Jan 15, 2016 | Promotions, Translation News
What makes Quebec and French Canadian special Quebec is a ‘special’ Canadian province in many ways, but it is especially known for being the only province where English is not an official language! It is well known that the people of Quebec fought for the French Canadian language despite the huge English influence. Finally, in 1977, the French Language Charter set French as the only language for advertisement and education in Quebec. Despite this, it is important to refer to the French dialect in Quebec explicitly as Canadian French in order to differentiate it from the Metropolitan French dialect from France. French people often claim that they have trouble understanding Canadian French. Let’s explore some of these potential differences. Pronunciation differences The most notable differences between Metropolitan and Canadian French are probably to do with pronunciation. Whereas French, in general, contains a very rich vocalic inventory compared to other languages, Canadian French has even more vowel sounds (around 15) than that of France. Quebeckers also tend to reduce their use of consonants significantly and to use abbreviations extensively. The use of articles (le, la) is similar to Portuguese. Instead of saying “le” or “la” (the), they will often say “el” (or l’) and “a”. In some cases, “le” becomes “l apostrophe” in front of a consonant. Vocabulary in French Canadian changes from French European French Canadian vocabulary is distinctive from the vocabulary of Metropolitan France. This is not surprising considering that since its arrival in Canada, the French language was exposed to many different influences. It couldn’t possibly have developed in the same manner as in Europe. Some even...
Jan 13, 2016 | Blog, Promotions, SEO
1000 likes song! LingoStar wants your like, what do you think of our 1000 likes song? Click here to Like our Facebook...
Dec 3, 2015 | Blog, Promotions
Denmark and the Danish Language Denmark, where the Danish language is spoken, is a country with four hundred islands surrounded by two seas. It’s a beautiful country with the charming capital of Copenhagen, as well as Greenland, the biggest island in the world, which also belongs to the great Kingdom of Denmark. Lego, The Little Mermaid and beautiful castles are all part of the Danish identity. The country is full of intelligent, agreeable and welcoming people. But the Danish language in Denmark has experienced some challenges as of lately. It has strongly been influenced by English. Therefore, changes are happening in the Danish language and there are several reasons for this. Firstly, the Danish phonology, which is how sounds are organized and used in languages, has been mutating strongly since 1950. Danish people like to shorten their words and try to use the least energy possible to pronounce them when speaking. Danes are said to talk like they have something in their mouth. Secondly, all Danish people learn the language growing up but increasingly like to speak the English language because it’s easier to learn and pronounce. Thirdly, you see a greater influence of the English language in traffic signs, media and advertisements all over Denmark. All this impacts the way the Danish language is being presented in its written and spoken form and how it is perceived by the younger generation. Check out an interesting video below explaining some of the challenges of Danish. Here at LingoStar, we translate all cultural materials and business documentations from English into Danish, and other Scandinavian languages, such as English to Swedish,...
Nov 10, 2015 | Blog, Promotions
Why do we celebrate Remembrance Day on the 11th of November? Originally called “Armistice Day”, Remembrance Day was introduced after the First World War in order to commemorate the Armistice agreement signed on Monday, November 11, 1918, at 11 am. It was the treaty that put an end to the war. Later, it became a holiday of remembrance for all the soldiers of the Canadian Army in times of war. Why is the Remembrance Poppy so famous? During the entire week of Remembrance Day, the people in Canada pin red poppies on their jackets, inspired by the World War I poem “In Flanders Fields“. It was written by the Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, who served in the Army and witnessed his friend’s death. Poppies were the first flowers that grew on soldiers’ graves in Flanders (Belgium). It then became a symbol of remembering the victims. What happens on Remembrance Day? The official Canadian national ceremonies happen every year at the National War Memorial in Ottawa according to a strict protocol. At the same time, throughout the whole country celebration services and parades take place. A minute of silence is often held at 11 am. This is in order to pause for a moment and remember all the sacrifices Canadians made in armed conflicts. Remembrance Day Worldwide Not only Canada but also many members of the Commonwealth celebrate this day in order to remember the members of their armed forces who have died on duty. With ongoing wars all over the world and millions of victims falling every week in military conflicts it is crucial to remember them. LingoStar...
Sep 8, 2015 | Blog, Promotions
Disney Princess Names and their Meaning Almost everyone grew up watching Disney movies, especially in the late ’80s and 90s when Disney produced a lot of great movies. Many of these Disney movies feature a princess character with a name like Elsa or Bella. Did you know that their names have different meanings in different languages? Beauty and the Beast (1991) Bella means beautiful in Spanish and Italian. The story is that Bella falls in love with an enchanted prince. He has been cursed to look like a beast and the only way the spell can be broken is if he learns to love. Bella and the beast fall in love and break the spell at a crucial moment. Frozen (2013) In Hebrew, Anne means grace and in Spanish, Elsa means truth. This movie has not just one but two princesses, the sisters Elsa and Anne, who are part of the Arendelle royal family. Elsa has the power to manipulate ice and snow but ends up hurting Anne who will be frozen until an act of true love breaks the spell. Eventually, Anne defrosts and they live happily ever after. Aladdin (1992) The princess name Jasmine means flower in Persian. A princess in a palace with a pet tiger and a street boy with a pet monkey must be a weird combination, right? They love each other but Aladdin is too poor to be with Jasmine. He finds a lamp with a genie inside. He stops the evil Jafar and saves the sultan. After the sultan sees the love between Jasmine and Aladdin he allows them to get married. Sleeping Beauty (1959) Aurora is Latin for goddess...
