A very symbolic Chinese New Year Chinese New Year has come! It’s not only China that celebrates this new beginning, also other countries such as Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, is a big event for all who celebrate it all over the world. This festive period is full of symbolism; read on to find out more! Not only the Year of the Pig Chinese symbolism is everywhere from Chinese New Year’s Eve to the famous Lantern Festival. For instance, one of the most well-known symbols is marked by the Chinese lunar calendar: the Chinese zodiac. 2019 is the Year of the Pig. However, many other images also come into play during a special evening: New Year’s Eve. What happens on Chinese New Year’s Eve? Basically, communities celebrating will eat all day long with people they love. This very important get-together meal is not just about food. It is also full of auspicious symbolism. Let’s immerse ourselves into Chinese culture! More than just a fish – auspicious symbolism Myths and customs dictate that Chinese New Year’s Eve includes a perfect and complete dinner, symbolizing a good start for the new year. To do so, food that is considered lucky is served to bring good luck for the coming year. The way dishes are prepared, served, eaten, and how they are called is what matters most when it comes to meanings. Indeed, the appearance of the dishes is an important aspect, but puns are not uncommon too. Take the fish, for example. In order to do it the right...
The Use of German Terms of Endearment It doesn’t matter if they are partners, friends, children or pets: If you want to show verbal affection, you can use terms of endearment. And German is no exception. So, what are German terms of endearment? Are they very different from English? Most Common German Terms of Endearment The most used German terms of endearment seem to be the most boring ones, like Schatz ‘treasure’ with its variations Schatzi or Schätzchen. That one is so common that people make fun of it. Furthermore, some German people don’t use terms of endearment at all, which probably fits in with the German stereotype. Why invent a name if you already have one? Other common German terms of endearment are Maus/Mäuschen ‘mouse’, Hase/Häschen ‘rabbit’, Süße/-r ‘sweetie’, Liebste/-r ‘the most loved one’, Engelchen ‘little angel, and Bär/Bärchen ‘bear’. So, maybe German people do like their endearing names! Especially animal names, although this might not be only a German trait, since, for instance, Polish also uses animal names for their terms of endearment. As you can tell, you can call your loved one pretty much any animal name. Besides, you can make the name even cuter by adding the suffix –chen. This way you don’t call your loved one ‘bear’ but ‘little bear’, which shows even more affection. The suffix –i /y works in the same way: Hasi, Mausi, Bärli, and with first names Isy, Benni, Matthi. Less Used, But More Creative German Terms of Endearment There are German terms of endearment that are a little bit more creative, such as Schnucki, Schnuffi, Knuddel, Knuffi, Schmusi. They...
Wrap Your Head around German and English Idioms Do you think idioms are a pain in the neck? Or do you have a soft spot for them? Well, let’s face it, if you learn a new language they will be part of your learning experience, come rain or come shine. Native speakers, however, use them most of the time without even realising it. So no need to beat around the bush, let’s get down to business and take a closer look at German and English idioms! How Idioms Developed Idioms are fixed phrases or expressions with a figurative meaning. Most of the time, the literal meaning does not express the figurative one at all, as in to kick the bucket. And it would sound weird to say, for instance, to kick the pail. Therefore, the words are set in stone. Sometimes, however, it is funny to play with idioms and deliberately change them according to the context you are in. Nevertheless, many idioms used to be literal, but became disconnected from their original meanings. Consequently, they only exist in their figurative meaning nowadays. For some idioms you can trace this development, for example, to let the cat out of the bag. Others, in contrast, are very ambiguous and it is not clear what their origin is, for instance, to pull one’s leg. Read further for the origins of these idioms. Some idioms have a transparent meaning. In other words, even as a non-native speaker you can figure it out, because they are logical, like the early bird catches the worm. Maybe it is a concept that you also have...
