Mango Languages

Share Your Story!

One of the best parts of working at Mango Languages is seeing the product in action. Our company’s core purpose is to enrich lives with language and culture, so we love to hear from people who have used Mango Languages to do just that!

Last month, Mango traveled to Philadelphia for the Public Library Association 2012 conference. We had the chance to talk to many librarians who shared success stories of those who had used Mango to learn a language. Check out the video below to see some of our favorites!

Do you have a story to share? How has Mango enriched YOUR life?

LOLcats and Linguistics

Let’s have a little fun and check out the linguistics behind our favorite interweb felines! While cats might not really be able to learn a foreign language, LOLcats have won our hearts with their endearing language.

Check out this fascinating video by Lauren Gawne: “I can has language play: Construction of Language and Identity in LOLspeak.”

Once you’ve watched the video, try out this fun LOLspeak translator and leave us a comment in LOLspeak!

You’re never too old.

The  Mango marketing team was recently in Dallas where we met Lewisville Public Library patron Raleigh who told us his Dad’s story using Mango:

“I want to tell you about my Father. He is 88 years old and he decided he wanted to learn Spanish. We went to the Lewisville Public Library and registered him. He had to learn the Internet but once he did, he completed the Mango Basic course as well as the Mango Complete course. Each course was very understandable, great layout, great way to learn a foreign language. It’s all thumbs up for Mango from us!”

We love hearing stories about the young, old and everyone in between learning with Mango! Do you have any stories about learning a language very early or very late in life?

World Wednesday: Chong Yang Festival

The Chong Yang Festival, otherwise known as the Double Ninth Festival, is observed on the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese Lunar calendar. In 2011, that’s today (Oct. 5).

The name “Chong Yang” in Chinese actually means “double Yang,” and while that might be reminiscent of Chris Farley’s explanation of El Nino, the Yang in this case actually comes from the Chinese concept Yin and Yang. In a nutshell, Yin and Yang represent the positive and negative sides of everything. Yin is considered to be the negative side, while Yang was dubbed positive. This concept was applied to numbers: even numbers belong Yin, and odd ones to Yang. Since nine is an odd number, it belongs to Yang, and since this is a double nine: Double Yang. Also noteworthy, since nine is the largest odd number, putting two nines together symbolizes longevity. Often, there is a focus on the elderly during this celebration.

So how is Chong Yang celebrated? Well, legend has it that a man named Huan Jing was told about a terrible event that would happen on the ninth day of the ninth month, and that he had to rush home and take his family to the top of a mountain, spray dogwood on his bags, and drink chrysanthemum wine to escape their plight. Long story short, they climbed the mountain, sprayed their bags, and drank the wine. This is the tradition that continues today, and the fall weather is perfect for doing this. Many people head outdoors and either hike or climb in the country, and this is generally the last time in the year that people have a chance to do this before winter.

World Wednesday: The Knight of the Andes

Today, in South America, is Día del Libertador José de San Martín, or Anniversary of the death of José de San Martín, liberator of Argentina, Chile, and Peru.

Born in 1778 in Yapeyú, Corrientes (current day Argentina), Don José de San Martín was a man who seemed destined to carve a military career for himself. He left his homeland at the age of just seven to study in Málaga, Spain, and fought in the Spanish army until around 1812. It was then that he began working with the United Provinces of South America (what is also present day Argentina).

I’ll save you the rundown of military accomplishments and battles, but along the way, he earned himself more titles than I have pairs of shoes- Protector of Peru, Knight of the Andes, and a number of political and military titles, including Governor and General, were among his accomplishments. He played an instrumental role in the liberation of the three countries from the Spanish, and was even a statesman along the way.

I have four pairs of shoes, by the way.

Today in South America, there are statues, streets, schools and all kinds of other things dedicated to José de San Martín. I think the only thing he’s missing is an action figure.

Being from Michigan, I’ve honestly never really heard of José de San Martín before doing some digging, and there are certainly other figures, events, and whole chunks of history that I would have had no idea about until I would have searched. So enrich me, and everyone reading this blog: comment with a historical figure or event that you think is underrepresented by the history books.

Marines and Happy Mondays

Happy… Wednesday, everyone!

July 18th of this year in Japan is Umi no Hi (海の日), which translates roughly in English to “Marine Day” or “Ocean Day.” Being Japan’s newest holiday, only adopted in 1996, this holiday is still finding its sea legs (bad joke) among people in Japan. They generally spend the holiday, coincidentally, at the beach.

