but happens to be Brazilian and I kept seeing “rsrs” after some of his comments. This meant nothing to me…I actually thought it was a typo at first. But quickly realized it might actually mean something when he wrote it a few times in his texts. I asked Josi, the princess of particulars here at Mango who is from Brazil and she confirmed that it did mean something! It was the equivalent to our “ha ha ha.” Wow!

This made me think that texting language is probably different all over the world. Here are just a few languages so now you can be an international texter of mystery!

French: haha = héhé and lol =mdr, which stands for “mort de rire” which translates to “dying of laughter”

Mandarin:
??? (Ha Ha Ha)

Japanese:
??????hahaha?? ha ha ha
?????????= smile / laugh , sometimes they only use ?? to keep things short, but they really like cuteness so instead of they would more likely do something like :
(????) ? ????? ? ?????

Portuguese:
rsrsrs= risos, you can read kkkk, that is the sound of laughing just like hahaha, and you can also read huahuauhahua, that it is another way of hahaha or kkkk.

Do you know of any other languages and their translations for Ha ha or lol? Please share!

Linguistic & cultural brief on the Hawaiian Language

Kelly, one of our rockstar linguists shares loads of linguistic and cultural information on our new Hawaiian course with the Mango Elves. There is even a really cool picture of the owners in hula skirts! VERY funny!

Have you been to Hawai’i and learned some of the local language? Please share some tips!