Charming German Compound Words In case you haven’t heard, the German language is full of huge words! The most popular example used by Germans (who also make fun of these long, weird words) is Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän. It translates into ‘Danube steamship company captain’. But they don’t always have to be that long and complicated. You will never hear the above word in a daily conversation, for example. However, there are smoother and easier ways to use German compound words. How To Built German Compound Words Firstly, German compound words are made of two or more words you would like to combine and can be any word type from nouns to prepositions. The combination of words or ‘parts’ can also result in any kind of word type: nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. The last part of the compound word determines which type of word it will be. This is how Germans know that they are referring to grandparents (Großeltern ‘grand- or big parents’) and not to something that is as big as parents. One little tip for German language learners that struggle with articles: the gender of German compound words is also determined by the last part of the word. If you know that Kind ‘child’ is grammatically neutral, you know that words like Kleinkind, Spielkind, Enkelkind are neutral, too, even if you don’t know what they mean. How They Convey Meaning Another good thing to know about German compound words is how the different parts influence each other. On the one hand, the first part describes the second part in more detail and specifies it. That is why Zeitungsindustrie means ‘newspaper...
Chinese, Macanese and… Portuguese? Hundreds and hundreds of languages in China Chinese is the most common term to indicate a range of different languages, among them Macanese. Based on the number of native speakers throughout the world, Chinese is the most spoken language all over the world. It is official in Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. However, Chinese-speaking communities can be found basically everywhere. There are Chinatowns across the globe. The most famous are in NY, London and Toronto. Among all the different varieties of Chinese, two standards (spoken and written) exist: Cantonese and Mandarin, and Traditional and Simplified. Our previous blogpost is about some clarification on their differences. Nevertheless, China is a huge land of giant metropolitan cities like Beijing or Shanghai and home to about six thousand small villages. Its people speak more than 200 different languages generally described as dialects of Chinese such as Pekinese, Shanghainese, Xiang, Taishanese, etc. Just Chinese? Not in Macau Meanwhile, there are not only speakers of Chinese and its various dialects in China. Macau is an autonomous territory of 30.5 km2 with a population of 650,900. That is why it is one of the most densely populated regions in the world. Macau was a Colony of the Portuguese Empire from 1557 until 1999. Finally, Portugal transferred the sovereignty to the People’s Republic of China. People consider it the last European Colony in Asia. Although 20 years have passed since then and despite the distance from the mainland, the Portuguese influence is still prominent in Macau, both artistically and linguistically. You can walk on streets ornamented with calçada portuguesa surrounded by red lanterns...
Silbo Gomero is Spain’s Exotic Whistling Language Languages can use so many different forms of sounds. You probably have heard about languages that use clicks like Xhosa in South Africa. It sounds more or less exotic because only rare languages use them. Even more rare if you think about whistling. But that is exactly what Silbo Gomero, a languages in the Spanish territory, does. Languages of Spain Spain is a European country that is home to many different languages. These languages possess a co-official status with Castilian, the standardised language variety in Spain. In Barcelona, the Balearic Islands, and Valencia, Catalan is the co-official language along with Spanish. The same place takes Euskadi in the Basque Country. In the Iberian Peninsula there are many varieties, dialects and even distinct languages:. These are Aragonese, Galician, Valencian (the variety of Catalan spoken in Valencia), Andalusian dialect, Portuguese. Even English is spoken in Gibraltar. But there is another one far from the mainland, plunged in the Atlantic Ocean and close to Africa. On a small island belonging to the Archipelago of Canary Islands, a language exists that is not a spoken one: Silbo Gomero. The History of Silbo Gomero Silbo Gomero or simply, “el Silbo” (the whistle), takes its name from the Island of La Gomera. The primitive inhabitants of the Canary Islands, the Guanches, settlers from North Africa, developed it since needed a way to communicate across long distances, especially among shepherds. In fact, Silbo Gomero is perceptible up to 5 km away. Nowadays, people still use it to communicate because there are places on the Islands that are not covered...