Although the holiday is fairly new on a national scale, it actually dates back pretty far. Marine Memorial Day, Umi no Kinen Bi (海の記念日) was originally designated in 1942 to commemorate the Meiji Emperor’s 1876 voyage in a steam ship around the country. It took until 1995 for the holiday to be declared national, and in 1996, it was first celebrated as part of the Happy Monday System (ハッピーマンデー制度) and renamed Marine Day.

What’s the Happy Monday System, you ask? Aside from finding its initial support with Garfield the Cat–that’s a lie–the system, which moved a number of national holidays to Mondays, was enacted by the Japanese government to give workers who normally work five day workweeks a three day weekend.

Do you know of any beach or water related holidays in other countries? Tell us about it!

Singin’ in Singapore

If you’re into some far out art from the far east, make sure to look into the Singapore Arts Festival from May 13th to June 5th. This festival originated in 1977 as a highlight of local communities’ artwork and continues every year in May.

Currently, the festival is a mixture of both Western and Eastern art, both traditional and modern.  For the most part, traditional artists have been given the most exposure, but there is a definite uptick in the attention given to up and coming artists.

Partly because of this festival, Singapore has become a major cultural center in East Asia and has seen growing public interest in and demand for the arts. Other events and festivals have also aided to foster the lively cultural scene found in this community.

Although there is an online presence all year long beyond the actual performances, there will be 75 stage shows from numerous countries throughout the whole festival. Awesome!

Share some eastern music, art, or even a story with us!

Vesak

Vesak (Vesākha, Vaiśākha) is widely considered the most important day of the Buddhist calendar. It is a celebration of all three of the main events of Buddha’s life: his birth, enlightenment, and paranirvana (his passing away).

The day itself, informally called “Buddha’s Birthday,” is spent either celebrating with large festivals featuring vegetarian food and animals, or communing in small groups with a focus on meditation. Aside from this, there is a focus on bringing happiness to others who are less fortunate, especially the handicapped and sick. Buddhists will donate cash and the like to charities, as well as spend time decorating and illuminating temples in place of satisfying one’s own needs.

Vesākha is celebrated in a number of countries, including Sri Lanka, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It goes by a few different names, but in each country the premise is the same.

Even if you aren’t Buddhist, we could probably all take a lesson from this holiday. Go out and do something nice for someone today! Tell us about it!

Greenery Day

Today is　Midori no Hi (みどりの日) in Japan, part of a week long string of holidays known as “Golden Week”, in which most of the country is given time off from work and take the opportunity to travel or spend time with family.

Midori no hi itself is, as you might expect, a celebration of all things green. Parks and gardens in Tokyo and other cities have events to honor nature and some places plant trees, but all around the country there is a general initiative to clean up parks, beaches, and other areas.

Greenery Day finds its roots in the celebration of the Emperor Showa’s birthday on April 29th during the Showa era in Japan (1925-1989). In 1989, the name of the holiday was changed from “Birthday of the Emperor” to “Greenery Day”, but was still observed on April 29th. In 2007, Greenery Day was moved to May 4th.

Celebrate Greenery Day wherever you are! Plant a tree, pick up some litter. Have you ever celebrated a holiday like this?

Tartan Day!

Tartan Day, a holiday celebrating Scottish heritage, is held every year on the 6th of April.  This is the same date on which the Declaration of Arbroath, the declaration of Scottish Independence, was signed in 1320.

What is Tartan, you ask? Tartan is the pattern we call plaid in North America. If you go to Scotland, though, plaid only refers to a tartan cloth slung over the shoulder, or a blanket.

Tartan Day originally began as a single celebration in 1982, but didn’t pick up steam until around the mid-80′s, mostly in Canada. There, an annual “Gathering of the Clans” takes place on April 6th or the Sunday nearest to it on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. This includes pipes, drums, and dancing hosted by Canada’s oldest civilian pipe band.

The United States, with an estimated 6 million people who claim Scottish descent, has been a little late in the game. It wasn’t until 2004 that the National Capital Tartan Day Committee successfully lobbied the House of Representatives to designate April 6th of each year as National Tartan Day. This Resolution was adopted on March 9, 2005.

Do you have any Scottish friends? Be sure to wish them a happy Tartan Day!